Internal and External Factors of Management Essay Example

Annually, Fortune magazine releases a list of the top 500 largest companies in the United States (Time Warner Co., 2008). Being ranked no. 44 in 2008, Microsoft has increased its revenues 15.4% since 2006 because of its continued efforts to release latest technology (Time Warner Co., 2008). To understand how Microsoft continues to lead in profits, sales and technology, the consumer must realize internal and external factors influence how Microsoft performs and operates. In depth, Microsoft’s planning functions are influenced by the consumer’s need, which continues to influence Microsoft’s products and services. The purpose of this paper is to identify and explain the internal and external factors which impact the planning functions of management within Microsoft Corporation. The internal desire to conquer all world markets in the software business is very challenging but Microsoft has proven it can be done with careful planning in regard to rapid change. Externally, the information technology sector changes quickly so Microsoft operates a good portion of their resources to keep up with these occurrences. Each locale around the globe is a different market which has to be catered to accordingly. In order to accommodate to these specific markets Microsoft is flexible to change goals rapidly if the local market doesn’t seem lucrative for the future of the company. Sound business planning and monitoring ensure such rapid changes have an advantage for the company.
Microsoft’s global development section has put a great deal of effort into creating software to be used in every country around the world, thus creating an external factor within the planning function. They have standardized operating systems so the whole world is on the same page. Many reasons exist for Microsoft to develop their products globally, including: increased revenue and profit potential, lower support costs, increased customer satisfaction, and moving ahead of the competition (Microsoft