Reference no: EM133025778

Case Study - Google's 'OKR' system

Google's Objectives and Key Results (OKR) system was introduced in the early 2000s, based on an approach originally developed at the microchip firm, Intel.

OKR involves all members of the organisation setting SMART objectives in key result areas, with the key features described as follows:

• OKRs are set quarterly at three levels: forthe individual(what the individual is working on), forthe team(specific priorities for the team) andcompany(the big picture and top-level focus for the entire company) level.
• Google's CEO sets OKRs for the company at the beginning of each quarter, triggering all employees within Google to make sure their own personal and team OKRs roughly sync with Google's. The firm deliberately sets ambitious goals, believing that if they achieved all of them, the goals are not put aggressively enough.
• All individual and team OKRs are visible on Google's intranet so that employees can find out what their co-workers and other teams are doing, feel more responsible for the goals they set and be more willing to contribute constructively to the business.
• The main goal of OKR is to connect company, team, and individual goals and make people move together in the right direction. OKRs provide focus and unite teams behind a single strategy.

Source: Bock, L. (2015) Work Rules" Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead, Hodder & Stoughton

Questions

1. That drawbacks or dangers do you see in Google's focus on goal-setting?
2. What scope do you see for the application of artificial intelligence to the OKR system?