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A Comparative study of two Companies

Yahoo and Google

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3

Overview of organisational structure and culture....................................................................................3

Organisational framework...........................................................................................................................4

Mode of Communication.............................................................................................................................6

Communication process........................................................................................................................7

Leadership Models......................................................................................................................................8

HR Strategy.................................................................................................................................................8

Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................9

References.................................................................................................................................................10
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Yahoo and Google

Introduction
Search engines are search portals that work through the World Wide Web sites to provide

unlimited access to e-resources to millions of users. Due to the relevance of e-resources, it is

highly important to the academic field. Yahoo and Google are the most popular and widely used

search portals. Yahoo is known as one of the companies that launched the internet. It was

founded by Jerry Yang in California in 1994 but it was consolidated in 1995 (Schneider, 2019).

Yahoo’s features include search engine, directory, finance, mail, video sharing, advertising and

news with unlimited storage. Google on the other hand is a multinational company that was

founded in California in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google, like Yahoo, is also

focused on virtual products and services. It is one of the largest data storage companies and it has

the following features; search portals, cloud computing, advertising technologies, software,

networking site, Gmail services and a video sharing site, YouTube. Over the years, Google has

become bigger and more recognised due to its increased services and high success rate (Naik,

2017; Aufa, 2018).

Overview of organisational structure and culture

Organisations are a group of individuals that work together through the collective effort

of all members to achieve a common goal. Marcos 2018 defines culture as the foundation upon

which an organisation is established. It is the belief, behaviours and values of the people that

work within an organisation. An organisation culture is made up of the organisational structure,

the leadership style or model, the work environment and the work process. The framework of an

organisation is known as the organisational structure. An organisational structure is defined as

the potential to quickly recognise new opportunities and develop dynamic strategies to

implement them. 
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The organisational culture of an organisation can either be homogeneous or heterogeneous. 

 A homogenous organisational culture is usually an open organisation and it places

emphasises on the corporate culture thus establishing a long term from employees to the

organisation’s growth (Yahoo)

 A heterogeneous culture has several cultures and subcultures within the organisation with

rules to achieve the desired result (Google)

Ahmady et al., 2016 refers to organisational structure as the detailed formation of the

strategic management of people and resources within an organisation. They went further to

explain that the culture and structure of a company are responsible for its values, decision

making, internal management and staff, reporting channels, task delegation and conflict

resolution. Organisational structures are significant in the management of any company and

without a functional one, the organisation may not perform well. 

Organisational framework
The organisational structure should perform the following functions as an integration of

resources, coordination of employees by management and communication flow, thus increasing

efficiency. There are different structural dimensions in organizational structure and some are

explained below;

1. Formation: This is a written document that explicitly states the job description, policy,

procedures and regulations of the organisation.

2. Standardization: This is the similarity of duties performed across all departments in the

organization
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3. Specialization: This is the breakdown of the organisation into different departments with

regards to departmental functions

4. Centralization: This involves the decision-making system in the organisation. Centralized

in the system where only the top management makes work-related decisions. It affects the

participation of employees. 

5. Flatness or Decentralisation: This is an organisation that is low on hierarchy and involves

every stage in the decision making (Ogidi, 2014).

Ahmady et al., 2016 identified two types of structures;

1. Physical structure - This refers to the physical building. 

2. Social structure - It refers to the elements within the organisation; the staff and the

different departments

They further explained the different types of social structures in an organisation;

1. Simple structure: This is an organisation with low complexity. Duties are carried out by

mutual agreement.

2. Functional structure: This has increased complexity and duties are managed through

specialisation.

3. Multidivisional: This structure adopts the functional structure with a supervisor in each

specialisation with a central manager.

4. Matrix: This is a combination of functional and multidivisional structures.

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According to Cuofano 2021 and Smithson, 2019, Google has a distinct organisational

structure that is referred to as a cross-functional organisational structure. It incorporates the

functional structure, product-based and flatness. Google has different departments such as

products, sales, finance, marketing, legal and engineering - which is the functional structure. It

also has a group that focuses on fulfilling the objectives and goals of the company - thus the

product-based structure. Lastly, it promotes team interaction and involves the employees'

participation in decision making. The culture is also a decentralized system because it is low in

the hierarchy. 

Yahoo on the other hand has a strict adherence to functional structure through hierarchy,

therefore Yahoo is managed with a centralized system. So decisions are made by top managers

and the reporting channel is clear from employees to the team leads or supervisors. It has an

increased level of the hierarchy, thus very low on staff participation and creating a negative

impact on the work environment (Manisha & Chand, 2020; Ogidi, 2014). 

Mode of Communication
Communication is the process by which information is transferred from one individual to

another. For communication to be achieved, the message that is conveyed must be understood.

The importance of communication within an organisation cannot be overemphasised. It creates a

level of interconnectedness amongst staff and it is the tool used to coordinate and direct

employees into efficiency.  

Communication in an organisation can occur in three ways:

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1. Operational - internal: This is communication within the organisation tailored to work

activities

2. Operational - external: This is work-related communications but for contractors outside

of the organisation

3. Personnel: This is communication that occurs within the organisation targeted at

expressing emotions

Communication process
This is the flow of communication. Communication can be formal or non-formal. It can also be

verbal and non-verbal 

 Descending - This involves communication by managers and employees. Usually to give

work instruction, policies or feedback.

