Significant Environmental Threats
One of the significant threats that Google Company faces is the careful examination of regulatory and legal challenges in diversity and inclusion. There are government regulations and laws concerning unequal employment since the government is against any form of discrimination in the hiring process. Google Company has already been criticized for gender discrimination, where there is unequal representation of women in leadership positions and also there are unequal pay practices. These legal challenges have had a substantial risk to the company’s reputation. Usually, noncompliance with government regulations and laws results in financial penalties. In 2023, Google had a case against it concerning pay discrimination, where the female executive received lower pay than his male counterparts because of her gender. The New York federal Jury ruled in favor of Google’s former female executive. The jury demanded the giant company pay 1.15 million dollars, where 150 thousand dollars was to cover the pain and suffering caused by the company and one million was for the punitive damages. As per Alexandara et al. (2021), the female worker felt she must be valued and appreciated for the input she brings to the company. It means she was culturally intelligent, able to identify and appreciate cultural differences, and positively perceived inclusion.
The other Google Company’s threat is technological biases and algorithmic discrimination. The use of artificial intelligence systems has posed a major threat to the inclusion and diversity efforts of the company. These systems have played a role in perpetuating the existing discriminatory and inequalities practices. Google Company used an ad-target algorithm, which accelerated the company’s discrimination level. The use of artificial intelligence in the current digital world determines what news one gets on the internet. The company made job ads, which were more likely to show to male job seekers for the highly paid executive jobs and the female job seekers. As such, algorithms reinforce the systemic biases, increasing the diversity and inclusion challenges in the company. However, the company has applied efforts to use algorithms as a tool for minimizing discrimination cases.
Significant Environmental Opportunities
Even though the use of technology in Google Company is a threat, technological advancements are also an opportunity for the company. The company may use AI-driven algorithms in the recruitment process, where they assist in analyzing the screen of resumes and assessing candidates based on educational qualifications, skills, and experiences instead of demographic features (Jha et al., 2020). Leveraging such a technology will assist the company in reducing bias cases in its hiring process. It will be well-positioned to attract and hire a more diverse pool of candidates, mainly from underrepresented groups, into its workforce. As such, it will help improve the company’s reputation as a company that promotes equity in the recruitment hiring process and erases the systemic barriers to diversity and inclusion.
Technology will also provide personalized learning experiences about diversity to its employees. It will facilitate online learning to ensure the employees get information in an accessible and scalable manner, allowing them to learn at their own pace. Such online learning will create awareness and understanding of employee diversity and inclusion matters. Lastly, as per Makos (2016). technology is also an opportunity in the capacity that the company can leverage technology to detect any cases of biases, enhance make it easy to identify areas of concern and provide actionable insights to mitigate biases, thus promoting fairness and equity within the company, thus solving the issues of diversity and inclusion.
Opportunities Outweigh Threats for Google Company
Even though the company faces significant threats, it has opportunities that outweigh these threats. By leveraging technology in the diversity and inclusion efforts, the company will build on its work culture, be well-positioned to attract and retain diverse talent that will enrich its workforce, and foster innovation and creativity to maintain its position as a giant tech company. Technology such as machine learning will play an essential role in identifying biases that may go unnoticed by humans, resulting in racial or ethnic biases in the future. Using technology to prioritize diversity and inclusion will create a more inclusive environment where all employees feel empowered, respected, and valued. The company will also strengthen its reputation as a company that values its employees, which will be a source of motivation for its employees and job seekers.
In addition to technology’s impact on inclusion and diversity, leveraging technological advancements will offer the company an opportunity for diversification and innovation. Using technologies such as machine learning and cloud computing will play a significant role in developing new products and services and expanding to new markets that it has not explored. Overall, leveraging these opportunities will reinforce its competitive position and improve its reputation.
Responding To the Threats and Taking Advantage of the Opportunities
In responding to technological biases and algorithmic discrimination, Google Company should consider using technology such as machine learning to assist in bias detection. It should consider investing in extensive research and development to discover more transparent and accountable technologies to help the company address biases and discriminatory practices, hence promoting fairness and equity. Research and development will assist in designing algorithms highly sensitive to bias issues. For example, the company may have AI systems designed to counteract biases.
To leverage opportunities, Google Company should focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives to assist in crafting an inclusive workplace. It should consider investing in programs such as unconscious bias training to raise awareness among employees, especially those in management positions, to recognize biases and understand how they impact decision-making. It should also leverage its technological expertise in digital advertising and cloud computing to increase its reach and get diverse talent, promoting diversity and inclusion.
References
Alexandra, V., Holcombe, K. E., Randel, A. E. (2021, January). Cultural intelligence, perceived inclusion, and cultural diversity in workgroups. Personality and Individual Differences, 168(110285). ISSN 0191-8869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110285
Jha, S. K., Jha, S., & Gupta, M. K. (2020). Leveraging artificial intelligence for effective recruitment and selection processes. In International Conference on Communication, Computing and Electronics Systems: Proceedings of ICCCES 2019 (pp. 287-293). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2612-1_27
Makos, J. (2016). What is environmental analysis? PESTLE Analysis. http://pestleanalysis.com/what-is-environmental-analysis/
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