Microsoft in Europe: The Real Stakes

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Analysis
Alternatives
Evaluation of Alternatives
Best Alternative
Weakness
Recommendations and Conclusions
References

Introduction

Almost everybody is familiar with the company Microsoft Corporation; its headquarters are situated in Redmond, Washington, USA. It is one of the largest multinational in the technology business. Microsoft designs and manufactures a vast range of software products for computers.

Analysis

Microsoft, despite being one of the huge giants in the world, has had several allegations against it. The accused, that is Microsoft, also presents it plea and then the decision lies in the hands of the Court of First Instance. A decision against Microsoft can harm its image and public trust greatly and can also cause some customers to lose confidence on their products. The case has been filed against its competitors such as Nokia, IBM and Oracle due to their loss of market share with Microsoft producing the products that the former companies are responsible for. Microsoft presents its products in combos and pairs because of which the customers buy from them only and do not bother going to the competitor stores. For example, Microsoft always included Media Player in its software for computers, therefore, the RealNetworks were facing a huge loss; this has reduced competition in the market to a great extent (BusinessWeek, 2007).

Alternatives

Microsoft needs a way out; to save not only its image but also its profits and production license, therefore, it needs to think strategically. The Microsoft management needs to review all the products that are being produced at the moment by them; along with that, they should make a flow chart that shows how different products are connecting Microsoft to different companies (Music/Audio programs for the operating system of Windows leads them to the Media Player production). It should then reduce the production of their own secondary products and sign a temporary testing contract for that with other companies (sign a contract with RealNetworks for the Audio/Music program in their operating system). Another alternative that Microsoft has is to conduct a survey of customer satisfaction; it the customers are content with the Microsoft production, the company could get them to sign a petition that would add weight to their plea.

Evaluation of Alternatives

There is a good chance that the customers might be dissatisfied with this act and if so, Microsoft can use that as an evidence for the fact that they made right decisions by producing the products jointly on their own. For that, again a survey needs to be carried out after the production processes and products have been changed a bit. The other alternative seems a little unpredictable; the customers might react negatively and refuse to associate themselves with a company which has been accused and has a case filed against it.

Best Alternative

The best choice is the first one; Microsoft should try signing a temporary testing contract with the company because that would result in extremely solid evidence. Also, the other company will get a chance to reap profits on the way when customers try out the new products so even the linking company will agree.

Weakness

If Microsoft wins and they continue producing on their own, the market will soon be flooded with Microsoft with no other company getting a share. However, it the decision is not in favor of Microsoft, even then Microsoft will not discard all its production and sell all of it first and sell the new production; that would again mean that the rival companies have to face losses.

Recommendations and Conclusions

I believe that the decision should not be in favor of Microsoft because it is just exploiting the customers by providing combos and joint products and it is clearly unfair to the other companies who are working hard to produce equally admirable products. However, the decision is to be taken by the court and it needs to be very strategically thought out as it is critical for all the computer technology market.

References

2007, “Microsoft in Europe: The Real Stakes,” BusinessWeek, The McGraw-Hill Companies.

John A. Pearce, II, Villanova University & Richard B. Robinson, Jr., University of South Carolina; ISBN: 0-07-338136-7

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