A 23-year-old butterfly
Much can be learnt from the company's economic plan
from pre-Internet days, in more ways than one, because
it was the precursor of its present success, but also
because it will allow it to enter the 21st century confidently
: the software which currently earns it a turnover of
12 billion dollars will be a mere springboard for its
service and electronic commerce activities, which will
increase the company's turnover tenfold in less than ten
years.
A fast, flexible and helpful butterfly
Microsoft's secrets can be summed up in three words :
speed, flexibility and service. Its new type of working
method is what underpins the company, which has managed
to retain its reactivity, its sense of innovation and
customer contact, progressing from 500 employees in 1985
to over 30,000 today. Firstly, to avoid the atavism often
rife in large businesses, the hierarchical pyramid is
as flat as possible, and the employees work in small teams
of a dozen people for a period of a few months, afterwards
moving to another branch. Microsoft counts on its talent
by offering share options to its most talented individuals,
which they can resell after four years.
A methodical butterfly
The systematic exploration of every opportunity allows
Microsoft to stay at the forefront of innovation : its
decision makers listen to all the employees who want to
contact them (notably via e-mail), no matter what their
position in the firm, and budgets can be made available
very quickly. In spite of everything, when it slips behind
technologically, it can buy up and pay cash, thanks to
substantial resources. It was also by means of buyouts
that Microsoft was able to block certain markets, such
as that of the online encyclopaedia Encarta. Microsoft's
financial muscle also allows it to invest at the prime
moments and overtake its competitors : rapid mobility
of capital is another key factor in the success of the
digital company. Finally, Microsoft is decentralised,
both in terms of the development of its products (of which
a large part is manufactured in India) and in their marketing,
which is half its strength. Not only is every product
translated but also localised (ie adapted to fit its export
markets).
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