Clinical objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Clinical objectives - Essay Example Beyond the immediate result, consequences of behavioral health violence lost productivity because of low morale and high medical costs resulting from treating the injuries. Some healthcare workers rationalize behavioral health violence as an occupational hazard and believe that measures need to be taken to cope with it. Nursing working on behavioral setting need take some measures to prevent such occurrences. It can be through medication, restraining the patient, and seclusion. Even though these methods are effective in the short term, they can also be used in the long term to change the patients’ behavioral patterns. Other methods include leaving the door open and making sure that there security to nurses when they are dealing with violent patients. Finally, an increase in the level of violence among patients towards nurses is closely associated with a decrease in the number of permanent nursing staff. One theory states that patients become violent because they are in need of continuity and stability around them (Richter, 2006). Behavioral health violence is widespread among Americans of all ages. It can be prevented by medication, restraining the patient, seclusion, and giving them attention and a stable environment. Other safety measures that can be taken by nurses include leaving the door open and making sure that there security to nurses when they are dealing with violent

CVS Pharmacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CVS Pharmacy - Essay Example The essay highlights how the CVS Pharmacy applies adaptability and response to change/innovation. The CVS Pharmacy strives to provide expert care and innovative solutions that are effective for the patients. Through such services, CVS illustrates how the use of innovative approaches to traditional plan can help customers in reducing their expenditure on drugs; improve the generic dispensing rates, and minimizing the rate of member disruption (Nursing., (U.S.) and of 308). They have a variety of tools that are available to guide the clients in reducing the costs and increasing the GDR. But, patients may hesitate to implement the new plan designs since the approaches require a change in the behavior of the member and can turn to be quite disruptive. By adapting the elements of the traditional plan design is to provide the members with an appealing selection of options, increase flexibility, and enhance proactive communications. Higher spending in the healthcare industry has traditionally benefitted the traditional stakeholders in the industry. Such professionals include hospitals, doctors, insurers, as well as drug and device manufacturers. Through this, the profitability of the health care system has remained strong despite the common cases of the economic downturn. However, the prospect of the health spending escalation is likely to fuel a growth mandate from the consumers and employers, and the system will be required to deliver more value. CVS pharmacy also looks out for opportunities of increased healthcare spending. During such times, there is often a significant increase in the health insurance premiums and fewer employers are always willing to provide their employees with coverage. Those that do offer the services limit their coverage to the employees and eliminate retirees and dependents. Such opportunities arising from

Components Constituting A Business Environment Commerce Essay

Components Constituting A Business Environment Commerce Essay The rapid changes in the healthcare environment have exerted significant pressures on the hospitals to pay attention to marketing strategies in general and health service strategy in particular. Therefore this research investigates the influence macro environment factors have on the health service strategy made by the hospital managers. This study proposes and tests a four factor macro environment model that explains the considerable variation in health service strategy in the hospitals. These factors include political, Economic, Social, and Technology, namely the PEST Analysis. The study goes on to conduct a SWOT Analysis of the organisation and critically evaluate how the organisation can accomplish to meet the stakeholders expectations, and the influence that specific stakeholders have on a health and social care organisation. We will critically assess the role of information management systems for improving the performance of a health and social care organisation, and the decisio n making techniques that the management uses to come up with the business strategies of an organisation. Components constituting a business environment The two broad categories that any business environment can be classified into are external and internal environments. A macro environment is thus a part of the external environment. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT MACRO ENVIRONMENT MICRO ENVIRONMENT Figure 1: Business environment and its components MACRO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OF AN ORGANISATION The new environment reality affecting the operation and performance of organizations is being characterized by continuous and often unpredictable change. As a result, many calls have been voiced for organizations to build the ability to respond and adapt to changing and uncertain environmental conditions, in order to sustain their competitive situation (Cardwell Bolon, 1996; Godiwalla et al., 1997; Chung, 2008; Aapo Tomas, 2008). Macro environment has been the subject of considerable research in both business and marketing literature recently. Furthermore, it became an area of primary concern to all organizations, depending critically on a subtle understanding and analysis of both the industry within which the hospital will compete, and the competitors working in same arena. Studying macro environment factors is an important issue in terms of the increased pressure placed upon hospitals and the competition that exists between hospitals. Any attempt at conceptualizing the term macro environment should, at some stage, involve an attempt to answer certain questions, such as: 1. What is the meaning of macro environment in hospital industry? 2. What are the main factors of macro environment? And how do they influence health organizations? MACRO ENVIRONMENT Macro environment is largely external to the business enterprise. Macro environment factors are uncontrollable factors and beyond the direct influence and control of the organisation. Its factors are powerfully influence to its functions. External environment consists of individuals, groups, agencies, organisations, events, conditions and forces. These are frequently contacted by the organisation for its functions. It establishes good interaction and interdependent relations in form of conducts business transitions. Proper designing and administration of macro environment enable appropriate strategies and policies to cope with and make changes. The major forces represent uncontrollable variables that hospitals must monitor and to which they must be respond. Marketers must also pay attention to interactions among forces to identify and take advantage of new opportunities and threats. For example of the offerings are affordable (economic), they may actually change attitudes and behaviour (social cultural) (Kotler et al., 2008). Macro-environment consists of broader forces that affect the actors in the micro environment (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). There are several elements for a macro environment, a detailed picture of which is given below. Figure 2: Macro Environment Elements The importance of analyzing the macro environment arises from the critical role it plays in the growth and profitability of organizations. This fact has been clearly highlighted by Kotha and Nair (1995), and later by Wagner and Gooding (1997). Thus, by understanding an organizations external environment, Fombrun and Shanley (1992), Gimeno and Woo (1996) indicate that strategic decision-makers can not only help improve its competitive position but also increase its operational efficiency, and win battles in the field of global economy. Based on this conclusion, Hill and Jones (1998) have further argued that to succeed, an organization must either fit its strategy to the industry/sector environment in which it operates, or be able to reshape the industry/ sectors environment to its advantage through its choice of strategy. Thus, companies typically fail when their strategy no longer fits the environment in which they operate (Hill and Jones, 1998). Crucially, any study of the external environment should include the identification of four major factors, namely Political, Economic, Social and Technological. PEST ANALYSIS Political Factor: A Political environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). The political factors that may influence the health service strategy in healthcare scenario in particular are government objectives, policies, decisions, legal restrictions, various governmental units sharing legislative authority, laws concerning taxation, and privatization decisions. The clinical governance structure has, at its fundamentals, the foundation philosophy of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and total quality management (TQM). These two philosophies were developed first in manufacturing and industry, and then adopted by health services institutions in the early 1990s (Berwick, 1989; Kitson, 1994). The overall philosophy is to generate a culture of continuous quality based on effective cooperation between staff, systems spotlight, investment in people and staff, and self-monitori ng (McLaughlin and Kaluzny, 1999; Ovretveit, 2000). The political environment is based on the uncertainty. In some countries with multiple numbers of political parties, a political party does not get clear majority to form a government. In this situation, business activities collapse due to minority supported government. The political parties are unable to formulate stable government; it affects and fluctuate the government policies. Therefore, business organisation and public need a stable government to function smoothly. Economic Factor: The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns (Kotler et al., 2011). It includes the economic conditions, economic policies, and the economic system that is important to external factors of business. Economic fluctuations in the home market and inflationary factors are also impacts that have an influence, because they can produce both positive and negative effects on the demand for goods and services. For example, they could affect the specifications of certain goods or may require workers to receive specific types of training or preparation (George, 2009; Girijasankar Bhar, 2011). The economic conditions of the country include nature of the economy of the country, the general economic situation in the region, conditions in resource markets like money, material, market raw material components, services, supply markets and so on which influence the supply of inputs to the organisation, their costs, quality, availability and reliability of supply of products and services. The application of economic analysis in healthcare decision making, however, particularly with regard to medical necessity, has proven to be highly controversial. Evidence varies regarding the extent to which decision makers actually use economic analysis. Socio-cultural Factor: Social and cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect a societys basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviours (Kotler et al., 2011; Armstrong Kotler, 2011). Socio-cultural trends can present both threats and opportunities for many hospitals. They are reflected in customer wants and needs in terms of a health service. Some of the constituents of the Socio-cultural factor are population, health, education and social mobility, and attitudes to these. Socio-cultural environment is an important factor that should be analyzed while formulating company business strategies. If a company ignores the customs, traditions, tastes and preferences and education, it can affect the business. It consists of factors which are related to human relationships and the impact of social attitudes and cultural values. These are bearing on the business of the organisation. Technological factors: The technology is perhaps the most dramatic force now shaping, our destiny (Kotler et al., 2011). Technological factors include impact of emerging technologies, Impact of Internet, reduction in communications costs, increased remote working, research and development activity, and impact of technology transfer. Technological factors sometimes pose serious problems. A firm that unable to cope with technological changes may not be survived. Further, the differing technological environment of different markets may be called for service modifications. Technology in health services organizations has released such good things antibiotics, robotic surgery, MRI. The technologies environment change rapidly. In the past most of healthcare managers did not know about the ever-updating technologies that they get to know of nowadays. New technologies create new markets and opportunities. Therefore, the healthcare managers should study these updating technologies around the world to adopt them in their healthcare business or hospitals. Dramatic advancements in updating technology affect not only the products and services offered by organizations to customers but also the work processes needed. They can offer opportunities to those who can take benefit of such advancements. Otherwise, expecting and responding to technological trends can prove to be costly (Kotler et al., 2008). SWOT ANALYSIS In order to determine factors both within the external environment and within the organisation, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis have been carried out, the findings of which are enumerated as follows. Strengths: Healthcare brand in the UK is a universally known and well-respected brand. An important sector in all local economies that is a major source of skilled employment. National government prioritisation of the sector for assistance and skills development. Future employment growth on an upward trend. There is scope for greater integration and higher profile of social care There are strong links between Department of Health and the other healthcare institutions like NHS There are several dedicated communications resources working on social care There are healthcare companies with working groups with key stakeholders already set up Weaknesses: Every