Google has recently decided to relocate its China operations to Hong Kong and has since rerouted online traffic from its censored Chinese language portal (www.google.cn) to an uncensored Hong Kong site. This move has angered the Chinese government and many of its citizens, but has also been hailed by many Chinese as a positive step toward ending online censorship in the country.
Technology has connected the world in a way never seen before in history. Businesses today have to be more aware of global cultures and economies and how to carry out business across borders. While it is extremely important to understand and respect cultural differences between global business professionals, Google’s current situation also brings up the question of values.
Google’s core tenant is “Do no evil.” The company recently decided that continuing to censor its search results in accordance with Chinese government guidelines did not adhere to this tenant. When conducting business globally, its imperative not to lose sight of the company’s core values. News stories surface all the time about companies moving operations to foreign countries because of more lax labor or environmental laws.
Businesses cannot afford to have integrity in their native country alone. When technology has connected the world to such a large extent, it is important for companies and their leaders to adhere to one set of values that will follow them all over the globe.
Whether or not Google’s actions in China were good or bad, they made the right decision by adhering to their values, and I give them credit for that.
Related book summaries in the BBS library: Just Good Business, The Five Literacies of Global Leadership, Leadership Beyond Reason
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