Contemporary Issues in Business

Introduction

According to Foley (2008, p.1), Microsoft Company is one of the international corporation that encounter the international market divulgence when trading on its technological products. He points out that studying the contemporary business issues about the company is essential in understanding the organizational environment and changes that the company should undertake so as to enhance its daily undertaking. Feigenbaum (2011, p.1) points out that organizational change is the transformation of business strategies either by reorganizing or restructuring various sections of the organization so as to address the culture of changing demands of people.

Feigenbaum (2011, p.1) also notes that the adverse involvement of Microsoft Company into the international market through its products distribution channel normally requires a change on its organizational structure. This not only accounts for its transparency and social responsibility, but it also encompasses organizational strategies that can help in addressing the international market complexities. In an attempt to address these challenges, he notes that Microsoft Company through its organizational change normally tends to restructure its operations so as to effectively meet its primary business goals thereby enhancing its growth.

Additionally, Vilcox & Mohan (2007, p.1) points out that studying the Microsoft Company’s organizational change  is important in assessing and understanding its impact on the changing global economic system and its social responsibility. It also helps the company to come up with the best way to organize and manage its employees in designing effective systems that meets the changing demands of people.  Buono & Jamieson (2010, p.80), notes that Microsoft Company’s organizational changes can take different formats depending on the influence of various stakeholders, including employees, in promoting its products at the international markets (Jamieson, 2010, p.80). These may include such steps as restructuring its organization’s size and changing on its traditional hierarchal management structure.

In addressing the organizational change, the write up critically explains the forces which are driving the innovation and changes in Microsoft Company today. It also examines and critically discusses why changes in people and their culture are critical to any Microsoft Company’s organizational changing process. The paper further assesses various potential sources or reasons for the resistance of such changes in an organization all in relation to Microsoft Company.

Forces Driving the Innovation and Changes in Organizations

Globalization Force

As pointed out by Beerkens (2006, p.1), globalization is the interaction of business or organizations worldwide with a view to build a sustainable global economy. According to Beerkans (2006, p.1), the co-market alliance between different international companies in meeting the high products demand have resulted into complex business competition in countering the globalization effect. He notes that Microsoft Company in its daily operations normally encounters such complex market diversion which has made it to innovate and change its organizational framework in countering the complex business competition in addressing the globalization effects.

Tappin (2009, p.1) points out that Microsoft Company has redefined its organizational structural involvement that enables it to partner with other international organizations so as to improve on its global production and distribution channels in countering international market complexity posed by globalization. For instance, the recent collaboration between the Microsoft Company and the Nokia Company in improving its software distribution through mobile based technologies clearly indicates how the company tends to restructure its organizational policies and strategies in countering the globalization effect and meets the rising customer’s demands (Wauters, 2011, p.1). Guillen (2006, p.1) points out that  Microsoft Company has expanded its organizational branches worldwide that not only helps in selling its products, but effectively advises various customers on the importance of consuming more of its products. He notes that one of the primary aims for the organizational change in Microsoft Company is to ensure that its employees are advanced on its goods and services so as to enhance the distribution of its products.

 According to Wauters (2011, p.1), the partnership between Microsoft Company and Nokia Company incorporated ten international trainees who were able to train Microsoft employees on the software application and how to install the programs into the mobile handsets. Tappin (2009, p.1) acknowledges that training forms an organizational framework that transforms the traditional mitigating governing structure and culture by enhancing employees’ ability to develop accountability and responsibility on the organizations’ processes thereby meeting the international market demands especially in countering globalization effect.

Evolution of New Technology

According to Morris (2011, p.1), Microsoft Company plays an important role in the evolution of new technology. According to Morris (2011, p.1), the evolution of technology has changed on how Microsoft operates either through its database systems in monitoring their products or by adjusting its systems to ensure active participation of its employees in improving the production and distribution of its products. He points out that in initiating the importance of its products in enhancing new technologies, Microsoft Company normally utilizes its technologic dependence in developing new programs that are compatible with the current digitalized technologies. In enhancing these technologies, Foley (2008, p.2) notes the company normally implements enterprise resource planning systems such as SAP in training their employees to be conversant with its new technologies.

Phillips, Griffiths & Sewell (2010, p. 206) point out that the evolution of the new technology has enabled Microsoft Company to restructure on its corporate networks. This has in turn enabled it to ensure that all of its participants are linked to the organizations’ undertaking. They note that the company does this by creating web based customer services and training programs that not only link its stakeholders but also help it in transforming its organizational hierarchical structure.

Need for New Management Ideas

As pointed out by Lowe & McIntosh (2007, p.539), the increased demanding forces of consumers’ attitudes and lifestyle, the evolution of technology, and the continued market complexities has created the need for new management ideas within the Microsoft Company. They point out that Microsoft Company normally restructures its organizational management strategies either by hiring international technologies or by sensitizing training for its members in adopting new managerial skills that can effectively utilize and exploit the corresponding employees’ creativeness in improving on their processes. Weishaupt (2010, p.461) notes that each employee in an organization possesses intellectual creativity which is essential in solving problems that arise in an organization.

