Running head WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT 1 1WEEK 3 ASSIGMENT 16We.docx

Running head: WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT 1
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WEEK 3 ASSIGMENT 1
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Week 3 Assignment 1
Nikema Foster-Carrero
Strayer University
BUS499 Business Administration Capstone
Dr. Brian C. Grizzell
Date July 22, 2018
Week 3 Assignment 1
Introduction
The company that I have chosen to discuss in this writing
assignment is Google. Starting as Backrub by two graduate
students who had the vision to create a search engine with links
attached to the world wide web. Google is a leading technology
company that consists of vast amounts of software and hardware
that is available worldwide. Their unconventional methods were
the basis Google was founded by and they are continuing by
creating hundreds of products used daily by millions of people
and majority of their services are free. Their headquarters is in
Parkway in Mountain View, California, United States. As of
now, this company has developed and implemented the
mechanisms that have enabled it to compete effectively in the
global realm of Information technology. Also, the company has
heavily invested in the most modern programs and services that
have enabled it to consolidate its global business status.
In this paper I will be discussing how globalization and
technology changes have impacted Google, how the company
can earn above average returns based on the industrial

organizations model, how the vision and mission statement
influences its’ overall success, and how each category of
stakeholder impacts the success of the company.
Globalization
Since Google has dominated the search engine industry, it
seems only fair for them to dominate the rest of world, right?
Google is a leader in reaching a global market. In 2005, the
company decided it was going to expand their market to China,
Europe, and Japan. Today, Google serves over 100 countries
however, 25 of them are partially blocked. Although you would
think that Google would be in competition with Bing or Yahoo,
according to an article from searchengineland.com the
Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt stated that their biggest
search competitor is Amazon. Apple and Facebook are among
the global competiors. These companies are also innovative
which creates heat for Google. Although Android controls
majority of the market, Apple’s innovative creations can’t be
ignored. The article also states that Facebook and Google
combined make up more than 50 percent of the overall markets,
from a mobile and market share perspective.
Technology
Technology evolves at a speed of 18 months according to
Moore’s Law which is also known as technology diffusion.
According to the text book disruptive technology destroy the
value of an existing technology and creates new ones and new
products contribute to the information age. Google’s strategy
always keeps consumers fresh with new technology that is
designed to never keep the consumer waiting. They are
surpassing their competitors with items such as Google Duplex
which is a speaker like Amazon’s Alexa, Gmail upgrades,
Google Maps, Android P and much more. Cloud computing is
among one of Google’s most innovative products. They have
created a system that has changed how individuals and
businesses interact. The advantages of cloud computing are
plentiful, they include “pay as you go” which can be increased

or decreased based on need and capital expenses can be
transitioned to operating expenses. With the help of AI
technology, Gmail has been upgraded to assist the user to create
draft emails. Google photos are another feature that has become
an asset for consumers. Google photos ensure you never have to
lose a photo again because it’s attached to your google account.
It also allows you to edit the photo by changing the colors,
background, and animation.
Industrial-Based Model
As stated in the textbook, Industrial Organization Models of
above average returns explains the external environments’
dominant influence on a firm’s strategic action. By Google’s
main source of profit comes from business ad, the state of the
government is major factor on their success. Since most
governments don’t have identified laws, Google is able to
operate freely with the exception of China who has presented a
barrier by enforcing Google to operate on its terms. GDP has
been increasing at an average of 3%, keeping up with inflation,
countries such as UK, South Africa, China, and India have reach
a level of over 17% means that more ads will be purchased
strengthening their economy. Technology factors are where
Google excel. As previously stated Google is a leader in
technology. Their strategy always keeps consumers fresh with
new technology that is designed to never keep the consumer
waiting. They also offer training and testing through G suites
that provides their consumer with skills necessary to become an
android developer. Google implemented Alphabet which acts as
an umbrella and it separates Google’s businesses. This has
lessened challenges when obtaining new businesses, created a
simplistic method to build the required capabilities, and allowed
the units to make decisions on strategy and execution.
Resource-Based Model
The textbook states that a resource-based model assumes that
each organization is a collection of unique resources and
capabilities. Google has definitely proven its’s uniqueness from

the beginning with its’ corporate values which are; Don’t be
evil, technology matters, make own rules, managing innovation
part of culture and never settle for best. Google encourages
creativity in their employees. Google has a day called “20%
day” where employees dedicate up to 8 hours for their side
projects. This promotes creativity which has directly affected
the company in a positive way. In addition, they also offer perks
that consists of free food every day, gym facilities and not to
mention you get to work with geniuses every day.
Vision
Panmore Institue states, that Google’s vision statement is “to
provide access to the world’s information in one click.” They
have accomplished their vision and are continuously expanding
to have access to the entire world. The number of google
searches per day have increased from 9,800 to over 4.7 trillion
on average and it’s growing. There are 3 variables to the vision
statement, world information, accessibility, and one click.
They have accomplished world by expanding to over 100
countries and they keep a large database indexes all of the sites,
and to maintain accessibility you would have to make your
product free, and they do that for many of their products. One
click gives them the information they are seeking.
Mission
Panmore institute states Google’s mission statement is “to
organize the world’s information and make it universally
accessible and useful.” The vision statement and mission
statement are similar. The mission statement has 4 variables
instead of 3 which are world’s information, organization,
universal accessibility, and usefulness. These variable correlate
with the vision statement as well. Top executives have tossled
with the idea of changing the missions statement to something
that applies to what have evolved into, the mission statement
has been left as is for now.
Stakeholders
Google is known for diversity, and that holds true for

