Microsoft conducts a PEST analysis to understand the political, economic, social, and technological factors impacting its business. Politically, Microsoft sometimes faces antitrust issues but also lobbies governments. Economically, Microsoft employs many workers and contributes significantly to economies through software sales and investments. Socially, Microsoft provides popular social networking and communication tools. Technologically, Microsoft dominates the operating system and office software markets through products like Windows and Office.
This is a Feasibility Study conducted by a group of students "The Incorporators" from Capitol University's Bachelor of Science In Business Administration major in Marketing Management and Human resource Management.
Note: This document is not available to download, sorry for the inconvenience.
This is a Feasibility Study conducted by a group of students "The Incorporators" from Capitol University's Bachelor of Science In Business Administration major in Marketing Management and Human resource Management.
Note: This document is not available to download, sorry for the inconvenience.
http://www.phdthesiswriting.biz/ The concept paper for PhD is often seen as an important part of post graduate scholarly work. As a student in PhD, your concept paper needs to be very uniquely done and effective enough to guarantee quality research papers in the end.
How media effects culture and how culture affectsBhavisha Jangid
media affects common people in various ways. media has influenced and become a essential part of our life. let us find out it effects our popular culture and trend
A project done as part of the MOOC course of Business strategy on coursera.com. The document uses several strategic analysis tools accompanied with latest data to make strategic recommendations in future for Microsoft Corp.
http://www.phdthesiswriting.biz/ The concept paper for PhD is often seen as an important part of post graduate scholarly work. As a student in PhD, your concept paper needs to be very uniquely done and effective enough to guarantee quality research papers in the end.
How media effects culture and how culture affectsBhavisha Jangid
media affects common people in various ways. media has influenced and become a essential part of our life. let us find out it effects our popular culture and trend
A project done as part of the MOOC course of Business strategy on coursera.com. The document uses several strategic analysis tools accompanied with latest data to make strategic recommendations in future for Microsoft Corp.
thanks for your submission. Prior to introducing the SWOT anal.docxarnoldmeredith47041
thanks for your submission. Prior to introducing the SWOT analysis, your audience needs some background information about the company. Your work lacks a description of the company's history. Your assessment of the financial performance and condition of the organization is brief and does not include any of the concepts covered in class or include any scholarly sources. You provided a good analysis evaluation of the external environment and the organization's opportunities and threats. However, you are missing details about the internal aspect of the company and its strengths and weaknesses. A thorough evaluation of the results of the SWOT analysis requires an investigation of all four component. Good work, you demonstrate your ability and skills to measure performance and recognize trends. However, you may want to analyze some performance indicators even more closely as there are some performance trends you may want to consider and look at more closely. You used the required number of scholarly sources to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.
Running head: MICROSOFT SWOT ANALYSIS
Microsoft SWOT Analysis
Brea P. Sylvester
BUS402: Strategic Management & Business Policy
Professor Fred Fening
19 January 2019
Brea Sylvester
Brea Sylvester
MICROSOFT SWOT ANALYSIS 2
Microsoft SWOT Analysis
Introduction
A SWOT analysis is a breakdown of a firm’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in
a nutshell. It is an essential tool to deciphering the state of a firm at any one point and is usually
looked at in line with the firm’s ability to satisfy consumers, the market reach it had gained since
it was established, and the level of competition in the market. A firm has to reach this vital
process in order to develop or explain the basis it is doing business. Such information is
especially helpful to staff, top management, shareholders, and government and is thus requested
from time to time in different capacities and formats. For Microsoft, which is a company that
sells computer and software-based products, the SWOT analysis has been particularly helpful in
helping the company attain early market domination and has since faced fierce competition from
companies such as Apple, Facebook, and other Asian based tech companies like Samsung and
Huawei.
Discussion
Specific Areas That Need Change
Some of the fundamental questions that can be asked with regards to a Microsoft SWOT
analysis include What resources are readily available to the firm? How far is its market reach?
What elements give it a sustainable competitive advantage over the rest of the firms doing the
MICROSOFT SWOT ANALYSIS .
