The Google style of management is more or less employee-orientated as they give their employees a lot of freedom, believing that this will give them the motivation to come out with great ideas, for example, their employees are provided with very good facilities for them to relax and enjoy and they also have the freedom of choosing their work time. Google also has the 20% rule where employees are believed to be motivated to finish their work using 80% of their work time so that they have 20% of spare time to think of their passion and possibly come up with a good project. However, I feel that this may just be a one-sided belief on Google’s side that their employee who be independent and make good use of the freedom and facilities they are provided with. Another side of the argument would be that the employees take advantage of the 20% free time and just relax while using the resources Google have for them; therefore, I feel that Google should be careful in monitoring the actions of their staff.
Google is a company which started in America and the working culture and management style of Google clearly reflects the American society. Firstly, the American society is recognized as a society which believes a lot in freedom and this can also be seen from their national symbol of the Statue of Liberty. Linking back to Google, their employees are given a lot of freedom and decision-making opportunities like choosing their work time and planning their own work schedule so that they can work hard and play hard. As the American society believes that their citizens are able to govern themselves well and thus, should have the freedom of doing what they think is right, Google which shares the same beliefs can be seen as reflecting the American society.
In contrast, the style of management in Lenovo differs greatly from that of Google. In Lenovo, the style of management closely follows one of the principles of Confucian teachings, which is to obey one’s superior and follow the orders of their boss. However, I feel that this should not be the case in any company as it stifles creativity and only the opinion of one person is heard in the company, which may slow down the development of the company as no human is perfect and when the decision-making person makes a wrong decision, the company’s development would be affected as resources are wasted.
The Chinese society has always been one where subjects obey and carry out whatever their superiors ask them to do, usually without asking for the objective. No doubt this kind of management style is more efficient, effective and organized compared to that of America, as there is only one voice and there would not be any disparities and arguments, there are also disadvantages to this kind of management style. I feel that China, being a country with a huge population, should not rely on this kind of management style as they have the advantage over many countries of a huge population, and would definitely be able to reach greater heights if they have creativity.
Personally, I feel that I am more inclined to the working culture and management style of Lenovo. I deduced that I am more suited for the working culture of Lenovo from several examples.
Firstly, I feel that I am very reliant on notes given out by my teachers as I prefer to be told what to study on, and I would probably fail my tests without the notes. This fits the working culture of Lenovo where people are instructed on what to do.
Another example would be because in Singapore, Singaporeans do not really have a say in much things. Narrowing down to our education system, we have a fixed curriculum which the school would come up with and it was impossible for us to just stand up and say that we do not wish to have this curriculum. Being exposed to this kind of environment from young, I am very used of not having a say and thus, would suit the working environment of Lenovo where people just follow instructions.
Lastly, I personally do not like to have too much freedom as I feel that people would become over-relaxed and end up having low efficiency. Also, I do not like to have too much autonomy as there would be many disparities and everything would not be in place as people have different point of views of things and chances would be that things are not done because whenever a point is raised, there would be someone having a different point of view opposing it. Therefore, I feel that I suit the working culture and management style of Lenovo.
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Dear Darrel,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Google cares about the welfare of its employees by facilitating them with good facilities and also flexible schedules where 20% of their time at work is spent doing their own projects/initiatives. However, I disagree with you on the point that the employees would just relax while using the resources Google have for them. This is because before employees get into Google, they have already been through a very thorough interview where Google filters out the different people. Hence, those that are working in Google would have the passion for their work and would surely do something during the 20% of that time. Whether it is for their company or for their own benefits, we do not know for sure. For example, twitter was made by ex-Google employees.
I agree that Google does reflect the American society but I disagree that working cultures and management styles reflect the respective societies. Look at Apple and Google which are both in America. Their working styles obviously do not reflect their respective societies. Hence the above point is untrue.
I also agree with you that Lenovo's way does stifle creativity and growth.
Finally, I also agree with you that too much freedom does lead to low efficiency in some cases. However, this issue boils down to self-discipline. If on has self-discipline and can control what he or she has to do, in other words, put their priorities right, then freedom would definitely not affect efficiency. I also feel that the more different points of view, the better it is. This is because you can look at for example, your company's product at different points of view and spot mistakes or errors that some may not spot. Similarly, improve the product through ways that other might not even notice.
Overall, I find that your journal does give me a different viewpoint on why you prefer Lenovo's way. I find that your reason given for your preferences is quite substantial and I certainly do enjoy reading it.
Thank You.
John Loh(10)
3S1
I have to disagree with the part about Google assuming that their employees will be hardworking. I do not think that it is a one-sided belief on Google's part that their employees are motivated enough not to take advantage of that 20% of innovation time; rather, I believe that Google's employees are carefully selected enough to have to discipline to actually finish up their work and make use of the 20% of the free time given to them by Google. According to Ferenstein's article, Google's application process is a tedious and very tiring one, often taking up to 5 or 6 months, showing that careful consideration is taken before a person is employed by Google. I feel that such a high entry bar would be sufficient to ensure the discipline of the employees.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I agree with your point about Singapore not being suited to the Google style of management. I feel that this is because Singapore generally follows Chinese values, being predominantly Chinese, and thus in many aspects are similar to Lenevo.
Nathan Teo (18)
Dear Darrel,
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you that "the American society believes that their citizens are able to govern themselves well and thus, should have the freedom of doing what they think is right" as quoted from your reflective journal. Firstly, since your definition of "well" is ambiguous, I will assume you mean self-discipline. Firstly, can you provide any evidence to suggest that Americans are trusted to have self-discipline by the society? Next, even if they do have self-discipline, does it lead to the conclusion that "[they] should have the freedom to do what they think is right"? Thirdly, based on your argument, are you saying that the Chinese do not have self-discipline and cannot govern themselves well since Chinese companies give little autonomy to its employees? I feel that you can include more elaboration in addressing this point as I feel that this is an assumption.
As for why you prefer the Lenovo working culture, you mention that in a company like Google, "there would be many disparities and everything would not be in place as people have different point of views of things and chances would be that things are not done because whenever a point is raised, there would be someone having a different point of view opposing it."
However, I have a different viewpoint on this issue. I feel that having opposing POVs is what brings about competition and improvement, and promotes good working relations. Having different viewpoints is also important in developing a product that combines the thoughts of various employees, as each employee can build upon or improve the work of another employee. Having different viewpoints is also the foundation for encouraging creativity and innovation among its employees. To a certain extent, efficiency might decrease a little, but the benefits which come with opposing viewpoints far outweigh the disadvantages it brings. Isn't this why Projects Day is implemented in Hwa Chong?
Projects bring together people with different opinions, and aims to foster teamwork and innovation skills in creating a final product that combines the efforts and opinions of each of its individual members. As such, I prefer some freedom to be given to me in the workplace.
Thank You,
Ivan Yeo (08)