The Role of Business Strategy and Leadership in the Success of Microsoft: A Case Study of Satya Nadella

This essay discusses the role of business strategy and leadership in the success of Microsoft, with a focus on the case study of Satya Nadella. It covers the history of Microsoft, the use of business strategy, Nadella's leadership style, and recommendations for solving critical problems.

STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION
Use of specific business plan by the company's head, in order to achieve different
advantages and growth is concerned with the application of business strategy. A company wants
to develop a successful set of plan of action due to various reasons, one of the main reason is that
it helps checking out the working structure of the business and through this management can take
initiative in setting up of several guidance. It will work as an assistance to execute those
frameworks which are designed with the objective of earning competitive growth in the market.
They also contribute in identifying several trends in the market which could help a firm to
develop innovative techniques in the production of goods and services. This essay is related to
the case study which is elaborating the performance of Microsoft by using the strategy which are
constructed by Satya Nadella as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. This essay will be
executed using the third option which involves business case study and in this instance, this
essay will be based on the case study involving Satya Nadella and the way his leadership has
changed the business strategy of Microsoft. Nadella’s leadership and strategic decision making
will be highlighted in this essay along with recommendation to solve critical problems in
Microsoft decision making.
Main Body
Microsoft is the multinational company which is operating in information technology
industry. This company was constituted in the year 1975, and currently its headquarter is situated
in Redmond, Washington in United States. Company is offering different kind of product line
such as software’s for the computer system, electronic appliances, as well as computers.
Microsoft is famous for its window services and internet explorer and several web browsers. It
was started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and in the beginning they were only involved in
generation and selling of BASIC interpreters in relation to the Altair 8800. Both have completed
their studies from a well-known university i.e., Gates from Harvard University and Allen from
Washington State University, but he has some other plans and due to this he did not complete his
degree as he got the opportunity to work in a company. 1980 was the year when Microsoft took
its step to move further in the business of operating system, with this company explore new
possibilities which was helpful in expanding the management practices. Apart from this,
introduction of windows was successfully happened in the year 1985, which is currently used by

every person in the world. All these developments in the working of the company has come into
existence because of the numerous strategical actions which are made by the leaders of the
company.
Uses of business strategy in the functioning of the organisation will help the firm to
resolve various kind of issues. This will stimulate the capacity of management who are
responsible for taking decision and make them more efficient in their working. It will support in
finding various ways so that leaders can take right decision which will results in positive
outcomes for the respective company. There are different types of strategies which could be used
by companies, to get more growth against the competitors, as this can simplify the production
activity of the business organisation. With such practice of the company, it also helps in uplifting
the performance standards of the employees by motivating to work by opting best method and
present it in the creative among the higher authority of the company. By the optimum utilisation
business strategy business firm can generate profitability by issuing better experience to their
customer base. Talking about the Nadella and his contribution in the developing the business
strategy, he should focus on considering different elements which are revolved around the
environment in which Microsoft is operating. Being a leader it is his responsibility to identify the
factors which have the capability to convert the demand and expectations of the consumers in the
market. Nadella's main concentration is finding out the new technological changes in the
computer sector which are necessary to bring the ease of working and handling these systems by
the individuals.
Currently, Microsoft is following the method of broad differentiation, in which company
is trying to build such changes in their services which will support in facing the enormous
competition in the IT industry. With this strategy Nadella is encouraging the employees of the
company to work in the direction through which management can achieve the uniqueness in the
product and services. By this company is planning to eliminate the presence of substitutes for
their product in the market by any other establishment. It will also ensure the loyalty of the
customers who are connected with Microsoft and using its windows from the longer period of
time. Satya Nadella is contributing in the success of the computer which is a proof the how
effective he is performing the task which has been assigned to him as a leader of the company.
Furthermore, he is constantly working in operating the functions of the business by selecting the
diversified structure of the products. The main aim behind this action of the company is that they

