Google in China

Date: 9-12-2011

In Response To: “Google in China”

Most successful businesses in our global-society’s current day and age often outline a clear and concise set of values and somewhat civic duties they hold themselves accountable for. This simple yet necessary form of organizational management is a great way to keep successful companies focused. It is also a method of staying grounded within an organization’s foundational principles. However, it is expected that any progressive, expansive company will, at one point or another, be forced to weigh principles over personal gain.

Recently, Google, the trusty search-engine based company we all know, was put into a situation that had its leaders re-assessing their core values and ambitions as a company. In an effort to further expand their operations; Google sought opportunity in the emerging economy of China. Initially they simply had a Chinese-language version of Google.com, but Google was not stopping there. They were pursuing research and development expansion so as to cultivate the talent of young Chinese citizens. Ultimately, Google also wanted to have a fully Chinese based version of their website referred to as Google.cn, with related operations solely based in China. Google was also attracted to a few other business ventures, somewhat unrelated to the trials and tribulations they faced, but still relevant to Google’s over all mission.

Where the issue sparked from was China’s talent for controlling and over-censoring public information in an effort to protect their people. When Google was first emerging as a revolutionary and significant business, they outlined a mission statement explaining, their desire “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” In correlation with this mission statement, Google also committed to living by the phrase, “Do No Evil.” On Google’s end, there seemed to be clear and positive intentions. Even so, China proved to be more then...