Manage Work Activities to achieve Organizational Activities

This document provides insights into the role of engineers in Microsoft, important departments, levels of management, engineering ethics, and risk management process at Microsoft. It also discusses the mission, vision, and objectives of Microsoft Corporation. Find all the study material and solved assignments related to this topic at Desklib.

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Manage Work Activities to achieve Organizational
Activities.
Content Page No.
Introduction 2
Mission, Vision, and Objectives 2
Role of engineers in Microsoft 2-3
Important departments in Microsoft 3-4
Various levels of management at Microsoft
Corp.
4
Engineering Ethics at Microsoft 4-5
Various types of risk for Microsoft 5
Risk Management process 5-6
Various types of organisational structure 6-7
Microsoft’s CSR, business ethics and
sustainable business operations for the
society
7
References 8
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Introduction:
Microsoft Corporation is a tech giant based in the United States that is the leader in the development
of personal computer software applications and systems. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington,
also publishes books and multimedia titles and produces hardware. Bill Gates and Paul G. Allen (b.
1954) formed it in 1975 after adapting BASIC for use on personal computers. They granted a license
version to various companies, created other programming languages, and released MS-DOS for the
IBM PC. The successive adoption of MS-DOS by most other personal-computer makers resulted in
massive profits for Microsoft, that became a publicly traded firm. In 1983, it introduced the 1st edition
of Microsoft Word, a famous word-processing program, and in 1985, it released Microsoft Windows, a
GUI user interface for MS-DOS-based computers. Microsoft released Xbox in 2001, a video game
console that quickly rose to 2nd spot in the $10 billion video game market. Microsoft introduced Xbox
Live, a broadband gaming network for their consoles, in 2002.
Mission, Vision, and Objectives of Microsoft Corporation:
Microsoft’s corporate mission is “to empower every person and every organization on the planet
to achieve more.” The primary objective of Microsoft is that the company's information technology
goods and services are focused on empowering individuals and organizations. One of the firm's
tactical objectives is to make sure that its information and technology products/services empower
customers, allowing them to accomplish more of their own goals. Customers, for instance, can meet
their work goals through utilizing Microsoft 365 apps. The company's mission directs the enterprises
to create products/services that use technology to increase consumer productivity. This attention on
product innovation in the mission has an impact on Microsoft Corporation's general competitive edge
and active expansion plans, that also aid in the accomplishment of the company's vision. Microsoft's
target market is defined as all individuals and organizations worldwide. A related strategic goal is to
increase market presence to serve all prospective users of the firm's computing goods. This objective
is backed via global supply chain, which is based on the business mission. Because individuals and
organizations have various requirements, the firm gives multi-functional solutions that may be
modified or adjusted to satisfy the requirements of both individual users and organizations.
The vision of Microsoft is “to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full
potential.” According to the vision, the corporation promotes its computer solutions as instruments
that individuals and business organizations can utilize to enhance their personal or organizational
growth. The business vision and mission are intrinsically tied, suggesting that Microsoft is focused
on its value creation and target audience. According to the vision statement, the company's business
model is that its I.T products can assist consumers in achieving their maximum potential. The focus
on assisting and pleasing consumers aligns with Microsoft's corporate social responsibility policy.
This indicates that personal users and corporations are a priority in the technology company's product
innovation approach. The target market is also indicated in the Corporate's vision statement. The
tech. corporation describes its target market as "people and businesses all over the world". As a
result, the corporate envisions a corporate setting in which Microsoft remains one of the major global
suppliers of computer technology and associated online services to clients worldwide.
Role of engineers in Microsoft Corporation:
An engineer’s role inside any organization is to apply their technical expertise and skills to design
structures, products/services, and procedures that benefit the firm and its consumer. Engineers are
experts in the field of mathematics and science, they utilize their knowledge in designing, planning,
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develop, implementation and various other functions. Similarly, Microsoft Corporation uses its
engineers for similar activities as mentioned above.
Microsoft Corporation hires vast number of engineers who have expertise in various fields. Microsoft
has over 100,000+ software engineers working on development of their products.
Different engineers have different kind of roles in the corporation. Some are discussed below:
 A brief on the roles of software engineers in Microsoft corp.: Software engineers in
Microsoft collaborate with others to solve challenges and create creative technology
innovations. Their role is to genuinely care about consumers and quality of products,
they advise Technical Project Leaders and Product Managers as they examine user wants
and requirements product innovation. They also learn and implement appropriate new
technologies, tools, methods, and processes to use in their solutions. As a Software
Engineer, they are committed to the design, development, and testing of next-generation
software that will enable every individual and organization worldwide to accomplish higher
goals.