healthcare organisation has strong links to the Department of Health, therefore are unable to establish as an independent organisation. The complexity of the sector and its institutions. A negative public perception of the sector as being characterised by low pay, anti-social hours and working conditions. Substantial recruitment difficulties and skills gaps. The healthcare staff come from different and varied cultures and countries and need to create a common identity of working. Intensive training has to be provided yet to all the staff, in addition to communication training; everybodys still learning the job. Information collected has essentially remained the same for some time. Decreased relevance and usefulness. Perceived burden of collection among stakeholders. Healthcare branding, for example the NHS, is a barrier for social care stakeholders. Opportunities: To be seen as a source of information independent from government and Department of Health. Large-scale recruitment of new and skilled staff. Engage new stakeholders. Improved levels of service associated with a better trained and motivated workforce. Potential for improved IT systems and skills to increase patient focus of care and early reporting of medical successes and shortcomings. Radical pay reform agenda in the NHS which for the first time aligns pay and reward with knowledge and skills development. Improve the online presentation of statistics. Move from measuring activities to measuring outputs and outcomes will make information of more practical use in implementation and monitoring of services. Chance to be seen to streamline collection processes. Threats: Loss of proper skills and knowledge. Vast diversity in the cultural and communicational backgrounds of the staff and not being able to follow a single agenda. The highly politicised nature of the NHS undermining medium and long term planning. An older age profile than the average for all industries with proportionately low numbers of young employees entering the workforce. A relatively high turnover of staff in some sub-sectors and occupations. Lack of management skills. Slippage to delivery of a common initiative, and its effect on the credibility of the programme. Failure to adequately consult with and engage all stakeholders. Wider local government agenda may be obstructive. STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR The term Stakeholders refers to everybody who has an interest in the health and well being of the local population and the delivery and development of health and social care services. They can range from individual service users and carers to service providers such as primary care professionals, other statutory organisations and local Councils as well as the voluntary and community sectors and the wider public. SERVICE PROVIDERS CARE COMMISSIONERS SERVICE USERS Figure 3: Stakeholders that constitutes core elements of health Stakeholders can be classified into four groups: Key Players Keep satisfied Keep informed Minimal effort Key Players: These are the most important Stakeholders they have high power and high interest in healthcare sector and its activities. Such stakeholders need to be involved in all relevant developments and could have a considerable influence over the future of healthcare sector. They include health commissioners, Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) Groups, the NHS, specialist commissioners (For example, Neuro), healthcare providers, local full time officers of recognised unions, patient representative groups, healthcare sector employees, public health, GPs, board members, and local trusts. Keep Satisfied: This is a particularly difficult group to deal with. In this group, we often find regional representative or legislative bodies. They behave passively most of the time, but that can exert an enormous impact on the organisation. It is therefore necessary to analyze potential intentions and reactions of these groups in all major developments, and to involve them according to their interests. This group includes MPs, Interest Groups, Health Scrutiny Committee, CFT members, local media, Local Strategic Partnerships, Health and Well Being Board, Care Quality Commission, and other professional bodies Keep Informed: Stakeholders in this group have a high interest in the organisation and its actions. However, they have limited means to influence. Despite their lower influence, such stakeholders could be valuable allies in important decisions. Therefore, it is advisable to keep them informed about the issues they are interested in. This group of stakeholders may include voluntary organisations, local communities, communities that are hard to reach, Mental Health Trust, Care givers and users, and other independent sector organisations and competitors. Minimal Effort: Stakeholders in this group have little interest in healthcare corporate plans. They also has little power to exert much impact. It is therefore appropriate to keep these groups informed, but not invest too much effort into them. They include housing, police and national media. Focused on users, carers and communities, stakeholder involvement must focus on directly accessing the views of service users and carers who are using health and social care services as well as those living in communities who are experiencing the greatest levels of health inequalities to ensure they are having appropriate influence in shaping future priorities. Following are the principles that will underpin all stakeholder involvement: Stakeholders must see that their input has a real impact on the decisions made and that they are making a real difference to how local services are being planned and delivered. It is essential that feedback from involvement processes is communicated to participants and that the reasons for why particular decisions were taken are clearly outlined. The level of involvement should be proportionate to the scale of the issue being considered. The method of involvement should be tailored to ensure that appropriate stakeholders are accessed. It is important that all stakeholders are provided with an opportunity to participate and are actively supported to become involved either at a locality level or on a specific issue basis. It is recommended that, as far as possible, across Health and Social Care organisations, involvement with stakeholders on needs assessment and strategy development be taken forward jointly by the Regional Board, the Agency and Trusts. Staff working in each of the organisations should seek to form close working relationships to ensure that there is minimal duplication in involving local stakeholders and agree joint processes for taking forward this work. By adopting a more collective approach it will maximise the use of available resources both in terms of staff and information, minimise the time required from stakeholders to contribute to involvement exercises and ensure that all sections within the health and care sector hear the same messages and can plan services accordingly. ROLE OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SECTOR Information management systems have much to offer in managing healthcare costs and in improving the quality of care (Kolodner et al. 2008). In addition to the embedded role of information technology in clinical and diagnostics equipment, Information systems