know it very well that the youngsters are more interested in using new and advance technology
which make it simple for them to operate these computer systems. But while making such plans
company should be aware about the existence of competitors in the market who are also focusing
on the same trends and keenly observing the everyday changes which are occurring in the
industry of information technology. So, it is necessary for Nadella to enhance his thinking and
analyse the working skills of their rivals in the market. This is because company is highly
reliable on the leadership of Satya Nadella, so it is his obligation to fulfil these set expectations
of the employees in the business. By doing so, he would attain the trust of the workers and can
focus more on solving their issues in the company. It is known to everyone that an effective
leadership is the necessity of the business as it will give the right direction to the different
departments of the management. Along with this, it also supports in boosting the morale of the
employees by providing them complete acknowledgement for the contribution which they have
given in the success of the business.
Another aspect of business which acts as supportive tool in the effective working of the
company is strategic management. It is the framework which could be utilized by the firm in this
managers start operating in evaluation of surrounding in which business is running against their
competitors. In the presence of strategic management company is able to get the differentiated
way to think about the growth of the business. It makes easy for the firm to give chances to their
workers in the firm to represent their skills and knowledge regarding the various characteristics
of strategies which are needed in proper management of the company. It also involves decision
regarding the setting up of mission, vision and objective which describes the reason for which
company has come into the existence. Microsoft is the company which is mainly concern about
the implementation of good strategic management, because company is aware about the growing
uses of computers and how fastly this generation is switching their choices from brand to another
if they are not finding the good processor and working of the windows in their system. To fulfil
these expectations of the consumers in the market, Microsoft have to encourage its research and
development team to speculate the data which is collected by them and identify the global trends
which can be experience by the IT industry. Due to the global presence of the company, it is the
urgent requirement of the company to utilise their given resources in the best possible way. This
will assist the firm in developing such advancement in their service mainly in windows by
installing various other features, to create simplicity and ease in operating the system. In this

way, it has been cleared that strategic management is vital for the business to flourish in this
competitive environment.
Microsoft has formed a worthwhile set of policies which are followed by each individual
who is involved in the functioning of the business in any way. The first and foremost thing which
is very crucial to achieve the diversity in the workplace is removal any action in the company
which can support the activities of discrimination. Current leader of the company is focusing on
building such atmosphere in the firm through employees get equal and fair chance to prove
themselves. Company has granted all the permission to the employees to take part in the decision
making criteria of the business by sharing their views and thoughts on specific discussion.
Company is promoting the risk taking behaviour among the employees and for this they are
organising different skill development programs which will help in increasing the efficiency of
the individuals who are working in the firm. Company go along with the idea of providing
sufficient remuneration and reward to the employees who are giving their best performance and
making it easy for the company to achieve the goals. Company is aligning its activities in
bringing activities which are useful and environment friendly at the same time.
The leadership style which is used by Satya Nadella is about developing the inclusive and
diverse environment of working. For this he tries to bring best possible through which employees
will start communicating with each other and assist in solving the queries. Nadella knows that for
the good outcomes, it is essential to lead the firm by conveying the idea of team work in various
ways. After his appointment as the chief executive officer of the company a better growth has
been observed in the working of Microsoft. Unique proposals have been introduced by him in
front of the people which has considered him as the most effective leader of the company. In one
of his interview he has stated that a leader is not the one who only thinks about the himself. He
promotes the message which is about the giving complete priority to fulfilling the general
interest of the company. With such policies of his leadership Nadella is moving forward with the
motive where he gets successful in setting Microsoft as the best company in the IT industry. For
the better result, it is important to perform and use various other leadership skills as they could
ensure the changes in those areas of the management which are making it difficult to present the
work of the employees in the effective manner. It should be considering as the utmost
responsibility of the leader that he should be polite and empathetic towards their subordinates as
it will enhance their confidence. Through they will start working in improving their weaker side

and can ask for help to their leader if they need so. Management of the company should aware
about the implementation of better leadership framework, to improve the work progress of the
employees.
Although Nadella is performing good as the leader of Microsoft but still company is
finding it difficult to present some innovative services to attract their customers in the global.
This could be a biggest question about his efficiency to manage the work structure of the
company. In last few years, company is facing varieties of confusion among the functioning and
operating activities which is reducing the profit margin of the company. So it has been observed
that he is not that much effective in performing well as the CEO of the company as it is reducing
the productivity of the workers.
Conclusion
The above Essay went into detail with various complex issues such as the business strategies
and tactics which is refereed as an important part in the industrial sector. Furthermore, The
Microsoft company was briefly explained along with the strategic management and various other
business policies that are managed by the company to perform its functions effectively and
efficiently. Including this, 7the leadership qualities of Satya Nadella and his managing criteria
were also discussed. The analysis of the company was also detailed including various
components such as decision making, the performance analysis and revenue growth, along with
the possible risks in near future that the company can face due to the excess competition on the
market, such as, Investments, change in currency rates of different countries and privacy
concerns.

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