Bài viết đã xoá các thông tin liên quan tới trường và thông tin người làm, nên có thể một số trang sẽ bị định dạng lỗi
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1Fashion Institute of Design and MerchandisingFall 202.docxrobert345678
1
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
Fall 2022
BUMT 4200: Financial Management
A Case Study Research and Analysis of Microsoft Corporation
By: Elizabeth Manriquez, Josefina McKinnon, Najila Miles, Yen Pham & Melanie
Pesqueira
December 6, 2022
2
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction- Pg. 3
2. Major Findings- Pg.4
3. Implications on the Five Elements of a Business Model- Pg. 6
4. Historical Performance of the Firm- Pg.10
5. Current Financial Issues and Factors of the Firm- Pg.15
6. Financial Ratio Analysis- Pg.18
7. Assessment of Risk and Return on Capital Budget- Pg.28
8. Sales Forecasts Analysis and Implications on Cash Inflows- Pg.29
9. Recommendations and
Solution
s- Pg.30
10.Conclusion- Pg.32
11.Works Cited- Pg. 34
3
1. Introduction:
Microsoft Corporation is an American global technology corporation located in Redmond,
Washington. It is one of the largest software companies in the world and develops, manufactures,
licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and
related services. Bill Gates and Paul Allen launched the firm in 1975, and it is now one of the
world's largest software corporations, with over 13,000 employees and a market valuation of
more than $541 billion, with a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion as of June 2020.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's current CEO, oversees the senior leadership team and is in
charge of the company's strategy and operations. He is supported by six other executive officers:
Amy Hood, Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Turner, Jean-Philippe Courtois, Chief Technology
Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, Chris Capossela, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice
President Judson Althoff, and Kathleen Hogan, Chief Human Resources Officer. The Board of
Directors of Microsoft is made up of eleven individuals, nine of whom are independent of the
firm. The Board of Directors is comprised of the following individuals: John W. Thompson,
Chairman of the Board; Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer; Reid Hoffman, Partner at
Greylock Partners; Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College; Dina Dublon, Member of
the Board of Directors of JP Morgan Chase and Company; G. Mason Morfit, President of Value
Act Capital; Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer; Charles H. Noski, Former Vice Chairman
of Bank of America; Helmu Investors and experts have applauded Microsoft's corporate
governance, with the majority of the Board of Directors being independent of the corporation.
This is critical for the corporation in order to maintain a balance of power among the Directors
and to preserve shareholders' interests. The Board of Directors is in charge of determining the
4
company's strategic goals, approving management choices, and supervising the company's
financial performance.
Microsoft's Board of Directors is responsible for providing oversight of the company's
operations and strategic direction, as well as moni.
Running head BA CAPSTONE1BA CAPSTONE4BA CAPSTONEA.docxhealdkathaleen
Running head: BA CAPSTONE
1
BA CAPSTONE
4
BA CAPSTONE
Assignment 2
Microsoft
BA CAPSTONE
Introduction
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops various software products and licenses (Bhanji, 2012). This paper aims at underpinning the general environment of the Microsoft Corporation in terms of its segments. Further, the paper will examine the five forces of competition. Also, the essay will analyze Microsoft's future environment, external threats and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses, resources, competitions, and core capabilities. Furthermore, strategies will further be examined in this discussion concerning Microsoft Corporation.
General Environment
The political segment
In this segment, the government plays a role in shaping the business. Hence, the political segments include aspects such as tax policies, tariffs, trade restrictions, and government stability (Enland, 2013). Therefore, the political segment plays a vital role in determining factors that can affect Microsoft Corporation concerning its long-term profitability in the specific market. Studies show that Microsoft Corporation operates in business software and services around the globe. Thus, Microsoft Corporation is exposed to diverse political environments and political risks. Hence to achieve success in the software and service industry, the corporation needs to diversify the systematic risks concerning the political environment. Therefore, before entering any market, Microsoft Corporation should analyze these factors;
· The level of corruption in a specific country.
