Analysis of Business Strategy of Microsoft

Running head: ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY OF MICROSOFT
ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY OF MICROSOFT
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ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY OF MICROSOFT
Executive Summary
This report is based on the analysis of the generic business strategy that is implemented by
the organizations. The structure and the culture of the company is also analysed based on the
ways by which it is implemented in the various organizational processes. The organization
that is considered for the analysis is Microsoft which is a multinational company of the
technology industry. The two generic strategies applied by the company are analysed in the
report. The effect of these strategies on the operations of Microsoft and the culture is also
discussed in detail in the report. The analysis has been concluded by stating that the three
aspects of the organization are interlinked with each other.

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ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY OF MICROSOFT
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Generic Business strategy implemented by Microsoft...................................................4
Organizational culture of Microsoft...............................................................................6
Formal organizational structure of Microsoft..............................................................11
Conclusion....................................................................................................................16
References....................................................................................................................17

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ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY OF MICROSOFT
Introduction
Microsoft Corporation is an American organization which operates in the area of
technology and the headquarter of the company is located in Redmond, Washington. The
company mainly develops, licenses, manufactures and sells software for computers,
consumer electronics, services and personal computers. The most famous software of
Microsoft includes, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office Suite, Edge Web Browsers and
Internet Explorer. The flagship hardware product of Microsoft is the Xbox Video game. The
organization has occurred the position of the topmost software company of the world in the
year 2016. The company has also gained the position of the most valuable company of the
world (Microsoft.com 2018). Microsoft was established in the year 1975 by Bill Gates and
Paul Allen for the purpose of developing and selling the Basic Interpreters for Altair 8800.
The company further rose to dominate the market of personal computer operating systems
with MS-Dos in the year 1980. The organization had shown phenomenal growth from the
year 2000 onwards. Microsoft thereby produces a huge range of enterprise software based
products and consumer software. In the year 2000 Steve Ballmer replaced Bill Gates as the
CEO of Microsoft (Microsoft.com 2018).
The report will be based on the analysis of the generic business strategy that has been
used by Microsoft for the purpose of creating a competitive position in the technology
industry. The formal structure of the company will be analysed in the report and the ways by
which this structure affects the entire culture that is followed by Microsoft will also be
discussed in detail. The interrelation of the strategies implemented by the organization with
the organizational culture and structure will be discussed in the report in detail.