Microsoft's Business Undertakings and Strategies - Case Study Example

Microsoft Thesis ment: This paper seeks to attempt to analyze the company’s business undertakings and strategies in order to reveal the reasons behind its phenomenal success. In addition, the paper seeks to analyze the impacts the company has had recently on the issue of the recruitment of university graduates in America. 1. History of Microsoft a. 1980s b. 1990s 2. Microsoft’s success strategies a. Graduate recruitment b. Personalized service c. Market adjustment d. Marketplace fluctuations e. Accessibility f. Market base Introduction Since its advent in the early 1970s, the Microsoft conglomerate has consistently rose to stand tall as one of the most thriving ventures across the world. Currently, it boasts of a top-tier position among the top companies globally. It comes in third in ranking on the FT Global 500 list. In addition, it rakes in revenue amounting to more than $ 36 billion dollars annually (Stanek, 2006:42). 1. History The Microsoft Corporation is an American business venture dealing in the business of inventing computer software and programs, and in the manufacture of computer-related hardware (Pralahad, 2008:37). Currently, the venture’s shares are on trade at the NASDAQ stock market in New York City, in America. The conglomerate has a global presence, and owns branches and offices in more than seventy nations. Though the main idea behind its start was to produce operating systems to power the Altair 8000 computer system, the business went on to invent significant breakthroughs in the software market. The first evidence of the company’s potential to change the world was its introduction of the MS-DOS in the early 1980s. Soon after, it produced the Windows system in the early 1990s. Through the dominating of the computer market base, and already enjoying a virtual solo monopoly on the global business and home-based personal computer market, it was in an adequate spot to produce software applicatios that would support its systems. The company fully exploited this opportunity, gaining vital ground in the market. This led to the venture releasing the Microsoft Office, which was a huge success at the business sector. In addition, the company also participated in the formulation of MSN, an online-based search engine and news database (Barry, 2011:113). 2. The 1980s The Microsoft Company came into being because of the idea of William Gates in conjunction with Paul Allen. Initially, the venture offered only one product. It employed only three workers, and, in its first year of business, raked in only about $ 25,000 dollars in sales. Gates and his partner had decided to base their company in Alberquque, New Mexico, in order to access the MITS Computer Company easily, which had helped in constructing their Altair microcomputer equipment. Microsoft’s initial product was the Microsoft BASIC, the then programming dialect of the Altair. The Microsoft BASIC was an improvement of BASIC, which was a mainframe computer dialect that the two partners had gotten wind of while in high school in Seattle (Shelly, 2009:97). As time went by, the company made major breakthroughs in the computer field. Not only did the company improve BASIC vastly, but it also modified other present computer languages for their use. In 1977, the company unveiled a modified version of FORTRAN, and quickly followed it with another improved version of COBOL in 1978. By the dawn of 1979, the company had successfully managed to relocate its operations to Washington. At the time, the venture boasted of about $ 3 million dollars in annual income. In addition, it had raised its employee figures to around 30 workers (Todd, 2011:67). The operating system is a major factor of all computers. In addition to it being the lifeline of the computer, it has also been the major influential factor behind Microsoft’s success. In 1981, the company unveiled the DOS 1.0 operating system for use by the IBM computer. This move proved to be a major landmark in the company’s history. When other computer manufacturing companies, including Compaq, invented computers that were compatible with the IBM versions, they unknowingly enabled the Microsoft’s disk-based operating system, known as MS-DOS, to access a multi-billion dollar market base. In addition, this move also greatly favored the sales of other Microsoft computer software systems. The Microsoft management, on analyzing the great potential benefits that this happening offered, decided to incorporate, and subsequently formed a nation-wide sales network (Todd, 2011:143). Since 1981, the personal computer sector and the Microsoft Company have both experienced drastic growth rates. This growth was the result of the changing of the computer industry by the IBM computer. The general industry’s income has steadily grown at a consistent rate of approximately 25 %. In addition, Microsoft sales figures have also steadily risen at a consistent 36 % rate. By the year 2008, Microsoft stood as the globe’s biggest software manufacturer for personal computers. Since its inception, the company has unveiled numerous operating systems. These include Windows 3.0 in 1990, MS-DOS in 1981, Windows Vista in 2005, Windows XP in 2001, Pocket PC in 2000, Windows 7 in 2009, and Windows Mobile in 2003. The highlight of Microsoft’s success in innovation in the software category has been Microsoft Office. This is a combination of inter-blended programs, which are very crucial for personal and business use (Richard, 2007:89). 