To successfully compete for talent, Microsoft offers many options to potential employees. First, the company provides a relatively high salary in the labor market. In addition, employees receive options on the company’s shares, making them equity participants (Chebolu & Nair, 2021). Moreover, employees may spend most of their time outside of work, as management encourages work-life balance. In addition, Microsoft offers a quality development program that attracts people with high potential.
Recruitment Practices
In recent years, the number of stages of interviews at Microsoft has decreased markedly. Now the candidate is going through four or five interviews, including a meeting with an employee of the HR department, a direct supervisor, and a manager from an adjacent department. Communication with the manager helps better assess the prospects for a person’s career growth (McShane et al., 2021). The company does not use tests. The candidates’ competencies are assessed during the interview and immediately conclude the work experience of a potential employee. For top managers and interns, there are business cases that help determine how a person will behave in business.
Training and development of employees
The company tries to develop the abilities of its employees. At the same time, they understand that people have different inclinations and talents: some want to grow and become bosses, others want to improve in their current work (Schwind et al., 2019). HR specialists talk to each employee to understand how he sees his career at Microsoft. Based on these data, a personal development plan is drawn up. The company adheres to the concept of 70-20-10 (Chebolu & Nair, 2021). Here they believe that 70% of the success of an employee’s development depends on how far he goes out of his comfort zone at work, 20% on whether he can learn from others, 10% on theoretical training (Chebolu & Nair, 2021). Projects, mentors, and activities are selected for each employee following his development plan.
Microsoft’s internal learning is based on two dimensions – more accessible access to content and motivation. A simple but effective motivator is a badge with information about completing a business school course, posted on social networks and included in a resume. The world’s leading business schools partnered with Microsoft to create concise online MBA courses that allow employees to complete a theoretical approach in two months (Chebolu & Nair, 2021). Thus, employees can complete practical tasks, discuss issues with colleagues, get feedback from professors and immediately apply new skills in working with the customer.
References
Chebolu, R. M., & Nair, J. (2021). Microsoft: Building a Collaborative Work Culture to Foster Innovation. IUP Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(4).
McShane, S., Tasa, K., & Steen, S. (2021). Canadian Organizational Behaviour (11th Ed). New York: McGraw Hill.
Schwind, H., Uggerslev, K., Wagar, T., & Fassina. N. (2019). Canadian Human Resource Management (12th Ed). New York: McGraw Hill.
The process of management is of very critical and vital in nature; its impact on the final results and performance of a firm is direct and immaculate. One example of such a firm has shown great results since day one of its creation is Microsoft. Microsoft has been the leader in the software industry for quite some time now. It is not just about the technological edge that has kept Microsoft on the top, a very vital role in this regard has been played by the Human Resource managers of the firm; who have made the firm’s manpower intact and alive all the time; and hence has produced high-quality results. In this paper, we would analyse Microsoft’s organization
Microsoft is a multinational giant in the computer software industry both system software and application software. The firm is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, United States. Microsoft’s and its founder’s contributions toward the development of this industry as a whole are praised by all. The market of Microsoft is huge; will surely be an understatement. To calculate the number of users and the actual market of this firm is very difficult (Microsoft n.d).
Most of the computer users no matter in what part of the world they live in get to see the logo of Microsoft Windows when they switch on their systems; not only this in most of the offices around the world the software used for the general office works is called Microsoft Office; in recent times many of the people who uses pocket PC’s are opting for Microsoft windows as their operating tool. In addition to this the most popular internet browser in the world is still Microsoft’s Internet Explorer; in sum, Microsoft has become a household name all around the world in a very short span of time (Stross, 1997).
As Microsoft is equally popular all around the globe therefore its offices are spread in almost every part of the world. This immaculate and rapid growth has made Mr. Bill Gates one of the richest people in the world. After getting hold of the lion’s share of the computer software industry Microsoft has moved into the hardware and the home entertainment industry as well by introducing the products like Xbox, Microsoft Mouse, Zune, MSNTV etc. The link to the organizational chart of this software giant has been placed below.
Organizational Chart
The organizational chart of Microsoft.
The topmost spot in the organizational chart is of the owner and the founder of the company Mr. Bill Gates. His role in the company has been vital since the day one; he is the one who has led the firm from the front at all the times and has provided a clear and pragmatic vision. After him, the next person in the hierarchy is Steve Ballmer who holds the office of the Chief Executive Officer. He is known as the backbone of the firm some of the critical decisions are to his credit which has paid hugely to the firm.
Some of the top managers of Microsoft include Ray Ozzie (CTO and Chief Software Architect), Craig Mundie (Chief Research and Strategy Officer), Eric Rudder (SVP Servers and Tools), Lisa Brummel (VP Human Resource), Robert Bach (President, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices and Chief Xbox Officer), Yusuf Mehdi (SVP and Chief Advertising Strategist), Jean-Philippe (President, Microsoft International), Brad Smith (Director, Interactive Marketing) etc. (Microsoft n.d).
All the top managers are head of one division and these divisions are further divided into sub-divisions and teams just to make sure that the work pressure does not pile up. In addition to this constitution of teams by the management of Microsoft is a step taken to make sure that no segment of the business is left unaddressed. In this way, the focus of the managers remains intact as they have clear know-how about what their duty is and what exactly is expected of them (Ian, 2006).
The division of the departments can be observed by analyzing the organisational structure of Microsoft. One prominent example in this regard can be the can be the division of the Microsoft International; a department whose function is to look at the affairs of Microsoft around the world outside the native country; this is an important department and hence the authority must be delegated and divided in a very cautious manner so keeping this is in mind the firm has got a president for this department which is a title only assigned to one more Head of the Department.
The President of the Microsoft International at the moment is Mr. Jean-Philippe, under him, comes the Vice Presidents and Chairmen of all the regions of the world; division of the world in terms of region enables the managers to focus on that very region and the problems related to that very region, under these regional VPs comes the Presidents for the regions; this is one reason which has contributed towards the development of the firm.
Reason to Work
The information that has been presented by me in the report is a result of extensive research from various sources including one of my relative who is an employee in Microsoft. Traditional work groups were never present in the company; this is one reason for the innovation of the company and that is why the people are willing to work for the organization as they have got every right to express their thoughts and they are appreciated for presenting innovative ideas; unlike the other firm where due to the presence of traditional work groups the employee don’t speak their hearts out as the manager is the one who is the epicentre of power and he is the one who controls the affairs of the group (Roger, 1997).
Microsoft Environment
In Microsoft the concept of self-managed teams is present, the managers only formulate the teams and assign them the tasks, the rest depends upon the team members and they can take all the decisions for themselves (team) by themselves without facing any intervention from the managers. Even the team members assign the tasks themselves so that they can accomplish the goals that the management has assigned them.
In addition to this, the concept of cross-functionalism is also present in the company and the teams are formulated on this basis as well because in the software industry, all the process are so interlinked that separating them can be harmful. The distance amongst various departments is less in Microsoft than the other competing firms, and the employees from all the departments have good relations among them.