Heier & Strhringer (2006, p.97) point out that the corporate culture among the employees is normally an important entity in the knowledge management system since each one of them normally inhibit different human factors. Moreover, he notes that managing these corporate cultures among the employees normally act as an organizations’ intellectual capital as knowledge on itself is an organizational asset. According to Foley (2008, p.2), Microsoft Company normally engages itself in programs that ensure utilization of employees’ knowledge and capability. For instant the Microsoft Students to business (S2B) programs clearly illustrate the company’s involvement in exploiting necessary skills in enhancing its management system. Such management systems have greatly helped the organizations improve in its international competitiveness as well as to create a cordial relationship among the employees thereby enhancing organizations’ operations (Heier & Strhringer, 2006, p.98).

The New Social Media Networking

According to DiMauro (2010, p.1), the evolution of digital media technology has introduced interactive social media networking which has helped in innovating and changing the organizational framework of Microsoft Company. She points out that the digital media technology has progressively outlined the organizational interaction between the company’s management and its stakeholders including the customers. This has greatly helped it in sensitizing on the operations. She notes that Microsoft Company continues to utilize the evolution of new social media networking especially in initiating its organizational changes.  Some of the social site the company has exploited on to help it communicate the organizational changes that have been effected in include; Facbook, MySpace, Linked, and Twitter.

The Importance of Changes in People and Culture in Microsoft Changing Processes

According to Shah (2011, p.1), the changes in people and culture have enabled Microsoft Company in coping with the changes brought by various organizational driving forces. He notes that today’s people’s culture of consuming more technologies ranging from computer accessories to technological programs has enabled Microsoft Company in initiating organizational changes that best enhances its operations in coping with various changes. He points out that the Microsoft Company’s management has explicitly based its organizational framework on the changing people’s culture in devising organizational strategies that encourage its members to participate in coping with the rising technologies demands. For instance, Microsoft Company exploited the people’s culture of consuming more advanced cell phones and used this as an organizational strategy in capturing processes that would enable its production of compatible software programs for the mobile phones (Wauters, 2011, p.1). 

Espeja (2009, p.3) points out that today’s changes in people and culture that is characterized by technological know how has made it more efficient for the Microsoft Company to effect organizational changes in copping with these changes. He points out that today’s would is characterized by internet social networking involving social web site such as Facebook, Twitter, My space and others. According to him, Microsoft Company established the potentiality of changing its processes in not only using these social web sites on to enhance its organizational change , but also utilizing such demands in processing web based social programs that would encourage the use of internet social web site. For instance, the rise in use of social web based social sites made it easier for the Microsoft Company in changing its organizational processes so as to enhance the development of Web 2.0 program that would enable the creation and use of more web based social sites ((Foley, 2008, p. 4). She points out that the encouraged use of social websites in Microsoft Company primarily encouraged its technological program developers in enhancing the development of such web based programs in coping with increased use of social websites.  

Potential Areas for Resistance to Microsoft Organizational Changes

 Microsoft Company expects resistance on its organizational changes especially in initiating developing and initiating new technological software and programs. According to Hall (2008, p.2), the evolution and increased consumption of digitized technologies and programs has established the need for Microsoft Company to restructure its organizational processes in developing both the digitized technological hardwires and programs. However, he notes that the intense and advance technological training that these organizational changes requires normally draws away employees participation based on their advanced technological experience which in turn may result to ineffective implementation of these organizational changes.

On the other hand, Microsoft Company expects resistance in its organizational changes that undermine its employees’ interest but encourages its manager’s monopolistic effect. According to Stanley & Meyer (2005, p.429), the creation of monopolistic effect in Microsoft Company can result into employees’ cynicism. He notes that Microsoft Company can easily detect if its employees are losing trust on its management system by simply monitoring the communication trend starting from the top managers to the junior employees. He points out that distrust in Microsoft Company can result from initiating strategies that undermine employees’ participation in company’s affairs thereby resulting into resistance in any organizational changes.

Recommendations

Microsoft Company should continue utilizing the rising technological consumption in effectively designing organizational changes that enhances its business opportunity. It is also essential for the Company to initiate training programs that sensitize its staff on what to expect and how to effect the organizational changes that arises in the company. Moreover, mangers of Microsoft Company should restrain from engaging in monopolistic activities that portrays their selfish interest thereby hindering the implementation of organizational changes.

Conclusion

The write up has highlighted the Microsoft Company’s organizational changes as based on the current international market trend that is characterized high consumption of technology products and services. It has noted that the organizational changes by any company can only enable its growth if they are capable of addressing various factors such as globalization effect that dictates the international market diversity. The paper has also noted the importance of allowing active participation and contribution of each member of the organization in enhancing and implementing such changes. This not only help in developing trust among them, but also helps in exploiting and utilizing their creativity.