 Roles of Mechanical Engineers:
1. Interact with multidisciplinary teams and external vendors in the development of
system hardware.
2. Mechanical design, execution, and distribution of high-grade engineering goods.
3. Management should be presented with technical information, recommendations, and
risk management items.
4. Create thorough testing reports and outsourced testing strategies.
5. Motivate creativity and find opportunities in the design of next-generation test
equipment.
6. Develop and implement critical outputs in collaboration with peers in multiple roles.
7. Designing and compliance assessment for mechanical components in the network
are carried out.
 Roles of Electrical Engineers:
1. Instil a safe, protection, and regulatory culture in all aspects of data center operations.
2. Collaborate with commissioning departments to appropriately verify and test electrical
system setup, function, and efficiency.
3. Evaluate the datacentre’s architecture and functionality.
4. 24/7 on-site datacenter management and electric network assistance
5. Serve as the technical leader for on-site functions involving a vast critical electrical
system's design and functionality.
6. Create and integrate servicing and security processes while keeping highly reliable
electrical designs.
7. Handling the electrical networks on the datacenter site, which range from a single
giant size center to several smaller ones.
Important departments in Microsoft:
The 3 important departments in Microsoft are:
1. Human Resources (HR): Microsoft takes human resource operations such as hiring and
selection, development and training performance assessment, and rewards and recognition
extremely thoroughly as they desire top individuals to perform for them and long-term
continuity inside the firm is critical to their progress. As a result, they recruit individuals not
only for their existing talents, but also for their foreseeable prospects. Microsoft strives to hire
only the finest individuals. It collaborates with universities and colleges to learn about
available talent and assure that their workforce needs are met. Additionally, the present
connection among workers and the corporation adheres to a mental agreement. This is
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especially crucial for organizations like Microsoft, where workers' competencies, talents, and
experience determine the firm's market position.
2. Sales: The sales department at Microsoft assist customers in realizing their full market
opportunities by boosting organisational effectiveness via the use of linked technology and
services. This department help clients with digitalization and goal technological concerns.
Microsoft's sales team establishes a strong connection with its service or product and its
consumers. Microsoft's sales team does not just focus on making make sales. They cultivate
ties with their clients. They determine a client's individual demands and ensure that those
requirements are met. Because they have constant touch with consumers, they learn specific
knowledge that aids in making sales transactions more pleasant and friendly.
3. Marketing: The Marketing department at Microsoft interacts customers, organizations, and
workers all over the world, acting as a cohesive team across goods, solutions, and platforms.
The team houses consolidated and linked marketing, branding, communication, and
multimedia groups. Microsoft's marketing department's goal is to offer as many goods as
possible in the most responsible way. The department creates marketing techniques and the
optimal marketing mix to meet the demands and desires of customers. The marketing
department keeps an eye on market developments and discovers customer requirements and
desires. The team then devised a marketing approach to boost client attention and sales.
Furthermore, they carry out a variety of responsibilities and operations such as market
research, test marketing, advertising, and branding.
Various levels of management at Microsoft Corp.:
The terminology "Levels of Management" applies to a borderline across distinct executive roles in a
company. The growth in size of the firm and workforce is directly proportional to the number of
executive levels, and likewise. A hierarchy of command, the quantity of control, and the prestige of
any executive job are all influenced by the levels of management.
 Microsoft’s top level of management consists of: Chief Executive Offer, Chairman, President,
Executive Vice Presidents, Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Human
Resources Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President for Business
Development, Strategy and Ventures and Executive Vice President for Marketing and
Consumer Business.
 Microsoft’s middle level of management: General Manager, Group Manager, Manager and
Individual Contributor.
 Microsoft’s lower level of management: Supervisors, foremen and inspectors
Normally Microsoft is divided into 7-8 levels of management, depending on the project, group,
or division:
1. CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
2. Vice President of the division/project
3. Head of the product
4. General Manager
5. Sub-Manager
6. Team Manager (of5-6 employees)
7. Senior software developer
8. Software Developer/ Intern
Engineering ethics at Microsoft:
Engineering ethics is a collection of moral guidelines for engineers to adopt that may be applied to
most workplace situations. These requirements may differ based on the country or profession under
consideration. These ethical principles are engineers' responsibilities to the community, organizations,
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and the field. The goal of engineering ethics is to detect moral difficulties that may develop so that a
possible conflict can be avoided. Prior ethical or tech problems can assist engineers in learning both
from setbacks and accomplishments.