This increases the inter-departmental harmony which is beneficial for any company in the longer run, one reason for this inter-departmental harmony is the constitution of the teams on the basis of cross-functionalism, as the employees from various departments can interact which each other which helps them in understanding the mindset of each other. As it has been stated above that software development is an integrated process so good collaboration amongst the various technical experts is necessary in order to get a good final product.
Teams at Microsoft
The teams at Microsoft are also successful because the targets assigned to them are of very clear in nature and has got no ambiguity, in addition to this the managers at the time of the formulation of the teams inform all the team members categorically about the contribution they can make to the company by accomplishing their assigned objectives. This helps in increasing the motivational level of the team members as they start feeling as they are the ones in whom the management has vested its trust and that is the reason they deliver successfully.
In addition to this , the innovation in the products of the Microsoft is largely due to the self-managed teams in which civilized disagreement is always appreciated and even the incentives are given to the out-of-the-box thinkers (Drucker, 2007). Deviance is catered in most of the cases by the mutual consultation of the team members and the team leaders so conformity does not offer any hurdle to thinking at Microsoft.
Due to the vast expansion of the firm and to develop global consumer acceptance, the managers are keen in constituting teams based on the lines of diversification; in which the employees from all the regions of the world are included (especially in the case of virtual teams). The concept on the making of diversified teams is necessary for all the companies competing in the software market because worldwide acceptance of the products is what is desired by all of them, as the costs of production and distribution are too high, especially in this industry.
The allocation of resources is one of the major issues that have the potential to affect the performance of the teams; no matter how good the team is but if they are not backed by the justified and desired volume of resources they will not be able to pay back. Since Microsoft is the leader in its domain so its volume of assets are also very huge; therefore the teams are fully backed by their wanted amount of resources so that they stand up to their required tasks. The incentives for the good performers are also offered so that the extrinsic motivation remains on the higher side (Daniel, 2007).
Virtual Teams at Microsoft
The concept of virtual teams is not novel to the people at Microsoft since the company has expanded rapidly in almost every region of the world therefore it is not possible for the team members to have frequent face-to-face interactions. This increased and diversified growth of Microsoft made the managers to think about forming virtual teams. The formation of the virtual teams was also necessary so that in the product development and upgradation stage the views from the users all around the world are taken into consideration; so that the product can excel in all the markets. The technological way of interaction for the teams is less expensive and is less time consuming so the employees saves a lot of travelling time.
Because of the fact that software industry is very volatile, changes have to be done on immediate basis so that the market share can be protected and the competitive advantage is not lost, in this regard too the concept of virtual teams have helped Microsoft as its mangers form all around the globe can discuss about the changing situations, analyze it and can make fast decisions without spending any time in travelling and boarding. The top management of Microsoft also uses technology to interact and formulate strategies.
The differences in my opinion from the theoretical expectations as far as Microsoft is concerned is not much, the managers at Microsoft are working quite good as per the book; and have got their basics right. Even though some of the issues are observed in this regard which are highlighted in the later part of the report. But on the whole it can be stated that the people managers at Microsoft are working quite well; this work of theirs’ is evident from the performance of the firm in the industry.
As stated above the Microsoft’s managers have done quite well as per the book but there are some grey areas where the room for improvement is present. Some of the recommendations in this regard are as follows:
It has been observed that the sizes of the teams at Microsoft are increasing that can decrease the cohesiveness amongst the teams and so sub-groups are formed amongst the teams which is not healthy.
The diversity in the teams is not paying off well in recent days for Microsoft as the employees of some regions are thinking as if their opinions are not given equal importance; this can be damaging as the regional war can come up with in the company. Some of such countries where the employees have grievances are India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh etc.
One more issue that should be catered is regarding the interventions from the manager in work, this must be taken seriously so that the employees can come up with innovative ideas.
Bibliography
Daniel, L. (2007). Group dynamics for teams. Sage Publications.
Drucker, P.F. (2007). Innovation and entrepreneurship: practice and principles. Elsevier.
Ian, B. (2006). Organisational behaviour: individuals, groups and organizations. Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Microsoft. (n.d). About Microsoft. Web.
Mullins, L.J. (2006) Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall Financial Times.
Roger, B. (1997). Organisational Behaviour. Pitman Publishing.
Stross, R.E. (1997). The Microsoft Way: The Real Story Of How The Company Outsmarts Its Competition, Basic Books.
There have been talks between Yahoo and Microsoft companies where Microsoft intended to purchase Yahoo so as to compete with Google. Google has been a major threat in the internet industry, leading to the need for a merger in order to compete with this giant company. This issue has raised discussions of whether it would be beneficial to shareholders or whether the two companies will be in a position to get over their cultural issues so as to come up with a better search engine. (Pedrycz, 2008)
The impact on Yahoo shareholders
If the merger succeeds, Yahoo shareholders will be affected in that by combining with a bigger company like Microsoft; it is obvious that their shares will gain value. This is because Microsoft has a better financial foundation as well as the technical expertise that would enable it to grow faster. However, each of the two companies has developed separately, which would make the outcome of their merger much competitive. On the other hand, it has occurred that shareholders would be interested in an independent company than they would with a merger. This has been the reason why yahoo’s share price has improved, with a share going for about 24.83 dollars and could be rising. If the deal fails, then shareholders of yahoo would seek refuge in the deal between Yahoo and Google concerning search and advertisement where yahoo shareholders would benefit a lot since yahoo’s share might definitely gain value. (Stevens, 2008)
Impact on Microsoft Shareholder
The merger between Yahoo and Microsoft would not have as much positive impact on its shareholders since it’s already better in terms of market than yahoo. The only positive impact would be as a result of competition that their merger would give to Google that would increase the value of their shares. There has been an argument against the merger where part of it is based on some non-profitable calculations. If the deal of purchasing yahoo is distributed to Microsoft shareholders in the form of dividends, each shareholder will receive about $5 for each share. Further calculations show that 1000 shares would earn a Microsoft shareholder about $5000, which would have been better than buying out yahoo. Research has shown that yahoo and Microsoft do not have complementary product lines, and therefore, their working together would not have as much development or competitiveness, therefore not being in a position to add value to Microsoft shares. Furthermore, Microsoft has a history of losing the battle when it started MSN, which was to compete with AOL, and this failure was interpreted as a waste of Microsoft’s shareholders’ money. (Verstegen, 2008)
The financial condition of both corporations
According to (EbscoWeb), Yahoo has presented a great improvement in its financial status where accelerated growth has been recorded. The reason for this growth is its possession of a large number of consumers as well as an operating model that is profitable. However, in 2008, Yahoo’s revenue rose by 3%, which gave a total of 7.2 billion, which was not very satisfying and is struggling to acquire more growth. Yahoo has consequently hired a new CEO called Bartz, who is supposed to revive the company as it undergoes a transformation from its buyout offers by Microsoft and Google’s advertising partnership. Microsoft’s revenue has also increased, which has been driven by revenue from windows and SQL servers. This growth was affected by exchange rates of foreign currency, which went up to 222million dollars, an equivalent of 1%. However, its operating income has encountered a decline showing expenses that are related to headcount as well as revenue costs. In the previous four quarters, revenue for Microsoft amounted to 2.8 billion dollars, but 949 million dollars were lost. Combining Microsoft with yahoo will result in 9.8 dollars in revenue with a net loss of 289 million dollars. (Stevens, 2008)
