Strategic Plan for Microsoft - Essay Example

Strategic Plan for Microsoft of the of the Strategic Plan for Microsoft Introduction No modern business today can exist in a vacuum. It has to face the internal and external forces that abound in the business environment. Some of these are helpful for every firm in the industry and are called opportunities, while others bring bad news for everyone and are regarded as threats. Besides these forces in the external environment, a particular firm may have internal strengths such as the skill and experience of its staff, or weaknesses such as frequent labour disputes because of lack of clearly defined polices for staff and workers.

In sum the fortunes of the firm are dependent on how well its management deals with business opportunities and threats, while using the strengths of the firm to take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the effect of the threats through clever planning and strategic implementation of its vision for the company. This is what is called strategic management- or the planning and implementation to achieve its desired plans in the marketplace in the face of these internal and external forces.

The legal, political, sociological, economic and other environments may pose a number of challenges that must be overcome by the business if it is to survive and prosper in the marketplace (David, 2008). Microsoft Corporation is one of the key players in the worldwide computing industry and this paper will discuss how successfully it has managed to meet internal and external challenges faced by the firm and the industry as a whole. A Brief History of the Company Microsoft was started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on 04 April 1975.

The company is headquartered in Richmond, Washington and develops, manufactures, supports and licenses a wide range of products and services primarily related to computing. Presently the main products of the company are the Windows operating system and the Microsoft suite line. However, the company has also diversified into the video game industry with the Xbox and Xbox 360 and into the digital services market with Zune, MSN and the Windows OS phone. As of May 2011, Microsoft has also purchased Skype Communications (www.microsoft.com).

Strategic Objectives, Measures & Targets It is clear from its competitive stance as well as the products and services that it is delivering all across the globe that Microsoft wants to be a global leader in the computer software industry, especially with regard to office computing requirements and operating systems. Right from the introduction of Windows 95 onwards, Microsoft has identified the World Wide Web as the next frontier to be conquered. All of its products are designed to be web-compatible in terms of display, uploads and downloads and even embedding.

Windows Vista and later systems cover cloud computing, Microsoft Dynamics the ERP end of the spectrum, with CRM and Azure completing the circle. It has also ventured into gaming with the Xbox and phones and digital communications with Zune and Windows 7. It wants to be a one stop shop for its users and would never like them to use a competing product or service, whatever their needs. Marketing and Information Technology Microsoft has a very strong marketing strategy but its problems lie in the reliability of its products and software support.

It has been known to produce constant updates or patches for vulnerabilities in its software that are a source of consternation to its clients. Still the ease of use makes its products the most popular in the world. And it has been removing support for previous versions much quicker than users can bear. Monitoring and Controlling the Proposed Strategic Plan The new strategic plan should focus on partnerships in areas that Microsoft needs to learn, like SEO and phone applications. It has expertise in operating systems and office based software and should maintain these strengths.

Expertise in areas where it lacks will come but this will take time. Targets should be set and maintained for number of users, kinds of service and product improvements, revenues and profitability. How the Measures Will Advance Organizational Goals Financially and Operationally Microsoft could use a good quality control initiative like Six Sigma. This allows for one defect per million pieces. If the software engineers at Microsoft are not hurried into bringing out half baked products, it would solve the reliability problem and give a new face to the company, ensuring better sales revenues and profitability.

Addressing Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Issues Faced by the Organization Primarily since the 1990s, Microsoft’s conduct has been far from exemplary. It has been found in violation of anti-trust laws by both the European Commission and the US Department of Justice. Business crimes include tying, refusal to deal, anti-discriminatory tactics and unreasonable restrictions in use of software, monopolistic practices and misrepresentative marketing tactics. Rather than be paranoid and constantly looking over its shoulder, Microsoft should ease up a little and learn to respect the Law and follow ethical business practices.

It has way too much dominance in the operating systems and office suite software areas and can relax because open source software will remain a weak competitor due to lack of control and organization. How Microsoft can Improve its Corporate Citizenship Microsoft can do a lot of things to improve its social responsibility. One thing would be to teach baby boomers how to use a computer. Another way is to make computers available to areas of the world where internet access has just reached. This will no doubt increase sales of its software and office suite products as well.

The third thing would be to set up training centres where Microsoft professionals could teach hardware, software, networking, applications or whatever the people needed to be trained in, at a very nominal rate. It would not only help them stay ahead of the competition but increase the number of users as well. References David, Fred R.(2008): Strategic Management: Concepts, 12th edition. Pearson Higher Education. The Microsoft website at www.microsoft.com. Accessed on 20 June 2011.