· The significance of Business Software and Services in the specific country's economy
· Risks concerning the military invasion
Economic segment
Studies indicate that an economic segment deals with the economic conditions in which the Microsoft Corporation operates (Enland, 2013). In this segment, various elements such as inflation rates, unemployment rates, interest rates, and the general growth determine the investment and demand in an economy. Therefore, Microsoft Corporation can utilize the country's economic factors such as inflations, economic indicators, and growth rates to predict the overall growth of the organization. Hence, about industrial segmentation, Microsoft should take into consideration that following factors;
· The stability and type of economic system in different countries
· The efficiency of the financial markets in local markets
· The economic productivity and labor costs
· The economic growth rate.
Five Forces of Competition
Microsoft Corporation significantly addresses the issues underscored in the Five Forces Analysis. The critical role of the Five Forces Analysis is to get an understanding of the external factors that affect Microsoft Corporation (Grant, 2015). Hence, this discussion will examine the two major Five Forces of competition in Microsoft Corporation.
Rivalry among the existing firms.
Competition is the most significant aspe ...
For more than a decade, Microsoft has been the market leader in operating systems. It was established by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975, 46 years ago, and is currently flourishing all over the world.
After watching a movie about a young woman who quit a successful.docxgalerussel59292
After watching a movie about a young woman who quit a successful corporate career to start her own baby food company, Julia Day decided that she wanted to do the same. In the movie, the baby food company was very successful. Julia knew, however, that it is much easier to make a movie about
a successful woman starting her own company than to actually do it. The product had to be of the highest quality, and Julia had to get the best people involved to launch the new company. Julia resigned from her job and launched her new company—Starting Right. Julia decided to target the upper end of the baby food market by producing baby food that contained no preservatives but had a great taste. Although the price would be slightly higher than for existing baby food, Julia believed that parents would be
willing to pay more for a high-quality baby food. Instead of putting baby food in jars, which would require preservatives to stabilize the food, Julia decided to try a new approach. The baby food would be frozen. This would allow for natural ingredients, no preservatives, and outstanding nutrition. Getting good people to work for the new company was also important. Julia decided to find people with experience in finance, marketing, and production to get involved with Starting Right. With her enthusiasm and charisma, Julia was able to find such a group. Their first step was to develop prototypes of the new frozen baby food and to perform a small pilot test of the new product. The pilot test received rave reviews. The final key to getting the young company off to a good start was to raise funds. Three options were considered: corporate bonds, preferred stock, and common stock. Julia decided that each investment should be in blocks of $30,000. Furthermore, each investor should have an annual income of at least
$40,000 and a net worth of $100,000 to be eligible to invest in Starting Right. Corporate bonds would return 13% per year for the next five years. Julia furthermore guaranteed that investors in the corporate bonds would get at least $20,000 back at the end of five years. Investors in preferred stock should see their initial investment increase by a factor of 4 with a good market or see the investment worth only half of the initial investment with an unfavorable market. The common stock had the greatest potential. The initial investment was expected to increase by a factor of 8 with a good market, but investors would lose everything if the market was unfavorable. During the next five years, it was expected that inflation would increase by a factor of 4.5% each year.
#2) Ray Cahn, who is currently a commodities broker, is also considering an investment, although he believes that there is only an 11% chance of success. What do you recommend?
#3) Lila Battle has decided to invest in Starting Right. While she believes that Julia has a good chance of being successful, Lila is a risk avoider and very conservative. What is your advice to Lila?
#6) Julia D.
1 Outline for Completing the Marketing Plan Assignment .docxfelicidaddinwoodie
1
Outline for Completing the Marketing Plan Assignment
MKT501– Strategic Marketing
Use this format to plan your research and complete the SLP assignments. Your final paper in
module 4 SLP should follow this outline. Note that the letters “a, b, c…” and the numbers “i, ii,
iii, iv…” in the outline below are used to show the major issues you need to include in your
paper and you should not use these letters and numbers to organize your paper.
Cover Page (1 page)
a. Marketing plan title
b. Course title and number
c. Your name and date
d. Name of Instructor
e. Executive Summary (2 pages maximum)
f. Summary of what plan is designed to achieve
g. Summary of key elements of internal environment and external environment
analysis (only points that are relevant to understanding the action plan, only the
point, not the analysis)
h. Summary of prescribed goals and strategic approach to achieving them.
i. Summary of key actions that are outlined.