everything they do including their stakeholder. In order to
continue on the path of innovation and leading the tech world,
their stakeholders must possess the qualities that is necessary
for growth. Ordinarily you would think the top stakeholders
would executives making decisions however for Google, their
top stakeholders are users, employees, advertisers and other
customers, investors, governments, and communities, in that
order. The user is the most significant based on satisfaction,
sort of the gateway to what they structure their basis around.
Employees are a strong priority, Google is known as one of the
best places to work and thus far the competition to get in and
give your best as an innovator and be apart of history is high.
Not to mention the perks a good too. Being that the main area of
revenue generated is from advertisier or other customers I
would say they have a high importance level. Google went
public in 2004, by that time everyone had witnessed a change in
history and Google was certainly a part of that. Individuals
eager to be a part of history decided to invest in the company.
The products are offered around the world and the potential for
maximum growth made people choose to invest in the company
without hesitation. Governments are stakeholders because they
have to do with legal compliance since the company has
expanded globally they must adhere to the rules in every area.
Communities are important stakeholder because they give a
broader exposure to the company. Google believes in giving
back to the communities. They have a program that provides
notebook laptops to schools to promote literacy. Overall, the
company does well with its stakeholder, they are influential to
their success.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, Google is the leading technology company of it’s
time. The company has been able to globalize its market by
reaching over 100 countries. They are paramount in the
technology field creating some of the most innovative products
of our time, including Google Maps, Gmail, Android P and

cloud computing. Their industrial organization and resource
models bring forth a culture that is determined to provide
creativity and change lives, which their vision and mission go
hand in hand with that philosophy. Stakeholders are key to their
success and the company considers the most valuable
stakeholder is the none other than the user.
References
Enge, E. (2016 May 24) Competitive threats to Google, and
what they mean to you, Retrieved from
https://searchengineland.com/competitive-threats-google-
means-249772
Harrison, J. S., & Wicks, A. C. (2013). Stakeholder theory,
value, and firm performance. Business ethics quarterly, 23(01),
97-124
Hitt, A., & Ireland, R.D., & Hoskisson, R.E. (2001)
Competitiveness & Globalization Strategic Management 10th
edition, (01), 14-17
Myer, P (2017 Jan 28) Google Stakeholders and Coporate Social
Responsibilithy (CSR), retrieved from
http://panmore.com/google-stakeholders-corporate-social-
responsibility-csr-analysis
Rowland,C. (2017 Jan 28) Google PESTEL/PESTLE analysis &
recommendations, retrieved from http://panmore.com/google-
pestel-pestle-analysis-recommendations
Thompson, A. (2017 Jan 28) Google’s vision statement and
mission statement, retrieved from http://panmore.com/google-
vision-statement-mission-statement
Vise, David. (2005 May 13) Google to Focus on Expanding Its
Business Overseas, Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp

BUS 220 Ethical Business Challenge Chapter 2
Instructions
Read the Resolving Ethical Business Challenges on page 53 and
answer the questions on page 53 using MS Word or a
compatible word processing application. Upload your answers
to the appropriate Assignment Folder.
The answer to each question must be a minimum of 50 words
and must be in your own words. Plagiarism (ie. copying) from
the web, the book, etc. will result in a grade of zero. See Rubric
under Content, Course Content Section, Rubrics.
Make sure that you number your answers so that they
correspond with the appropriate question. Failure to do so will
result in a penalty. DO NOT retype the question
2-8cResolving Ethical Business Challenges
Demarco just graduated from Texas University and had been
snatched up by Xeon Natural Resources Incorporated, one of the
top natural resource extraction companies in the world. Because
he was Brazilian, bilingual, and spoke several specific Brazilian
dialects, his stationing in Brazil was a no-brainer. Xeon was
deeply involved with a project within the Brazilian rain forests
in mining an extremely valuable element called niobium.
Niobium is a rare earth element essential for micro-alloying
steel as well as other products such as jet engines, rocket
subassemblies, superconducting magnets, and super alloys.
Brazil accounts for 92 percent of all niobium mined, and Xeon
Natural mines much of the element in Brazil. Xeon discovered a
large niobium deposit and estimates the corporation could make
an additional $5 billion in profits over the next two decades.
Demarco soon discovered he was one of several employees
assigned to explain to the indigenous population that Xeon
wanted to extract the niobium from the lands given to the tribes