Reasons Why a Merger Would Be More Profitable Than Independent Operations of the Two Companies
The merger would at some point bring profit to each of the two companies bearing in mind that both have improved a lot in the provision of mobile services. Their combined effort would result in even better mobile services. Another reason is that it’s difficult for either of them to fight Google alone so as get more popularity. For example, Microsoft has used a lot of time and funds in a project of live services, which has backfired for not gaining users’ interest which contributes to the lack of satisfaction with Microsoft’s strategy. On the other hand yahoo as impressive as it is has put forward its online services which have been rated among the best but users don’t seem to care much. Though Google is not as appealing, it has shown continued growth with users flocking to get access to its services. Therefore it has occurred that since yahoo and Microsoft are finding it difficult to venture into new areas and attract more users, a merger would be the solution for both companies. A merger would also lead to more profits as everyone would want to try on their products, hoping that they will be of better quality than when operating independently. If Microsoft decides to make good use of yahoo’s services which includes email services, online news as well as tools for website businesses, their combination would be sure of producing a wide variety of services. When Microsoft manages to purchase yahoo, it will be in a position to get more aggressive, especially due to the use of advertising services that are search-driven taking up a bigger share of advertising budgets all over the world. However though it would be hard for this merger to outdo Google in the market, their combined efforts are likely to lessen the gap between them, resulting in more profit. (Pedrycz, 2008)
Potential Pitfalls
The yahoo-Microsoft merger would otherwise not be as profitable since neither of the two companies have shown much potential or plans to do interesting things in the market. Yahoo and Microsoft do not have complimentary services and cannot therefore become creative enough as a combined entity. The merger could be better described as a waste of shareholder’s money which might even ruin the merging companies. Among the various areas that would experience failure in case of a merger are mails. If people are given an opportunity to choose the kind of mail system they would prefer using, most of them would choose yahoo’s mail older version of Google’s mail. This is because the current updates for MSN as well as yahoo are cluttered, crappy and spam ridden which would not change much if they merged. The result of a new service by the merger would be a great confusion in the market. (Verstegen, 2008)
It has also been argued that each of the companies has reasons why it should operate solely where Microsoft has online services that are very stable, 70,000 employees who are ready to see it prosper as well as an operating system and software that is equally profitable. On the other hand, Yahoo also has a search market that is competent as well as good services of online photo and email client. Independently, these companies are somehow doing well and since a merger does not look as promising, it would be better for each of them to remain solo. Microsoft has shown less competition in the area of advertising while yahoo has been competitive though showing some signs of losing the battle. So if yahoo agrees to be purchased, it will be equated to giving up, which would not be a pleasant and wise thing to do. (Pedrycz, 2008)
Conclusion
It’s so evident that Microsoft as well as yahoo have so much capital independently and should take time to reevaluate themselves instead of merging. The decisions of the two companies’ merger have been based on fear of Google rather than being focused on their competencies as well as areas of strengths. Yahoo which has been Google’s competitor should observe how Google works to achieve success and try to apply those skills appropriately instead of merging. Furthermore, Karsten Weide has opposed the deal by saying that yahoo’s culture has made people regard the presence of the internet to change and improve the world, which has seen yahoo change to a more cooperate entity. Therefore, Yahoo views Microsoft as an aggressive ,big company that concentrates with foundation issues and does not interest itself with building a better world, showing that their interest vary a great deal and would not succeed if they combined. (Stevens, 2008)
References
Pedrycz W. (2008): A dynamic data granulation through adjustable fuzzy clustering: Elsevier pp. 45-49.
Stevens R. (2008): State of the nation in data integration for bioinformatics: Elsevier pp.23-26.
Verstegen I. (2008): The Virtual Window: From Alberti to Microsoft: MIT Press pp.37-43.
A lot of people have agreed that Microsoft Corporation is a monopoly since it holds a huge percentage of the market share. A company is said to be monopolistic if it has direct influence on a good or service.
In this case, the company is able to make conditions on the access and right of use of that particular product. In short, a monopolistic company does not receive competition on its products.
Microsoft’s products occupy about 90% of the market. Also, the company has a habit of pricing their product higher than other similar products from other companies. Other than that, it forces other companies to conform to their set of laws.
Monopolistic companies make supernormal profits because they are able to set high prices on their products. A normal market will stabilize itself at a point where the demand of a product equals its supply.
In the graphs below, market equilibrium is at P comp and Q1. In such a competitive market Price = MC. If the market is under a monopolistic company, prices will be set at P mon and output at Q2, which is higher than competitive price.
The monopolistic firm can afford to raise the price thereby curbing the output and eventually lessen financial wellbeing. From the graph, the increase in price up to P mon will decrease customer superfluous (see figure 1). The decrease in buyer wellbeing is a clean move to the manufacturer via high profits.
Figure 1
A monopolistic company protects its dominance by introducing entry barriers to put off competition. One way in which Microsoft Company retains its dominance is through product bundling.
Product bundling is where a company offers several products as one product. For example, if you want to purchase a word processor from Microsoft, you have to buy other products such as spreadsheet; these products are not sold on their own as a single product.
Tying products on the other hand, is forcing customers to purchase a certain undesired product so as to purchase the desired product. For example, when purchasing the Windows 98 OS, the product is accompanied with Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. A customer might not need the extra products but he has no choice but to purchase the accompanying products.
Since there are unfair practices from a monopolistic company, there needs to be some sort of regulation. One major body that does this is the European Union.
The EU regulates the market by setting rules that will ensure that all parties are not discriminated and fair trade is practiced. Other than that, this body has other functions too.
They include; acting as a European representative, determining which country will join the European Union, improving security among its citizens and formulating laws that are meant to protect its members. All the above functions of the European Union are meant to ensure that the citizens of Europe are not discriminated by other countries and companies within and outside Europe.
Practices such as product bundling usually poses great burden to the consumers and are unfair to other firms in the same industry. Thus, there is need for regulation from the governments.
Intervention is done to avoid market breakdown at the same time maintaining the nature of the market financial system. This is done by controlling the way resources flow to the customers by altering tariffs and financial support. In most countries, regulation is usually done by their respective governments.
However, the European Union has agencies such as International Energy Agency, Telecommunications, Agency and the Regulatory body of Commercial Banks also act as market regulators.
The EU has formulated a competition guiding principle to guarantee healthy competition in the market. In 2010, it was found that 62% of all European internet users were using Microsoft Internet Explorer.
In the deal they signed with the EU to reduce this dominance, Microsoft was asked to give its users a choice on the type of browser they would wish to have. A window will pop up if the user only uses Microsoft Internet Explorer to allow them to pick any among twelve browsers they would wish to install.
