TEAM PROJECT PROPOSAL: GOOGLE INC.

By: Jacob Smiley, Lavanya Sarathchandran, Kevin Szeto,

Prateeksha Ravi
Date Due: Wednesday July 3, 2013
Professor: Shannon Hartling
1.0 Introduction
Our group consists of four Arts and Business co-op students, namely Jacob Smiley majoring in
Economics , Lavanya Sarathchandran majoring in English and double minoring in Human
Resource Management and Economics, Kevin Szeto majoring in Legal Studies with a Sociology
minor and Prateeksha Ravi, who is a Legal Studies major and Human Resource Management
minor.
Collectively, our group has decided to take on the study of Google Inc.s leadership and
management structure. We felt that in using this companys primary service in our day-to-day
lives, it would be very beneficial for us to gain some knowledge about the companys identity by

exploring its leadership styles and communication process. As a renowned globally diversified
company with a broad empire and different management styles, we took it upon ourselves to
learn more about the companys culture, relationships and what they truly represent in terms of
their morals and values. It will be interesting for us to comprehend what Google means by
Dont be evil and employ this concept to their overall organizational leadership style and dayto-day operations. We finally get the opportunity to not only learn but also critically analyze
Google Inc. and perhaps use some of these finding in our own activities.
2.0 Background Information
Incorporated in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is an online giant (Google,
Inc., 2011). The company owns and operates popular online services such as Youtube, Gmail and
Blogger as well as the Android mobile operating system for cell phones (Google, Inc., 2011).
The companys primary product, its search engine, has reportedly had a peak worldwide market
share of 86.3% in 2010 (Net Applications, 2013). Googles Android operating system is currently
powering 74.4% of the worlds mobile phones (Gartner, Inc., 2013).
The company has had a profound influence on the world; their search engine has become
so pervasive that the term google has entered popular lexicon as a verb synonymous with
online search. The company has contributed to the speed and facility with which we access and
share information as a society; services such as Google Docs allow collaborators to share ideas
over the Internet from their smartphones and computers. Many of the group projects we work on
can now be accessed and edited by every member of the group without the need for physical colocation making teams more effective while allowing individuals to maintain their own
schedules.

Despite the adoration of sweatpants clad students, Googles focus on the exchange and
access of information, and the sheer volume of information they process, has earned them vocal
critics. For instance, critics believe that Google threatens the privacy of users through online data
collection and sharing with the United States government (Shachtman, 2010). In addition to
consumer concerns, Google has garnered criticism from competitors and governments who claim
the firm is anti competitive and monopolistic (Fairsearch.org, 2011) ; however, these claims have
been refuted in the United States Federal Trade Commission (Sterling, 2013).
3.0 Statement of Objectives
Through this report construction process our group hopes to accomplish a greater
understanding of the core concepts within leadership and how it ties to the real world. We want
to be able to broaden our skills by applying and integrating our learning to this case. We hope to
gain inner knowledge about Google Inc as an entity. Lastly, as a group we are looking forward to
applying our new understanding of leadership to ourselves as individuals and as future
employees.

4.0 Statement of Planned Activities

In order to complete this project, we will conduct thorough research about Google. We
will also use our analytical skills to analyze which type of leadership Google has adopted
according to the textbook. Some of the resources available to us for research and analysis include
research articles and journals, the textbook, as well as Googles website, which can provide key
information on their organizational structure, their company values and philosophies and mission
statement.

While conducting our research, we will use the librarys website as the medium for our
research. It contains a plethora of peer-reviewed research articles, which will be our primary
source of information. So far, we have found a couple of research articles related to leadership in
Google through the university librarys website.
5.0 Tentative Schedule
Event
Group Meeting 1
Complete Thesis
Statement
Group Meeting 2
Collect Relevant
Research
Group Meeting 3
Complete Rough
Draft
Group Meeting 4
Submit Finalized
Paper

Planned Date
9/7/2013
9/7/2013
11/7/2013
14/7/2013
16/7/2013
21/7/2013
22/7/2013
24/7/2013

Purpose
Refine focus based on Proposal Feedback.
Encompass the refined objective for the groups research
paper
Target and assign specific research areas to individuals.
Each group member will collect academic sources as well
as textbook material which pertains to the objective
Outline and assign sections of the paper to individuals
Each individual will complete their assigned sections and
submit writing to the group
Group will discuss, edit and ensure cohesion of work
Research assignment will be submitted by the group

