University Of Dhaka

Department of Management Information

Systems Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka

Google and the Government of China: Cross-cultural Negotiation

Course title & Code : Organizational Behavior (206)

Prepared For
Mohammed Tariqul Islam
Assistant Professor
Dept. of MIS
University of Dhaka

Prepared By
Zia Uddin Hasan Chowdhury (029-14-101)
Asora Yasmin Sneha (029-14-087)
Md Rajib Ahmed(029-14-059)

University of Dhaka
Md Suman Mia(029-14-065)
Nafisa Haque (029-14-123)
Group Serial : 11
Section : A
Dept. of MIS
University of Dhaka

Case study on
Google and the Government of China: Cross-cultural Negotiation
 Course title : Organizational Behaviour

Summary
This case study discusses the agreement between Google and the Government of China. The deal
is for the allowance of a Chinese version of the search engine subject to the condition that
Google should agree to comply with China’s internet standards, including censorship of
subversive political articles and terms such as ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights.’ This move is
opposed to Google's open-access policy. An outcry from U.S. citizens broke out for Google to
reviews its actions.

Identification of problem
Here, the case is related with cross cultural negotiations between Google and China, where issues
that Google has been implicated in include user privacy breaches, unlawful information
collection and distribution, and compliance with Chinese internet censorship. It is necessary to
solve this problem. This case study looks into the deal between Google and the Government of
China for a Chinese version of the search engine and other ethical issues that the company was
faced with over the years.

Develop a negotiation planning document using the Kellogg

Issue 
Google 
Chinese Government
Objectives of 
negotiation 
Priority 1
Focus on profit and  
brand management
Priority 2
Technological, economic gaining

The population of 1.3 billion along with economic growth makes the Chinese market
very important for Google to enter.
Google wants its citizens and companies to have access to the best technology, in
the end, achieving technological commonality with the US. Also, China knows the
country's economy will be improved by internet access and use.
Level of
censorship
Priority 2
does not want to comply with the level of censorship required by China
Priority 1
Requires Google to comply with China's censorship level
Google's image in the media and among investors will be damaged seriously if it acts
against its philosophy “don’t be evil". It may have a negative impact on the future
prosperity of the company.
Chinese leaders are eager to boost their country's economy while maintaining political
stability. They want to censor political discussion to prevent the "westernization" of
China.
Google's timing of domain acquisition
Priority 3
Wants to acquire “.cn" as soon as possible before the company of other countries
enter.
Priority 4
Also wants to work with Google, faster but not too urgent for China.

The sooner it gets distance itself from its roots in America by adopting ".cn" domain, the
faster it becomes "in-group" member in Chinese culture that will leads to flow greater
income.
China is already cooperating with other American companies like MSN or Yahoo,
so this negotiation is not so important for Chinese than for Google in terms of time.
Service 
Priority 5
Might want to give China only the amount  service at least
Priority 5
demands provided all services  usually offered by Google

If Google also provides services like Gmail, space chat or blog that involves personal
information user, Chinese Government can abuse the information provided by Google
as like Yahoo. It will ruin the principle of "Don't be evil".
China wants to maximize  
Chinese engineer access to  
Proprietary research technology of Google. China doesn't want any restriction to
the number of services.

Saving-face 
Priority 4
Does not wish to appear  as a company that  strengthen the government violates
human rights
Priority 3
Desires to enforce Google at a high level of censorship  together so that they can
emerge into the world as independent actors and have stronger influence in the global
market

Google became famous for its adherence to the ideals of utopian ideals

that seem stiff. If it turns out to be wrong, harsh criticism is inevitable, which
can lead to reduced revenue.
The Chinese government is the head of a hierarchical culture that values status, trying
to promote China as a strong and independent actor in the world forum.

BATNA 
Keep or expand shareholding in Baidu and continue to push Chinese users to the
slower and less reliable Google.com site
Prevent Google from obtaining licenses for which google continue to rely on local and
other search engines to provide Chinese consumers with internet services

Reservation Price
Service offerings to the Chinese through Google.com
Google censoring its search and also retrieve allegations of public on cybercrime
led government

