Free Essay: Strategic Management Exam Questions and Answers

Question 1 - Organizational culture of Google Company

The culture web is an important instrument to use when dealing with the management change in an organization for diagnosis of the culture status quo (Pride & Ferrell, 2014). It represents the paradigm of the organization as well as its manifestation concerning the behaviors day in day out. These are the assumptions that tend to be core to the customary practices of the company. The social web helps the managers of the company and management change crew to assess key areas of strength and weakness of change management initiative. Advertising sales have accounted for over ninety percent of Google’s total revenues in the previous years. With the strategy in advertising sales to deliver cost-effectively, targeted, relevant ads that are useful to the end user, advertising dollars have provided a lot of revenue income for the company.

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Routine behaviors by members of the organization are seen as they carry out their day to day activities. It is difficult to make alterations to these behaviors though they are seen from both the internal and the external perspectives. The behaviors of members of Google Company are reviewed in the annual report that rewards the work of each who contributed to the success of the Company.

Rituals will reinforce the culture of the organization. These are the actions and the incidents that bring to light the important aspects of the organization. A good example is the rites of integration in Google. The annual report by the company ensures the players of the company are recognized for their success contribution to the company. This brings about the integration of the team and at the same time ensures they work towards the important aspects of Google as a company.

Stories that relate to the members of the organization, the successes, failures, and even the leaders of the organization are important in the cultural web. They can be told by one to another member of the organization or by a member of other people who are not of the company. They tell clearly what is or is not important in the organization considering the perspectives of the individuals involved. The story told by Google in its history shows the success of the company and recognizes some members as the major players in the contribution to its success. This brings up a good relation between the organization members and their roles in the success of the company.

Symbols reflect the type of culture in the hierarchy where executives have reserved access, titles reflecting perceived status. The reward systems and the structure of the organization are part of the symbols in addition to offices, cars, and logos. Power structures influence the major assumptions within the organization making the most powerful grouping associated with core beliefs. An example for Google is the success attribution to the leadership in the History of Growth of the company. Google would not exist as it does today were it not for the work done by its leaders. The Google report for the year 2009 stated that the future depended on the continued service of key members of the senior management team.

Control systems are the measure and reward tools highlighting what is crucial or otherwise in the organization. A good example is the bonus scheme based on selling high incentives making one uneasy in shifting to cultures aimed at teams and quality rather than numbers. Google Apps exist to improve the web for users while at the same time ensure the provision of the advertising avenue. The advertisement has been seen to be one of the most significant revenues generation assets for the Google Company.

Organization structures will reflect roles and relationships while paradigm gives a summary of everything while it puts emphasis on behaviors in the other parts of the web. The organization structure recognizes some members as the major players in the contribution to its success. This will eventually lead to a good relation between members. Paradigm summarizes everything and relates it to the behaviors in the other sections of the cultural web of the company for rewards of success for the company members.

Question 2 - Google's growth strategy

Google has offered products to almost the whole population around the globe. The strategy of differentiation, however, involves the development of specific unique abilities that make the company competitive in the business. The company has developed outstanding products that put it on the map far much greater and more populous compared to the competitors (Dess 2012). The unique quality is achieved due to the high scales of innovative activities within the company. The expanding assortment of its items, comprehensive of Google Search, Google Fiber, and Google Glass is an indication of this advancement under the separation nonspecific procedure. The Google Search calculation additionally develops after some time to guarantee upper hand against the company's major competitor among others.

The bland technique of separation implies that Google must keep up its upper hand in light of uniqueness. It is of basic significance for the firm to keep advancing. A relating vital goal is to grow new items or keep enhancing existing items. This way, Google has a future ability to ensure that it has a competitive merit over the competitors using a generic strategy of differentiation to beat threats of competition from the technology companies around the world. The concentrated development procedures of market infiltration, showcase improvement, and item advancement are of generally equivalent significance in Google's business. The organization keeps on extending and develops its worldwide nearness through the escalated methodologies of the market entrance and market advancement. As an exceedingly creative innovation firm, Google's business development likewise fundamentally relies on upon the escalated procedure of item advancement.

Google has relied on market penetration to grow. The intensive growth strategy in the USA has its sole attribution to the aspects of market penetration. The organization is one of the leading companies in the United States. In any case, in different nations, Google straightforwardly goes up against other huge web search tools and web-based publicizing firms. This proves there is a stiff competition in the market from other companies that offer the services offered by Google. In this way, in the market infiltration serious procedure for development, Google keeps on taking a stab at a greater share of the worldwide web-based promoting market.

Google is also working on a market development strategy that it uses intensively for growth from Market development. Web search functionality is an indispensable feature of the internet that Google considers essential for their business. Advertising sales have accounted for over ninety percent of Google’s total revenues in the previous years. With the strategy in advertising sales to deliver cost-effectively, targeted, relevant ads that are useful to the end user, advertising dollars have provided a lot of revenue income for the company. Google would not exist as it does today were it not for the work done by its leaders. The Google report for the year 2009 stated that the future depended on the continued service of key members of the senior management team on market issues.