In terms of engineering ethics, Microsoft has the AI, Ethics, and Effects in Engineering and Research
(AETHER) Committee, which provides scientific and engineering guidance and experience on the
implementation of responsible AI principles; and the Responsible AI Strategy in Engineering (RAISE)
team, which enables engineers to enforce responsible AI tools and structures. Furthermore, Microsoft
developed the Responsible AI Standard, which describes a series of actions that Microsoft teams
must perform to assist the creation and innovation of responsible AI systems. These projects
demonstrate the type of well-thought-out governance approach that is required to facilitate culture
transformation and to implement ethics in tech. Skilled engineers frequently lack ethical knowledge
when developing new goods. They frequently obtain no direction from their higher authority. Microsoft
analysts recognize this issue and have collaborated with many technology firms to develop a detailed
ethical guideline to advise skilled engineers at their job. The guideline's main objective is to facilitate
vital talks within businesses. The guideline is also intended to help skilled engineers build new goods.
Various types of risk for Microsoft:
Some general risks that Microsoft faces in the market are:
 The ongoing transition from pc to mobile devices: Although it is not a recent issue, Microsoft
is concerned about the shift from pc to mobile. According to one statistic, mobile phone
Internet consumers outnumber pcs. In comparison to its computer OS market share,
Microsoft's mobile OS market presence is minimal. Microsoft's previous efforts to develop a
vertically integrated phone by acquiring hardware firm Nokia Mobility resulted in a $7.6 billion
loss.
 Diverse revenue methods are used by rivals: Microsoft mainly employs a first-party business
strategy, in which the individual enjoying the advantage compensates Microsoft immediately
for the program. Third-party business models are offered by rivals: rivals build and supply free
programs, digital services, and material, and generate revenue by offering third-party
advertising. Ad income fuels the advancement of goods and services that these rivals offer to
customers for free or at a low cost, thereby contending with Microsoft's income-generating
services. Microsoft's, Microsoft Office product line suffers additional risks from rivals who
replicate the features as element of a tailored offer for corporate-focused clients.
 Concerns about its own revenue model: The CEO of Microsoft has accomplished an
outstanding job of moving Microsoft consumers to Office 365, the company's membership-
based service. Most Microsoft consumers continue to utilize a licensed-based application.
License-based income is less consistent because it needs an attractive new edition to entice
consumers to update. Furthermore, having numerous editions of OS necessitates more
manpower for updates, patching, and other program repairs.
Let’s take Xbox (a gaming project by Microsoft) into consideration:
It was difficult for Microsoft to launch a game system because the firm was not well-known in the
gaming industry, Microsoft needed to come up with a different and better console to be able to
contend with firms like Sony and Nintendo (which already had massive fan following). Microsoft
chose to lower the cost of the Xbox console from $299 to $199 in 2002 so that more families
could own the video game console.
Risk Management process:
Microsoft’s risk management process consists of 6 steps:
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1. Determine the risks: Individuals can identify risks and alert a team to a possible issue through
risk. Risk determination should be done as soon as possible as an insight to a risk
management process and reiterated regularly across all of the project's lifespan.
2. Risks should be assessed and prioritized: Risk analysis converts forecasts or information
about project risks established during risk determination into a format that a team can utilize
to make priority decisions. Risk prioritization allows a team to allocate project resources to the
most critical risks.
3. Scheme and routine risk management: Risk planning employs the data gleaned from risk
analysis to create techniques, proposals, and actions. It makes sure that the initiatives are
authorised before being integrated into the normal daily project management process,
ensuring that risk control is conducted out as an aspect of a group's daily actions. It clearly
links risk management to project management.
4. Keep records of and report on risk status: Risk tracking keeps track of the status of individual
hazards as well as the development of their related action plans. Risk management also
entails checking possibility, effect, vulnerability, and other risk measurements for changes that
could affect priorities or risk plans, as well as project features, resources, or schedule. Risk
tracking allows transparency of a risk management process within a project from the
perspective of risk levels, as opposed to the typical operational project management
process's task-completion perspective. Risk reporting ensures that the project team,
sponsors, and other stakeholders are informed of the status of project risks and the plans in
place to manage them.