Come to class prepared to support and explain the priorities that you see for
the Chinese government and Google, and they discuss respective best
alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNAs).
So according to our group regarding the priorities seen from the perspective in contrast to other
words the Chinese government and google can be explained that China is a nationalistic culture,
and Chinese consumers are less willing to accept foreign brands when Chinese alternatives exist.
For example, Zhao Jing, a journalist known for his provocative political blogs about the
Communist Party, was sharply criticized by some Chinese bloggers for moving his blog to an
American site — the MSN Space — instead of a Chinese blog site. The faster Google can get the
domain name ".co", the sooner it can distance itself from its American roots. Only then will he
become a member "in the group." This in turn can generate a greater revenue stream from
advertising to Chinese users. However, Google's goals aren't all financial. One of the
nonfinancial considerations concerned government regulations on the site through monitoring
and filtering. Because the company has the primary goal of meeting a user's preference for
instant gratification on the information they need, it opposes any disruption that might slow
down or limit the user's ability to retrieve information. This is the main motive for obtaining the
domain name ".cn". However, censorship could undermine Google's credibility among Chinese
and non-Chinese users, which would create conflict with its goal of building "the most loyal
audience on the Web." And Google will focus on profit and brand management, China will focus
on a number of other considerations. The Chinese government has the goal of achieving
technological equality with the United States, and consistently strives to provide citizens and
companies with access to the best technology. Allowing Google to own a Chinese domain name
and create research sites and supporting facilities in China would give some Chinese engineers
access to Google-owned research technology. This access may help reduce the "brain drain" (the
loss of technologically gifted students and engineers to the United States) that creates jobs for
Chinese citizens. The possibility of a key talent restraint may have been reinforced by the
recruitment of Dr Lee, whose continued presence in the country may have prompted other
scientists and engineers to remain in China as well as the fact that Chinese leaders view the issue
of Internet regulation (or censorship) as crucial. They recognize how important internet access
and use is to China's economic development, but also seek to control the power of the Internet.
To blackmail dissent and limit political opposition, the government has long had a strict policy of
media control. Content in newspapers, radio, television, and now the Internet is heavily
controlled by the state, and these sources are prevented from reporting or providing access to
news deemed to be contrary to the interests of the Chinese government. Google will always
evolve by serving the interests of users first and foremost. The goal is to build products that
govern the world's information and make it accessible to users. As for some principles that
everyone should remember about Google in an effort to achieve that goal:
a. Uses
Products, features, and services should make Google more useful to users, be it search users or
simple advertisers, companies large or small. Google has many different types of users, but one
main purpose is to serve them all. "Is this useful?" Is one question that every Googler should
keep in mind during any task, every day?
b. Honesty
Communication with users must be clear and honest. So that will make a reputation as a
company trusted by users is one of the most valuable assets, and to ensure it can maintain that
reputation.
c. Responsiveness
Part of being useful and honest is being responsive is being precise: recognizing relevant user
feedback when we see it, and doing something about it.
d. Taking Action
Saying that Google, and the products and services it produces, should be useful, honest, and
responsive is one thing; achieving that goal 100 percent of the time is, of course, very different.
That means that improving work over time largely depends on staff vigilance.

What ethical dilemmas do you foresee for Google? Is there any way to resolve
them?
The ethical dilemma faced by Google as it tries to tap into the Chinese market share is a matter
of censorship. Google's goal is not just about finances, because the company's main goal is to
meet users' preferences for "instant gratification" of their information needs, it opposes any
interference that might slow down or limit a user's ability to retrieve information. This is the
main motive for obtaining the domain name ".co". However, censorship could undermine
Google's credibility among Chinese and non-Chinese users, which would go against its goal of
building "the most loyal audience on the Web." But on the other hand, to enter the Chinese
market share, Google must also comply with regulations set by the government.
Google's management should also reconcile any action in China that could be seen as censorship
with its most famous principle: "don't be evil." If Google approves the level of censorship
required by Chinese authorities, it will likely face harsh criticism in the United States for
seemingly acting contrary to its philosophy.
To address the ethical dilemma issue, Google's negotiating team has an alternative approach to
entering the Chinese market, though that's not very attractive. Companies can lobby China for
access to a larger stake in Badu. By increasing its investment in "homemade" search engine
companies, Google can comply with Chinese government regulations governing Internet
companies, maintain uncensored Google.com sites, and maintain its integrity. However, access
to Google.com will remain very slow, and the result will likely be user frustration and loss of
market share. Furthermore, due to regulatory limitations in China, Google may not be able to
gain a controlling interest in Badu. Without full control over Badu, Google's revenue from China
will be limited. Fortunately, Google's negotiating team will be assisted by Dr. Lee, who has
gained experience dealing with the Chinese government while working for Microsoft. He also
brought an element of prestige as a result of the admiration held by many Chinese scientists and
programmers for him.

