International Business Strategies and Value Chain Analysis

This report delves into the core concepts of value chain analysis and international business (IB) strategies. It begins by defining primary and supporting activities within a typical company, emphasizing their role in creating value. The report then explores the theory of value chain analysis, highlighting its benefits for academic skill development, such as research, time management, and critical thinking. A significant portion of the report is dedicated to applying these concepts to Microsoft, examining its inbound and outbound logistics, marketing, and sales operations, and the manufacturing of its software. Furthermore, the report evaluates global integration versus local responsiveness, discussing the motivations and benefits of each approach, and analyzing Microsoft's strategic choices in this context. Finally, the report examines international corporate-level strategies, particularly the global business strategy employed by Microsoft, and the impact of external factors like Brexit on the company's operations. The report offers valuable insights into business strategies and their practical applications.

LO3: Evaluate A range of IB Strategies.
The Value Chain (reference)
Explain what is a primary activities for a normal
company? (do not link to the chosen company
Microsoft)
Primary activities refer to the value chain from
inbound materials to the operations that are
related to production, to outbound the products
and services as well as their distribution, to far
end of value chain, marketing along with sales, to
customer care and services after sale (Muflikh,
Smith and Aziz, 2021).
•Supporting Activities for a normal company?
(do not link to the chosen company Microsoft)
Supporting activities are those which facilitate an
organization as a whole through giving
infrastructure or inputs which allow the primary
activities for taking place on an ongoing basis.
•Discuss academic side of theory
The theory of value chain analysis assists in
developing academic skills and abilities such as
researching skills, time management skills,
decision-making skills, problem-solving skills,
critical and analytical thinking skills and many
more.
•Reference

LO3: The Value Chain in relation to Microsoft
• Inbound logistics: The primary activities include Inbound logistics in which company must maintain
intense complicated supply-chain operations without any disruptions. Main sources of Microsoft inbound
logistics cover presence of strategic relationships with suppliers and insight knowledge of supply chain
management practices because of selling relevant software such as Microsoft Dynamics AX, economies
of scale, etc. Microsoft operations include productivity and business processes, intelligent cloud and
more personal computing. Productivity and business processes include Office Commercial, Office
Consumer LinkedIn as well as Dynamics. Intelligent cloud includes servicer products like Windows Server,
SQL Server, Visual Studio and many more. Additionally, more personal computing covers products and
services geared towards harmonizing interests of end users, developers as well as IT Professionals
throughout screens of all sizes (Dudovskiy, 2019)
• Manufacturing software: WHAT THIS IS?
It is a tool that gives functionality to plan as well as execute the projects from starting to end at time of
automating materials planning, production tracking along with scheduling as well as product lifecycle
management.
Discuss Microsoft windows: what it is, when was it launched, profit they make for the company, another
example will be Microsoft suite, which includes Microsoft excel, Powerpoint, outlook and word.
Microsoft windows is a graphical operating system which is developed as well as puvlished by Microsoft
What are Microsoft Primary activities

Supporting Activities that affect Microsoft
• What is services and solutions? (this is relevant to everything Microsoft do? This can
be linked to people who call Microsoft that ask for help. (this is a primary activity)
• Microsoft Outbound Logistics cover original equipment manufacturers, distributors and resellers, online
sales, Microsoft stores and many more. This illustrates that materials and equipment support primary
activities that Microsoft engage in.
• Microsoft marketing and sales operations include that company uses licensing method for selling its
products as well as services. How is this a supporting activity? Marketing and sales are supporting activity
within Microsoft as marketers develop content which addresses the pain-points that are opted by sales
identifies within the data. It facilitates the sales operations for collecting data which impact the
performance of the organization.
• ENGAGE WITH manufacture of software – WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE PRODUCT AND HOW THE
PRODCUCTS WORKS BEFORE THEY SELL IT (reference)
As more and more versions of Microsoft Windows were launched, Microsoft captured a higher market
share the world's PC (A Brief History of Microsoft - The Worlds Biggest Software Company, 2022).

LO3: Evaluate IB Strategies. Global Integration or Local Responsiveness?
There are various motivations for companies to intergrade globally.
DISCUSS FEW OFF THE BULLETS ABOVE (REFERENCE)
• Increase revenue potential
• Gain competitive advantage
• New customer base
• Improve your company's reputation
• Entry to new markets
• Expansion allows you to diversify
• Greater access to talent
There are also various benefits for the company to be locally responsive:
Discuss few bullets from right side list (academic side advantages and disadvantages ) (don’t need to link to Microsoft)
• The key benefit for the company to be locally responsive is that it provides extra objective to adapt products and

Microsoft Global Integration or Local Responsiveness?
• Microsoft company focuses on global integration and sacrifices responsiveness to local needs and wants within each
of its markets in favour of emphasizing efficiency.
PLEASE DISCUSS: Microsoft are such a large organisation for them its very difficult for them to be locally responsive
also they are ahead in California they will recruit a lot of staff where they recruit people all around the world to work
in California. They are more globally integrate than local responsive. This is the diversity off staff.
• Where products are sold all over the world?
• Products are sold through retail outlets like Walmart, Microsoft stores and Dixons. The countries to which
Microsoft sell its products include Afghanistan, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, America, Liberia, Serbia,
Senegal and many more.
Why:
• Microsoft focusses on global integration instead of local responsiveness because of serving the needs of
market share throughout the world as well as improving the quality and usability of the products within
global markets. (Annual Report 2021).
• Microsoft company makes use of the wide differentiation as its common strategy in order to chase
competitive advantage. Broad differentiation includes unique products sold to a large number of market
share. (Microsoft Corporation’s Generic & Intensive Growth Strategies, 2017)

LO3: Evaluate IB Strategies. International Corporate Level Strategies
•Global business strategy is used by Microsoft for chasing competitive advantage through selling its
products and services to a large number of the customers. Please discuss further (reference)
Why: Microsoft do global integration as it allows the company to take entry into the markets within
various nations. It enables Microsoft to build and develop relationships with the communities nations
around the world.
The political factor of Brexit has a great impact on the functioning of the organization as there were some
of the challenges which are related to the trade rules and regulations, etc. It brings negative influence on
the performance of Microsoft and hampers its profitability level also (Microsoft’s perspective on the
proposed EU withdrawal agreement, 2018).