Group research plan for Microsoft - Case Study Example

Running head: Group Research Plan - Microsoft GROUP RESEARCH PLAN - MICROSOFT BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANIZATION Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation with 79,000 employees, having its presence in 102 countries. It develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. It is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA. It was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Its best selling products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software.

ISSUES Two issues related with the Microsoft Company are going to be discussed. The issues are namely, i) Microsoft monopoly and ii) Microsoft Research Program. MICROSOFT MONOPOLY Throughout its history the company has been the target of criticism for various reasons, including monopolistic business practices-both the U.S. Justice Department and the European Commission, among others, brought Microsoft to court for antitrust violations and software bundling. Microsoft has been charged with monopolizing operating systems market, integrating internet explorer with its operating system in an attempt to eliminate competition from Netscape navigator and misusing its market powers to make anti-competitive agreements with producers of related goods.

Microsoft has such a commanding share of the operating systems market that it can, in many respects, behave like a monopoly. MICROSOFT RESEARCH PROGRAM Microsoft became one of the first software companies to create its own computer science research organization in 1991. There are now 800 researchers working in 55 areas of research with 5 labs located in Redmond, Washington; Bangalore, India; Beijing, China; Cambridge, England; and Silicon Valley, California. It is expected that a sixth lab will be opened in July 2008 in Cambridge.

Microsoft researchers work in an open research environment similar to that found on university campuses, exchanging ideas and technical insights with colleagues and collaborators to advance the state of the art. Today every product Microsoft ships, is influenced by the work of Microsoft Research. A dedicated technology transfer team helps bridge the long-range research and near-term product develop functions within the company. METHODOLOGY In the study of the aforementioned issues related with Microsoft, the charges by the competitors and the cases that have been taken to court shall be studied regarding the issue of monopoly trade.

Customer survey will be conducted to analyze whether Microsoft products are thrust on the people or they are just too good to buy. Regarding the research program of Microsoft, a survey of the students from various institutions who take part in such research projects will be able to bring out a proper idea of the program. News articles on the research program will also be taken into account. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that only academic sources be used in the study. The sources can be found in the internet or academic libraries, newspapers and journals.

REFERENCES Mott, Jonathan (2008). Is Microsoft a monopoly If so, why does it matter Retrieved April 28, 2008. from, http://www.thisnation.com/question/027.html Turning ideas into reality. Retrieved April 28, 2008. http://research.microsoft.com/default.aspx Microsoft. Retrieved April 28, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft Connecting Past and Present: A Local Research Project, Retrieved April 28, 2008. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.aspid=1027