Table of Contents (as many pages as needed)
I. Product Statement (2 pages maximum)
j. Describe the company/organization
k. Provide brief background of the organization
l. Describe charge you have for this marketing plan
m. Provide a brief overview of what issue you are studying, and how a marketing
perspective can help address the issue.
II. Situation Analysis (3‐6 pages)
NOTE: only include sections which are relevant to your charge. The relevance of
each section of analysis should be clear to the reader.
a. External Environment Analysis
i. Context Analysis
Industry forces that might impact success of any actions taken
ii. Competitor Analysis
Any organization or message which may prevent any actions
taken from being successful
iii. Technological and Economical situation Analysis
iv. Political, legal and cultural Analysis
2
b. Customer Environment Analysis
i. Customer Analysis
ii. Collaborator Analysis
c. Internal Environment Analysis
i. Company Analysis
III. SWOT Analysis (3‐6 pages)
a. Strengths and Weaknesses(Internal)
i. Strengths
ii. Weaknesses
b. Opportunities and Threats (External)
i. Opportunities
ii. Threats
c. SWOT Table
IV. Issues Analysis (2 pages maximum)
a. Given your complete marketing analysis, what are the key issues which the
company/organization must understand in order to address the charge that is
being considered?
i. NOTE: This section concisely identifies the most important issues and
decisions that the organization is likely to face when trying to promote
the product in your charge
Bullet points (or numbered statements) are acceptable.
V. Goals and Objectives (2 pages maximum)
a. The goals and objectives should be stated clearly and concisely
i. (Think S.M.A.R.T.).
b. Do not “Discuss” the goals/objectives. Just present them.
i. Each goal/objective should be easily understood given your ...
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
Read| The latest issue of The Challenger is here! We are thrilled to announce that our school paper has qualified for the NATIONAL SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE (NSPC) 2024. Thank you for your unwavering support and trust. Dive into the stories that made us stand out!
The Indian economy is classified into different sectors to simplify the analysis and understanding of economic activities. For Class 10, it's essential to grasp the sectors of the Indian economy, understand their characteristics, and recognize their importance. This guide will provide detailed notes on the Sectors of the Indian Economy Class 10, using specific long-tail keywords to enhance comprehension.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
How to Create Map Views in the Odoo 17 ERPCeline George
The map views are useful for providing a geographical representation of data. They allow users to visualize and analyze the data in a more intuitive manner.
The French Revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France. It marked the decline of absolute monarchies, the rise of secular and democratic republics, and the eventual rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This revolutionary period is crucial in understanding the transition from feudalism to modernity in Europe.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdf
Environmental analysis
1. Product Category : Microsoft-
Software, Operating System Category
Instructors- Kerry Shields
Group Member-Rajwan Siddiquee
Sareh A Ahmedyar
2. Pest
Analysis
Technologi
Political Economic Social
cal
Factors al Factors Factors
Factors
3. Sometimes Microsoft violates antitrust law, after that it doesn’t face
any political barrier in home country. As we know Microsoft did in
1990. Because of their electronics product, operating
software, online advertising etc. it doesn’t compromise with their
product quality.
From Beginning of their business they got high response politically.
Microsoft participate in the public policy process in the United
States , from corporate government affairs programs designed to
educate and influence elected officials on key public policy issues .
To avoid political noise, it has already been confirmed about their
license agreement in operating country, even they pay royalty too.
Political factors arises trade restriction in the host county. They face
some entry barriers in a international market such as México etc
due to some competitor, strategies etc. but now they overcome this
problem in the country market.
4. Recently Microsoft released a corporate bond as $2.25 billion with
low borrowing rates than govt. bond.
Recently they provides job to the local about 55,000 people and
35,000 internationally to remove unemployment as well as poverty
within the country. By giving these opportunities, per capita income
is increasing. Finally economical development is happening.
Microsoft ecosystem employ 14.9 million people, make
approximately $537 billion of their own revenue, and invest $175
billion in their local economies.
From software sale globally, Profits were $66 billion; on revenues of
$30.5 form all sales business. As a result economical growth of a
country also increased.
