Microsoft Management the Four Functions of Management

Microsoft Management

The Four Functions of Management at Microsoft

The ability of any organization to stay agile and responsive to market conditions is in large part determined by how balanced their management structure is, and how effective their management practices are. At Microsoft the four functions of management are used to create a scalable foundation of future market growth while aligning their internal resources to each opportunity. The intent of this analysis is to define the four functions of management, specifically taking into account external and internal factors. Specific attention is given to the diversity and ethics programs that Microsoft continues to be successful in using as well. The paper is organized by each of the four functions of management which are planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

Planning at Microsoft

Microsoft was one of the first companies to create a strategic planning process that took into account real-time analysis of external market factors so they could more effectively capture opportunities while reducing risks. The approach Microsoft uses today for planning seeks to integrate real-time external analysis with an assessment of internal resources and process efficiencies (Shaw, 2004). This approach to planning gives the company the ability to create product and service concepts and execute on them quicker than competitors given their greater depth of insight into the market. Planning at Microsoft is tightly integration to operations and ongoing management of initiatives as well (Love, 2006). Microsoft has been successful using an agile-based approach to defining new market opportunities and aligning resources to them for decades, and as a result still retains the majority of market share in enterprise software applications (Anderson, Wood, 2002).

Organizing at Microsoft

Of the several software companies whose sales are over $1B in annual revenues, only Microsoft has taken the approach of integrating project management, engineering and business development by initiative, even before an actual product is defined (Cusumano, 1997). This approach to defining organizational units throughout the company ahs given it greater agility in responding to market needs and requirements. It has also led to a much greater level of share intelligence and insights across the company as well (Behling, 1998). Microsoft has also created diversity initiatives within this area of their management structure (Bonfiglioli, Moir, Ambrosini, 2006). This effort has been so successful, that Microsoft wins dozens of awards annually for their efforts in ensuring a diverse workforce (Microsoft Awards for Ethics & Diversity, 2012). Examples include many of the most extensive workforce diversity programs in high technology for women and monitories.

Leading at Microsoft

This is another functional area of management that is highly integrated throughout the Microsoft management hierarchy, and permeates their culture as well. Microsoft relies on leadership at a peer-based, knowledge level as opposed to the purely hierarchical approaches of older companies. Microsoft's leaders have often been technical team and project leads first, and therefore have a significant amount of intelligence and insight into hwo their applications work. This is an area of the company that generated the Microsoft Code of Ethics in addition to the requirement that all suppliers file a sustainability analysis and report with Microsoft supplier management before doing business with the company (Investment Weekly News, 2011). Microsoft works extremely hard to make leadership a core part of their management structure and functionality, and has created analytics and metrics to track this over time.