Microsoft as an Organization for Management Course - Case Study Example

Contents Microsoft from a management perspective. 2) A brief introduction to Microsoft a. History b. Products and Services c. Costumers d. Quality e. Organization Structure. 3) The 4 key concepts from the Management Course and relation with Microsoft Conclusion Introduction: Microsoft offers numerous facilities for the effective management of corporate establishments. The structure of Microsoft plays a strategic role in achieving the enduring vision of IT business management. The company’s skyrocketing success over the years could be well attributed to its customer-centric attitude, gracious clients and active system facilities. 1) Microsoft from a management perspective: From the perspective of management, it is very important to realize how the sum of operational funds changes drastically. A proportional balance page is utilized for this process. Microsoft provides various incredible advantages in the field of project management as well as in the over all management process. Moreover, Microsoft offers assistance in managing the progress of the organization/company in the following ways: “Analysis of project progress with charts, tables, views, and reports. Keep the team members well-informed of communities, schedules, and deadlines. Identifying project bottlenecks and problems before they occur Develop strategies to get a project back on track.” (Black, 2005, p.211). Project supervisors have been appointed and various apparatus and systems have been created to regularly track/monitor the progress of each project. 2 a. History Microsoft is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, certifies and maintains a broad range of software products and services for computing devices. Bill Gates is the founder of the Microsoft Company. The name of the company ‘Microsoft’ is derived from the terms ‘software’ and ‘microcomputer.’ The first international office of Microsoft was established in Japan in 1978, titled ‘ASCII Microsoft.’ In 1981, the firm established an integrated business in Washington (USA). The company is headquarters in Redmond, USA. Today, its most profitable products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software. The primary working system of the Microsoft was founded in 1980. Very soon, the firm started to create numerous new programs and there was no looking back! In 1983, Microsoft developed a residence computer arrangement named MSX. Since then, Microsoft became the largest competitor in the business for producing top-of-the-line facilities i.e., the Windows. In 2001 Microsoft launched a personal computer system. b. Products and services Microsoft offers various products and services which are simple, easy-to-use, and accessible for every one. “HP, the world’s largest technology company, provides printing and personal computing products and IT services, software and solutions that simplify the technology experience for consumers and businesses. HP completed its acquisition of EDS on Aug. 26, 2008.” (New HP products and services enhance Microsoft Virtualization from desktop to data centre, 2010, para.14). c. Costumers: In order to satisfy the ever-growing needs of customers, a proper balance must be struck between the knowledge of the customer and what he anticipates from the product and services of Microsoft. Customers use the products of Microsoft mainly to further their productivity and competitiveness and also for the advancement of individual potential and skills. The emergence of the PC and accessible computer systems has lead to the increase in demand for software products/services as well as a significant increase in customers too. d. Quality: The products/services of Microsoft are known for their excellent quality. All the products of Microsoft are protected. The quality of Microsoft has focused on consumer approval and reliability. It has been widely accepted for its condensed variations in application, enhance in industrial produces and wider consumer acceptance. For example, the Microsoft Outlook CRM possesses characteristics like quick and easier accessibility to required information, firm mixing with all other Microsoft programs and an incredibly strong investigation and better treatment equipments. e. Organization Structure: Microsoft created several changes in its organizational structure, with the intention of promoting the firms’ continuing association with software services, especially its customary enclosed software products and services. A company’s organization structure demonstrates the systematic arrangement of a firm and the connection and relation among its various divisions. 3) Management Concepts: The management concepts are the underlying principles and policies of an organization’s management. The organizational concept, essentially, includes the objectives, policies, targets, quality criteria and the performance measuring tool of an organization. The management concept acts as a catalyst in providing the requisite knowledge skills and adequate potential. There are different management concepts that must be employed in an organization for achieving success. Strategic Management: Strategic management plays a phenomenal role in the success of any organization. Strategic management is applicable for the well-being of the entire organization, which ultimately depends on the fundamental principles and long term implications of the management. In short, strategic management could be defined as the strategy of taking up important and influential decisions. The basic structure of the strategic model consists of the strategic implementation, strategic choices and strategic analysis. The strategic management refers to the strategy that should be managed throughout the entire planning process in diverse chronological steps that involve objective setting, resources planning, environmental trends and the performance evaluation in the organization. The products of Microsoft offer a whole horde of advantages to the customers. They are highly innovative and technology-driven, with high efficiency and incur relatively lesser expenses