Team 3

Management of Human Resources (MGT 522)

Cohort 9

January 29, 2011

Comprehensive Cases

Google

5. What sorts of factors do you think Google will have to take into consideration
as it tries transferring its culture and reward systems and way of doing
business to its operations abroad?

As the company grows internationally, it also faces the considerable challenge of

recruiting and building staff overseas.
From my point of view, in Google trying to transfer its culture, reward systems and way
of doing business to its operation abroad, they have to take into consideration tow
categories of employees.

A. Employees or the members of abroad branch.

A company like Google that has beneficiated for a great heterogeneity, cultural, racial,
religious, etc., in its U.S. locations, and where the spirit of democracy is a constant, can
be surprising in dealing with the homogeneity presented in many countries, including
Europe and Asia. Even in EU countries members have different policies in terms of
remuneration of employees, contracts of employment, vacation days, sick days, firing,
laying, labor protection, work condition, work time, etc.
- Cultural factors, the basic of values their citizens share, and in the ways these values
manifest themselves in the nation’s arts, social programs, politics and way to doing
things. S.Mayson & R. Barret afirm in 2007 that the cultural differences influence
human resources policies and practices.
- Legal and political factors. Legal factors are determinate in order to start and run a
legal business and investment abroad the country of origin where business succeeded.
Co-determination is the legal practice of employees to influence the company policy
through their elected representatives. Political factors usually translated in to
governmental politics, can influence labor regulation and other main business
conditions.
- Economic systems also required to adapt HR practice (ex.: hourly compensation,
costs of leaving, etc.);

B. Managerial positions, the person or persons who have as objective the implementation
of the above.
With Google expanding in the countries on different continents, will be faced with more
problems and they send people in those places to set up business.

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 As in domestic business, the selection is a very important phase. If the selections for
international HR jobs must take into account and adapt other aspects such as orientation
and training, performance appraisal, compensation and incentive abroad, safety and fair
and abroad treatment repatriation.
For a success international assignment the most important part is selection process.
According with Arthur W. & Co (1995), five factors and specific items are important to
international assignees’ success:
- Job knowledge and motivation (managerial and organizational ability, imagination
and creativity, administrative skills, alertness, initiative and energy, frankness;
- Relational skills (respect, courtesy and tact, integrity, confidence, display of respect);
- Flexibility / Adaptability (resourcefulness, ability to deal with stress, flexibility,
emotional stability, adaptability, political sensitivity, positive self-image, etc.)
- Extracultural openness (variety of outside interest, interest for foreign cultures,
knowledge of local language(s), previous overseas experience, etc.)
- Family situation (adaptability of spouse and family, willingness of spouse to live
abroad, stable marriage).
According with the American Society for Training and Development, expatriate
assignments rarely fail because the person cannot accommodate to the technical demands.
They fail because of family and personal issues and lack of cultural skills that haven’t
been part of the process.

Taking into account that Google members are very skills and passionate on their work, in
conclusion, the main factors for this category Google have to consider are personality
and family pressure.

6. Given the sorts of values and culture Google cherishes, briefly describe four
specific activities you suggest they pursue during new-employee orientation.
Orientation should contribute to socializing the employee into the employer's way of
doing things. According with F.K. Foulkes socialization is the ongoing process of
instilling in employees the attitudes, standards, values, and patterns of behavior that the
organization expects.
Because the Google’s famous brand, the title earned (the best from one of the 100 best
employers), the new comers have to have set high expectance.
So that, and because after a great effort to hiring the best from the company and business
context, Google have to have special programs designated to do the best in order to
orientate new-employee:
- Organized access in their audio-video facilities and printed receiving materials about
company past, present, culture, and vision of the future;
- Meetings with success & famous persons from Google and short welcome events for
presenting self new recruits.
- Company tour, including their famous facilities with possibility to accessing the
facilities even since first months.
- Presentation of working conditions, a large package of benefits but also expectations about
acceptable behavior at work.
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