Microsoft and Apple Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microsoft and Apple - Case Study Example Microsoft's intelligent and rather unfair business strategies have helped in making it the biggest name in the business by dominating every new comer on the market but Apple is the only company to have fought back. This is because of its large quantity of unusually fond customers who will not shift to any other operating software no matter how hard they try, and Microsoft has tried, and is still trying. Being such huge companies one would assume that they would have strict rules of what to wear and strict Sop's (standard operating procedures) but no. Both companies are innovation based. The directors of both companies know that if you want an employee to be very creative and innovative then you have to let them feel relaxed while working and they follow in this path themselves. The culture of both companies is one where every software developer would dream of working. Microsoft in particular takes out a lot of time and effort to hand pick new software developers out of good universities and trains them to extreme levels while spending a lot of money in making them satisfied with their jobs so they can in turn give something as good back to the company. Apple is no different. It is full of highly innovative professionals who know their work so well that they have moved the company from only being a computer and software related company to a full electronics and accompanied Software Company. Microsoft's basic ideology is to provide every customer the taste of Microsoft's innovation and excellence by making them use their software. The company's main goal is to have the whole world running their operating software in all types of electronic machines. At Microsoft, honesty, integrity and constructive self improvement is highly praised. Apple's base ideological principles are a little different, though mostly the same. they do not plan world domination, but instead believe on slow and steady progress in first making a piece of cutting edge and incredible stylish hardware, then designing a flawless operating software for it which is so pleasing for the user and is so graphic intensive that customers will never want to switch to any alternate. Branching out into the whole electronic goods market and inventing good solid consumer electronic goods across a range of markets is what Apple does best. Business Change The flagship Microsoft products are the Microsoft windows and the Microsoft office productivity suites. The current edition of Microsoft windows is Windows Vista and office suite is the Microsoft Office 2007. Released in early 2007, windows vista has come under a lot of criticism simply because of one reason, it is not perceived as being better compared to its predecessor, Windows XP, which was launched in 2001. Microsoft is adamant that Vista's new kernel and code written from scratch is the very thing which makes it unique and better but the bottom line for most users is that it takes up too much space on the hard disk, is not more productive than XP and even though it is much better in security, an issue which was extremely lacking in XP, the price for it is too high and as Vista is designed for the latest machines with at least a 2.8GHZ Intel compatible processor, a good high end graphics card and at least 2GB of RAM, the cost of hardware alone for most organizations is too much before they even think of buying the top spec version dubbed windows Vista

Middle East Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Middle East Economy - Essay Example tton or other agricultural outputs sold to world markets by Middle Eastern countries in the 19th century, little has changed in the diversification of these economies. The manufacturing sector is limited due to a lack of raw goods, as is the high value goods sector or research and development. Part of the problem is the volatility of the region, but another part is how few economic reforms have occurred in the post-WWII period when so much of the rest of the world was changing. Instead, undemocratic leaders have seized power and mostly enriched themselves and their cronies instead of cutting red tape to allow private enterprise to flourish. Another aspect of this problem is that many Middle Eastern countries experimented with socialism to varying degrees during the 20th century, nationalizing whole sectors of their economies and mismanaging them. This is a legacy that is still playing out, unfortunately for the people of these countries. The few success stories, for example, Jordan a nd the UAE, have visionary leaders who have used their countries’ natural advantages to open up to the world and try new things, embracing trade and capitalism rather than the enervation of a state-directed economy.2 This is all a shame because the Middle East was the place where civilization began and for many years flourished. Some of the world’s first traders, businesspeople, and scientists came from the Middle East, something that is now far from the truth. In order to regain the standing this region once had they need to turn over their economies to their people rather than keeping them tied up in the hands of autocrats and their unelected henchman. They need to have a responsive form of politics—one that values opportunity and private enterprise not inwardness and