Core Competencies of Google 1

Core Competencies of Google

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Google Inc., the mammoth corporation that is running the show when it comes to online

search, traces its origins to very humble beginnings. As recent as the year 1995, the company

wasn’t in existence at all, and the generation at this time didn’t even know what Google was.

Founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google has continued to be the dominant name in the

online world. Virtually all the processes of searching anything online must go through Google. It

has been so dominant a company that its name is now a common verb when conducting online

searches. The company prides itself in clean business dealings, and therefore the virtues of

integrity and transparency. When it went public in the year 2004, the company was an example

to many the other corporations that usually tend to engage in unethical practices when going

public. The company’s IPO performance was as paltry as expected for any new entrant into the

market. This paper will analyze the case study about Google and its core competencies, on how

the company was able to go public with its IPO, in a manner that was in line with its global

reputation.

The concept of core competencies has fast become the most important aspect of a

business strategy. Under this, companies are starting to focus on their inner strengths, placing

more efforts on improving them, and trying as much as possible to outsource the other aspects

that are necessary but not their strongpoint. Google’s core competencies have focused much

more on the production of essential products and services, which are much needed by its

customers. Examples are Adwords and the Android platform. Such products have helped endear

the company to its customers.

The company’s business approach has been quite unconventional. It’s very different to

what most other corporations do. Employees are encouraged to manage themselves; there are no
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strict rules to follow, nor any management bureaucracy to follow in terms of duty performance in

the workplace. As a result, employees are given the freedom to work under their own creativity

and independence. This ensures that the employees maintain the enthusiasm and zeal to continue

giving their best in terms of service delivery, hence consistency in productivity. The

heterogeneous mix of different individuals at the company’s workplace has created an

organizational culture that buzzes and oozes with creativity. This has been in stark contrast to

most companies, whose operations heavily hinge on numerous board meetings and constant

management directives (Bloomberg, 2014).The sustainability of Google’s business model has

been due to the fact that its core competencies can be replaced without friction, the core

competencies do not have a short decay period, and the competitors find it difficult to replicate

them (Hit et al., 2013).

The company has been a regular feature among the best companies to work with, as a

result of the values and competencies it holds dear. Its competencies that hinge strongly on

openness and integrity, are part of its business strategy. According to Porter, it is an

organization’s business strategies that hold the key to its performance and competitive advantage

in the business world. These strategies are simply all the activities that mold the firm’s

operations, so that in the long run, it can have an edge.

Product and service differentiation is an important factor in the increased competitiveness

of a company, including Google. The sustainability of Google’s competitive advantage over the

years has been as a result of its ability to consistently deliver products and services in the best

way possible. Additionally, its inclination to continuous improvement has also played a major
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role in this. According to Hitt et.al. (2013), when firms acquire, bundle and leverage their core

competencies; they are able to achieve strategic competitiveness.

The first step in embracing core competencies is by the determination of the specific

unique products or services that customers appreciate(Mindtools,2016).Another thing about core

competencies of Google comes from its determination to be unique ,so as to standout from the

rest of the chasing pack. The benefits that a firm might be enjoying as a result of its ingenious

business strategy might sooner or later be copied by its competitors (Hitt et.al. 2013).In the shape

of its giant search engine, however, Google has managed to create something unique, one that its

competitors have continuously failed to replicate over the years. Google understood its core

competency of continuous innovation, and made it an essential part of its business strategy. As

other competitors are trying to reach it, the firm simply keeps on evolving through new products

and services.
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References

Bloomberg, J. (2014). Google's Three-Pronged Enterprise Strategy .Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2014/12/31/googles-three-pronged-

enterprise-strategy/

Hitt, M.A., Ireland, D., Hoskisson, R.E. (2013).Strategic Management. Competitiveness &

Globalization. Concepts & Cases. 10th Edition.

Mindtools (2016). Core Competence Analysis. Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage.

Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_94.htm