Technology plays an important role in our postmodern society. With everyone in the world connected in at least some form of technology, computing and technological firms take on an ever-increasing mantle in society. One such firm is tech and software giant Microsoft. In 2013, Microsoft reported a net revenue of $77.31 billion, while the firm grew by four percent. It owns subsidiaries in 113 countries and employs 100,932 people worldwide. In the United States alone, 59,197 are employed, with more than three-quarters are male and the rest female (Microsoft 2013). Over 90% of the online population use Windows as their operating system (Bott 2014). The firm is also a founding member of the UN Global Compact. However, with such broad reach of consumers, Microsoft is infamous for accusations of monopolisation of the market, especially regarding its breaches in anti-trust and competition law, with some instances going against the United States and European Union’s governments. This paper will argue that perceived monopolistic actions of the firm benefits some of its important stakeholders: consumers and partners, particularly not-for-profit organisations by spurring innovation and growth through its perceived ‘monopoly’ of personal computers and operating systems.
The Case against Microsoft
Microsoft’s domination of the operating system industry has attracted the attention of powerful regulatory bodies like the European Commission, spurring accusations of monopoly. Windows, Microsoft’s flagship product, has traditionally been bundled with Internet Explorer, its official browser. The Economist (“Sin of Omission; Microsoft’s Antitrust Fine” 2013) notes that:
‘This, thought the commission, might be an abuse of its dominance in operating sys...
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...crosoft v. Commission.” Yale Journal on Regulation 25 (2): 247–301.
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By 1993 Microsoft's windows computer programming function became the most widely used operating system in the world. When Microsoft was still an idea, Bill Gates led Apple to believe he would help them succeed in creating the best computer programming systems in the nation, however, Gates left it unknown to Apple he planned to release his own software. Gates took notes and allowed Apple to release the software he helped them to create. Then shortly after, Microsoft introduced windows. Apple claimed Gates had stolen their ideas, as windows looked surprisingly similar to Apple's version. Gates claimed he used his own ideas because it was his own that made Apple's renowned software. As Microsoft was leading in the world, Apple threatened Microsofts position in the world of technological advances by introducing a new software program that could potentially take Microsoft's top spot in the market away from them. Gates quickly said that he had created a new software that was set to release also, although he had no idea of new software at the time and made the excuse to possibly buy himself a bit of time. About eight months later, Microsoft released the new software program, as bill gates had proclaimed, retaining the top spot in the market. Microsoft's expansion today has reached every technological realm possible. Occluded in the newest developments are
Back in John D. Rockefeller’s day the business moves he established that created a monopoly were highly intelligent and immoral. He was the first person to build a monopoly setting guidelines for future business leaders. Nonetheless, Microsoft ignored the regulations established under The Sherman Antitrust Act, in 1890 and committed a monopoly but finally settled to make it easier for competitors. Monopolies have been happening since the 19th century to the 21st, but remained unfair form hundreds of
Being his life’s most world renowned accomplishment, Microsoft was the beginning factor in Bill Gate’s cultural impact, paving the way for greater technological advances an...
The changes surrounding contemporary businesses have been noted to have increased in their frequency, direction and overall strength that have their long term implications on strategic management and investment within these industries (Barreto, 2010). The free market hypothesis has argued that optimum allocation of resources within an economy can be achieved when there is no interference from external third parties to develop effective and efficient markets (Bremmer, 2010). In order to achieve this high degree of market effectiveness and efficiency, governments around the world pursue a competition development strategy across the industries so that value maximisation can be achieved for customers and the economy. Although the economic literature has noted significant weaknesses associated with the monopolistic industry dynamics, however it has become apparent that in practice it can become an important value adding structure to achieve certain socio-economic outcomes (Cowling & Tomlinson, 2012). The aim of this essay is to critically review and discuss different arguments that have presented in favour of permitting monopoly in contemporary business environment. In order to achieve this aim, the essay uses arguments from diverse schools of thoughts and appraises their outcomes with the help of examples and case studies from practice.
Microsoft has devoted huge amounts of effort to marketing in developing their products and services, as well as to the integration of their software products with one another in an attempt to create a seamless and consistent computing environment for the user.
Monopoly is when a business or a single company owns nearly all its market for a given type of product and services. There is no competition in monopoly and the price of a specific product is set by the monopoly itself. Therefore, a monopoly's price is the market price and demand are market demand; the firm and the industry are the same. It can charge higher prices at any output consequently, consumers will not be able to substitute the good or service with a more affordable alternative. Monopoly’s soul goal is to make profit at any price and quantity. Still to this day, monopolies do exist but at a smaller scale.
Microsoft, one of the largest corporations in the world today, employs over 93,000 people and is a public, multinational company that manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computers and is most widely known for its Microsoft Windows operating system. Microsoft not only markets computer hardware products such as the Microsoft mouse and the Microsoft Natural keyboard, but it also manufactures and sells home entertainment products including, the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Zune. It also holds assets in other markets including the MSNBC cable television network, the MSN Internet portal, and the Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia.
