Mircrosoft and Its Leader Bill Gates Essay Example

attending and he studied intensely the night before the final exam.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard University in June 1975 to focus on a computer career. He was joined by his close friend Paul Allen, and together they established Microsoft, an immensely successful company. While studying at Harvard, Gates had been working on "BASIC," a programming language known as Beginner's General-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code.

Bill Gates purchased a groundbreaking new disk operating system called 86-QDOS from Seattle Computer Products. He renamed it MS-DOS and sold the product, making a profit. Alongside the sale price, he also received royalties while retaining the rights to the software. Even today, revenue continues to be generated from the original 86-QDOS sales. In Microsoft's later years, Bill Gates developed a fresh Graphical User Interface for a disk operating system.

Bill Gates, the creator of Windows, a highly successful operating system, has achieved remarkable success with subsequent releases such as Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and currently Windows XP. Despite numerous attempts to imitate its graphical style, none have been able to match the success of Windows.

In addition to revolutionizing personal computing, Bill Gates also made a substantial impact in the business world with Windows NT. As of April 30th, 2005, his net worth was estimated at $105 billion. It should be noted that this estimate only includes his Microsoft stock holdings up until 1995 and assumes any stock sold since then has been wisely invested.

Bill Gates did not include his possessions before 1995, such as cars, houses, helicopters, aircraft carriers, islands, and small European countries. As the richest man in the world, his extravagant wealth is evident in his home. The house is

built with approximately five hundred thousand feet of timber that is five hundred years old and made from Douglas Fir. This showcases the opulence of the house. The wood has been meticulously sanded to achieve a smooth satin finish. Surrounding the property are five landscaped properties adorned with native trees like Douglas Fir, alder, and maple - all maintaining their natural appearance. Since the house is located in an earthquake-prone area, its foundation consists entirely of concrete.

The house in Medina, Washington features an all-steel roof and is valued at $100 million. This cost represents less than 1% of the owner's quarterly net income. Notable attributes include a twenty-seat theater with a popcorn machine, a one thousand square feet dining room, and a two thousand three hundred square feet response hall. The response hall also showcases a 22-foot cinema screen made up of 24 separate forty-inch projection televisions. In addition, there is a nine hundred square feet multi-purpose room originally designed as an art gallery. Moreover, the property includes three individual garages, with one capable of accommodating up to 30 cars. The entire house spans six thousand three hundred square feet.

The exercise facility of Gates includes a sauna, steam room, and a trampoline room with a 20-foot high ceiling. Like others, he believes that bouncing in a chair is also beneficial for concentration. Moreover, there is an indoor pool measuring 3,900 square foot which is connected to an outdoor pool by a glass ceiling. This unique feature allows swimmers to go under the glass ceiling to reach either side. Notably, the pool also has its own underwater music system. Adjacent to his property that touches Lake

Washington, there are a boathouse and an artificial beach adorned with imported driftwood. Lastly, as expected from a billionaire's mansion, there is also a library.

Gates commissioned a New York antiquarian bookshop to fill his 2,100 square feet library. The library is domed, has a fireplace, and contains two hidden rotating bookshelves that conceal some of his valuable possessions. Among these treasures is Leonardo da Vinci's sixteenth-century notebook, which he acquired for $30 million. One of Gates' beloved books is The Great Gatsby, and he has engraved the novel's final line around the base of the library: "He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it," perhaps correlating it to his own life. The heart of the house lies in its technology; miles of cables are utilized for computer servers.

When entering the house, residents and visitors must wear an electronic pin. This pin is personalized with preferred music, art, and television shows. In different rooms, wall displays scan the information from the pin to play customized music or TV shows and display favorite artwork on video screens. The pin also controls room climate and enables only the closest phone to ring. It's important to highlight that Bill Gates is not an ordinary individual; he is an ambitious dreamer who strives for success.

Despite being told that his idea of a computer for the home was unrealistic, Bill Gates persevered and worked hard to achieve success. He refused to settle for anything less than perfection in his endeavors. Throughout his career, Gates has been recognized and honored for his contributions.

Awards and

Honors

• Times Magazine named him one of the 100 people who most influenced the twentieth century.
• In 2005, he was chosen as Person of the Year by Times Magazine.
• In 1994, Chief Executive Officers magazine awarded him CEO of the Year.
• He received the Order of the Aztec Eagle for his philanthropic work.