by the Brazilian government. The land was, by decree,
compensation for native minorities. Having spent several
months with various tribes, Demarco learned they were
communities that had not been altered by Western culture. It
was obvious to Demarco if Xeon began strip mining the area,
thousands of “outsiders” would be brought in and would impact
the cultural heritage of the indigenous populations.
Demarco discussed this with his boss, Barbara. “Yes, I
understand all you are saying, and I agree this will change their
lives as well as their children and grandchildren’s lives,”
Barbara said. “But think of it this way, their standard of living
will be greatly enhanced. Schools will be built, hospitals will be
available, and there will be more employment opportunities.”
Demarco responded, “While the tribal leaders want a better life
for their people, I feel they are being steam-rolled into
accepting something they don’t understand. I’ve talked to some
of the tribal leaders, and I am positive they have no idea of the
impact this will have on their culture. We have many
stakeholders involved in this decision, including Xeon’s
employees, the tribes, the Brazilian government, and even
communities beyond the tribal lands. I think we need to
reevaluate the impact on all of these stakeholders before
proceeding.”
Barbara sighed. “I think you make some good points, and I am
concerned about these different stakeholders. But you should
understand we already have buy-in from the key decision
makers, and our business depends upon being able to mine
niobium. We’ve got to continue this project.”
Demarco returned to the camp. The other specialists questioned
him about Barbara’s reaction. As he spoke, some of the
specialists became concerned about their jobs. A few admitted
they heard the local and national media were raising awareness
about the negative impact mining this mineral could have on the
indigenous populations.
A few days later, Demarco heard that some of the tribal leaders
had new concerns about the project and were organizing

meetings to obtain feedback from members. Demarco
approached one of the mining specialists who studied the
potential impact of strip mining the land. The specialist said
that while he understood stakeholder interests, he felt the
extraction methods Xeon used were environmentally friendly.
While creating a temporary disruption in the ecosystem of the
rainforest, Xeon’s strip mining methods provided an opportunity
for restoration. In fact, strip mining that was done in the United
States before there were any regulations provides a good
example of how the forest can recover and grow back to its
original condition.
Demarco knew despite the potential benefits, there would still
likely be opposition from the tribal community. Additionally,
no method of strip mining is entirely environmentally friendly.
Demarco realized even with restoration, the lives of the
indigenous tribes would be forever altered.
Demarco was to meet with tribal elders the next day to discuss
their concerns. He understood that whatever the decision, it
would negatively impact some stakeholders. On the one hand,
the tribal members might compromise their traditional way of
life and the environment would be harmed if the strip mining
project began. On the other hand, Xeon’s future and the future
of its employees depended upon being able to mine the niobium.
It could also benefit the tribes economically. He was not sure
what he should tell the tribal leaders.
Questions | Exercises
1. How should Demarco approach this issue when he meets with
the tribal leaders?
2. What should be the priorities in balancing the various
stakeholder interests?
3. Can the CEO and board of directors of Xeon continue
operations and maintain a stakeholder orientation?
Chapters

1
WEEK 6 ASSIGMENT 2
2
Week 6 Assignment 2
Strayer University
Dr. Brian Grizzell
August 12, 2018
Week 6 Assignment 2
Google Company is the unrivalled leader in the realm of
internet search. The American company was incorporated in the
year 1998 and ever since it entered the internet business, the
company continues to grow exponentially every year,
spectacularly in the stock market every year since 2004. Based
on the company’s 2017 financial release, the Google recorded

double return between 2013 and 2017. Despite the internet
technology industry undergoing rapid and almost unpredictable
evolutions, the company continues to grow globally with its
operations robustly present everywhere in the world. Even
though competition in the search industry remains visible,
Google has always stayed unaffected by the emergence and
growth by new entrants in the industry since it clearly
commands the largest market share in the internet search
industry (Grant, 2016).
This paper, to be specific, discusses how certain aspects of the
general environmental segments rate high in the company. In
addition, how particular models of competition would determine
the future progress of the company are analyzed too.
Nevertheless, the company’s core competencies are also
discussed in addition to how the core competencies strengthen
the company with regard to the effect of the core competencies
on Google’s strengths and possible weaknesses. Finally, the
manner in which its value chain can be used to create value on
the resources, core competencies and capabilities of the
company are discussed as well.
General Environment
Further, the two segments of general environment (external
factors capable of influencing the business operations) that
would influence the progress of Google Corporation more are
social factors and technology factors (Pulver, 2012). To begin
with, as regards the influence of social factors on the company,
it is clear that the growth of the company has been favored
mostly by the demographic of age and population growth.
Although people across all ages considerably use Google
products, it is apparent that the burgeoning millennial
population has undoubtedly benefitted the growth and
advancement Google Corporation. Certainly, the millennial
population world over are very tech-savvy in addition to being
avid consumers of internet products. Ideally, millennial