are uniquely positioned to capture, store, process, and communicate timely information to decision makers for better coordination of healthcare at both the individual and population levels. For example, data mining and decision support capabilities can identify potential adverse events for an individual patient while also contributing to the populations health by providing insights into the causes of disease complications. All types of business need robust and comprehensive quality and business management systems however this takes on added importance when lives are in the hands of the business involved. Healthcare is certainly in that category. Another hallmark of healthcare information is that it is highly personal. As a result, any transfer of information between parties via technology involves risks that the information could fall into the wrong hands. Although electronic information can be made as secure as paper records, electronic storage may be perceived as having a higher likelihood of leakage, and such fears get further compounded by media attention. Thus, patients perceived probability of compromised privacy is often higher than the actual probability. An ideal Information management system should help the clients: Provides complete data protection and privacy Meet the business improvement objectives. Provide interfaces to other existing database repositories. Strategically unite and align quality and business process information that produces reliability improvement and meets standards Enable business governance and organizational communication. Streamline access and utilization of data repositories and analytical systems needed for long-term business improvement. Provide analytics and robust search features for healthcare process performance, analysis, management review, and planning. Healthcare costs have been increasing and the demand for reasonably priced high quality services is also on the rise. Effectiveness of a hospital or nursing home depends on the efficiency of its operations and management systems. Some of the major factors determining the efficacy of a health institution include patient care management and patient satisfaction. In order to meet these requirements there has been the growing need to implement hospital information systems. The healthcare industry has witnessed an increased spending on IT with most of the hospitals and healthcare organizations shifting to electronically-based information systems. Healthcare Information management system should provide equal access to medical records throughout the country by making the diagnosis online through different digital tools. This could make sharing information among physicians for treatment and consultation much easier. It should ensure improved quality and assurance, archiving capabilities. This is is a major tool to measure clinical outcomes and control budget. It needs strong infrastructure to broadly utilize the data available online to provide continuity on database and information integration. When you take a healthcare organisation, for example a hospital, the information management system should provide decision making processes based on qualitative information and knowledge. There should be a continuity of medical data and care information. This will aid in improving and increasing the efficiency of healthcare processes. It will also help in increasing clinical safety and the quality of the results. It is with no doubt that it can be said that better Information management system can provide better documentation and better customer services. The following diagram depicts an example of what an Information Management System in a hospital should include. DEMOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS VISITS AND HOSPITALIZATION IMAGING TREATMENT INFORMATION MEDICATION INFORMATION LAB RESULTS FAMILY HISTORY MEDICAL HISTORY PATIENT Figure 4: Patient Information Management System DECISION MAKING IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SECTOR Most decision-making techniques use a process used by leaders and managers to make decisions. This includes the following steps: Identifying and defining the problem. Gathering information, facts and assumptions. Analyzing the situation. Developing options and solutions. Comparing and evaluating these options and solutions. Select the solution that best addresses the problem, or a best alternative decision. Acting on the decision. The way in which decision making is approached is recognised as an important function of leadership and management in health care. This increasing interest in the process of decision making as a function of management is evidence of a much larger shift in management thinking among the academic community. Although we traditionally associate leadership and management in health care with individuals, the complexity of change required in the health care system means a new paradigm of management is required. Relational approaches to healthcare management offer an alternative view. Rather than being the function of an individual, leadership is considered to be an outcome of the processes that emerge when several individuals interact. Relational processes are being recognised as just as influential in changing peoples attitudes, behaviours and actions as the direct influence of a formal manager. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS In conclusion, this study mainly focuses on the healthcare sector and the external factors that affect the management of the healthcare issues. Macro environment is a very important aspect in the healthcare sector. The study assesses the macro environment and its impacts on the health service strategy with the help of analytical tool like PEST analysis. The empirical conclusions drawn from this study are multi-faceted and as a consequence it is important that healthcare managers pay attention to the influences of PEST environment elements on health service strategy. The study concludes that healthcare scenario requires new health services, for enabling the hospital to meet the needs and wants of the largest possible market. Also if medical technology worldwide is updated it helps hospitals to gain opportunities that lead to increased market share and new market penetration. This study has outlined the stakeholder management strategy for healthcare sector to support the delivery of its organisational objectives and its development. It has established the current state of understanding of stakeholder power and impact, identifies key stakeholder groups and the influence of each group on the healthcare organisation. It also identifies the how the key strategic priorities and action plan for improving stakeholder relationships will be developed. The decision making process has been shifted from the main management and doctors to a wider range of management. Some recommendations for further research in this area: The study could be replicated with other services to further examine the transferability of the macro environment in the healthcare industry. Study the proposed model in other European countries in order to gain more validation for the model and more generalised findings. Study other service sectors, like public sector, in order to develop a model that represents the service sector more generally, rather than representing the healthcare sector alone.