Innovation by Google puts it at a higher position to be strategic through product development. This is the intensive strategy for growth seen from how Google invents new products to face off competition and continue growing. Google has continued to develop new products and put them on the market. These include the driverless car and the Google Glass. New models of Nexus mobile devices have been developed by the organization to see its future prosperity. This has seen the company generate more income in the process ensuring a strategy of intensive growth. Google Apps exist to improve the web for users while at the same time ensure the provision of the advertising avenue.

References

Dess, G. G. (2012). Strategic management: Text and cases. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Pride, W. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (2014). Foundations of marketing.

R.Duane Ireland, Robert E. Hoskisson, Michael A.Hilt, (2012) The management of strategy.

Question 3 - Attractiveness of the web search industry in which Google is competing

Google’s organization design as well as their prominence on innovation and also their creative work environment have allowed them to be able to attract and also retain employees that are very productive (Pride & Ferrell, 2014). Google takes a strategic approach towards the entire process of strategic planning and in creating new products. Most of their initiatives in strategies as well as products are in most cases driven by small technical teams that are very innovative. The environment in which Google operates has managed to attract some of the most talented people in the industry.

The rivalry is very high in the internet search. Google is facing a lot of competition from Yahoo, Microsoft as well as Apple. Most of these companies have been diversified to include many industries that have a common goal towards all the businesses in providing products that are very innovative which will provide their consumers the ability to access them. There are also other competitors such as networks of online advertising that are posting threats on potential revenue earned by Google from advertisements.

This industry has a few barriers for new companies that are joining the market (Dess 2012). New entrants are only required to heavily invest in creation computer storages as well as searching algorithms. Creation of new technologies is likely going to usher in more competitors in the industry. However, while the powers of entry may be tiny, barriers to success in the sector may be considered to be very high.

The power of supply is tremendously fragile; this is because the content of the internet and also the bandwidth is easily available. In case the competitors will make a choice of challenging the current success obtained by the inescapable there is the availability of enough skilled labor.

There are a few substitutes for the capability of the web search engines. Traditional options for searching that are available are fragile when compared to the online search. However, substitutes for online advertisements for business are very many thus it is easier for advertisers to abandon the use of internet in the ad for traditional methods.

Google’s pricing strategy that is aiming at making advertisements of various products is a crucial part of the plans held by the company and it fits well in the Google brand. Pay-per-click type of advertising is a representation of two-thirds of revenue generated by Google. The PPC model of pricing which was pioneered by a proposal from Google’s competitors is a form that is used in discriminating prices in an auction based form. It makes attempts to charge customers as per how they are willing to pay. In most cases, advertisers will bid for placement of their ads alongside the web search engine results. Google is very ready to have some of its outcomes forgone to have an improvement in the user experience.

In as much as Google has grown to be a leader in the search industry, an industry that has a complex structure of highly competitive companies. Google and its competitors such as Yahoo are providing a broad range of products in the search industry. Strategy held by Yahoo gives a demonstration of an information portal that is getting into the search market. Yahoo has posed a significant challenge to the dominance of Google by coming up with a Yahoo search which is intended in coming up with easier ways for its users in finding their solutions on the internet.

Question 4 - Conducting a value chain analysis on Google

Value chain analysis is an investigative framework that helps in identification of activities carried out in the business which may assist in creating value for the business as well as a competitive advantage (Dess 2012). There is the use of inbound logistics. Google does not openly reveal some of the basic details of its management of the supply chain as well as the inbound logistics. There are reports that the company is making attempts in getting a digital transformation in its supply chain through projects that are aimed at making automatic delivery of products. Google has managed to maintain a very dedicated supplier site which enables its suppliers to submit their invoices to receive payment. This site also checks the status of the invoice and also deals with a range of different aspects of the administration of their cooperation with the company in a manner that is very convenient.

Google is operating through more than seventy offices located in more than forty countries. The Google offices are well known for their creativity in design as well as its distinctive features which include sharing of cubes, some of the video games and many others. Google headquarters that are located in Mountain View in California is made up of 4.8 million square feet office as well as building space that is accompanied by 15-acre land which can provide more space for more offices shortly.

There is also the use of outbound logistics. Research that is conducted online as well as the integration of advertisements into the search web engine results is a representation of major business that is conducted by Google and also there is no outbound logistics that are associated with running this business. Google is also selling products that are made using a high level of technology such as Smart watches, technological accessories through its website.

In addition to that, there is marketing and sales. The marketing strategy used by Google heavily relies on the integration of the offline as well online channels of communicating the marketing messages. Google has made use of popular components of the marketing communication mix which includes advertisements, experiences, and events as well as relations with the public. The company has also made use of promotions as well

The constant pursuit of Google to have to have an expansion of its collection of tools and services has helped it in sustaining its competitive advantage. Since it was incorporated, it has managed to acquire more than 100 companies that are helping it in expanding its services. Google has succeeded in dominating the industry as a result of its search engine. The search engine is assumed to be Google’s source of income that is most valuable. Google also has a huge portfolio of original technology, as well as the number of patents that are held, have also risen as a result of acquiring Motorola Mobility. Google also offers its customers an unmatched way of getting their information retrieved quickly as this can be very difficult to have it substituted.