Some of the browsers that will appear on the pop up window include Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera Mini and Google Chrome. This was an EU initiative in which the monopolistic company was forced to offer its customer an alternative product of a different company.
When it comes to export and import, the foreign trade is affected by the international economic incorporation. These effects are as a result of the price, fee of exchanging foreign currency and international trading policies.
A computer retailer buying his products from USA must be very watchful on the exchange rates between the US dollar and the sterling pound. If the sterling pound rises, or its value appreciates compared to the US dollar, it means that the retailer will be able to buy his products cheaper than earlier.
In turn, he will purchase more meaning more sales and more profits. If the reverse happens, that is the value of the pound depreciates, the purchasing power of his money will reduce.
Thus, he will only be able to purchase fewer products than earlier translating to low profits or even losses. When the sterling pound is strong, the UK’s industries will be able to purchase raw materials at a cheaper price.
In the long run, products will be affordable to the majority; thereby improving the economy. If the pound is weak, the country’s purchasing power will be low meaning that most commodities will be expensive. This will make the consumers to spend less and that will be bad for the economy.
Marketing concepts encompass the processes and strategies an organization employs to achieve its goals. These strategies depend on the needs of the target market and the level of competition in the market. In order for an organization to meet its organizational goals, it should be able to satisfy the needs of consumers more effectively than its competitors do.
To remain competitive, technology companies employ the customer orientation approach whereby the company focuses on consumer demands and produces products to meet them. This means that all the strategic marketing decisions rely on the needs of potential consumers.
A company can also employ a market change identification approach whereby its products are tailored to meet changing consumer needs. In addition, technology companies also employ product innovation approach whereby the new products made are convenient and user-friendly.
Evidence and Analysis
In this case study, the three companies, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have employed different strategies to remain competitive. Nintendo strategizes to attract more customers included improving its Wii games such that users can access older Nintendo games online through Connect 24, which also provided other value added services to the consumers.
Other than the Wii, the company’s other products like the DS, DS Lite, and Game boy satisfy diverse consumer needs raising its market share to 55%. Additionally, Nintendo undertook to diversify its sales to include software in addition to the game consoles; a strategy different from those used by the other competitors, Microsoft and Sony.
Sony employed product innovation approach to compete effectively in the video game market. Cutting edge technology incorporated into the Play station 2 introduced in 2001 makes it more appealing to the young population than the Super NES system produced by Nintendo. Sony also incorporated more game categories into its Play station 2 giving it a competitive advantage over the other video game companies. Block buster game titles produced for the play station made Sony’s play station more appealing to older gamers.
Microsoft’s 2001 introduction of home entertainment division that included the X box was successful because the company incorporated other products making it the most advanced game console in the industry by then. The company also produced appealing game titles like the Age of the Empires III that became popular with the consumers. In addition, the company diversified its offerings to include TV programming in order to meet the changing consumer needs.
Implications
Nintendo’s product-based approach of diversifying its products to include both the game systems and video game software increased its revenue to $840 million in 2006. Its products also targeted children producing game systems that are easy to use raising its market share to 55% in the same year. Its innovations like the Nintendo DS targeted market segments ignored by the other players.
Sony’s product-oriented approach ensured that the technology used in the Play station was unrivalled resulting to more than 100 million Play station consoles being sold in 2001. The inclusion of entertaining blockbuster games in play stations also contributed to success of the company. Microsoft’s strategy of relying on consumer research to produce consumer-tailored products coupled with innovations like mobile gaming, Business software and MSN online services generated revenue of $ 44.3 billion in 2006.
Conclusion and Recommendations
For a company to acquire a greater market share especially in the technology industry, consumer-oriented approach is important. Microsoft depended on consumer research to develop products that meet customer needs while Sony employed innovative technology ensured unrivalled video games.
Nintendo on the other hand diversified its products to cover large market segments. To obtain a competitive edge over other players in the market, a company should employ strategies that involve use of new technologies and diversify the products offered with the aim of meeting the needs of the consumer.
The importance of improving the decision-making process
Nowadays, it becomes increasingly clear for managers that the task of improving the organization’s performance can no longer be addressed within the context of a conventional management-paradigm, which implies that the managerial decision-making process cannot be discussed in terms of a ‘thing in itself’ (Bazerman & Moore, 2009). This is the reason why, as of today, it became a commonplace practice among managers not only to be concerned with increasing the efficiency of the organization’s performance per se, but also with adopting a new outlook on what should be considered a circumstantially appropriate approach towards ensuring a high-quality management, on their part. The validity of this statement can be well illustrated in regards to the managerial paradigm, adopted by Microsoft Corporation. For example, unlike what it continues to be the case in many other commercial organizations, Microsoft’s employees are not being ‘supervised’, in the traditional sense of this word.
Instead, they are being provided with an opportunity to plan their working schedules on their own, without having to remain thoroughly observant of the company’s corporate rules and regulations (Klein, Schmeling & Blanck, 2005).As a result, Microsoft continues to be considered one of the world’s most successful commercial enterprises. Apparently, the company’s top-officials are being aware of observing the ‘understand biases in others’ managerial principle. This is why, instead of striving to ensure the employees’ ‘compliance’ with the applied rules and regulations, Microsoft’s managers instead aim at creating objective preconditions for workers to be ‘accommodated’ with the company’s corporate values. In its turn, this implies the company officials’ awareness of the so-called Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) of management, which stresses out the importance of adopting a proper approach towards the very process of how managerial decisions are being made (Checkland, 2000).
The organization’s benefits from the use of the decision-improvement strategy
When it comes to ensuring the effectiveness of a managerial process, it is also crucially important for employers to provide employees with an opportunity to have their work-related opinions/recommendations to be taken into consideration by their immediate superiors. The reason for this is apparent – maintaining the integrity of the applied feedback and listening strategies is an integral part of increasing the extent of the organization’s operating competitiveness (O’Rourke, 2013). The consequential phases of my personal listening strategy can be outlined as follows:
Encouraging employees to elaborate on what they consider represents a proper approach towards improving a particular aspect of the organization’s performance.
Identifying a common theme of employees’ elaborations, in this respect.
Identifying cultural/cognitive factors, which affected the manner in which employees provided their feedback.
Presenting employees with guidelines, as to how they may go about ensuring their emotional comfortableness with the suggested transformation-plan, which in turn is supposed to increase the extent of their workplace-accommodation.
I believe that, as a manager, I will succeed in implementing the earlier mentioned strategy. The rationale behind this suggestion is based upon what I consider the specifics of my listening habits:
I always assume that employees are able to expose a new discursive dimension to just about every discussed subject matter, concerned with increasing the effectiveness of the organization’s performance.
I believe in the beneficence of a free flow opinions between managers, on the one hand, and employees, on the other.
I adhere to the idea that multicultural workplaces cannot be managed in the ‘authoritarian’ (euro-centric) manner.
References
Bazerman, M. & Moore, D. (2009). Judgment in managerial decision making (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publications.
Checkland, P. (2000). Soft systems methodology: A thirty year retrospective. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 17 (3), 11-58.