 Upward - This is a communication channel between the employees and management.

This is mostly to lay complaints, get feedback and offer feedback,

 Lateral - This is the communication between employees in the same work section. 

 Cross - This is the communication that occurs between managers and employees from

any work section (Winarso, 2018).

Google’s mode of communication is both formal and informal via email, texts, YouTube videos

and hangouts. Google adopts the different flows of communication. Whereas, Yahoo adopts

formal written communication via emails and memos.

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Leadership Models
A leader is an individual with clear objectives and goals and a comprehensive strategy to

achieve the desired goal. Leadership in itself is the ability of an individual to manage physical

and human resources, proffer solutions to an existing problem and mitigate risks. The end goal of

every leader is to manage employees effectively to improve productivity and achieve the desired

result. Google is a cross-functional organisation structure that is low on the hierarchy, thus they

adopted a Laissez-faire leadership style. This leadership model creates a decreased direct

involvement from managers. Employees are given free rein to create their objectives and devise

means to complete tasks and duties. This goes further to explain the culture that exists in Google,

they train new talents and give them all the resources they need to carry out tasks and further

training is discontinued except necessary. Leaders at Google are clear on what they want and

how they achieve the end goal (Kaleem, 2016; Murray, 2011). In contrast, Yahoo guides its

employees through transactional leadership as its employees through transactional leadership

style. This leadership is based on a value-added structure. Work more. Earn more. 

HR Strategy  
Lombardo, 2017 stated that Google has recorded this great success due to its unique

organisational culture, structure and effective human resources management qualities. Google

makes it a point of duty to seek out the best talent - smart and creative all over the world through

internal and external sources. And these talents are managed through coaching, promotion,

retention and employee package system. Yahoo also has the same HR strategy as Google. They

believe in hiring the best talents and managing employees through personal development skills.
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Recommendations
 The reason Yahoo lost its place is due to a lack of leaders with a clear vision and a sound

strategy. The leadership technique needs to involve employees in decision making among

the team thus ensuring staff participation.

 Yahoo also fell short due to a lack of innovative ideas, thus unable to develop more

products. Yahoo needs to employ an entrepreneurial and transformational leadership style

to increase a positive work environment.

 For Yahoo to build a high level of employee participation and trust, formal and informal

communication modes can be adopted as well as a more flexible work environment

where employees can perform their duties with less supervision (Aufa, 2018).

Conclusion
From this analysis, it can be deduced that for an organisation to be successful the culture

and leadership model should reflect a positive work environment tailored to create job

satisfaction and fulfilment for the employees. Happy staff equals efficiency. Companies like

Yahoo can do so much better if the right culture and leaders are employed with a clear vision and

innovative ideas
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References
Ahmady, G. A., Mehrpour, M., & Nikooravesh, A. (n.d.). Organizational Structure. Procedia - Social

and Behavioral Sciences. https://10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.09.057

Aufa, A. N. (2018). Critical Analysis of a Technology-Based Enterprise: A Case study of Yahoo. The

international journal of Applied Business, 2(1).

Cuofano, G. (2021). Google Organizational Structure In A Nutshell. FourWeekMBA. Retrieved

December 9, 2021, from https://fourweekmba.com/google-organizational-structure/

Kaleem, Y. (2016). Leadership styles and using appropriate styles in different circumstances.

Lombardo, J. (2017, January 28). Google's HRM: Recruitment, Selection, Retention. Panmore Institute.

Retrieved December 9, 2021, from http://panmore.com/google-hrm-recruitment-selection-

retention

Manisha, K., & Chand, N. (2020). https://www.coursehero.com/file/69521066/yahoo-vs-google-

reportdocx/. Report: Organizational comparison.

https://www.coursehero.com/file/69521066/yahoo-vs-google-reportdocx/

Marcos, M. (n.d.). Organisational culture : Definitions and trends. Creating Structure and Culture for

Innovation.

Murray, S. P. (2011, March 15). The 8 Most Important Qualities of Leadership at Google – RealTime

Performance. RealTime Performance. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from

https://www.realtimeperformance.com/the-8-most-important-qualities-of-leadership-at-google/

Naik, U. (2017). Electronic resources and services gateways: A comparative study of google and yahoo.

International Journal of Library. Science and Research (IJLSR), 7(5). 10.24247/ijlsroct20172

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Ogidi, A. E. (2014). Organizational Structure, Function and Performance of Agribusiness Enterprises in

Nigeria. CSR Journal of Development (SCSR-JD), (3).

Schneider, L. (2019, June 25). Working at Yahoo: Profile and History. The Balance Careers. Retrieved

December 9, 2021, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/yahoo-company-profile-2071318

Smithson, N. (2019, February 13). Google's Organizational Structure & Organizational Culture (An

Analysis). Panmore Institute. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from http://panmore.com/google-

organizational-structure-organizational-culture

Winarso, W. (2018). Organizational communication; a conceptual framework. 10.31227/osf.io/g9ubc