population is the majority users of the company’s products.
Additionally, technological factors are certainly the segment
that has greatest impact on the adaptability of the company to
changes in external environment of the company. In reality,
Google is known for innovativeness and creativity in
information technology. The products of the company are
always evolving while it keeps introducing new products to the
customers. Fortunately, Google products have always gained
massive popularity with the customers of the company whenever
they upgrade their products or whenever they introduce new
products to the customers. For instance, products like Google
Plus, Google Translate, Google Chromebook, and Google Maps
are examples of Google’s products introduced over the last few
years that received impressive customer approval.
Five Forces of Competition
Further, the five models of competition help corporations to
analyze their products, customers and competitors with the aim
of maintaining profitability in their industry. For fact, Google is
not an exception in this respect. Based on this, I would estimate
that the two models of competition that are significant to the
company are the power of substitute products and the threat of
new entrants. First, the power of substitute products is a model
that relates to alternative products that consumers of the
products of a given company can resort to using if they became
superior to the products of the company. In this regard, social
platforms like Messenger and Skype are reliable alternatives to
Google Plus and Google Duo (Rumelt, 2012). Thus, the
company prioritizes customer experience as the best way of
analyzing their competitors so that it designs products to
provide internet services conveniently to customers
(considering that its competitors provide easily accessible
alternative products). This involves cutting-edge innovations
by both the suppliers of software products to Google and the
company’s engineers.

Second, the threat of new entrants is a force that ranks among
the major factors influencing the progress of Google Company.
In reality, the internet industry is very open to new companies
since hindrance to entry into the industry is non-existent. For
this reason, it is believable that Google Company does not
ignore the possibility of new entrants emerging at any time. As
such, the Company maintains provision of flawless internet
products as well as diversifying into making smartphones and
laptops in order to stay profitable amidst cutthroat competition
posed on its various internet services.
Evaluation
Indeed, these two forces of competition have greatly influenced
the operation of the company as regards innovation and
diversification for future relevance. Recently, the company
developed a strategy to secure its main source of income
(internet advertising) which was facing stiff competition from
major competitors (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012).
. The advertisements are currently pinned both on Google search
and You Tube to offer more user convenience relating to access
to the advertisements. This strategy is a major boost to the
existence of the company as the leading search brand.
Future Improvements
Predicting what the company would do in the future to address
both the threat of substitute products and the threat of new
entrants is challenging although speculating possible future
response to these two forces cannot be entirely inaccurate.
Google mainly focuses on search engine. Additionally, the
company normally adopts the approach of diversification of its
products and services (Pulver, 2012). Combining these two
strategies to affect its implementation of the two forces of
competition will definitely produce success even in the future.
Apparently, the will possibly use these combined strategies to
enhance their focus on the development of their products

through intensive market consolidation approaches.
External Threats
While Google is the leading search giant in the world, it is still
exposed to several external threats that cannot be
overshadowed. The first external threat the company faces
relates to competition. Since new services enter the internet
industry so often, the company is always obliged to invest
heavily on quick advancement for it to remain competitive.
These expenses raise the cost of production while shrinking the
profit margin. Another threat to Google is economic downturn.
Naturally, economic recession reduces consumer spending-
power. Again, sourcing for revenue in a recessed economy is
undoubtedly challenging (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012).
Threats and Opportunities
Essentially, Google’s most serious threat is competition from
other online advertising rivals like Facebook, Apple and
Microsoft. On the other hand, the company has a great
opportunity in Google Plus. For Google to stay competitive,
Google Plus offers the best platform on which to merger all its
products thus giving Google a clear edge in social networking
and internet search services. In as much as these two factors are
both micro environments, making these adjustments can add a
more significant value to Google’s competitive ability.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Reasonably, combining all the internet services Google offers in
one spot is a change that the competitors would struggle to
match. As such, Google’s most serious and greatest weakness
when combined according to the previously mentioned strategy,
the Corporation can undoubtedly empower the Google brand in
a manner that its differentiation approach can produce the most
benefits. Nevertheless, using Google Plus as the main marketing
brand would bring about the marketability of other physical
products like Google Pixel smartphones and Chromebook

laptops. The popularity of these products would further lead to
increase in the consumption of Google Android Operation
System among other services (Grant, 2016). Hence, addressing
the threat of competition by using Google’s greatest opportunity
(Google Plus) is a beneficial mechanism.
Strategy
The right strategy that Google can implement to take maximum
advantage of its strengths include the following. As a start,
Google’s strengths relate to the company commanding the
largest customer base in search engine market, dominating the
online advertising market, leading in the mobile operating
systems, having the most popular browser (Google Chrome),
and having one of the leading brands in the global business
realm. For the company to take maximum advantage of these
strengths, the strategy Google should implement is working on
the quality of the services it offers by setting the ideal level of
quality that can be accepted as the appropriate standard in the
market. In addition, it is important that the qualities introduced
are well valued in conformity with the market prices, so that
competitors do not use the pricing factor to gain more market
base. Again, it is necessary that the finances spent on
innovation, creation and implementation of product
improvement do not exceed the financial strength of the
company.
On the other hand, Google’s most significant weakness is the
company’s overdependence on online advertising revenue. For
this reason, the strategy that Google can implement to take
advantage of this weakness is to redesign its social media
platform for users who visit this social media platform can get
the same quality that is available in the products of competitors
like twitter and Facebook. Investing in the growth of Google
Plus can make the company to acquire more formidability in the
social media realm hence achieving the ultimate goal of