Klein, D., Schmeling, J. & Blanck, P. (2005). Emerging technologies and corporate culture at Microsoft: a methodological note. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 23 (1), 65-96.
O’Rourke, J. (2013). Management communication: A case-analysis approach (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
When a merger takes place, two or more firms usually combine their operations and run as a single business entity. In other words, one firm ceases to exist while another one survives. On the other hand, when one business organization assumes the controlling interest of another organization, it is referred to as an acquisition.
Why did the acquirer buy and why did the acquired sell?
Skype was sold to Microsoft in 2011 because it had not reached an attractive profitability level. Microsoft bought the VoIP Company because it had better prospects of growth. Secondly, Microsoft acquired Skype so that it could be in a position to avoid taxation in the United States (Knowledge@wharton 2013, p.1). When multinationals earn profit outside the United States, they are not obliged to pay taxes. However, they are liable to taxation if such profits are repatriated back to the country.
What are the strategic rationales?
Increasing the users of Skype to one billion daily was one of the strategic rationales of Microsoft when it acquired Skype. This would boost the profitability of the new business division. Secondly and as already mentioned, the acquisition of Skype would enable Microsoft to legally evade tax in the domestic market. Microsoft is also planning to incorporate Kinect into Lync (DePamphilis 2008, p.1).
This will boost the experience of users in the virtual world and therefore increase the profitability of the new acquisition. In addition, over 8 million Skype users are charged for the services by the service. Hence, it is a more profitable platform than windows live messenger at Microsoft.
Are they industry- and/or firm-specific?
The acquisition of Skype by Microsoft is largely firm-specific because it involves one company buying the assets and liabilities of another one.
How was the merger/acquisition financed?
The acquisition was completely financed by Microsoft from the foreign profits reserves. Since foreign profits are not taxed (unless repatriated back to the country) according to the US taxation laws, it was easy for Microsoft to use this reserve to finance the $8.5 billion budget (Jilani 2013, p.1)
References
DePamphilis, D 2008, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities, ElsevieAcademic Press, New York.
Individual Difference Assessment and Psychology Integration at Microsoft
Because of the volatility of the global economic and political environment, businesses must constantly adapt or risk becoming obsolete. Competition, technological innovation, professionalism, and changing demographics all play a role in how organizations adapt. Organizations may have to alter or even invent their original goals, objectives, and structures to deal with this. Traditional design initiatives and a wide range of adaptive industries like those described here can be included in the term redesign (Nyongesa et al., 2019). As demonstrated by research and practice, the changing nature of the business environment is forcing managers to re-evaluate how they run their businesses. A real-life instance is an approach used by Microsoft that integrates different tools for individual difference assessment. While undertaking the hiring process, Microsoft adopts an extensive and comprehensive approach that enhances more control over the needs for creativity and innovation.
It is examined how new scientific knowledge, societal shifts in professional roles, technological innovation, and demographic changes impact business—creating and reorganizing organizations through the prism of managerial experience and religious doctrine (Jamal et al., 2021). New organizational structures have resulted from changing environmental conditions. A psychological evaluation can reveal an individual’s characteristics and abilities by collecting, integrating, and interpreting data. A wide range of techniques and metrics are employed to collect this information. Selecting data sources is based on the evaluation’s objectives.
It is impossible to evaluate without utilizing psychological testing as a component. An experimenter conducts one or more standardized procedures in a quiet or well-lit environment to obtain a representative sample of behavior. Participants may be asked to fill out questionnaires, surveys, or tests for a formal psychological testing procedure. Each of these instruments is chosen with consideration for each examinee and their circumstances to answer a specific evaluation question (Abelha et al., 2018). Participants fill out questionnaires to generate test results and other responses. It is important to remember that selecting and administering appropriate tests is an exercise in clinical judgment based on each patient’s specific circumstances. In this report, the committee will not make any particular recommendations. Instead of relying on the committee, which does not endorse the use of any specific test, an expert in the field should make this decision.
Assessment and Use of Individual Differences for Hiring at Microsoft
Introduction to whether or not psychological tests can be used to evaluate the presence and severity of disability caused by mental disorders is addressed. Psychological assessments can also be found here. As a general introduction to psychological research for those who are not psychologists, the context of disability determination in this regard is well addressed. In terms of psychological testing, the options are nearly limitless, and this number grows even more significant when educational tests are taken into consideration. Psychological and educational assessments alike can be difficult to separate. It is because there are so many tests to choose from. However, it is essential to remember that there is no single correct classification for these tests because the different categorizations frequently overlap. There are four main types of mental health evaluations: the behavior being assessed (what they measure), the administration method, and the scoring and application process.
Everyone has their own set of values and characteristics to work on daily. A person’s initial performance in a job is influenced by both their long-term and short-term characteristics. When it comes to hiring new employees, companies have high standards for what they expect from them in terms of both technical proficiency and personal qualities such as morals and values. New employees are hired because of this. To understand how employee behavior is influenced, it is necessary to know each employee’s parts.
According to research, having a diverse workforce is essential, where individuals bring a wide range of skills and personality traits to the workplace (Sims, 2018). The business may greatly benefit from the hiring of a candidate who is forward-looking, creative, and unafraid to take risks.
Despite its apparent simplicity, the previous paragraph’s question is surprisingly complex. Since no two organizations or jobs are alike, it is impossible to draw broad conclusions about human nature. According to the interactionist theory, perception is shaped by how individuals interact with the world (Wu et al., 2019). One might want to think about it before making a final choice. Is it more likely for shy people to participate in a group setting? Instructors have the power to encourage students even if they are apprehensive about speaking in front of their peers. They are engrossed in the subject matter, confident in their responses, and at ease in the classroom. People who are proactive, creative, and willing to take risks can exhibit various behaviors, depending on the situation.
Many companies look for candidates who can fill at least two distinct roles during the hiring process. For a person to be considered a “person-organization fit,” the individual must have the same goals and values as the company. Person–job fit refers to the match between a person’s abilities and the position they are applying for. An accounting firm, for example, does not encourage risk-taking while rewarding routine and predictable behavior. Even though this person would excel in a scientific field, an office job in a dreary environment is not their cup of tea. One can check someone’s resume to see whether or not they are an ideal match for the business and the position.
It is a common criterion used by recruiters to determine whether or not a candidate is a good fit for a particular position. Job satisfaction, job identification, and productivity increase when a person’s personality and job match up well. Executives are particularly interested in candidates who show a strong fit between their personality and the company’s culture (also known as a cultural fit). Since team members tend to stay in their positions for longer, they report higher happiness, commitment, and influence than those who do not.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a personality assessment based on the “Big Five” traits, is well-known and widely used. The Big Five is a good starting point for attributes, while the MBTI is a good starting point for people’s unique quirks and quirkiness. A person’s level of extraversion or neuroticism, rather than their Big Five personality traits, categorizes them as neurotic or extraverted. A person’s personality heavily influences Work-related behavior and decisions (Choong & Varathaan, 2021). If a worker is dissatisfied with their job or the company, the replacement costs for the company can be as high as the annual salary of that worker. Employers use the results of job interviews to identify and hire the best candidates based on personality and cultural fit. To conduct an effective interview, it is incumbent upon the interviewer to select the candidates with care. Confidence is an important personality trait to look for when predicting job performance, but interviewers are not very good at picking it up during the process.