Leadership and management styles

While leaders and managers can exhibit similar behaviors, they are not identical roles.

A director is responsible for efficiently setting goals and utilizing resources. A leader is responsible for motivating a group of people (or a team) to utilize their individual skills. Therefore, leadership is a critical skill of any successful director.


Management Styles



Paternalistic

A paternalistic director is more authoritarian; however, their decisions tend to be in the best interests of the employees rather than the business. Feedback from this approach is typically top-down; however, feedback to the management will occur in order to keep the employees happy.

This approach can be highly beneficial and foster loyalty among employees, leading to a decrease in employee turnover, thanks to the emphasis on social needs.
Under a democratic leadership style, the manager enables lower-level employees to participate in the decision-making process; hence, all decisions are agreed upon by the majority of employees. Communication flows bidirectionally, allowing lower-level employees to discuss matters with managers, etc.
Employee involvement pertains to the employee's participation in decision-making processes that have the potential to alter the workplace. While certain employees may opt out of participation, Ford aims to involve every single employee.

Ford also encourages employees to participate in the use of 'suggestion boxes', which can demonstrate individual employee initiative. Additionally, as an incentive to participate, employees can be entered into a monthly drawing

to win a car or a cash prize of ?20,000-25,000.

Paternalistic

Ford emphasizes teamwork, recognizing its importance in creating high-quality engines. Therefore, managers strive to develop teams that work efficiently. Each team is accountable for productivity and quality.

Laizzez-faire

The Laizzez-faire manager is one who allows employees to work autonomously with little or no interference.

A wide range of guidelines can be established, but the daily responsibilities of a director are kept minimal. Granting employees freedom offers them an opportunity to showcase responsibility, initiative, and creativity. Ford ensures that their objectives are clearly stated, which are to produce engines at the appropriate price, time, and to meet demand.

Computer aided Manufacture (CAM) is utilized to decrease production time and enhance engine quality. Each individual bears the responsibility for ensuring the quality of their final product.

Reactive

A reactive manager responds to problems and issues as they arise rather than taking proactive measures to address them. This type of manager can be characterized as handling situations on an ad hoc basis. The only drawback is that there may not be sufficient time or resources available to effectively handle a situation because it has already become too late.

Pro-Active: A Pro-Active director is an individual who anticipates and takes action before events happen. They evaluate possible problems and their effect on the business, devising suitable solutions to address them ahead of time. Moreover, they maintain open communication with the team to ensure they receive proper training and are ready for upcoming situations. Ford favors this proactive management approach instead of being reactive.

Leadership Manners



The Autocrat

The autocrat leader establishes goals and assigns tasks, demanding obedience. The advantages of this approach at Ford are that the team will react quickly and effectively, and direction will always be consistent. However, there are disadvantages. The team may become overly dependent on the leader and may even be unable to operate without their guidance. Constant monitoring of the team will be necessary, and the team may become dissatisfied with the leader.

The Democrat

The democratic leader encourages participation in decision-making by consulting with team members, delegating tasks when possible, and explaining decisions. The disadvantages of this leadership style are that it requires enhancing employee commitment and improving engagement.

When considering the factors behind MS's success, two books written by Bill Gates come to mind: The Road Ahead and Business @ the velocity of idea. Personally, I interpret these books as emphasizing the importance of direction and speed, which could be the foundation for MS's success - being effective in setting strategy and adapting to changes. However, when reframing these concepts within the context of Modern Competitive Strategy, the key to MS's success lies in creating and maintaining its modern competitive advantages. By analyzing its competitive advantages, MS's profitability relied more on its ability to defend its market position rather than create it.

Another way to understand the use of MS's resources and capabilities is to consider insulating mechanisms. MS focuses on increasing customer retention because software, like Windows XP, is an experience good.

The costs involved in discovering, developing, and acquiring a product are substantial when it offers a valuable experience. Nevertheless, these expenses contribute to improving customer loyalty. An instance demonstrating this

is Bill Gates' 1998 speech at Washington University where he addressed software piracy in China. He mentioned that despite the lack of payment for software on the millions of computers sold annually in China, he preferred people to pirate their software until they eventually start paying for it.

