The Role of Ethics in Google Inc.

Google LLC

Google LLC is one of the largest companies in the world. The company offers internet-related services and products such as software, hardware, online advertising technologies, online maps, cloud computing and the overly used Google search engine. The company celebrates diversity and in 2018, Google Inc. had a labor force of 85,050 (google.com). Such a huge workforce calls for the management to ensure ethical values are enhanced amongst the employees and the clients.

Slide 2

Snellman (2015) referred to ethics as the values which guide interactions, choices and priorities in an institution. Ethics play a big role for the success of a company or organization. Mutual respect, honesty, transparency, accountability, hard work and other associate values all lie under the faculty of ethics. An unethical organization is unlikely to achieve its obligations. Ethics are responsible in attracting customers and investors into the business. Moreover, ethics bind worker interrelationship. Most importantly, workers are more inclined to the organization and are ready to dispose all their energies for the benefit of the organization. Necessity of ethics in a business setup is far reaching. In a case where an organization wishes to change its dynamics, probably in its customer handling or service delivery, it relies on ethics to make the workers adapt faster to the proposed changes. Moreover, the gap between the management and employees is shortened in an organization where ethics are key. Communication between a worker and the management is made easy; giving the worker an opportunity to efficiently air his or her views.

Slide 3

Duty ethics attributes a person’s morality to his alignment towards defined rules. Duty ethics sees a person’s morality from the standpoint of his ability to perform various actions following defined rules. In the jargon of philosophy, duty ethics are referred to as deontological ethics. Deontological ethics’ proponents propose that it is rules that bind one to perform a duty. Duty ethics holds that action is more important than the consequences. The founding fathers of deontological ethics are C.D Broad and Jeremy Bentham. The latter also constructed the utilitarian theory and viewed ethics to be based on rational judgment. Earlier in the eighteenth century, German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, had argued that for people to act in the conventional moral standards, people must act from duty. In his argument, Kant clarified that it is not the consequences of an action that makes an action right or wrong, it is the motive of the action. In his infamous three categorical imperatives, Kant reminded his readers that whatever that can be considered to be of highest good must be both good in itself and without qualification. What is good must be good from within and possess intrinsic qualities of goodness. Such goodness is only in goodwill; goodwill to perform a duty.

Slide 4

The success of any organization is likely to be determined by the effectiveness of its management. Huge companies such as Google Inc. require a strong management to enable smooth and efficient running of affairs. The management oversees the operations of the workers and works tirelessly to better the face of the organization. For instance Google Inc. is likely to conduct numerous researches to improve their products. The management also shares with relevant stakeholders objectives and hears matters arising from its managers. It is also upon the management to make critical decisions regarding the wellbeing of an organization. The achievement of organizational goals is subject to the management practices which have been instituted to streamline efficiency (Snellman 2015). With a working management, a company is likely to reach its goals. The management design criteria which will enable them achieve these goals. For instance Google Inc. starts by establishing smaller short-term goals achievable within a set period of time. The management later stage the nigger goal. Accomplishments of smaller goals would facilitate the bigger goal. The management therefore must display ethical behaviors to enable such successes. The management also calls for teamwork among the employees. Some organizations, through management, have their staff work as team-members. Teams whose work best are rewarded.

Slide 5

Google Inc. is a company worth study. Enjoying numerous accomplishments year after year, the company never disappoints its stakeholders. Google products and applications such as Google Maps are regarded as best breakthroughs of the internet. The Google Chrome browser is also regarded as the best computer and mobile phone browser. Play Store, which acts as the hub for apps is of lot of use to android users. Gmail also serves millions of customers as their preferred electronic mail account. The Google Search Engine serves many research students. The Google Search Engine incorporates more than 100 languages (Vise 2006). This is to allow users using other languages access the product. Employees and Stakeholders of Google Inc. come from all corners of the world. The company also enjoys large market considering their products are available in any area. Their diversity techniques also enable Google to reach a wider market. Google technical teams are actively involved in innovations. Over the years, we have seen the Google outlook change day after day. This proves that Google team is working day and night to improve and add products. The finance team in Google also plays a major role in Google returns and profits. The finance team maximizes profits using their good marketing skills on user phones. Google technical teams should however work harder to establish their creations and innovations in time so as to avoid impending competition from other internet-based competitors.

Slide 6

Actions and operations in an organization are defined and predetermined solely by duties. Each of the staff is obligated to perform his task following a certain set of rules. For one to do any action, it is in the mind of the employee that he or she got the duty and responsibility to perform the task. These obligations and duties are not only on employees but also on the management. While the members of staff are obliged to perform duties in respect to the instructions from the managing body, the management has a duty to protect, care and guide the staff members. If an organization needs to increase and augment its output, both the staff and the management should actively practice duty ethics. The quality of a good or service produced by an organization lies on the degree of emphasis laid on duty ethics in each of the staffs’ and management’s actions.