3. The 1990s The 1990s was a very eventful era for the company. This is because most people in the world had begun to appreciate the function ability of the personal computer. In addition, while other industries struggled to adapt to the current changes flowing across the world, Microsoft was enjoying high sales and, in fact, had trouble satisfying monumental orders. Most hardware producers installed Windows as the basic tool on their machines, due to the compatibility of the Windows Ready-to-RUN software (Scot, 2007:176). The venture’s hardware division also benefited greatly, with the company’s Mouse selling about 6 million units in 1991 alone. During this era, the company expanded greatly. In 1991, it acquired a 25% share stake in Dorling Kindersley Company, which was a London publishing and packaging venture. In early 1992, it merged with Fox Software Inc by offering about 1.3 million shares for the whole company. In 1993, it unveiled the Microsoft Mouse 2.0, which was equally good for both right and left-handed individuals. In the same year, it launched Microsoft Windows NT, a program that greatly favored business inventories (Joseph, 2004:89). By 1996, the company had invented the Microsoft ActiveX technology, which helped in the constructing of live content for use on the internet. In late 1998, it restructured its management, appointing Steve Ballmer as president. Generally, the 1990s was a very successful era for the company. This is because the economic, social, and global changes called for the introduction of technology in all sectors. Therefore, Microsoft had an unlimited market base, thus their sales shot up. At one time, it accounted for about 24% of Washington’s revenue. 4. Microsoft’s success strategies Microsoft has gained a lot of success in its operations since it started. The main reason behind its monumental breakthroughs in the market bin regard to its success is its clear understanding of its relevant market base and adaptation of relevant approaches towards the same. Analysis of the company’s operations has revealed that the company broadly identifies and breaks down its overall target market into three main categories. These include platform products and services, entertainment, and business. The overall company strategy heavily focuses on specialized marketing strategies that are tailored to meet the wants of each target market. Its strategies attempt to introduce radical approaches in satisfying the market and change the current perception of their products and brands. However, its principal market bases seem to have reached the maturity and saturation level (Michael, 2009:83). The company initially strived to construct its presence in them through numerous ways. It intensely exploited the factor of discrete product placing, a factor that effectively put it apart from its main rivals. This move is mainly responsible for placing their Office and Internet Explorer products at the top. Market base In the company strategy, the business market is divided into main areas that cover all sectors of industry. These include finance, retail, and education. On the other hand, their home markets cover the entertainment, utility, and education sectors effectively. In the business sector, the company seeks to avail integrated products that attend to specific needs. It offers applications suited to satisfy all business technology necessities through a two-pronged approach. It offers business software solutions to satisfy customer relationship monitoring, supply chain supervision, covering network, hardware management, and the Windows Server system. in a more micro stage, the company strives to focus its services to consumers through its Certified Partners network. This network includes a global network of state-based business franchises and individual experts, who help to ensure that the consumers continually enjoy support services from people who are adequately familiar both withy the company brands, and the indigenous business issues. These services entail add-in products, which build on standard programs to meet specific customer needs and applications more effectively. This personalized service is non-existent in all its rivals’ business strategies, and has help catapult the company to new heights success wise. This is because its competitors tend to manufacture a standard product and expect it to fulfill all the different needs of varying customers. Accessibility In addition, the company has also taken relevant steps to further their accessibility and contact to potential customers by offering individual training programs and certification tests to consumers regarding the effective use of its products. This approach has helped the company to gain positive reactions from its market, and, thus, the consumers believe that the company products are individual-based. This has helped it to sustain strong market retention figures, along with the attraction of new markets. This is due to its consistent close interaction with consumers, and managing to satisfy virtually all their specific needs. These, and other strategies, have significantly influenced the company’s ability to maintain a virtual monopoly in the industry (Lars, 2009:39). Marketplace fluctuations The Microsoft business has exhibited its ample ability to adapt to fluctuating market conditions and needs. This is another main drive factor behind their great triumph. in addition, the company has managed to discover and exploit its strengths fully. In addition, the company has invested heavily in worldwide marketing rallies and campaigns that shadow all other player’s activity in the advertising field. In the year 2004 alone, the conglomerate spent in excess of $ 8.2 million dollars in its worldwide promotion advertising approach. However, the venture has managed to keep focused on its target market base from a corporate level in numerous ways. Another key strategy of the company has been to focus their applications to the web platform. Through this move, the venture has exhibited its intense belief that the