In this paper, team B will discuss the internal and external factors of the Microsoft Corporation. We will explain how these factors affect the four functions of management, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Also, we will explain how globalization, technology, innovation, diversity and ethics will be delegated to manage the different factors. Microsoft Corporation was established in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico producing software for developing, manufacturing, licensing, and support for range of software products and service for different type of computing devices. Microsoft grew from six employees to the largest personal computer software company in the world. By 1978, Microsoft earned $500,000 in the first quarter, and by the end of the year they earned revenue of $1,000,000. In the early 1980s Microsoft, in collaboration with IBM they released MS-DOS as their first 16-bit operating system. However after the late 1980s, Microsoft started to build its reputation by creating the Microsoft windows operating system and Microsoft office product, which includes internet explorer, excel, PowerPoint, and word programs. Then in the late 1990s, Microsoft teamed with Sega to incorporated their windows software package into the game developer’s Dreamcast hardware. Also they developed their own gaming system called the Xbox and that eventually was replaced by the xbox360. Microsoft has come a long way and is no longer just a worldwide leader in computer programming but also a major part of the technology world. Microsoft windows have been the flagship and accounts for most of its revenue for Microsoft: but the company has also branched ...
...nning pirated versions of Windows, whose owners tried to circumvent the (legal purchasing) system and reduce their costs. Other individuals and in emerging nations have purchased PCs with Windows “Starter” editions in which the cost of software is lower. The items mentioned here are ways Microsoft is trying to deal with the threat of Linux.
The Internet was growing at an outstanding pace and many people believed that it was going to affect every business. However, Gates dismissed the Internet and Netscape as unimportant, saying that they would have no impact on him. He quickly found out how wrong he was and how these new threats in the environment were going to affect his business, and he managed to find the way for converting this threat into an opportunity. Thus, he changed the direction of his strategy and he entered into a new business: the Internet world. He realized that he was missing out an opportunity in the market that could make his company grow in a huge way; so he adopted a follower strategy, which is very ironic knowing that they have always been the leaders. He strategically fit-in by matching his resources and strengths (capital, know-how and people) to the changing environment. As Netscape was ahead he needed to act quickly before it was too late, so he took advantage of his power as a leader and focused on regaining position over Netscape by adding the browser as an integral part of Windows, giving free copies to the public and forcing manufacturers to install the browser on the machine. In other words, he used his best existing resource which was Microsoft Windows as part of the strategy and used his monopoly to stifle competition and defeat its rivals. However, this strategic choice could have never succeeded at the business level, if Microsoft wouldn’t have the competitive advantage of understanding the customer and the market as they do.
“His agreements with hardware manufacturers have often served to prevent the success of rival products even when they are already on the market and Microsoft versions have yet to be completed. In 1995, the development of Windows 95, a revolutionary operating system, drove hardware manufacturers to produce computers with more memory and more hard disk space. Microsoft thus effectively compelled the entire computer industry to follow its lead. Such practices involved Gates and Microsoft in legal struggles over alleged anticompetitive practices and copyright infringement throughout the 1990s”(McGuire 1). With their more advanced operating systems they had to have more advanced computers that can run them but the other companies couldn't update their operating system as fast.
Microsoft has always been known as a software company, and not well known for its hardware. In fact, the only hardware that Microsoft sells to the retail market is branded peripherals. In its heyday, Microsoft was a market leader, bring an operating system to the masses, and leading in internet search. In recent years, however, most of the moves that Microsoft has made have not been in a market leader position, but have been in response to competitors threatening Microsoft’s positions.
From 1980 to 1996, Apple’s competitive range in the PC industry was rocky. Although Apples products were unique and well built, they were overpriced compared to competing products from IBM and others. As competitor prices dropped, Apple prices stayed the same and the company saw a decline in sales as customers opted to purchase from its competitors. John Sculley, former CEO of Apple, took many steps to improve the company’s competitive advantage. One of those steps was to compete with price by producing a low-cost computers that appealed to a mass-market. The second step was to form an alliance with rivals IBM and Novel in order to create new operating systems and applications...
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, Microsoft Office office suite and Internet Explorer web browser. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies. Microsoft dominated the personal computer operating system market, until the early 2000 when Apple, Google, and Facebook came about. (Microsoft) This is when the company started to lose its credibility.
Microsoft is the leading and the largest Software Company in the world. Found by William Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 Microsoft has grown and become a multibillion company in only ten years. It all started with a great vision – “a computer on every desk and every home” - that seemed almost impossible at the time. Now Microsoft has over 44,000 employees in 60 countries, net income of $3.45 billion and revenue of 11.36 billion. Company dramatic growth and success was driven by development and marketing of operational systems and personal productivity applications software.