Do you see any potential for an integrative agreement that creates

value for both parties?
According to our group, the absence of integrative agreements creates value for both parties.
Because China's leaders view the issue of Internet regulation (or censorship) as very important.
They recognize how important Internet access and use is to China's economic development, but
also seek to control the power of the Internet. To dampen dissent and limit political opposition,
the government has long had a strict policy of media control. Content in newspapers, radio,
television, and now the Internet is heavily controlled by the state, and these sources are
prevented from reporting or providing access to news deemed to be contrary to Chinese
government interests. The media has reported that despite initial expectations that President Hu
would introduce democratic reforms, the president "has placed particular emphasis on tightening
party control over public opinion, leading a crackdown to restore discipline to the government
media and intimidate dissident intellectuals." As such, it is firmly in the interests of the Chinese
bureaucracy to insist that, as a condition of obtaining a license to build servers in China, Google
must agree to censor its content and search results.
As for Google, censorship could undermine Google's credibility among Chinese and non-
Chinese users, which would go against its goal of building "the most loyal audience on the
Web." Since Google's main goal is to meet users' preferences for "instant gratification" of their
information needs, it opposes any interference that might slow down or limit a user's ability to
retrieve information. This is the main motive for obtaining the domain name ".co". If Google
approves the level of censorship required by Chinese authorities, it will likely face harsh
criticism in the United States for seemingly acting contrary to its philosophy. But Google's
negotiating team has an alternative approach to entering the Chinese market, though that's not
particularly interesting. Companies can lobby China for access to a larger stake in Badu. By
increasing its investment in "homemade" search engine companies, Google can comply with
Chinese government regulations governing Internet companies, maintain uncensored
Google.com sites, and maintain its integrity. China also has other options. Instead of allowing
Google access to the domain name ".co", China can deny Google licenses and continue to rely on
local search engine alternatives to provide Internet search services to Chinese consumers. Badu
continues to gain market share, and is already one of the most visited sites in the world. It is a
known entity and the Chinese government is already monitoring its compliance with Chinese
law.

One of the major and most prevalent qualms against Google is their alleged
violation and exploitation of user privacy.

With the advent of unlimited information online, it With the advent of unlimited information
online, it becomes difficult to draw a distinct conclusion on how to ethically distribute resources
free of charge while remaining profitable. A significant point of contention that Google has faced
is its targeted advertising based on content in their email service Gmail. According to 2019 data
collection, about 1.5 billion people use Gmail. However, despite its popularity, users complained
that targeted advertising techniques invaded their privacy and were concerned that Google
workers were reading their personal emails. The company responded that emails were analyzed
not by humans but by computer programs, and advertisements were limited to non-sensitive
subjects but would include political content. Another issue arising is the storage of such user
data, as this violates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which states that organizations
cannot mine user data within given safety reasons. The question of whether or not such behavior
is ethical is a complex one since, to remain relevant, a company must generate revenue while
being ethically sound. To provide worldwide users access to free email and storage, Google must
create a profit, which like most internet companies, is done through click advertising. For this to
be most effective, advertisements should be related to products or services of most interest to
users. As a result, one could argue that users uncomfortable with their correspondence being
used for targeted marketing could cease using Gmail and resort to other email services.
Furthermore, since Google informed users of this type of data collection via a press release, it
would be inaccurate to state that Gmail users were duped. Their information was collected
without their knowledge. However, Google promised to cease email mining for targeted
marketing in June 2017, allowing users to opt-out of this in their settings. In 2019, Google
further extended this to the elimination of political ads.

Accordingly, my advice to the board of directors would be stress disclosure, with information
sent to new users regarding targeted advertisements. This would allow all users to know how
their information will be used, giving them the chance to close their accounts if they are
unsatisfied with Google policy.

SWOT Analysis

The four key elements of SWOT analysis are - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities &
Threats. Google Chinese can use strengths to create niche positioning in the market, can strive
to reduce & remove weaknesses so that it can better compete with competitors, look out to
leverage opportunities provided by industry structure, regulations and other development in
external environment, and finally make provisions and develop strategies to mitigate threats that
can undermine the business model of Google Chinese.
 Opportunities
Strength Opportunities
(SO) Strategies
Using Google Chinese
strengths to consolidate and
expand the market position.
Strengths
Weakness Opportunities
(WO) Strategies
Building strategies based on
consumer oriented product
development and marketing
Weaknesses approach.
Threats
Strength Threats (ST)
Strategies
Google Chinese can use two
approaches - building on
present strengths, or analyze
the trend and build processes
to two pronged market
penetration approach.
Weaknesses Threats (WT)
Strategies
Google Chinese should just
get out of these business areas
and focus on strength and
threats box , or on weakness
and opportunities box.