diversification. Overall, as above mentioned, the advantages the
company stands to gain by investing in additional major sources
of revenue.
Resources, Capabilities, and Core Competencies
Ideally, the success of Google bases on two main resources
namely technical infrastructure and human resources. First, the
technical infrastructure of the company offers security in a
global capacity in all the information processes at the company.
The benefit of the infrastructure to the company is the ensuring
of security in the delivery of services, safe storage of data to
guarantee the privacy and personal safety of all the consumers,
safe interconnection between the various Google services
available online and security to the staff of the company. The
safety that the infrastructure provides adds to the satisfaction
and reliability perception on the company by the users (Rumelt,
2012).
The infrastructure is secured through the progressive profiles in
which security personnel are deployed to protect the data
centers. Subsequently, the safety stage involving the protection
of the company’s data hardware and software (the two most
important components of the infrastructure) is given serious
attention. The final profile of protection relates to the
protection of the restricted technical processes that offer
support to the entire infrastructural system.
The human resource of the company is believed to be the best-
managed human resource power in the world considering the
level of freedom and comfort they enjoy in their work
environment. This environment enables them to be creative and
innovative. Moreover, the company’s hiring techniques reflect
improvement in equitability, diversity, inclusivity and high
levels of integrity with regard to gender and ethnicity. For
example, women make up 30.9% of Google’s global workforce.

More importantly, the company’s greatest strength in relation to
human resource is innovativeness. The company employs some
of the most innovative workforce in the field of internet
technology. The employees are trained to stay abreast with the
best approaches to innovation of internet and communication
technology.
The distinctive capabilities of Google Corporation relate to
Partnerships and financial capabilities. As a start, partnerships
have contributed immensely to the growth and global reach of
the company. For instance, the Partnerships with Dish Network
and Sony Corporation have contributed to more developed
ability to innovated and invest. These alliances are productive
since they boost Google’s ability to put more financial
resources into new technological ideas. Furthermore, Google
has important software operating capabilities that distinguishes
it from other companies. Truly, this peculiar software capability
enables the company to develop cooperative alliances with
contracted software creators (Rumelt, 2012).
Value Chain
Finally, the company can utilize its core competencies to create
value by establishing the opportunities discovered from the
analysis of its value chain. Based on this, Google can create
value by ensuring that the optimal conditions availed in the
internal environment of the company equates the abilities of its
third-party associates, key stakeholders and direct partners. This
requires the company to implement strategies to complement the
resources, capabilities and core competencies of Google’s
partners and contracted companies. In general, such steps can
guarantee success in all the various stages of value chain
leading to provision of services with excellent quality to users
of the company’s products (Grant, 2016).
References
Bansal, P., & DesJardine, M. R. (2014). Business sustainability:

It is about time. Strategic Organization, 12(1), 70-78.
Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012). Digital marketing:
strategy, implementation and practice (Vol. 5). Harlow:
Pearson.
Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and
cases edition. John Wiley & Sons.
Pulver, S. (2012). Business and the Environment.
Rumelt, R. P. (2012). Good strategy/bad strategy: The
difference and why it matters. Strategic Direction, 28(8).
1
WEEK 8 ASSIGMENT 3
2
Week 8 Assignment 3
Strayer University
Dr. Brian C. Grizzell
August 26, 2018
Week 8 Assignment 3
Microsoft is the chosen company because it operates in the same
industry as Google especially with respect to cloud computing,
email, search engine, web browsing, and document management
among others. This paper will be discussing the strategies that
Microsoft utilizes in comparison to Google. Specifically,
business level and corporate level strategies will be reviewed.

The paper will also provide a detailed analysis of the
competitive environment of Microsoft in relation to other
competitors.
Business-Level Strategies
A business-level strategy refers to an action that a service
provider text to make sure that they add value to the customer
and gain a competitive advantage (Campbell & Edgar, 2011). In
a business environment, whether or not an organization will be
successful depends on its ability to satisfy customers and be
competitive. For this to be achieved, it is necessary to take
specific actions for the benefit of the company and its
customers. The business-level strategies are at the center of this
achievement.
Microsoft considers various business level strategies and they
include the following cost leadership, differentiation, and the
focus strategy. Cost leadership is a business level strategy that
focuses on increasing profits. The differentiation strategy
involves creativity and innovation of unique products.
Microsoft uses the focus strategy to pay attention to market
niches and provide them with the product they need.
The best long-term business-level strategy for Microsoft is
differentiation. This is the best choice because it will enable the
company to come up with unique products that will attract the
attention of the consumers in the market. Through
differentiation, the company will develop products that will add
value to the customers. This will come along with the increased
demand which implies that the company will be more
competitive. Considering that the industry is competitive,
Microsoft should consider coming up with innovative products
that are not very similar to what the market already offers.
Corporate-Level Strategies
The corporate-level strategy is an action that a business