internet will always be crucial to its customers’ needs. In this, it has strived to combine its Hotmail email service with the more complex MSN passport application. Market adjustment From 1997, the venture acknowledged the eternal relevance of the internet in the world, and has continually embarked on integrating it into all of their products. The continued success of this strategy in the future is still arguable, but it will surely be bolstered by the company’s initial vision and the massive experience that the company has gained since then. From its inception, the company has sustained an aggressive characteristic of investing immensely in mergers and acquisitions. This is another show of its readiness to change its tactics in line with changing market climates. In 1999, it acquired Hotmail to help it counter stiff competition from Yahoo. In general, the company’s strategy focuses on the acquisition of other products that have the potential of improving its overall quality in product manufacture and delivery systems. Before it invented its X-box games, it had already bought out Bungie, which was the owner of the rights to the highly popular Halo game (Dell, 2012:227). Personalized service In general, the company has gained success through exhibiting an inner drive to aid people and businesses in realizing their full potential through offering relevant products and software solutions. The company has formulated numerous values that it follows in all its undertakings (Robert, 2009:145). The company holds the norms of honesty and integrity in all business transactions. The company has ensured that it is easily reachable by the consumers, and always shows openness and respect to all queries directed to it. it has also consistently shown accountability to all involved people. The company also strives to battle seemingly outsized challenges, and commits all its resources towards solving them. All these have helped to drive the company to great success, making it an idol to numerous ventures that are still in their teething stages in business (Edward, 2006:327). Graduate recruitment The company also focuses on recruiting select individuals who exhibit high amount of talent and performance in all its business sectors. In the U.S.A, the conglomerate is renowned for targeting and poaching of talented workforce, both from school, and from other rival companies. The company, through doing this, shows that it highly values the efficient delivery of products and services that fully satisfy the customer, thus ensuring high returns and overall success. One of its major departments that have performed highly is their marketing department. This is because the company’s top management believes that the company overall marketing strategy should be effective in publicizing the company’s efforts in satisfying the customers. This strategy has heavily affected the recruiting system in American learning institutions (Tim, 2009:78). The company has always maintained a close connection with renowned institutions of higher learning across the world. It has also shown financial and mental support for bright, but disadvantaged, students all over the world. This has heavily publicized the company to all students and graduates as the ideal company to work with among other big companies globally. The company is also renowned globally for offering lucrative remuneration packages to all its employees. It also has attractive benefits and bonuses to all outstanding and high-achieving workers. The company, being an outsized conglomerate, offers an attractive opportunity to ambitious graduates as a chance to work in a company that offers numerous avenues for climbing in superiority and ranking. In addition, the company has evidenced great respect and acknowledgement for new inventions and the improvement of existing products from its employees (Pathak, 2011:56). 5. Conclusion Since its founding, the corporation has grown from power to might. This is largely due to its ground-breaking innovations, shrewd marketplace strategies, and tailored services to all interested divisions. Due to being the leader in the computer machinery field, it has enjoyed a virtually monopolistic stance across the globe. This has greatly boosted its accomplishment all over as companies that create hardware products have to make them to be attuned with all Microsoft goods. All these factors have had a great impact on graduate recruiting worldwide. Bright students always choose the company as their first choice in all applications. This is aided by the fact that the company has scouts in virtually all institutes of learning to identify potential workers. This has heavily imbalanced the recruitment sector. Rival companies have to settle with the rest after Microsoft has taken the cream. This is due to the implanted perception that the company is the best in the world. This, in general, has greatly influenced the great triumph of the company over its rivals. Bibliography Barry, D., 2001. Microsoft Data Mining: Integrated Business Intelligence for E-Commerce and Knowledge Management. Kansas: Digital Press. Del, S., 2012. Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch Unleashed. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Edward, M., 2006. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Joseph, W., 2004. Microsoft Office 2003 All-In-One. New York: Que Publishing. Lars, D., 2009. Inside Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2009. Carlifornia: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Michael, S., 2009. Microsoft® Solutions Framework Essentials. Carlifornia: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Pathak, N., 2011. Pro Wcf 4: Practical Microsoft Soa Implementation. New York: Apress. 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