Humans can be identified by their values and personality traits. Setting short-term goals is the first step toward long-term success. A job that matches their values increases their likelihood of accepting it, and they are more likely to stay in a position that matches their values. It is possible to think of a person’s personality in terms of a collection of recurring feelings, thoughts, and actions. It is possible to generalize the Big Five personality traits across cultures and races because they have been found to persist over time and can be applied to a wide range of people. Positive and negative affectivity, social monitoring, and the feeling that one has control over one’s surroundings all impact how people behave at work. They arere all interconnected. A person’s actions are influenced by their surroundings, and understanding human behavior requires this belief to be held. The ability to perform well at work is affected by one’s personality. Before making a hiring decision, some companies may conduct a personality test. Using personality tests in the workplace necessitates additional, more reliable measures to ensure accurate results.
When we respond to environmental cues by making sense of our surroundings, we engage in a cognitive activity known as perception. The way we see the values and beliefs shape the world we hold dear and the demands and emotions felt during different situations. As a result, many biases influence how people view the world, other people, and themselves. It is necessary to make assumptions and extrapolate from the available information to understand the physical world. Physical objects may appear larger or smaller because we compare them to their surroundings; we may also perceive something as moving faster or slower than it does. Self-enhancement bias and self-effacement bias are the two types of bias that affect our point of view.
Furthermore, human beings tend to overestimate how similar we are to others. To a large extent, our attitudes toward others are shaped by our preconceptions and prejudices. People are surprised to learn that stereotypes can become a reality. Because we tend to focus on a few aspects of the environment and ignore information that contradicts our preconceptions and beliefs, stereotyping is alive and well. We determine a situation’s outcome by assigning blame to others and interpreting their actions. Studying how we perceive things can teach us about human conduct and cognition.
Due to various factors, some cultures have more personality traits than others. According to research, Extraversion is linked to a person’s belief in law. People are more likely to be extroverts in democracies than in authoritarian ones since people are more willing to mingle with strangers in democracies. Extraversion and a willingness to try new things are less common where infectious diseases are prevalent. A person’s tendency to isolate themselves increases when suffering from an infectious disease. Those who deviated from strict hygiene and food preparation standards after the outbreak of contagious diseases were put to death (Bandura, 2018). Because of the high prevalence of infectious diseases in their area of residence, these people are less open to new experiences than the general population.
We are who we are because of the values, characteristics, and worldviews that shape our ethical conduct. When money is more important than morality, people are more likely to engage in unethical behaviour. According to research, a lack of internal control has also been linked to unethical decision-making. As a result, we may overestimate our moral character, increasing the likelihood that we will engage in unethical conduct. According to the study’s findings, people’s values and personality traits appear to be influenced by their cultural background. One must be aware of one’s surroundings to comprehend today’s cultural differences. The personality type is meant to help one better understand the unique traits. To find a job that is a good match for the personality, one needs to know more about self.
This newfound knowledge will also improve the relationships with others, so put it to good use. It is impossible to improve interpersonal relationships if one does not first become aware of and understand the tendencies. Understanding the various personality types can help one better communicate with co-workers and others. Because they believe that debate is the best way to uncover the truth, the A consensus is counterproductive to their goals. It can be challenging for people to understand why someone would want to argue with them in a good mood. Working in a group, people can take advantage of the synergy of having a diverse range of personalities. The ideal company of choice for the two chosen methods is Microsoft, as it depicts the most extensive and comprehensive diverse nature (Mark et al., 2018). As a diverse company, Microsoft integrates aspects that closely draw from the attributes of intellectual and personality differences at the personal level to create frameworks for hiring and employment processes.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Occupational Personality Questionnaire Assessment Tools
An assessment tool developed by the Myers-Briggs Company to help people better understand their distinct personality types, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most widely used. It is used to identify and understand different types of personalities. The MBTI test results reveal differences that could lead to misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Because of this, these differences have been valued. To better understand the personality, it is highly recommended that one takes an MBTI assessment (Furnham, 2020). It is possible to learn a lot about themselves by looking at the MBTI personality type. The first step toward improving interpersonal relationships and better understanding themselves and their personality is to be aware of their personal preferences. Having a taste for a particular style of play will allow one to develop skills that will enable one to outperform opponents. Another way this can help one broaden the horizons and boost the most significant potential. When it comes to hiring, employers who consider things like personality traits are more likely to do so with accuracy and self-assurance, according to the research.
Hiring managers will have fewer problems if they use personality tests and traditional ability tests to find culturally and linguistically compatible employees. Increased job satisfaction and engagement positively impact employee retention and turnover over the long term and short-term savings in labor costs. According to recent workplace psychology research, our natural behavioral preferences and style are linked to the difference in performance between average and excellent performers (Schermer & Goffin, 2021). Two equally qualified and experienced employees can perform very differently on the same job even though the same resources and expertise surround them. Personality tests measure these characteristics, representing our work style and preferences. To get a complete picture of a person’s suitability for a particular position, they consider the discrepancies in performance. In addition to determining whether or not a candidate is technically capable of performing the job, it can inform an employer about whether or not a candidate is a good fit for the team and the organization.
It is best to take the SHL OPQ, the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ). Candidates’ preferences and attitudes toward work are assessed during the interview process using the OPQ32i occupational personality questionnaire. It is best to bring up the results during a selection interview or coaching session because they are based on self-awareness. Employers can gain insight into interviewees’ behavioral preferences using the SHL OPQ during the recruitment and selection (Kelleci et al., 2019). A potential employee’s compatibility with the company’s overall culture can also be determined using this method. In the context of training and development, OPQ can help one, and the employee identifies their professional strengths and weaknesses.
Choong, E. J., & Varathan, K. D. (2021). Predicting judging-perceiving of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in online social forum. PeerJ, 9, e11382. Web.
Jamal, M. T., Anwar, I., Khan, N. A., & Saleem, I. (2021). Work during COVID-19: assessing the influence of job demands and resources on practical and psychological outcomes for employees. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration. Web.
Kelleci, R., Lambrechts, F., Voordeckers, W., & Huybrechts, J. (2019). CEO personality: A different perspective on the nonfamily versus family CEO debate. Family Business Review, 32(1), 31-57. Web.
Schermer, J. A., & Goffin, R. D. (2021). The structure of an intelligence measure when higher and lower personality scorers are compared. Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 110402. Web.
Wu, G. J., Bagozzi, R. P., Anaza, N. A., & Yang, Z. (2019). A goal-directed interactionist perspective of counterfeit consumption: The role of perceived detection probability. European Journal of Marketing. Web.
Mark, G., Czerwinski, M., & Iqbal, S. T. (2018, April). Effects of individual differences in blocking workplace distractions. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-12). Web.