organization takes to change its overall strategy for increasing
its competitiveness in the industry (Thompson, 2001). The
business environment is dynamic, and this implies that it
changes from time to time. For this reason, it is necessary for
businesses to adjust the strategies to adapt to the changes in the
environment. As opposed to business level strategies that might
just target one department, corporate-level strategies affect all
the departments and the organization in general.
Given the industry that Microsoft operates in, the management
team utilizes various corporate-level strategies to increase the
competitiveness of the company. The strategies include growth,
renewal, and stability. A growth strategy focuses on expanding
the market by increasing the number of units offered. Renewal
strategies basically focus on restoring the former competitive
condition of an organization. Lastly, stability is a corporate-
level strategy that Microsoft takes to keep doing what is
currently being done to maintain its competitiveness.
The most important corporate-level strategy for the long-term
success of Microsoft is the growth strategy. As the name
suggests, the growth strategy will enable the company to
diversify its products into new markets. This implies that it will
have to increase the number of units that it provides. The result
will be an increase in production as well as an expansion of the
market share. Through the growth strategy, a business can
secure its long-term success it would have created a platform
that provides enough demand for its products and services over
a long time. To a very large extent, the corporate level
strategies that a business implements determines whether it will
be successful in the long term.
Competitive Environment
The business sector is one of the most competitive areas.
Regardless of the industry in which an organization operates, in
some way or another, it faces competition (Crouch, 2008). The

competitive environment makes it necessary for businesses to
utilize the most effective strategies for the interest of staying
ahead of the competitors. The degree of the competitiveness of
the market significantly determines the degree of the
effectiveness of the strategies that businesses intend to utilize.
To make sure that competitiveness is maintained, businesses
need to understand their environment and the specific strategies
that their competitors utilize. This will enable them to come up
with competitive strategies.
One of the competitors of Microsoft is Apple. This is
considered a competitor because to some extent, it serves the
same market as Microsoft. Example, cloud computing, and
operating systems. From this perspective, the two target the
same market because they provide products and services that are
intended to serve the same purpose. Below is a comparison of
the strategies between Microsoft and Apple.
1. Market commonality
Market commonality basically is concerned with the markets
that different firms or competitors jointly operate. One of the
major common markets in which Microsoft and Apple involved
themselves in is the cloud computing market. Both companies
enable their customers to store the files in the cloud. To deal
with market commonality, Microsoft uses in the strategy of
growth. This enables as many subscribers as possible to use the
service. On the other hand, Apple pays attention to boosting the
security of the documents of the cloud.
2. Resource similarity
Given the fact that both Microsoft and Apple operate in the
same industry, their resources are highly similar. To make sure
that it stands out in such a scenario, Microsoft concentrates on

quantity. This is to ensure that it has sufficient resources that
can handle its huge market. Apple, on the other hand, has
limited resources but it focuses on ensuring that they are of the
best quality. In this case, as much as the sauces are similar, the
companies use different strategies to stand out (Crouch, 2008).
3. Competitive behavior
The chances of a business being successful in the long-term
depend on its competitive behavior. As stated earlier, the major
competitive behavior of Microsoft is growth. This enables the
company to provide a wide range of products that will enable it
to meet the demand in the market. On the other hand, Apple
focuses on customer satisfaction by ensuring that its products
meet and surpass customer expectations. The competitive
behavior is critical to the success of a business.
4. Competitive dynamics
Competitive dynamics are basically their actions for responses
that a business takes as a reaction to the competitive
environment. Both Microsoft and Apple have a similar strategy
when it comes to competitive dynamics. Due to the nature of the
competitiveness of the environment that the businesses operate
in, they usually conduct extensive research to understand the
various factors that affect the market which could be
fundamental for competitiveness. When businesses operate in a
very competitive industry it is important for them to be swift in
terms of competitive dynamics as this could be the difference
between success and failure, especially in the long term.
In the long-term, Microsoft is likely to be more successful as
compared to Apple. The major reason for the success of
Microsoft is market growth. The company provides its cloud
computing services in virtually to anybody provided they create
an account. Giving the rise of cloud computing, many business

organizations are engaging in the same industry and this implies
that there will be stiff competition especially in terms of getting
a market share (Thompson, 2001). By focusing on growth,
Microsoft is creating a platform that will enable it to expand its
market share and be a giant in the future. Once the market has
been effectively established, Microsoft will concentrate on
other issues such as maintaining the security as well as the
overall quality of its services.
As much as a majority of the consumers are more interested in
quantity than in quality, it is important for businesses to focus
on quality as this is the strategy that will enable them to expand
its market share.
Market Cycles
There are two major types of market cycles, the slow cycle
market, and their fast cycle market. A slow cycle market is a
market in which the competitive advantages of a company are
shielded from imitation for a considerably long period of time
(Blowfield, 2013). In the case that any competitor tries to
imitate such strategies, it would be very costly, therefore,
almost impossible. In other words, in a slow cycle market, the
competitive advantages of a company are sustainable because
the competition is highly limited.
In a fast cycle market, the competitive advantages of a given
company are not shielded from imitation. It is also cheap and
easy to imitate such competitive advantages. Competitors can
quickly copy from each other. In other words, in a fast cycle
market, the competitive advantages of a business organization
are not sustainable because they can easily be imitated by
others.
The selection made in question 3 will be the same in slow cycle
markets but it will differ in the fast cycle markets. Microsoft
will survive in a slow cycle market because it has already put