Their contribution in economy has been resulted as change of
exchange rate of existing country.
5. Included under the Dynamics brand is the customer relationship
management software for social networking all over the world.
To be partner with govt. and communities it is making strength of social
activities and increasing innovations.
Providing every day’s updated news, hot news in yahoo page, Google page
etc.
Developed Skype, facebook, Tulalip, Hi five etc social networking sites.
Think about customer satisfaction, fascination. So every kind of software
that are producing such as windows vista, Microsoft XP, DATA base
program etc for ensuring social communication networking in locally as well
as in the world .
6. Microsoft is already established as operating software market in
world wide.
Microsoft already rose to dominate the home computer operating
system market with MS-DOS from earlier stage.
Dominate the office suite market with Microsoft, provided SQL
server, outlook, publisher etc also for more technological
advancement.
Makes user friendly operating software and Provides Windows Vista
for more technological advancement in the world market.
7.
8. The competitive analysis of Microsoft and its products include the
competition that is in the marketplace. Microsoft identifies its
competition in categories such as computer software, computer
hardware, music, online services, servers and tools and
entertainment. Some of these competitors include Apple
Inc, Google, IBM, Oracle and SONY. All of these companies have
similar products and product line like Microsoft, which in fact make
them a strong competition for Microsoft. What separates Microsoft
from the competition is the brand name, trust and loyalty that it has
with it`s customers. Microsoft strives on the most trusted and well
known innovator of the century named Bill Gates. Bill Gates if the co
founder of Microsoft and he is the number on reason of the success
of the company. All of the products that were introduced by Microsoft
to the consumer market were Bill Gates creations and ideas. Some
of the strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for
Microsoft corporation include the growth of the market and the
competition of the market.
9. Microsoft is the number one software company that develops and sells
a variety of products used by consumers and businesses. There are a
lot of companies in the market that are in the same industry and offer
the same products as Microsoft. Therefore, every company is using
their own different strategies and making marketing plans in order to
develop new and innovative ideas for the consumer market. The level
of competition and the chances of a new competitors entering the
market is relatively high in this industry. Potential entry for new
competitors is also the factor to intense the competition in the industry.
A larger number of new entrants results in more changes of intense
competition; mainly because technology is growing at a fast rate and
more and more companies are providing new products everyday. If
existing firms are producing at economies of scale then the new
entrants must ensure to make its entry into the market with a large
production scale capability to lower its fixed and variable cost per unit in
order to compete with the competitors product, in order to stay in the
market longer. It all depends on the type of product being introduced
and the level of competition in the market.
10. This factor depends on the image of the company and the relationship
or loyalty of the customers to the company. More factors would include
the cost, the alternatives, value of the product and buyers` willingness.
Firms mostly monitoring the trends within the industry to track the
strategies but competition not only arise within the similar industry but
also in different industry. Companies in other industry offer products
with similar features and functionality or even better act as substitute
for the products. For example, Microsoft developed the XBOX for the
entertainment target of the market, likewise SONY introduced the Play
station 3 to compete with the video game industry against Microsoft.
The chances of the consumers switching to the play station is high
because SONY itself is a well known brand that Microsoft customers
may want to try something different. The competitive strength can be
determined by market share, sales pattern, producers adding capacity
for more production, and rise in profits. As for the competition of the
XBOX and Play station, Microsoft have been winning in that
department by the market share.
11. The bargaining power of Microsoft is more because it is a huge suppliers
of software and hardware. Microsoft enforces computer manufacturers to
load Windows in their computers and place their logo on laptops, desktops
and server machines. Intel is another supplier for Microsoft on the other
hand which also demands computer manufacturers to place their logo on
machines using Intel processor. Intel and Microsoft are enforcing their terms
also by charging high cost from the computer manufacturing companies.
Intel can be a good example to use to describe the bargaining power of
suppliers. Manufacturer needs to build relationship with the supplier in order
to improve the quality and reduce the prices of the product by working
together for improvement in processes and reduce time to market by
implementing in their inventory. Microsoft is a massive company and most
suppliers are willing to bargain less with the company because of the brand
image and how successful is the company in the market. For example, Dell
computer is known for low cost and best quality computer, laptop and
server manufacturer in the industry. The key behind dell’s success is
maintaining good relationship and collaboration with the supplier of
computer hardware and software. This results in less bargaining with the
suppliers and if Microsoft is able to use the same strategy they will be the
12. Consumers are the final users of the product; performance of
the companies totally dependent upon the consumers.