Slide 7

(Snellman, 2015) explained that morality could only be achieved if an individual oversees his duty. Relating to Kant’s theoretical perspective, there is no good- therefore no morality- that can be achieved by an individual’s action, if the action is not instigated by a duty. What define morality is duty and not the consequence. What defines morality is what you give rather than what you get or expect from your deed. For instance, a moral parent is one who provides for his children. Provision to his children is his duty. Morality is nothing short of duty. In other words, morality is responsibility.

Slide 8

Kant exclaimed that the only good thing of all things is the goodwill, and goodwill is only when the involved person chooses to do a thing for it is his duty, as it is expected by the law. Kant gave insights of his three categorical imperatives. The first imperative given by Kant is that we should act in a way that we could continue doing whatever we are doing if whatever we are doing became a universal law. The second imperative requires humans to treat their humanity and those of others not just simply as means but also as an end. The third imperative requires humans to act as legislators in a universal kingdom of ends. The three categorical imperatives revolve around one thing; duty instigated by goodwill. Morality demands the same thing. If duty is done without good will, then there is no morality. On the other hand, when there is good will without duty, then there is still no morality.

Slide 9

Management entails the streamlining of available resources to meet pre-determined goals (Buono, 2012). The management streamlines all the workforce and resources to meet their set goals. Different duties and responsibilities are converged by the management so that to work as unit in achievement of the goals. Duties of staff and management between different organizations are not similar. A health organization has its staff perform different duties from a financial institution. Moreover duties change as per department within the organization. For instance, duties of the secretary may not be similar the duties of an accountant nor would be the accountant’s be similar to that of the watchman.

Slide 10

Duty should be performed at the expense of the performer’s self consideration. Although the performer has to do the duty in goodwill, the benefits are not his to enjoy. Moreover, duty should be done as per the dictation of the rule. Duty performers should not fear circumstances that they may befall them after doing their rightful duty (Seagon, 2010). So long as duty had been done to the rule, it is moral. In addition, duty performers should not have inclinations and bias when doing something. The rule is simple, stick to the rules. Anything done contra to the rules is immoral.

Slide 11

Duty ethics should be highly used at Google Inc. Dynamics and changes designed by highly qualified management require implementation without any instinct of defiance. The management must have seen something critical that need check. Moreover, the diverse nature of the employees and staff may make it difficult if duty ethics are not adopted. Rules should be used and applied by everyone to avoid the differences. Finance managers should display duty ethics as they are determining financial fates of numerous shareholders. Moreover, there should be integration of duty ethics to the human resource team to enable them train new Google Inc. employees effectively so as to handle Google customers well.

Slide 13

Differences between duty and virtue ethics are very conspicuous. While duty ethics’ proponents are only interested in achievement of a certain duty, virtue ethics’ enthusiasts are concerned with the consequences. Secondly while managers subscribing to duty ethics focus on the correctness of an action, their fellow virtue ethic contemporaries focus on the character of staff. Lastly, duty ethics are subject to Kant’s categorical imperative while virtue ethics are subject to the holistic approach towards ethics.

Slide 14

As the main objective of Google Inc is to create profit, any action that contrasts that of making profit is a general transgression to the company. The management and staff should only focus in profit making. Engaging in any other action apart from profit making violates duty (Segon, 2010).However; Google Inc. should consider actions not necessarily profitable to the company butdone for the benefit of the society as an exception of a violated duty. This is because the company does not operate in isolation and therefore it is expected to conform to the demands of the society.

Slide 15

Duty ethics suffer from limitations. Among the limitations is inflexibility in the management. The management may be limited to consider and conceive better policies as the policies may be out of the ‘set rules’. Moreover, duty ethics to some extent discourages innovations as innovations that go past the rules of the organization cannot be adopted. (Buono, 2012) wrote that organizations practicing duty ethics are likely to suffer from redundancy of growth. Employees may feel constrained to function ion their best fashion and therefore decide not to work with such organizations. People and institutions may file lawsuits to charge a company that never bends its rules and that which does not consider society’s views .To sum up, duty ethics is predicated on specified rules and obligations. Managements should call for the involvement of duty ethics. Duty ethics are relevant to Google, Inc. due to the body’s diversity.

References

Buono, A. F. (Ed.). (2012). An evolving paradigm: integrative perspectives on organizational development, change, strategic management, and ethics. IAP.

Segon, M. (2010). Managing organisational ethics: Professionalism, duty and HR practitioners. Journal of business systems, governance and ethics, 5(4), 13-25.

Snellman, C. L. (2015). Ethics Management: How To Achieve Ethical Organizations And Management? Business, Management and Education, 13(2), 336-357.

Vise, D. A. (2006). Google. Foreign Policy (154), 20-24