down measures that have enabled it to gain a huge share of the
market. It would be unreasonable to think that any competitor
will find it easy to compete against Microsoft especially in
terms of market share as far as the operating system sector is
concerned. Microsoft controls more than 35% of the operating
systems market share with the closest competitor Apple, coming
in at 12%. The choice is not applicable in the fast cycle market
because, in such markets, it is easy to copy from competitors.
References
Blowfield, M. (2013). Business Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Campbell, D. & Edgar, D. (2011). Business Strategy: An
Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Crouch, A. (2008). The Competitive Mind: Strategy for
Winning in Business. Hoboken: Wiley.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2013). Strategic
management: Concepts and cases: Competiveness and
globalization (10th ed.).
Thompson, J. (2001). Understanding Corporate Strategy.
London: Cengage Brain.
ASSIGNMENT 4 INSIGHTS 1
In this assignment, you are to use the same corporation you
selected and focused on for
Assignments 1, 2, and 3.

Consider the corporation you have selected to use in your first
three assignments. Identify one of
the firm’s major competitors that you would consider working
for.
Research the corporation on its own Website, the public filings
on the Securities and Exchange
Commission EDGAR database
(http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University's online
databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual
report will often provide insights that
can help address some of these questions.
Develop an executive level Power Point presentation with 8 -12
slides with speaker notes and
appropriate graphics or professional video.
You will do a 15 minutes presentation to the Board of Directors
of the corporation. Based upon
Assignments 1 through 4 - develop an eight to twelve slide
PowerPoint presentation with
speaker notes or record a video. Each slide should include your
research/citations as noted
below.
The following order is suggested. Note that each slide should
include some text and/or
graphics….but don’t overdo it. Put the content required in the
Speakers Notes or Video. If more
slides are needed, feel free to expand them as required to
accommodate your information.
SLIDE 1:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: Introduce the firm you selected
for Assignments 1, 2, and 3.
Provide its industry, background, history, competitors, etc.

In the Speakers Notes or Video: Determine the impact of the
company’s mission, vision, and
primary stakeholders on its overall success as a competitive
employer in the industry.
SLIDE 3:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: Create a SWOT analysis for the
company to determine its major
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
SLIDE 4:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: Based on the SWOT analysis,
outline a strategy for the company
to capitalize on its strengths and opportunities, and minimize its
weaknesses and threats.
SLIDE 5:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: Discuss the various levels and
types of strategies the firm may
use to maximize its competitiveness and profitability.
SLIDE 6:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: Outline a communications plan
the company could use to make
the strategies you recommend above known to all stakeholders.
SLIDE 7:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: Assess efforts by this

corporation to be a responsible (ethical)
corporate citizen and determine the impact these efforts (or lack
thereof) have on the company’s
bottom line. Provide specific examples to support your
response….this will require external
research on your choses firm.
SLIDE 8:
In the Speakers Notes or Video: You will make
recommendations to the Board of Directors
based upon your analysis and decision on why the corporation
remains or is not a good fit for
you. To help with this, consolidate all of the information
studied in the previous 10 weeks in the
Learn, Discussions, and Assignments. Apply that learning now
– explain why you would (or
would not) want to continue working at this firm based on a
business case. Avoid opinion and
feelings – you your business learning from this course to make a
business case for working (or
not working) there. Remember, you are presenting to the Board
of Directors who need to hear
from you as a business consultant.
SLIDE 9:
Works Cited
Use at least three (3) quality references, one of which should be
the course textbook:
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2013). Strategic
management: Concepts and
cases: Competiveness and globalization (10th ed.). Mason, OH:
South-Western Cengage

Learning.
Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic
resources.
References must be submitted on a Works Cited page (Slide)
using APA format.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are as follows…be sure
each item is covered somewhere in your Speakers Notes or
Video:
• Determine ways in which the vision, mission, and stakeholders
of a firm
impact that firm’s overall success.
• Identify how the six segments of the general environment
affect an industry
and its firms.
• Identify the five forces of competition.
• Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats
that impact
the firm.
• Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths
and weaknesses
that impact the firm’s competitiveness.
• Identify various levels and types of strategy in a firm.

• Assess the ethical implications related to strategic decisions.
• Predict ways in which corporate governance will affect
strategic decisions.
• Assess the relationship between strategy and organizational
structure.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in
business administration.
Write clearly and concisely about business administration using
proper writing mechanics.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality,
logic / organization of the paper,
and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality,
logic / organization of the paper, and
language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
Points: 200 Assignment 4: Capstone
Criteria
Unacceptable
Below 60% F
Meets
Minimum
Expectations
60-69% D

Fair
70-79% C
Proficient
80-89% B
Exemplary
90-100% A
1. Create a
SWOT analysis
for the company
to determine its
major strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities,
and threats.
Weight: 10%
Did not submit
or incompletely
created a
SWOT analysis
for the company
to determine its
major strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities,
and threats.
Insufficiently
created a
SWOT analysis
for the company
to determine its

major strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities,
and threats.
Partially created
a SWOT
analysis for the
company to
determine its
major strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities,
and threats.
Satisfactorily
created a
SWOT analysis
for the company
to determine its
major strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities,
and threats.
Thoroughly
created a
SWOT analysis
for the company
to determine its
major strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities,
and threats.
2. Based on the

SWOT analysis,
outline a
strategy for the
company to
capitalize on its
strengths and
opportunities,
and minimize its
weaknesses
and threats.
Weight: 10%
Did not submit
or incompletely
outlined a
strategy for the
company to
capitalize on its
strengths and
opportunities,
and minimize its
weaknesses
and threats.
Insufficiently
outlined a
strategy for the
company to
capitalize on its
strengths and
opportunities,
and minimize its
weaknesses
and threats.