Bargaining power of consumers is more especially when they are
huge in number and consumers purchase in large quantity. The
bargaining power of consumers is also more when products are
undifferentiated and widely available. In this case consumer can
ask for more discounts, get promotional offers, use the online
discounts and extended warranty and services. As the
satisfaction level of consumer goes up more the intensity level of
competition increases. The power of consumers can also relate
to the threats of substitutions, if the product that the consumer is
looking for at a lower price they may look into alternative and
other competitors such as Apple and SONY. In order for
Microsoft to satisfy their customer needs and wants they must
always be offering discounts and promotional offers to attract the
customers to their company. This way Microsoft will be in front of
the competition and be able to make all the profits in the market.
14. The strengths of this company are product brand name, product line, financial
strength, and Distributions. These are the strengths that make Bill Gates and his
company successfully throughout the competition. Moreover, the brand name of
Microsoft is well known to consumers and it is the most trusted when it come to
products in the market. Microsoft have build a tremendous customer loyalty through
it`s brand by making sure the quality of their products satisfies their customers. Once
a product from Microsoft hits the market consumers are ready to buy the product
without intensive research of the new product; mainly because the company does a
good job of promoting and introducing the product to the market through a product
introduction presentation by Bill Gates himself. Furthermore, the product line that
Microsoft offers include laptop computers, notebooks, windows software, games for
entertainment, Cell phones and other computer devices. These strong competitive
product helps Microsoft stay within the competition and be able to have a success in
the consumer market. The distribution of the Microsoft products to the consumer
market is also a key component of the success of this company. Microsoft distributes
it`s products through the wholesalers and then through retailers, which is the major
part of the distribution channel. Once the products gets to the retailers, then the
consumers are able to get the products. Another way for the consumers to get the
new product is through the online services that Microsoft offers to it`s customers.
This keeps Microsoft ahead of it`s competitors when it comes to distribution. These
are the strengths that makes Microsoft a strong competitor and also separates for the
other companies.
15. Some of the weaknesses that Microsoft faces in the
consumer market are the amount of new companies
offering the same or similar products in the consumer
market everyday. Which is a concern mainly because
Microsoft have not been able to create a new and
innovative product that will attract the new generation of
consumer in the market. Other weaknesses may include
the growth of other competitive companies in the
market, such as Apple and Google. Other weakness
include the amount of illegal downloads of the Microsoft
software on the internet. Most people try to download the
software's that Microsoft provide from other websites
rather then from the official Microsoft website; which
result in loss of profits for the company.
16. The opportunities that are available for Microsoft in the consumer
market include cost of the products, creation of new
products, targeting a particular market, and changing or upgrading
one of their successful products. The main reason that Microsoft is
as successful as it is today is because they also target a niche
market. For example, they are going to target the niche market by
doing surveys and asking questions to their customers to see if they
are satisfied with their products. They may target the students for
the new software for their school and education purposes. This way
the company creates more opportunities in the consumer market to
be successful. One of the opportunities that Microsoft is using is the
entertainment; the company has developed a successful product in
the entertainment section called the XBOX. This target the younger
generations and it is by far miles ahead of it`s closest competition
SONY. The company always wants to know what are the needs and
the wants of the customers and they try to imply that in their
marketing strategies.
17. Microsoft is able to detect threats by constantly reviewing
the market to observe any changes and any new
competitors. Microsoft uses various different methods to
deal with threats. For example, one of the competitors
introduced a software that was similar to the software's that
Microsoft offers, Microsoft dealt with this new competition
by upgrading it`s software to a new one that work on
almost any computer. This way Microsoft made more
profits and since the company already had a good
image, more consumers bought Microsoft products.
Also, whenever a competitor that introduces a new product
or a similar product that Microsoft offers, Bill Gates use the
marketing strategy to lower and upgrade their products to
maintain a strong stand against any threats that they may
face in the market.