APPENDIX A- Team Charter

Our team has decided to implement a democratic goal-setting leadership style with
laissez-faire guided group counselling when members of our team have trouble in certain areas
of their task. We are committed to working effectively as a team by monitoring our effectiveness.
We will achieve excellence through: relational communication, leadership growth, and
understanding of one another.
We agree to engage in low power-distance, and adopt efficient communication strategies
by assigning specific roles to each individual as outlined below.
Name

Role

Task

Lavanya S

Directing

Keeps the group on the right track by monitoring progress

Maintains open lines of communication with all team members
Considers situations from different viewpoints

Jacob S

Coaching

Ensure the project is a team effort and eliminate the I

Objectively help in resolving areas of misunderstanding/conflict
through effective dialogue

Kevin S

Supporting Acknowledge individual efforts and keep the team motivated

Build a level of trust and loyalty by encouraging self-disclosure

Prateeksha R Delegating Explain what exactly each team member is assigned to do without
any ambiguity
Not abdicating responsibility, but allow leaders to decide a best
course of action for themselves
Assign tasks based on individuals knowledge, skills, abilities and
preferences
As achievement-oriented and supportive leaders, we will consider these leadership roles
with all seriousness and hold ourselves accountable to them. All members of the team will also
take on the role of an exemplary follower when they are not leading by attentively listening to
the leader, providing constructive input, be strongly connected to the team and work together to
achieve and commit themselves to the organization to share the same purpose

During our pre-determined meetings, we will be task-focused and communicate with

minimal abstraction to keep our meetings efficient. All our decisions will be based on a
consensus and every team member is required to notify the rest of the team of any major
decisions or concerns that arise.
Our main core values are efficiency, maintaining a sense of integrity, respect and
appreciating the diversity that is present. We agree not to criticize or stereotype within our teams
and to not use fundamental attribution bias with members of our team. All of us will strive to
integrate the Working with Others model of leadership by empowering one another to
complete our tasks with a level of autonomy and satisfaction. If a conflict does arise between two
or more members of the team, the member in charge of Coaching is entitled to take lead and
resolve the situation.
We, the group members of this Leadership Team Project hereby acknowledge that we
have read the terms above and agree to abide by this Charter for the duration of this project.
Lavanya Sarathchandran

_________________________

Jacob Smiley

_________________________

Kevin Szeto

_________________________

Prateeksha Ravi

_________________________

Bibliography
Fairsearch.org. (2011). About FairSearch.org. Retrieved June 27, 2013, from Fairsearch.org:
http://www.fairsearch.org/about-fairsearch/
Gartner, Inc. (2013, May). Gartner Says Asia/Pacific Led Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales to
Growth in First Quarter of 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013, from Gartner:
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2482816
Google, Inc. (2011). Company. Retrieved June 27, 2013, from Google:
https://www.google.ca/intl/en/about/company/
Lee, Micky. "Revisiting the 'Google in China' question from a political economic perspective.
China Media Research 6.2 (2010): 15+. Academic OneFile. Web. 2 July 2013.
Net Market Share. (2013). Google Global Market Share on January, 2009 to January, 2011.
Retrieved June 27, 2013, from Net Market Share:
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=5&qpcustom=Google%20%20Global&qptimeframe=M&qpsp=120&qpnp=25
Shachtman, N. (2010, February 4). 'Don't Be Evil,' Meet 'Spy on Everyone': How the NSA Deal
Could Kill Google. Retrieved June 27, 2013, from Wired:
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/from-dont-be-evil-to-spy-on-everyone/
Steiber, Anika, Alnge, Sverker (2013) "A corporate system for continuous innovation: the case
of Google Inc.", European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 16 Iss: 2, pp.243 - 264
- See more at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.proxy.lib.uwaterloo.ca/journals.htm?
articleid=17087218&show=abstract#sthash.3vE07PHn.dpuf
Sterling, G. (2013, January 3). FTC Closes Google Antitrust Case: Law Protects Competition
Not Competitors, Not Enough Evidence To Prove Search Bias. Retrieved June 27,
2013, from Search Engine Land: http://searchengineland.com/ftc-law-protectscompetition-not-competitors-says-not-enough-evidence-to-prove-search-bias-144119