Executive Pay: The Curious Case of Carlos Ghosn’s Arrest
February 12, 2025
Human Resource (HR): Though the pay rolls preparation through bespoke systems is one of the early adoptions of application software in many organizations, HR module was mostly left out by them, during their early phase of implementation of ERP system, apparently due to routine nature of HR functions, involving mostly some staffing activities. However, need […]
Abstract The world of work is changing as we speak and the winners and losers in the workplace of the present are those who can adapt and thrive in this paradigm without being lost in the maze of complexity and chaotic work arraignments. Unlike the baby boomers and those before them, the Millennial generation cannot […]
If the data type that needs to be charted is discrete, then it must fall between one of binary or count types. As the name suggests in case of binary distribution, there are only two possibilities, success and failure, defective and not defective, whereas in the case of count type distribution there may be more […]
Mobile wallets have become the latest startup sensation. Companies like PayTm have the first mover advantage in this space. However, other companies like MobiKwik, Phone Pe, M-Pesa etc. are quickly moving into this space. It is surprising that an area of business which did not even exist a few years ago is now on the […]
Organizations produce an exploding amount of data while capturing bushels of bytes of information pertaining to their operations, customers and suppliers and this data is continuously increasing. To give an idea, it has been forecasted y International Data Corporation (IDC) that between 2009 and 2020, data will mammoth 44 times amounting to 35.3 zettabytes which […]
Google is the most dominant search engine in the United States as well as in the world. It controls more than two-thirds of the readership in the United States. This means that if it were an actual newspaper, Google would have been open to antitrust violation lawsuits. Google has a greater stranglehold on the readership in the United States than any other corporate player.
Google has always enjoyed a great reputation with its customers and with the society in general. It had more responsibilities than compared to an average company in America. However, if its past actions are analyzed, it appeared like the company did indeed take these responsibilities seriously and discharged them in a fair and unbiased manner.
However, all this has changed in the recent past. Google has made several acquisitions. As a result, Google faces a massive conflict of interest. In this article, we will understand more about this conflict of interest.
Google insists that there has been no deception on their part. This is because the search results for which Google may be compensated are displayed distinctly. Google insists that the organic search results are still completely free from advertising influence.
However, the problem is that the look and feel of the paid search results are almost same as Google’s organic results. These results are not easily distinguishable like the sponsored results which are on the right-hand side of every Google page. It seems like the core job of Google is undergoing a change. Earlier it used to redirect the users towards a destination. However, now they own some of the destinations. It is obvious that over a period of time Google will try to obscure organic search rankings to promote their own products. At the present moment, users are not aware of this change. However, as more users become cognizant of this, Google can expect a bigger backlash from its core customer base.
The legality of Google’s new strategy is not such a simple issue. However, what is clearly visible is the fact that Google is definitely deviating from its stance. When the company first went public, the red herring prospectus called Google an objective and unbiased search engine. However, such clear language has been replaced by more muddled industry jargon. Sources familiar with the matter claim that Google has been subtly changing its prospectus to ensure that they can defend their turf if there is a lawsuit against the company. Also, when representatives of Google were asked if they would ever allow paid promotions within their organic content, they responded with a meek “No comments” instead of a vehement no which was the usual answer earlier.
Google’s actions may or may not be legal as of now. However, they are definitely not ethical. The trust of the users and the relevance of the result that has made Google the biggest search engine in the world are being put to test with the introduction of these new products.
Google claims that its annual revenues will go up by as much as $1 billion as a result of these inclusions. However, this erosion of trust may provide companies like Bing and Yahoo with the opportunity to increase their share of readership in the United States and across the world.
The change at Google is not just a new strategy. Instead, it is a change in the underlying philosophy. The reaction of customers and the final impact on the business of Alphabet Inc. is yet to be seen.
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