Google Inc HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELLNESS AUDIT
Introduction
Google Inc is a multinational firm that is focused on providing internet –oriented services and web products. Some of the services and products offered by Google include search, Apps, online advertising, and cloud computing technologies. Google derive the largest part of its profit from AdWords. Google is believed to operate more than a million servers in information centers globally and to process more than a billion search requests and more than 20 pet bytes of personal generated data on a daily basis. Google.com has this year been ranked first among the most visited internet sites globally. Google dominance in the internet market has sparked criticism of the corporation due to issues concerning Safety, privacy, censorship, and copyright.
Safety
In 2010, Google company security department established a security program called Vulnerability reward program aimed at protecting it web properties. The program involved open research community to find ways to maintain the internet safe through use of external effort in hunting bugs or any malicious programs. The program mostly concentrated on Google-supported web programs or services that contains or operates significantly sensitive user information. This involved generally all the data contained in domains such as YouTube, Google Chrome, Gmail, among others.
Qualifying vulnerabilities
It is not easy to identify and create a precise list of bugs that was to be rewarded thus Google settled for any bug that had dire effects on large amount of confidential user information. Some of the areas mentioned or covered by this program are:
- Problems in authorization and authentication mechanisms
- General cross-site scripting
- cross-site script insertion
- Cross-site counterfeit
- Command inoculation bugs or server-side implementation (Google, 2013).
Most recently, Google promised to grant a monetary carrot to software developers who will manage to boost the security of open-source software. This shows that Google are not just in about to identify a bug in main third-user software that is essential to the health of the whole Internet, but are also geared towards fixing the bugs. The company that agreed to an external source patent responsibility mid this year, claimed that it decided to focus on the main bug-hunting program, since bug rewards attracts quite large amounts of counterfeit traffic-enough to entirely defeat a small group of volunteers. Google through its safety program recognizes that solving a problem mostly requires combine efforts than when searching for it. Involving external firms to help towards fighting Internet bugs shows that Google is committed towards offering safe services to the customers, where it does not only care about its properties but also on the welfare of the third-party (Google, 2013).
Health and Wellness
Establishing a health, safety and wellness program in an organizational environment brings along two key benefits. The first benefits are the one on protecting employees from succumbing to hazardous situations such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes as much as possible. This is because modern lifestyle is very increases the vulnerability of an individual for these conditions and others, so facilitating employees and the general public avoid this remains the best way to show responsibility and care. Another benefit results from the fact that the chances of workers succumbing to these conditions is reduced hence money set for health insurance is saved. Google have realized the benefit of establishing health, safety, and wellness program thus hope to take care of it workers. Google Company has designed an excellent program for providing health and wellness services (Strickland, 2011).
Wellness
Google that is considered the Internet icon regularly receives recognition for the benefits package it has put in place for its employee, and obviously, wellness and health are priorities as essential issues to consider. Most of the Google campuses have employed personal nurses, doctors, and health care stuffs who offer convenience healthcare services to workers. While workers are travelling for either funnies or work-related trips, the technology giant provides health insurance and emergency services in case an adverse health or safety event occurs. Getting a productive work and life balance is also apriority for Google workers, therefore programs directed towards new parents including bonuses and every individual with a desire to continue with education gets tuition boost in order to make sure that each one achieves their deepest goals in life (Strickland, 2011).
To make sure that employees at Googleplex remain health and fit, the company has put in place full-equipped gyms. Google also provides swimming pool facilities where it has built narrow and not too lengthy pools around Google campuses. These pools are fitted with power electric hydro pumps that ensure that current moves in one direction, this ensures that workers are able to swim only in the direction of water flow, hence maintain the same positions while in the pools. Lifeguards are always in place to ensure no worker succumb to drowning or taking in excess water. In addition, workers can enjoy other wellness programs such as quick video games, while for workers who like practical matches there are pool tables placed all round the Google complex (Google, 2013).
Google has also established laundry facilities for its workers just in case an employee spill drinks in her or his clothes, not forgetting that the company also provides dry cleaning services free. To ensure their workers are not stressed to death, Google has employed registered massage therapist who are located in private rooms within the complex. In fact, in order to maintain personal privacy Google bathrooms and massage rooms have opaque walls, unlike other rooms, which are separated by glass.
References
Google. (2013, April). Vulnerability Reward Program. Retrieved Deccember 14, 2013, from Google: http://www.google.co.ke/intl/en/about/company/rewardprogram.html
Strickland, J. (2011, October 11). How the Googleplex Works. Retrieved December 14, 2013, from HowStuff works: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/googleplex3.htm
