Essay on Apple vs. Microsoft

Words: 4116
Pages: 17

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the leadership, structure, and culture of two of the most influential and newsworthy companies in the technology sector: Microsoft and Apple. We will examine how the differences in the three aspects make companies different, and how leadership, culture, and structure influence each other in determining how the company operates and performs.
Microsoft is the world’s leading supplier of computer software, specifically focusing on development, manufacturing, licensing, and support. The company operates in three primary divisions: Platforms and Services, Microsoft Business, and Entertainment and Devices (Yahoo! Finance). Microsoft has been extremely successful by staying continuously innovative in its
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They offer classroom training and workshop schedules online. Employees can also purchase Microsoft Press books, take Microsoft E-Learning courses, and find new Microsoft Official Distance Learning (MODL) courses. When each employee completes their training and leadership development programs they are placed in their designated division.
Microsoft’s change in structure has strengthened their value on their customers. The company now has focused its behavior solely on the needs of their customers. The different divisions work with the customers based on their specific needs. The company advises their employees to integrate the requests of their customers in their every day operations. Microsoft’s culture is comprised of several things. According to their mission statement, their values are: integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and mutual respect. They feel that their most important asset is their employees, and empower them as such to invoke a creative atmosphere for new ideas in order to stay on the leading edge. Their culture is described as being developer-centric, and each software developer (or pair of) is given an enclosed office (rather than a cubicle) to emphasize the developers and foster innovation. Like most other technology-based corporations, Microsoft’s culture is dynamic, and innovation is a large part of staying on the cutting edge. In terms of