2. Do you think that Google should have entered China and engaged in self-censorship, given the company's long-standing mantra “Don't be evil”? Is it better to engage in self-censorship than have the government censor for you? Google, the fast growing Internet search engine company, was established with a clear mission in mind: to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google has built a highly profitable advertising business on the back of its search engine, which is by far the most widely used in the world. Under the pay-per-click business model, advertisers pay Google every time a user of its search engine clicks on one of the paid links typically listed on the right hand side of Google's results page.

Google has long operated with the mantra “don't be evil!” When this phrase was originally formulated, the central message was that Google should never compromise the integrity of its search results. For example, Google decided not to let commercial considerations bias its ranking. This is why paid links are not included in its main search results, but listed on the right hand side of the results page. The mantra “don't be evil,” however, has become more than that at Google; it has become a central organizing principle of the company and an ethical touchstone by which managers judge all of its strategic decisions.