Lawful Civilization Essay examples -- essays research papers

All law stems from one source of order. In a time of anarchy and chaos a man brought for from a mountain top two stone tablets from which all law branches. Those two tablets, the Ten Commandments, were to be the seeds of lawful civilization. Those seeds have since become the roots of modern humanity. A prime example of this is the United States government. The phrase 'In God we trust'; is imprinted on every piece of legal tender and on most documentation. The purpose of law and government is to 'protect'; the people, but the fact that punishment need be imposed only illustrates the fact that it does not protect. Punishment is imposed only after harmful actions against society have been carried out. In order for punishment and legal intervention to be applied there first must be a crime or an action that is the government's responsibility to prevent from taking place. When law is applied the government has already failed to protect the individual; punishment will do nothing to help the victim after they have been victimized. Law does not, in truth, prevent such behavior; it only deals with it once it has occurred. Law does nothing to prevent socially harmful behavior, it therefore does not protect in accordance with the tenets set forth in the theory of the Social Contract. Why then, in such a modern civilization, do we have vigilantes? The answer is simple. The fact is that although humanity has advanced, law has failed to keep up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prime ...

Barry Lopez “Learning to See”

The article by Barry Lopez â€Å"Learning to See† is a masterpiece of the author’s feelings during his numerous trips into the wild. It is a valuable essay included in the collection â€Å"About This Life. † Furthermore, it is a manifestation of sincere adornment by the nature on the whole and the author’s reasoning on it, in particular. In fact, the article was not that spontaneous for the author, because Barry Lopez got through a long process of reasoning on why people should learn to see the features of nature as being put in deeply in their minds.The author makes emphasis on that the nature can be vividly recollected through positive vision. It is something to get through personal feelings, not just to take a photograph. Going over this thesis statement, Barry Lopez encourages a reader to get into the matter of his article. In fact, it is dedicated to an individual’s reasonable impression of any photo exhibition which once made the author reflec t his own ideas on why people are apart from the gist of nature as such.The author is highly motivated to answer the question of why personal reflections on what an individual can see is more precious than reflecting such episodes of nature or life events on a photograph. The author is at a dead-end when meditating between what he saw and what he wanted to write down to a notebook (Lopez, 2010). The question is that the wanderer and writer, Barry remarked a difference between what a painter or a photographer sees and what he/she draws thereafter. That is the conclusion which Barry Lopez comes to in his rumination on the value of the scenes around.The reasons to state such a strong conclusion fall into the author’s personal meditation on what he once saw at Robert Adams’s exhibition â€Å"To Make It Home: Photographs of the American West, 1965-1985† performed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in June 1989 (Lopez, 2010). Looking at these photographs, Barry remembe red eventually his trip to Arctic when he was as close to a polar bear as never before to fix all details of such an encounter (Lopez, About This Life, 1998). However, Barry provides some ambiguity in his assumptions.Thus, after he has been closer to a polar bear, he admits that it is more convenient to fix details of nature in memories and on a sheet of paper than through photographs (Lopez, About This Life, 1998). In its turn Barry convinces then in the value of photography, as he is a photographer himself. Hence, there is a scope of values and assumptions represented in the author’s discussion. It is seen when Barry Lopez compares clarity of what is described on photographs and paintings with a spectacular story told to him in the childhood (Lopez, About This Life, 1998).The aesthetical feature is amplified many times in Lopez’s meditation. As might be seen, Lopez’s discussion lacks more facts from the real life about how people described their feelings from what they saw. Conversely, Lopez focuses strictly on his own experience. It is possible to assume such reasonable conclusions, as: taking advantage of what memories give would complement the way photographers choose the right foreshortening in order to bring a numinous atmosphere of reality to viewers.As for me, a value assumption on the Lopez’s essay is that it has many things to do with teaching people to nuzzle close to the nature every now and then so as to never lose this connection. The article’s argument could be exceeded by dint of what have the applied art and artistic thought at large achieved so far. Thus, the essay is of aesthetic and teaching value. Reference Lopez, B. (1998). About This Life. New York, NY: HarperCollins. Lopez, B. (2010, May 27). Learning to See. Retrieved June 6, 2010, from About This Life: http://www. barrylopez. com/_i_about_this_life__i__44670. htm

Microsoft’s Diversification Strategy Essay