in designing and deployment. Accessibility could be easily defined as ‘dealing put into practice’ by the Company. Microsoft has always had a great reputation for its integrity and conscientiousness in business. Trust worthiness is a key component in any successful business. Microsoft has immense confidence and trust in their information technology prior to any technology in the industry. The various strategic management approaches made by the company are accessibility in the research area, new product development and prototyping. The company dynamically upholds the integrated approach in the industry. “Microsoft takes a strategic approach to accessibility by following these steps: Continuing the longstanding commitment and leadership in accessibility research, awareness, and innovation. Making the computer easier to see, hear, and use by incorporating accessibility features into Microsoft products. Ensuring that Windows is the best platform for accessibility innovation for technology manufacturers, and Building strong, collaborative relationships with key government agencies and organizations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities.” (Accessibility mission, strategy and progress, 2010, para.6). Corporate Governance: Corporate governance, as a whole, comprises certain policies and principles that directly or indirectly affect the organization in the way it is monitored. Corporate governance seeks to establish a good rapport with the stake holders and the shareholders and helps to achieve the set goals and targets of the organization. The main aim of corporate governance is the enforcement of accountability through the various technological mechanisms and to eliminate the various problems related to organizational issues. According to Bill Gates, the Chairman of Micrsoft, the company considers success as the obsession with value generation for share holders, stake holders and it’s partners. The company attributes its success to it’s excellent corporate governance and business integrity. “Strong corporate governance at Microsoft starts with a Board of Directors that is independent, engaged, committed, and effective. Our Board establishes, maintains, and monitors standards and policies for ethics, business practices, and compliance that spans the company. Working with management, we set strategic business objectives, ensure that Microsoft has leadership that is dynamic and responsive, track performance, and institute strong financial controls.” (Corporate governance, 2010, para.2). Competitive advantage: An organization is assumed to possess competitive advantage when it has the capability to provide specific benefits at a cheaper rate when compared to the competitors’ products. In Microsoft, the software assessment management company provides certain key additional benefits to the company in terms of price, skills, features and employee confidence. The information technology department provides a good platform for maintaining the organizations’ competitive advantage. Value Chain: The term ‘value chain’ was coined by Michael Porter. Value chain refers to the series of the value based activities in a particular organization. The most important benefit of the value chain is the provision of products which are of admirable value and extremely high quality. An outstanding feature of a company’s value chain lies in providing more value for the product in the industry, than the combined value of the product. The Microsoft Company has an Insurance Value Chain (IVC), which facilitates research on innovative technologies and an efficient approach towards work in the organization. Microsoft companies have developed standardized solutions to unify the insurance practice, and processes. The better monitoring of the industry standards has resulted in cost efficiencies for the company. Conclusion Business management is done in Microsoft by properly allocating activities, thus saving money and time during the process. This will help to accelerate the various key components of the business such as corporate governance and strategic management. Summary: The main aim of the project is to analyze the Microsoft Co from the management point of view. The analysis of the company resumes with an initial view of a company which is followed by the historic aspects of the company from the start up. As the history is analyzed it is followed by the analyze of various products and services that are offer and about the customers who are the main asset of the organization has to be considered. The product and services are known for the quality and the quality aspects of them are considered, quality of the products are the main factor from the customer point of view and which contributes much for the customer reliability and the turn over. The key concepts from the management perspective are identified and the organization chart and the management efforts in terms of quality and the customers are treated. The co-operative functioning with the other core companies are also considered. The strategy management from the functioning of the different products and the strategic leadership provided by Bill Gates are emphasised.The corporate entrepreneurship and innovation are a key strategic advantage for the company which are given importance in the study. Reference List Accessibility mission, strategy and progress. (2010). Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from http://www.microsoft.com/enable/microsoft/mission.aspx Black, R. (2005). The complete idiots guide to project management with Microsoft project 2003. Alpha Books, p.211. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=2hTCpx9VUF8C&pg=PA211&dq=to+analyze+Microsoft+from+a+management+perspective&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false Corporate governance. (2010). Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from http://www.microsoft.com/about/companyinformation/corporategovernance/default.mspx New HP products and services enhance Microsoft Virtualization from desktop to data centre. (2010). Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2008/080908xa.html Read More