Partially
outlined a
strategy for the
company to
capitalize on its
strengths and
opportunities,
and minimize its
weaknesses
and threats.
Satisfactorily
outlined a
strategy for the
company to
capitalize on its
strengths and
opportunities,
and minimize its
weaknesses
and threats.
Thoroughly
outlined a
strategy for the
company to
capitalize on its
strengths and
opportunities,
and minimize its
weaknesses
and threats.

3. Discuss the
various levels
and types of
strategies the
firm may use to
maximize its
competitiveness
and profitability.
Weight: 10%
Did not submit
or incompletely
discussed the
various levels
and types of
strategies the
firm may use to
maximize its
competitiveness
and profitability.
Insufficiently
discussed the
various levels
and types of
strategies the
firm may use to
maximize its
competitiveness
and profitability.
Partially
discussed the

various levels
and types of
strategies the
firm may use to
maximize its
competitiveness
and profitability.
Satisfactorily
discussed the
various levels
and types of
strategies the
firm may use to
maximize its
competitiveness
and profitability.
Thoroughly
discussed the
various levels
and types of
strategies the
firm may use to
maximize its
competitiveness
and profitability.
4. Outline a
communications
plan the
company could
use to make the
strategies you
recommend
above known to

all stakeholders.
Weight: 10%
Did not submit
or incompletely
outlined a
communications
plan the
company could
use to make the
strategies you
recommend
above known to
all stakeholders.
Insufficiently
outlined a
communications
plan the
company could
use to make the
strategies you
recommend
above known to
all stakeholders.
Partially
outlined a
communications
plan the
company could
use to make the
strategies you
recommend
above known to

all stakeholders.
Satisfactorily
outlined a
communications
plan the
company could
use to make the
strategies you
recommend
above known to
all stakeholders.
Thoroughly
outlined a
communications
plan the
company could
use to make the
strategies you
recommend
above known to
all stakeholders.
5. Assess
efforts by this
corporation to
be a
responsible
(ethical)
corporate
citizen and
determine the
impact these
efforts (or lack
thereof) have

on the
company's
bottom line.
Provide specific
examples to
support your
response.
Weight: 10%
Did not submit
or incompletely
assessed
efforts by this
corporation to
be a
responsible
(ethical)
corporate
citizen and
incompletely
determined the
impact these
efforts (or lack
thereof) have
on the
company's
bottom line. Did
not provide
specific
examples to
support your
response.
Insufficiently
assessed

efforts by this
corporation to
be a
responsible
(ethical)
corporate
citizen and
incompletely
determined the
impact these
efforts (or lack
thereof) have
on the
company's
bottom line. Did
not provide
specific
examples to
support your
response.
Partially
assessed
efforts by this
corporation to
be a
responsible
(ethical)
corporate
citizen and
incompletely
determined the
impact these
efforts (or lack
thereof) have
on the

company's
bottom line. Did
not provide
specific
examples to
support your
response.
Satisfactorily
assessed
efforts by this
corporation to
be a
responsible
(ethical)
corporate
citizen and
incompletely
determined the
impact these
efforts (or lack
thereof) have
on the
company's
bottom line. Did
not provide
specific
examples to
support your
response.
Thoroughly
assessed
efforts by this
corporation to
be a

responsible
(ethical)
corporate
citizen and
incompletely
determined the
impact these
efforts (or lack
thereof) have
on the
company's
bottom line. Did
not provide
specific
examples to
support your
response.
6. Develop an
executive level
Power Point
presentation
with 8 -12 slides
with speaker
notes and
appropriate
graphics or
professional
video.
Did not meet
the presentation
requirements of
length (8 to 12
slides with
speaker notes

or video).
Insufficient
presentation at
executive level
(minimum
slides, no
speaker notes,
or video).
Partial
presentation at
executive level
with incomplete
speaker notes
and graphics or
video.
Satisfactorily
presented an
executive level
presentation
with speaker
notes, graphics
or video.
Thoroughly
presented an
executive level
presentation
with speaker
notes, graphics
or video.

Weight: 35%
7. 3 references
Weight: 5%
No references
provided
Does not meet
the required
number of
references; all
references poor
quality choices.
Does not meet
the required
number of
references;
some
references poor
quality choices.
Meets number
of required
references; all
references high
quality choices.
Exceeds
number of
required
references; all

references high
quality choices.
8. Clarity,
writing
mechanics, and
formatting
requirements
Weight: 10%
More than 8
errors present
7-8 errors
present
5-6 errors
present
3-4 errors
present
0-2 errors
present

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