5. Risk prevention and project transition tasks are under control: Risk regulation is the procedure
of carrying out risk action steps and disclosing on their standing. Risk management also
entails initiating project change control requests when changes in risk status or risk proposals
may necessitate modifications to the project's attributes, resources, or timetable.
6. Risk resolutions teach us a lot: Risk learning converts learned lessons and project related
materials into information that can be reused inside an unit and across an organization.
Various types of organisational structure:
Some important organistaional structures are:
1. Functional Structure: It divides a corporation according to the specialisation of its staff. Using
a functional organisational structure entails splitting the company into departments such as
marketing, sales, and operations.
2. Divisional Structure: Bigger corporations that function throughout a big regional zone or have
smaller individual organizations within an organization that handle diverse commodities or
markets. Every section function as its own corporation within this model, regulating assets
and the quantity of money spent on programs and components inside such divisions.
3. Hierarchical Structure: Staff are placed at different ranks within the organization in this
structure, with each rank being higher than the one before it. Individuals, except for those at
the highest, such as owner or directors’ roles, will be assigned a manager and deputies.
4. Matrix Structure: All workers in this structure have multiple reporting connections, answering
to 2 or more managers based on the scenario or task. This usually adopts the form of
functional and product-based reporting.
5. Flat Structure: It reduces the structure and command chain and allows its workers a great
deal of flexibility. Organizations that employ this structure have a rapid compliance rate.
The organisational structure of Microsoft:
The organisational structure of Microsoft Corp. has been generally regarded as a divisional, product-
type structure centered on functional business divisions and engineering groups. In recent times it has
adopted more of a hierarchical structure due to the organisation’s growth but has maintained its mixed
structure of top management, functional business units, and engineering groups. Leaders of
engineering divisions answer straight to the CEO within the firm's revised structure. This aids future
product growth and innovation by allowing new items and services to reach the market more quickly.
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A strong division among business and engineering units demonstrates Microsoft's emphasis on its
engineering groups, which oversee developing core goods and services. Microsoft's organisational
structure has also been constructed in such a way that there is a broader breadth of authority. This
suggests that the organization is increasingly centralized, with more employees reporting to specific
supervisors.
Microsoft’s CSR, business ethics and sustainable business operations for the
society:
It is the method through which the organization achieves an equilibrium across economic, ethical, and
environmental implications while meeting stakeholder expectations.
Microsoft offers numerous initiatives to help and benefit the society. Their great expansion from a
modest software firm to the biggest corporation on the globe, they have increased their duties and
dedication to society. Microsoft's primary policies for society guidance and support are as follows:
 Inspiring/Encouraging youth: Microsoft provides opportunity for youngsters to be empowered
and fulfil their full potential.
 Microsoft supports philanthropic groups through software contributions, coaching, and
funding.
 Microsoft supports humanitarian aid and crisis control initiatives in a variety of methods.
 Microsoft also encourages their staff to give significantly in order to help the community.
Microsoft is collaborating with all its users to use IT and cloud computing to solve the planet's
ecological concerns. Microsoft's sustainable business practices:
 Products innovation that is both safer and sustainable.
 Water waste minimization.
 Recycling, reuse, and preserving
 Committed to carbon reduction by incorporating environmental sustainability into everyday
business choices.
 Integrating environmental responsibility into business interactions
 To measure the success, examine and assess environmental initiatives, policies, and
objectives.
Microsoft’s business ethics that aid the society:
The society encompasses of the consumers, shareholders, employees, etc. The major element of
business ethics of Microsoft to aid the society are as follows:
 Service and product quality
 Effective Communication
 Strong market data gathering
 Ethical information procedures
 Suppliers conduct code
 Equal opportunities for employment
 Wellbeing and healthcare
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References:
https://www.britannica.com/summary/Microsoft-Corporation
https://mission-statement.com/microsoft/
https://careers.microsoft.com/professionals/us/en/c-engineering#:~:text=As%20the
%20cornerstone%20of%20our,empower%20Microsoft%20customers%20and%20partners.
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/c/engineering-jobs
https://careers.microsoft.com/professionals/us/en/professions
https://www.organimi.com/organizational-structures/microsoft/
https://www.davidrankinlaw.com/microsoft-works-with-engineers-to-create-ai-ethics-checklist/
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/12/06/3-risks-microsofts-management-wants-you-to-
know.aspx
https://flylib.com/books/en/3.380.1.31/1/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility
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