Technology has evolved since the emergency of microprocessors. The sizes of computers have reduced rapidly over time due to innovations in technology. With the reduction of the sizes of the computers, software development has followed the same trend.
An operating system (OS) “is an integrated set of programs that is used to manage the various resources and overall operations of a computer system which is designed to support the activity of a computer” (Das 2010, p. 88). A team of programmers work together with microprocessor engineers to design a set of programs that work together to avail various resources of a computer.
In fact, the most important part of the computer is the operating system. While a typical boot process doesn’t call the operating system right away, it hands over to the operating system before any real work can be done (Watson 2008, p. 60). Despite the fact that a computer system constitutes of the hardware, live ware and software, the operating system is the most important software that the computer system must contain.
The operating systems have been developed from time to time. The major differences in the operating systems revolve around the interfaces each operating system use. There are three major types of interfaces namely: command driven, menu driven and graphical user interface based operating systems. In the market today, there are a number of operating system software developers.
The most common personal computer operating system software developers or operating systems are: Windows by Microsoft Corporation, Mac by Apple computers, Solaris by Oracle, Linux and others. Old operating systems like MS DOS were command driven types of operating systems which are not reliable because of the difficulty encountered in remembering the commands.
The menu driven operating systems were an improvement of the command driven operating systems. This led to the invention of the graphics interface based operating system. Operating systems have two modes namely, user mode and the Kernel mode. The user mode is what the human being interacts with while the Kernel mode is what interacts with the computer hardware.
Microsoft operating system has penetrated most of the markets and is considered to be the most popular of the operating systems in use today. The Microsoft Operating system (OS) has also been changing the look and feel of the graphical interface and addition of some functions. Microsoft Windows 95 gave way to Windows 97 and Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2003/ XP and Windows Vista. The latest versions of Microsoft windows are the windows 7 and anticipated windows 8. The following statistics illustrate the trend in market penetration of the operating systems.
Charts showing the market share of the operating systems
Source: Net Market Share
Source: W3Counter
Source: Stat-Owl
Rationale behind the monopoly
From the information above, Microsoft Windows has taken the largest market share in operating systems. Jain & Khanna (2010, p. 77) argue that, “… pure monopoly is a market structure in which a single firm is the sole producer of a product for which there are no close substitutes”. With this definition and the market share of the Microsoft Windows operating system (about 85% average), it is enough ground to state that ‘it has a monopolistic market share.’
Now the question in mind is how the corporation has managed to retain its market share for long. Most businesses engage in dubious means of maintaining their monopoly in the market, is it so with Microsoft? It is argued that, “Microsoft has engaged in a carefully designed and extremely successful campaign to protect and extend its monopolies.
Microsoft has repeatedly made market allocation proposals to its competitors and has used a broad range of other anticompetitive and unlawful tactics to eliminate potential rivals, including tying, predatory product design, and intentional deception” (Schestowitz 2009, p. 93). Most of these activities may sound lawful but they are not. Reports indicate that Microsoft makes about 77% profit every year from its two main monopolistic products namely: Windows Operating system and Microsoft Office suite.
Reasons why it is believed that Microsoft is using uncompetitive techniques
The reasons why Microsoft is using anticompetitive practices in order to have dominance in the market are quite elaborate. Microsoft tried their best to eliminate a number of applications that are used to accomplish day to day activities. The applications are: web browsers, office application packages, DOS and media players.
Microsoft also used other methods to discourage sale and development of other technologies. These allegations are explored below so as to support the fact that Microsoft uses anticompetitive practices to maintain a monopoly in the market share.
First, Microsoft worked hard to eliminate the Netscape browser with its Windows explorer. In 1996 Netscape’s group Chief Executive Officer said, “… Microsoft’s strategy for Windows and Internet Explorer involved nothing short of eliminating Netscape’s Navigator” (Pride & Ferrel 2006, 112).
Together with other CEOs from other firms they complained that Microsoft was anticompetitive and violated federal antitrust laws because it sold Windows with a reinstallation of Windows Explorer. The fact that everybody who bought and installed Microsoft Windows had no choice but to install Windows Explorer as well was a cause of alarm. The Windows Explorer is uninstall-able hence, the conclusion that Microsoft wanted to limit its users to its products only.
McKenzie & Lee (2006, p.18) indicates that, “In 1998, the Justice department took Microsoft to court for violation of antitrust laws. …the justice department maintained that Microsoft was a monopolist as evidenced by its dominance in the market share in the operating system and Microsoft was using ‘predatory’ pricing of its internet explorer”.
With the entire public outcry and the fact that Microsoft Windows Explorer was being sold as inbuilt software, was truly reason enough to conclude that Microsoft was using anticompetitive practices in order to sustain a large market share.
Secondly, Microsoft had to make sure that Word Perfect is eliminated by the introduction of Microsoft Office suite. It indicated that, “Microsoft launched an anticompetitive campaign to extinguish WordPerfect, an office productivity application owned by Novell and competing with Microsoft’s Office suite” (Fergusion, 2002).
In fact Bill Gates (Microsoft Founder and group CEO) stated that, “I have decided that we should not publish these [Windows 95 user interface] extensions. We should wait until we have a way to do a high level of integration that will be harder for likes of Notes, WordPerfect to achieve, and which will give Office a real advantage…. We can’t compete with Lotus and WordPerfect/Novell without this”, (Schezowitz, 2011).
With this campaign Word perfect gained popularity but in retaliatory, Microsoft came up with measures to suppress it. For instance, Microsoft required that Novel must improve their technology in order to avoid incompatibility. Microsoft also narrowed the marketing opportunities of Novel by use of OEM licensing. As time went by, Microsoft office gained ground and Word perfect virtually disappeared from the market.
Thirdly, Microsoft introduced a Per Processor license fees. Original Equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are manufacturers of computers with preinstalled operating systems. Since these companies bought the operating systems from Microsoft and others, Microsoft required that each computer shipped has a license for the operating systems.
This was uncompetitive to other operating systems. In fact, it later emerged that, “In 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed an antitrust suit against Microsoft challenging this conduct, resulting in a consent decree under which Microsoft agreed to stop using per processor license fees” (). Clearly at this point Microsoft admitted that it was using an uncompetitive technique and withdrew from some of its activities.
Microsoft went on to eliminate other commonly used software. Microsoft’s introduction of the Windows media player was a way of trying to avoid exposing their API. Media players are middleware products that expose APIs to software developers which were the worry of Microsoft.
The fact that, “middle ware could reduce the application barrier to entry by serving as an applications, taking over some of the platform functions provided by Microsoft and thereby weakening the applications’ barrier of entry”, (Shelaniski 2003 p. 223). This was a major concern for Microsoft.
This was the big reason why they had to introduce as many middleware in their operating systems so as to avoid the risk of exposing their code. The best way it combated this was by tying its media player with the operating system which gave users no reason to look for other media players. This was also an anticompetitive idea that Microsoft used to protect its operating system.
