Chapter 5: Developing a Global Vision

Microsoft is known as a very diverse company in terms of outsourcing jobs and global marketing activity.

"At Microsoft we recognize that the U.S. and global diverse markets represent tremendous sources of value in the workplace and marketplace. The growth of diverse populations worldwide and the potential of these segments make them important targets as prospective employees. By the year 2050, 85% of the entrants into the U.S. workforce will be people of color and women. Moreover, developing regions, such as China, Brazil, India, and Africa, make up an increasing share of the world population. They will account for approximately 88% of the global population by 2050, and increase in absolute size from 1.6 billion persons in 1950 to nearly 7.5 billion persons by 2050 Economically, the diverse markets represent a growing source of market consumption and buying power. They are an important customer group for Microsoft. Worldwide, diverse populations account for 44% of World GDP. Within the U.S., diverse populations generate over $9 Trillion dollars in buying power. By increasing the diversity of our workforce we will create a team that effortlessly designs products with the needs of these growing customers in mind".

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/en/us/vision.aspx

But not only does Microsoft outsource jobs to other countries around the world, they also participate in the process of importing and exporting. The Microsoft product the Xbox 360 is created in China due to a venture with Chinese leading manufacturers: Flextronics, Wistron and Celestica.

Materials such as plastic for the outer shell and metals for the internal parts are exported to China where the system is then created and put together then imported to the US.

The Xbox 360 is sold in many countries around the world including 

The United States, Canada, the EMEA region, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand as well as many others. In total the Xbox has sold over 67.2 million units worldwide (As of April 19,2012) and they do not plan to end anytime soon.
Another way that Microsoft's Xbox 360 is involved in global marketing is through their online service Xbox Live. Xbox Live is an online service available on the Xbox 360 that connects players with other players (With Xbox Live) around the world. Players are then able to play with or against other players from around the world as well as exchange messages, videos, information and more. This opens a big social aspect to the Xbox 360 by increasing connections and awareness of the Xbox 360 product and it's services to others around the world.

Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment

Microsoft's product Xbox 360 gaming systems primary target market consisted of two groups:
Teens: Ages 13-16
Generation Y: People born between the years 1979-1994
These two groups made up more than half of the sales volume of the microsoft Xbox 360's system sales as well as the video game software sales.
In order for Microsoft to appeal to a wider audience two new methods were introduced
-A wider variety of games across all platforms for younger players under 13 as well as more variety for the two already dedicated groups (Teens and Generation Y)

Rated E+10 for ages 10 and up

Games Rated (E-M Ages 6 and up)

-Another way that Microsoft has done this is through the Xbox 360 Kinect: The Xbox 360 Kinect is a motion sensor that was introduced by Microsoft in 2010. The sensor allows players to game on a more interactive level and has helped the Xbox 360 boost it's sales by making the system a more appropriate gaming experience across all age demographics by introducing more family oriented gaming designed to immerse players of all ages. Through this Microsoft was able to broaden it's range to a larger target audience.

Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Microsoft Corp. code of ethics were created "to help you make good, informed business decisions and act on them with integrity."

Microsoft's code of ethics is broken down into six values to guide employee conduct: integrity and honesty, passion for customers, partners and technology; being "open and respectful with others and dedicated to making them better"; also a "willingness to take on big challenges and see them through"; as well as being "self-critical, questioning and committed to personal excellence and self-improvement"; and last but not least being "accountable for commitments, results, and quality to customers, shareholders, partners and employees."

Microsoft has also set up a business conduct line in order to enable employees to report any breach of ethics within the company to help prevent any wrongdoing.

Microsoft Corp. was named #2 out of the top 3 most admired companies by US consumers. For it's consistency in higher ethical and moral standards among many other companies around the world.

Through the thorough process of strong ethical grounding Microsoft has helped improve itself not only from the outside, but also within.

Microsoft Corp. with the help of techsoup.org have set up a charity to non for profit organizations and libraries alike and are helping them by supplying free software to help them reach their goals. This is one of the many philanthropic things done by Microsoft to help those in need.

Chapter 2: Strategic planning for competitive advantage

Microsoft's strategic plan for the Xbox 360 is to maximize the players online experience through unique and innovative methods. The Xbox 360 has held dominance in the gaming market. This is due to some of the many unique and one of a kind implementations that the Xbox 360 was able to introduce with it's release in the summer of 2005. Some of the competitive advantages that the Xbox 360 has had over it's competitors (The Sony PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii) are the following:
-The Xbox Live service: The best online service and experience across all consoles. Xbox Live offers the fastest and most reliable connections on all consoles. This surely gives an edge over the competitors. Xbox Live offers live chat, messaging, along with an impressive dashboard layout and minimal lag to maximize players online experience.
-Netflix on the Xbox 360: The Xbox 360 was the first gaming system to have Netflix as a part of their online experience. With the addition of Netflix an extra layer was added to the entertainment of the already packed Xbox live experience. This set the Xbox 360 ahead of it's competitors in the race to the top.
-Xbox 360 exclusives: The Xbox 360 held the exclusive rights to two of the highest grossing game series of all time. Halo and Gears of War are two of many Xbox 360 exclusives that have helped put the Xbox 360 over the top and has helped to bring in massive amounts of revenue by setting the bar high in terms of maximizing entertainment and value for a quality experience.
All of these factors have helped put the 360 on top of the competition in terms of quality game play and online experience.    

Xbox Live

Gears of War and Halo 3

Netflix on the Xbox 360