Microsoft Corporation's External Environment and its Corporate and Business Level Strategies

GLOBAL STRATEGY: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.Introduction PAGEREF _Toc65869034 \h 32.Microsoft’s Background PAGEREF _Toc65869035 \h 33.Analysis of the Outer Organisational Environment PAGEREF _Toc65869036 \h 63.1.Theoretical Framework PAGEREF _Toc65869037 \h 73.2.Application of PESTEL Framework PAGEREF _Toc65869038 \h 103.2.1.Political Factors PAGEREF _Toc65869039 \h 103.2.2.Economic Factors PAGEREF _Toc65869040 \h 113.2.3.Social Factors PAGEREF _Toc65869041 \h 113.2.4.Technological Factors PAGEREF _Toc65869042 \h 123.2.5.Environmental Factors PAGEREF _Toc65869043 \h 133.2.6.Legal Factors PAGEREF _Toc65869044 \h 134.Corporate-Level Strategies PAGEREF _Toc65869045 \h 154.1.Theoretical Framework PAGEREF _Toc65869046 \h 154.2.Application: Proposed Corporate-Level Strategies PAGEREF _Toc65869047 \h 184.2.1.Visionary Strategy PAGEREF _Toc65869048 \h 184.2.2.Growth Strategy PAGEREF _Toc65869049 \h 195.Business-Level Strategies PAGEREF _Toc65869050 \h 195.1.Theoretical Framework PAGEREF _Toc65869051 \h 195.2.Application of Business-Level Strategies PAGEREF _Toc65869052 \h 225.2.1.Cost-Leadership PAGEREF _Toc65869053 \h 225.2.2.Product Development PAGEREF _Toc65869054 \h 226.Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc65869055 \h 23References PAGEREF _Toc65869056 \h 24
1 Introduction
Multinational organisations compete on a global level and their survival is dependent on their competitive advantage. To gain a competitive advantage, companies need to make strategic decisions. According to Papulova and Gazova (2016, p.573,), strategic analysis plays a crucial role in strategic decision-making because it provides a detailed report on the nature of the internal and external business environment of an organisation. The focus is mainly on the organisation because as Durand et al. (2016, p.7) indicate, the primary analysis level in strategic management is at the organisation. Thus, effective strategic analysis is necessary for ensuring that organisations have the right strategies. Further, there are different levels of strategic management and each level is characterised by different strategies. Hiriyappa (2018) reveals that there are corporate, business, and functional levels of strategic management. The corporate level is characterised by corporate-level strategies, the business level is characterised by business-level strategies, and the functional level is characterised by functional-level strategies. The purpose of this paper is to provide a strategic analysis report by analysing the external environment of Microsoft Corporation, herein Microsoft. This analysis will also form the basis for recommending corporate- and business-level strategies for Microsoft.
2 Microsoft’s Background
Microsoft is an American multinational corporation that was founded in 1975 and incorporated in 1981 (Microsoft, 2021). Since its inception, Microsoft has been a leading developer and manufacturer of personal computers, computer software, and other technological applications. Microsoft’s mission is to “empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more” while its values are respect, accountability,...