Google’s Employee Motivation

Abstract

Motivation is a vitally significant part in all private and public organizations. Organizations cannot operate smoothly and accomplish their desired goals and objectives without motivating their employees as they are the heart of the organization. Each employee is working for a need and they search for a way to satisfy it and then evaluate to what extent they’re satisfied. So, this paper will show the impact of motivation on organizations using the technology company Google as a real example and relating it to the theories of motivation.

Introduction

An employee being motivated in his workplace is a very important key factor that enhances creativity and productivity in order to benefit the company reaching their goals and objectives. As in our report, we are mentioning about the “Google” one of the well-known companies that has one of the greater statistics regarding employee motivation having the least percentages regarding the turnover rate. A great belief shown by Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google co-founders) that employee satisfaction is the center of a successful organization.

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Knowing that a healthy motivating work environment is an essential key component that will help the employees to provide the organization with more creativity and a higher rate in growth.

Accomplishing an organization with a high level of employee motivation and raising the level of worker profitability, requires not only the positive support from the organization instead the employee’s themselves should be responsible to their organizations by not only utilizing this opportunity for their own benefits as the organization should be guaranteeing a proportional link between employee’s motivation and it’s productivity as an organization.

As our example of a highly motivated workplace “Google” who they have found the perfect balance between employees' satisfaction and productivity. Google receives over 3 million applications every year, and the concentration on representative fulfillment has been a need since the very first moment where the primary objective was to make Google a spot where the most gifted individuals needed to work. The thought was and is basic, making a work culture that keeps representatives glad will inspire them to give a valiant effort and will stay with them faithful.

Questions

Question 1: Page and Brin were young when they started Google. Do you think that they identified most with Theory X or Theory Y? why?
There are two different views of people, theory X is basically used to identify the negative workers who have little ambition, dislike work, and avoid responsibility, while theory Y is used to identify the positive workers who are self-directed, enjoy work, and accept responsibility. So, based on our case Page and Brin are identified as theory Y since they are ambitious, brainy, and energetic.
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Question 2: Describe how Maslow’s needs hierarchy could be applied to Google’s approach to employee motivation.

Maslow’s theory is a model composed of five levels that focuses on providing employees with needs that ensure maximum motivation in a business environment.

These needs are arranged in a specific order where basic human needs are at the bottom of the pyramid; this includes food, shelter and safety. Secondly, a working environment that meets their psychological needs which includes teamwork with colleagues and the sense of being appreciated. Lastly, self- fulfillment needs that emphasize on innovation and achieving one’s maximum capacity.

According to the case study, Google has provided almost all the mentioned needs for their employees. Basic needs are met by providing salaries that are above the market average.

Google aims to satisfy their employee’s psychological needs by granting them access to detailed information about the company, this gives them a sense of direction and the feeling of belonging to a team. Furthermore, they are given a voice in decision making which is crucial for their sense of direction and leadership.

The employees are situated in a business environment where self- fulfillment needs are contented. They are given resources to maximize their creativity where they can use twenty percent of their working time for innovation of their own ideas.

Lastly, this approach increased Google’s stock by 650 percent which proves that their highly motivated employees are working with their maximum potential for the continuous improvement of their business activity.

Question 3: Use Herzberg’s two-factor theory to explain how Google motivates employees.

This theory also known as Motivation-Hygiene Theory or the double factor hypothesis was written by Frederick Herzberg in 1959.Based on this, he built up the hypothesis that individuals' activity fulfillment relies upon two sorts of elements. Variables for fulfillment helpers, satisfiers and components for disappointment (cleanliness factors, dissatisfiers. Google Inc. through two-factor hypothesis may carry a few preferences to their organization. First of the focal points is the representatives turned out to be increasingly effective and innovative on the grounds that Google Inc make an incredible workplace to their representatives. For this situation, we realize that Google Inc is a high innovation organization and their staff consistently need a loosening up condition to make something new thoughts. Moreover, the bit of leeway is to forestall the staff leave in light of the fact that procuring new staff and preparing them to require a great deal of time. From this case, this goes to the loss of the organization legitimately which numerous a period goes unnoticed and Google Inc. likewise cannot guarantee productivity from the new staff.

Next of the bit of leeway is to avoid the loss of Google Inc's. information. This is on the grounds that Google Inc frequently invests much energy and cash on the worker in desire for the future return, however, the representative had left, he takes with his important information about the organization or previous history, and the venture isn't understood.

Question 4: Google is obviously a great place to work, but it’s probably not right for everyone. What types of people are best and least suited for work at Google?

Google seems like a great place to work, but it’s not good for everyone. Employees must be fully dedicated to their career, which often is not good for some people. The most suited people are with positive attitudes, critical thinking, people who are on time, and people who are goal-oriented.  The least suitable are people who need to be given direction for every task, people with little self-motivation and self-discipline, and finally, people who aren’t interested in the field the company is in.
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Question 5: Google has a fantastic package of compensation and benefits. To retain employees, will they have to continually add new perks? How could they avoid this?

As Google retains its’ employees by offering them by a lot of compensations that doesn’t mean that they should continually add new perks, instead of maintaining this environment with the similar packages will keep track with employee’s motivation toward his work. That doesn’t mean adding a season-related package won’t be a great idea or adding more perks, but the more perks added may cause a downfall in employees creativity, As mentioned in a report “The company wants to achieve several goals: Attract the best knowledge-workers it can in the intensely competitive environment for high achievers; help them work long hours by feeding them gourmet meals on-site and handling other time-consuming personal chores; show that they are valued; and have them remain Googlers, as employees are known, for many years” CITATION Wha07 l 1033 (Wharton Faculty, 2007). This shows that employee engagement and relationship with the organization can be a reason that avoids adding new perks.

Reference:

Wharton Faculty, 2007. Wharton University of Pennsylvania. [Online] Available at: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu[Accessed 21 March 2007].