The server systems were no spared as well. According to Mowery (1996, p. 9), “a server is a software program, or the computer on which that program runs, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on the same computer or other computers on a network.” With this definition, it is clear to note that an operating system on a personal computer on a network needs to send a request to the server computer.
Again, the request sent must be understood by the server operating system. In this regard, Microsoft decided to ‘punish’ other server software developers by making their operating system incompatible. This clearly is not a good practice to software development because it slowed down the development of other server software.
This seems to have worked well for Microsoft since it is the most popular server operating system to date. However, the desire to make it only compatible to Microsoft products was reduced drastically. This has enabled development and slow growth of other server software.
An operating system works with an underlying microprocessor; that is why there is a strong relationship between Microsoft and Intel and AMD. Since Intel was the most acceptable microprocessor during the inception of Microsoft systems, there was enough reason for Intel to cooperate with Microsoft. With this in mind and the aggressiveness of Microsoft to protect its market, it organized collective boycott against Intel.
One of Intel’s main goals was to develop a Native Signal Processing System (NSP) that would enable the customers enjoy, “… robust multimedia systems at lower prices because NSP in many cases would eliminate redundant expensive multimedia add-in cards”, (InfoWorld Jun 5, 1995). This did not go down well with Microsoft and they decided to define their own development environment that would thwart the plans of Intel, which is sabotage.
In conclusion, Microsoft has managed to keep its market share at an extremely high value of 85% average. Its browser Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office suite are leading in market share as well. The means it uses are dubious but somehow Microsoft is cleverer to maintain that they are within the specifications of law.
However, it has also failed in applications it has developed. The Windows version Vista is considered to have failed because it did not reach the market as anticipated. This was witnessed by users sticking to using Windows XP rather than the new and fancier version Vista. Microsoft also developed and Antivirus that could only be used on computers running its operating systems but they did not get the popularity they expected.
The behavior of Microsoft for the last two decades has illustrated its willingness to participate in unlawful conducts that extend its dominance in the market. As a result of this practice, consumers in the market are bound to use the same products with little room for innovation if the same was to be in a competitive market.
If authorities were to closely monitor the trends of Microsoft’s monopoly from the beginning, they would stop them from manipulating the market. The latest measures taken by European Commission to curb Microsoft misbehavior is seen by many people as the start of stopping Microsoft participating in anticompetitive behaviors for the long term.
Reference List
Das, S., 2010. A Complete Guide to Computer Fundamentals. New Delhi: University Science Press.
Jain, T. & Khanna, O., 2010. Managerial Economics. New Delhi: Vimla Kumari Jain.
McKenzie, R. & Lee, D., 2006. Microeconomics for MBAs: The economic way of thinking for Managers. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Mowery, D., 1996. The International Computer Software Industry: A Comparative Study of Industry Evolution and Structure. New York: Oxford University Press.
Pride, W. & Ferrell, C., 2006. Marketing: Concepts and Strategies. Boston, MA: Congage Learning, Inc
Schestowitz, 2009. “20 Years of Microsoft Anticompetitive Behavior”.
Watson, J., 2008. A History of Computer Operating Systems. Ann Arbor, MI: Nimble Books LLC.
The risks that Microsoft has faced in operating in China and dealing with the Chinese government
While operating in China, Microsoft has faced risks at the different levels. The first most evident challenge for the company was the practices of software piracy and the lack of legislative power to protect the original products. On the local level, Microsoft initiated partnerships with sub-national governments in order to stand against the policy of procurement.
However, the alliances with the government were risky nonetheless because they try to pressure the company into entering the joint ventures with the local software producers. The macro risk for the Microsoft was the fact that the software piracy and lack of means to protect intellectual property rights were combined with the Chinese nationalism (Buderi and Huang par.7). The potential consumers might not be interested in the world reputation of the company and would prefer to buy unlicensed software products from the local suppliers.
Currently, the risks are diminishing since there are now more international companies operating in China. Despite the controversies about Microsoft supporting the censorship in China, the company indeed managed to succeed in smoothening relationship with both national and local governments (Taubman 257). Whether or not, the same risks could apply to other developing countries, it depends on the level of nationalistic tendencies, legislative base, and the procurement predispositions in governmental policy.
Risks of supporting, financing, and transferring technology to local firms
There are considerable risks that Microsoft takes by financing and transferring software technology to Chinese firms. However, we cannot say that Microsoft is not aware of those risks since major companies, including another software producer Linux, have had difficulties dealing with intellectual property right issues in China (Shen 190).
The procurement policy that exists on the macro level of the state provides the local software firms with advantages over the international companies. The government defines the development of the software technologies sector as the top priority. One of the government’s objectives was to increase the amount of Chinese export of technologies to 10 billion dollars by 2010. That is why the Chinese government itself contributes a great amount of financing into the local software firms (Yang, Ghauri, and Sonmez 70). However, aside from that, the international enterprises are constantly under the pressure of creating the joint ventures together with the local firms, and therefore, share the technology with them.
One of the ways to manage those risks is to try influencing the policy. Microsoft achieves that by making the alliances with the major companies, such as Petro China (Blanchard 69). Another way of avoiding risks is concentrating on importing hardware, which is also a significant source of Microsoft’s revenues. However, the reasonable cooperation with local firms, including Lenovo and TLC Group, is helpful because consumers from the Chinese region often prefer the local companies.
Internet censorship in China
Traditional media in China are censored by the government in many aspects, whereas the Internet media could have the opportunity to present information in an unbiased manner (Qiu 23). The attempt to challenge the censorship in China would be a bold but strategically unjustified move for Microsoft. Unlike Google, the company has firmly established its place in the Chinese market by promoting preinstalled Windows software in many Chinese gadgets. The advantage of not challenging the censorship policy is in the support of the establishment. However, the disadvantage is that, in such a way, the company restricts its own means of using media. Therefore, for now, the restrained policy on censorship is justified, but it may change over time.
References
Blanchard, Jean-Marc F. “China, Multinational Corporations, and Globalization: Beijing and Microsoft Battle over the Opening of China’s Gates.” Asian Perspective (2007): 67-102. Print.
Buderi, Robert, and Gregory T. Huang. Guanxi (the art of relationships): Microsoft, China, and Bill Gates’s plan to win the road ahead, New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2007. Print.
Qiu, Jack Linchuan. “Virtual censorship in China: Keeping the gate between the cyberspaces.” International Journal of Communications Law and Policy4.Winter (1999): 1-25. Print.
Shen, Xiaobai. “A dilemma for developing countries in intellectual property strategy? Lessons from a case study of software piracy and Microsoft in China.” Science and Public Policy 32.3 (2005): 187-198. Print.
Taubman, Geoffry. “A not-so World Wide Web: The Internet, China, and the challenges to nondemocratic rule.” Political Communication 15.2 (1998): 255-272. Print.
Yang, Deli, Pervez Ghauri, and Mahmut Sonmez. “Competitive analysis of the software industry in China.” International Journal of Technology Management 29.1-2 (2005): 64-91. Print.