18. In case of Political views, sometimes they cross the rules regulation for software companies
locally as well as internationally where they don’t compromise with their product quality.
Sometimes for this reasons govt. can make restriction sales or production with in a country.
Microsoft pays royalty to host country for their licensing agreement to operate business over their.
Sometimes they don’t want to pay more royalty for operation, for that they have to convince some
political leader or companies’ manager, which consume time and also reputation.
In case of Economical view, they are issuing corporate bond at low borrowing rate in the
market then govt. bond. It is very much harmful sometimes for public. If Govt. increase market
rate of bond, then public will be in trouble. Company should not issue their bond at below rate of
govt. standard rate. But Microsoft is issuing for increase their profit; sales may be for short term or
may be for long term. On the other hand by employment, revenue is increasing, with this
revenue, people have to pay a big amount of tax to govt. and they are getting dependent on
software companies.
In case of Social view, they are trying to doing their best by maintaining corporate social
responsibility in the society. They are providing social networking site for building communities
among people all over the world. Also it’s exposing user friendly software for all kind of people
such as – video games for baby boomers, Skype soft for building strong community among
people. By this way their software sales volume is increasing day by day. People are willingly
taking this software product for consumption.
In case of Technological views, Microsoft introduces their product with people locally as well
as in the world too. For every kind of computer task, we can’t imagine without ms software. No
matter what Their all product is flexible and easy to use. Maximum of their product is operating
software, which are most important for any kind of technological advancement. It works
undoubtedly best in the world. Undoubtedly we can say Life is impossible without operating
19. Microsoft should issue their corporate bond in govt. rate for expansion their sales. If
they want to issue in low rate, then they should go for short term investments.
They should follow existing rules of local and host countries for business expansion
in the host country and increase their sales.
They should concentrate on the contribution of Software system to increase GDP
growth rate of existing country for economic development and also for increasing
sales volume.
Microsoft should more carefully about their reputation because most of their product
sales are being done only for reputation in worldwide.
They should more explore and innovative abut their services.
They can open more social networking site for best community all over the world.
Microsoft has to avoid all kind of uncertainty about political violence in local country
and also in foreign country.
20. Microsoft segments their markets by differentiating each of their
products in a different market group. The goal of a marketing strategy is
to identify a target market and develop a marketing mix that will appeal
to those potential customers. Decisions regarding the ideal marketing
mix can be organized in terms of Price, Promotion, Product, and Price.
Microsoft mostly separates the software products from the other
products because of the level of competition with other companies in
the market. The other products that Microsoft offers are segmented by
demographic, psychographic and behavioral factors that determines
each market groups. For example, the Microsoft office target the
student in the market for their education; it offer discounts with buy one
get one free trial with their purchase. In addition, since students are
their target market they also tend to sell the laptop and PCs for the
students, which results in buying the software and the hardware
together by targeting the students. Another example, may include the
gaming industry which is one of the fastest growing industries in the
market right now. The company target the youth in order to promote
and sell their gaming product to their consumer by making new and
entertaining products.
21. Present Products New Products
Present Markets
Product
Market Penetration
Development
New markets
Market development Diversification
22. There are many different competition strategies that Microsoft can use. Competition
strategies are useful to the business when the business is in trouble as it has too
much competition thus their sales are affected. One change that Microsoft can take is
make their software and hardware more affordable to the consumer market.
Especially students who are their biggest target market. This way the prices will be
lower and the sales and revenues will grow even more. The windows that stands out
for Microsoft that is the best for students is the Windows Vista, which is the number
source for their education purposes. Microsoft introduced Windows Vista to target the
youth audience and make sure that every student would be able to use this new
innovative software. Some more competition strategies are used or may be used in
the future to win the customers and increase the sales and profits. Some of these
changes and strategies may include,
Finding new uses for a product
Finding new markets for existing products
Developing a wider product range
Gearing the product to a specific target market,
Changing the appearance, format or packaging of the product,
Encouraging the customers of Microsoft to use their products more frequently
Changing the components of the product
"If you possess the market, you eventually possess the profits." -Bill Gates
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