1. Why did Microsoft, the most successful computer software company, choose to remedy its strategic disarray? Microsoft is a multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues. It is also one of the world’s most valuable companies. However, after a string of bad news seriously undermined the future growth of Microsoft, the bad impression was arisen. Microsoft tried to remedy its strategic disarray, because in the high-technology industry, standstill is equal to commit suicide. IT industry is really a highly competitive industry. Microsoft must to solve their problems as soon as possible. Microsoft was the most successful computer software company. However, if they ignore its strategic disarray, they may be defeated. I would like to use SWOT analysis to illustrate my views why Microsoft chose to remedy its strategic disarray. Strengths: Microsoft is the world’s largest software company with global name recognition and strong reputation for innovative products. Microsoft’s Software products have high name recognition, broad-based corporate and consumer acceptance (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), and numerous powerful features that are in use worldwide, thereby promoting standardization and competitive advantage through their ease of integration and cost-effectiveness. Windows 95, 98, 2000 series are globally known as the PC desktop operating system with a market share of about 88%. What’s more, Microsoft has relatively rapid product development processes that allow for timely updating and release of new products. Weaknesses: Between1990-1995, Microsoft leadership failed to correctly anticipate the growth or popularity of the Internet. In addition, it perceived by many as a cut-throat competitor that uses its dominant market position to marginalize competition by stealing/destroying the competition’s products, stifling product innovation, and decreasing the availability of competitor products. Furthermore, Microsoft had its strategic disarray in the early 2000s. Opportunities: In the early 2000s, the demand for personal computers in American and global markets remains strong despite the growth and increasing popularity of personal handheld devices. Moreover, cheaper global telecommunication costs open new markets as people connect to the Internet. Threats: From the case study, basic office software had been challenged by a string of start-ups. Between 1993-1995, Sun Microsystems, Netscape, Oracle, IBM, AOL, and other companies moved into the Internet space and defined it while Microsoft failed to anticipate its growth or popularity. These new competitors were able to churn out popular programs such as e-mail, desktop search engines, and instant messaging over the Internet much faster than Microsoft. So Microsoft need reinvent itself. For instance, Red Hat, the one of key competitors of Microsoft, dominated the market for Linux, went public in 2000. Red Hat became famous. What’s more, in 2001, Red Hat expanded its software products and included database applications and an e-commerce software suite designed for average-sized businesses. Nevertheless, a string of bad news undermined the future growth of Microsoft since the early 2000s. If Microsoft didn’t remedy its strategic disarray, Red Hat or other competitors may surpass Microsoft in the future. Furthermore, from the case study, according to a study conducted by McKinseyï ¼â€ Co. in 2004 on IT spending trends, although IT spending had increased since 2003 after three years of decline. 2001 is the first annual decline since 1958. Customers would expect to get more out of their technology investments. Companies had been more concerned about the value of IT and enforced stringent rules and guidelines for IT spending. Therefore, Microsoft would have less opportunity to develop in the U.S. Moreover, Apple and Linux threaten Microsoft’s 88% market share of the desktop operating market. Linux influence growing from 7% in 1998 to 17% in 1999. In addition, Personal computers, mobile-phones, personal digit assistants, entertainment-oriented hand-held computers, and similar wireless products for Internet access do not require Window operating system products. And Software piracy of commercial and consumer applications software on a global scale threatens revenue streams. In general, the weaknesses and threats outweigh the strengths and opportunities in the early 2000s. At that time, Microsoft was threatened by a series of challenges, both external and internal. That why Microsoft choose to remedy its strategic disarray at that time. 2. How did Microsoft grasp market chances to diversify its operation beyond its comfort zone, fighting all the way with its major competitors? Microsoft chose to diversify its operation beyond its comfort zone since early 2000s. Diversification marketing strategy is a corporate strategy to increase sales volume from new products and new markets. Diversification can be expanding into a new segment of an industry that the business is already in, or investing in a promising business outside of the scope of the existing business. As what we have learned in the textbook, diversification strategy has many advantages. Diversification strategy can help Microsoft to limit risk. This is because a diversified portfolio is not overexposed to a single industry and therefore is somewhat insulated from downturns and volatility — or market fluctuations — in that industry. In addition, diversification limits an investor’s risk extending from an individual company or type of investments. In addition to limiting downside risk, diversification strategies also have the effect of maximizing portfolio returns. This is in part because risk is limited — by avoiding exposure to major losses, the portfolio can be more likely to make money. Microsoft was moving beyond the personal computer (PC) software business and expanded its product lines into enterprise software, consumer products, and services markets. It got into other devices such as mobile phones, television setup boxes, and game consoles. Microsoft had ventured into the services market through MSN in order to generate new revenue. MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. It was a Web portal that offered a wide range of online services including: news, information search, e-mail, instant messaging, online shopping and games, chat rooms, and message boards. Based on its success in MSN, Microsoft had hoped to leverage its experience to transform its Windows-based services for consumers and enterprises. Moreover, Microsoft also leveraged MSN to generate revenue through traditional advertising on its Web site, and also sold text-based advertisements to compete with Google’s AdWords and AdSense, and Yahoo! Search Marketing. In the enterprise software market, Microsoft deliberately chose not to compete with leading enterprise applications providers such as SAP and Oracle for large multinational companies. Instead, the software giant aggressively pursued opportunities with small and midsized enterprises. In 2001, Microsoft acquired Great Plains Software, a long-time partner and a specialist in accounting applications for small and midsized businesses. In 2002, Microsoft acquired Navision, a Denmark-based enterprise software maker. Therefore, Microsoft Business Solutions offered a wide range of software applications. This kind of strategy is really shrewd. If Microsoft competes with leading enterprise applications providers at beginning of the extending stage, it is impractical. Microsoft used acquisition method to enhance its strength in order to compete with leading companies in the future. Microsoft entered the video gaming business in 2001 compete with Sony. After the first launch of the video game console, Xbox, Microsoft is in the distant second place behind Sony’s Playstation 2. Microsoft tried to challenge Sony’s dominant position. First, the software giant’s Xbox 360 was launched several months ahead of its rivals’ products: Sony’s Playstation 3. Some believed that the success of Sony’s Playstation 2 had been partly due to its advantage in reaching the market earlier than its rival s. Hence, Microsoft copied this marketing trick by becoming the first game console in the new business cycle. It is called, dominating the market by striking first. We can learn from the Microsoft that capturing initiative is important in the business. Second, learning from the flop of the original Xbox in Japan, this time Microsoft worked closely with the producers of the Japanese games in the hope of neutralizing the traditional advantages of its two main rivals. I can learn from this case, we should learn from failure as Microsoft did. Avoiding backwards and developing merit. Third, Microsoft abandoned its previous approach of using off-the-shelf parts provided by Intel and Nvidia. Although efficient, that approach lacked the flexibility that Microsoft’s rivals enjoyed in reducing the consoles’ costs and increasing the profit margins during their lifetime. For example, Sony had gradually reduced the number of chips required by its Playstation 2 without sacrificing its performance. So Microsoft adopted a new design for Xbox 360, hoping to achieve a new degree of flexibility that could help integrate various components and profitability in the future. Microsoft also ventured into the mobile communications market. Microsoft went to the mobile operators because of the exclusion of the mobile handset manufacturers. At that time, many mobile operators, particularly in Europe, started to leverage original design manufacturers (ODM), mostly in Taiwan, to produce handsets that would bear their own brand names in order to create market differentiators. Meanwhile, Microsoft spotted this opportunity and persuaded the operators and handset manufacturers to develop phones based on its Windows Mobile operating system. In 2002, HTC launched the first Windows-based smart phone. HTC is a leading ODM in Taiwan. Other operators followed suit after that. In late 2005, Palm (Microsoft’s rival in handheld devices) decided to adopt the Windows Mobile software and replace is Palm OS with its Treo smart phone. This move further signaled Microsoft’s success in penetrating the mobile and handheld market segments. From this case, we can learn that the company should be sensitive to the business environment and grasp the chance in time. Microsoft spotted and grasped the opportunities to further establish itself in the industry. Microsoft had struggled for many years in the television market. At the beginning, many competitors were concerned that once Microsoft entered the market it would repeat its monopolistic practices of the PC business in the cable industry. In this situation, Microsoft had formed strategic partnerships, hoping to improve its position in the cable market. In this way, Microsoft established itself as a leading IPTV technology provider. Through this arrangement, a number of leading telecom operators adopted Microsoft’s software for their IPTV services. Hence, understanding how to cooperate with competitors is also important for doing business. In 2009, Microsoft created Bing as a search engine competed with Google. Microsoft grasped chances to be successful in the Chinese market to the best of its faculty. When entering the Chinese market, challenges remain for those looking to do business in the country. Intense competition, corruption, business etiquette and language are some of the barriers that can be faced. However, challenges are opportunities to some extent. Microsoft realized that when entering the Chinese market, the product may not sell like it does in the United States or Europe. In terms of Microsoft and China, the country has a strong censorship in place for its citizens, and Microsoft tried to come to an agreement to partner with a Chinese company to make the browser effective. Microsoft has signed a deal with Baidu, the biggest search engine in China, to provide English-language search results to improve its market share. In addition, Microsoft knew that Chinese government’s demands are significant. Microsoft Company censored the search results to relevant department to meet the Chinese government’s demands. The announcement of the deal is a boost to Microsoft, which has been struggling to boost the position of its Bing search engine against Google’s dominance in almost every country around the world. Sometimes, Bing trumps Google in touch-accessed services designed expressly to help iPhone and iPad die-hards have cooler experiences shopping and finding restaurants online. It will also be a boost for Baidu, which has ambitions internationally. In 2012, Microsoft launched panel computer, Surface. Ballmer redefined panel computer at Surface’s New Product Presentation in June, 2012. Surface is different from iPad. Surface is closer to the idea of ​​Bill Gates. This is a panel computer that can work in the company. This is in harmony with Bill Gates’ definition to the panel in the beginning. Apple thinks panel is a mobile terminal. Microsoft Surface is more inclined to think is personal computers. I can see this point at the choice of the operating system. Apple is using iOS system for iPad. On the contrary, Microsoft is using Win8 for Surface. Moreover, Surface’s design is directed against for the iPad’s weaknesses. Microsoft used differentiation strategy. iPad’s input system is inconvenient, but Surface has a detachable keyboard, which makes Surface use like a computer. Meanwhile, Surface’s design is directed against for iPad’s App Store. App Store’s application depth is not enough. Nevertheless, Surface Pro is using the X86’s Win8 operating system, it can use more compatible operating system. One of Microsoft’s largest competitors is Apple Corporation. At the first competition between Apple and Microsoft, the winner is Microsoft. Windows operating system has good compatibility. Different brands and types of the computers around the world are installed in the same system. Despite it has shortcomings, but it can not hide the plebification characteristics. In contrast, Apple is pursuit of perfection and strict exclusiveness. Only Apple can install Apple’s system, but also only be installed such systems. Although Apple produce a good product, but can not win the favor of consumers. What’s more, Microsoft faced the challenge actively. In 2011, Skype was purchased by Microsoft Corporation for over $8 billion, and now operates as a division of Microsoft. Skype is a proprietary Voice over IP service and software application. Skype has expanded into education, as numerous classrooms worldwide now use the service to video conference with instructors, other student, and even other institutions. This will allow Skype to have a leg up in the future, when they decide to push even further with their subscription plans. What’s more, with Microsoft’s efforts in 2010 like apps store, Bing search engine, Yahoo-deal for ad-sharing, Zune platf orm and Project Natal, will undoubtedly compete with Apple and others effectively. 3. What can you foresee or what suggestions can you think about its growth of new area in the future? As far as I’m concerned, the growth of Microsoft’s new products will increase smoothly. However, Microsoft will face some challenges. Xbox, Kinect and Xbox Live continue to emerge as a rich hub for games, sports, movies and TV shows that can be accessed via touch and voice controls. And these controls are being increasingly integrated into all manner of screens: HDTVs, smart phones and tablets. â€Å"Two years ago, very few services connected,† says Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft’s vice president for corporate communications. â€Å"Now if you have an Xbox, you can see Bing, access Sky Drive (cloud storage) and use your Windows Phone to have a better experience, because the services are shared.† They are all products of new area. Their marketing foreground will be rosy. In my opinion, in all new products, Microsoft should focus on Bing. The key competitors of Bing, Google and Yahoo!, had adopted the application-as-services model coupled with a new advertising-driven funding approach, which enabled them to develop open-source and free software products for the general public. In particular, in the case, Google and Yahoo! had formed partnerships with various telecommunication or cable service providers in order to position their respective portals as the default entrance to the Internet. Microsoft should find methods to provide Internet users a range of services from search to e-mail and discussion blogs to news in order to compete with competitors. In the entertainment and consumer markets, Microsoft’s Xbox Live had been a leader of online gaming. The system provided classic arcade games, game trailers, and upgrade packs that were downloadable. However, the Xbox game console and the ventures in mobiles and IPTV, these products should be more consumer-oriented. The big competitors, Apple and Sony, their products are much more consumer-oriented and media savvy. For instance, Apple’s iMac and iPod products, and iTunes services were designed to cater to the high-end media centric consumers. Sony’s video games and entertainment business remained one of the strongest in the industry, particularly in the consumer electronics segment. If Microsoft’s products be more consumer-oriented, in my views, the Xbox game console and the ventures in mobiles and IPTV will be the star products in the future. However, Microsoft should pay attention to its major area, that is, personal computer software business. The superiority and proprietary advantages will be diminished if Microsoft ignored its major area. Japan and South Korea joined China in 2012 on a project to jointly develop a new operating system based on Linux as an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows. Thailand and Malaysia have instigated programs to offer low-cost PCs to citizens with Linux operating systems. It is the Butterfly Effect on global pricing. They’re being helped along by Microsoft competitors such as Sun Microsystems, which has signed a deal with the Chinese government to supply its Linux desktop operating system and office program to as many as a million PCs there. In Apple Company, Steve Jobs wants to overwhelm Microsoft in the field of operating systems. It is worth noting that, Apple’s computer hardware performance has been unmatched. However, Apple chose to â€Å"kill† Microsoft in the field of software. It means Apple was warning Microsoft intentionally: Not only IBM can be a threat to Microsoft, but also Apple. Microsoft’s competitors are trying to improve their market share in China and all over the world. Microsoft should not relax vigilance. It is still a long way to go for Microsoft. In my view, Microsoft should forge its own product culture. Apple is pursuit of elegant products. Apple adheres to creativity and uniqueness. Eventually become a model for other companies to emulate. Microsoft should find its own development route and set up unique product culture. Only in this way can Microsoft have its own distinguishing features and lead the industry. Microsoft used diversification strategy and it had entered various new markets in which it had no proprietary advantages. Facing with a bunch of new challenges, Microsoft should not confront alone. It should have new partnerships. The impression of people to Microsoft is a little bit haughty. So Microsoft should form more strategic partnerships in the future and learn more from the competitors modestly to capture opportunities in these new markets.