They will become somewhat addicted, and we will find a way to adjust in the next decade. For the same reason, Microsoft bundled the Office Suite, expanded server platforms, and provided many materials/features for free like IE and Media Player. We can expect the additions to the list to continue endlessly. Microsoft's extensive range of products and global presence also helped them increase customer retention.

However, Microsoft vigorously defends its market. One tactic it uses is to prohibitively raise development costs. For example, in 2001, it spent $2 billion solely on its .net platform. When Microsoft spots a potential threat, it responds with all its resources and capabilities to compete. It has emerged victorious in battles over Office Suite, operating systems, internet browsers, and media players through advancements in technology, enticing OEM industries, and even giving away its products for free.

Microsoft's ability to outperform its rivals and generate significant profits is evident in various ways. For instance, while the price of application packages decreased by approximately 8.9% in 1989, Microsoft managed to raise the price of its operating system. This can be observed when comparing WordPerfect, which was priced at $79, with Microsoft's $249 charge for upgrades to Office 2000. The challenges faced by Microsoft were partly due to their own aggressive marketing strategies. Consequently, the antitrust lawsuit stands as a warning about their competitive tactics.

In general, Microsoft should

focus on supporting its market places and utilize its resources and capabilities carefully. It can enhance its isolation mechanisms through strategies like product development and acquisition, platform integration, and user and channel temptation, all at a prohibitive cost. In this age of rapid technological change, organizations must face new challenges such as market-driven decision-making, customer education, and employee engagement. To compete and survive, organizations need to build effective teams that can navigate complex workplaces and interpersonal interactions. Individual efforts have less impact compared to group efforts, so team building has become a key strategy in many organizations. Team building is essential for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of small groups and working groups and must be a central element of organizational change. (Reference: Hellriegel, Slocum)According to Woodman (1986), the use of a squad is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of working groups in focusing on one of four goals: setting goals and priorities, deciding on a method through analysis of group functioning, exploring the quality of labor relations. This process follows a sequence that starts with recognizing or perceiving a problem, followed by gathering data, sharing diagnostic information, planning action, executing the action, and assessing behavior.

The aforementioned behavior is repeated when new jobs are identified. Observing individuals working in teams leads to a list of characteristics that make a team member effective. These characteristics include:

• Understanding and being committed to group goals ;
• Being friendly, caring, and interested in others ;
• Acknowledging and openly confronting conflict ;
• Listening to others with understanding ;

These characteristics are presented in a sequential manner, encompassing task completion and relationship building behaviors. This pattern of behaviors serves as the starting point for the development of effective team building.

Decision and recommendation The Microsoft instance illustrates the importance of regulation to both foster and safeguard competition in an economic system. India has a lot of catching up to do in terms of fostering competition, not just compared to the market-driven economies of the West but also those of East Asia. The question is whether fostering competition can be separated from protecting it. Fostering competition involves implementing a set of policies and institutions that are attractive enough for participants to enter. This aligns with Hay's third proposition (1996) and the comments mentioned in paragraph 2.1.2 of the Report referenced at the beginning of this paper. However, once competition has been fostered, it requires regulation to nurture it. The Report is explicit about this: where preventing abuse of market power through competition is not possible, a suitable regulatory framework needs to be established to achieve efficiency.

Confusion has, however, emerged from the submission of dissenting notes by two members, namely Rakesh Mohan and Sudhir Mulji. In his Auxiliary Note

to the Report, Mohan expresses agreement with most aspects of competition outlined by the Committee but admits to having reservations. He worries that his contribution could potentially impede the growth of the Indian economy. Specifically, he is uncomfortable with the fact that...

We are not only advocating for the creation of a new strong government authority, but we are also empowering it with significant discretionary powers. Mohan, who expresses concerns about this, is easy to disagree with. The literature has discussed the politics of regulation, which includes the discretionary powers given to the regulator and the regulator's capture by the regulated. However, it seems like Mohan takes an easy way out by dissenting, despite acknowledging the dangers of regulation. As someone who recognizes these dangers, it was incumbent upon Mohan to ensure that they did not materialize. Building an institution is a challenging task, and as Mohan rightly points out, a wrong step can set back the economy.

If experienced economic experts simply submit notes, distancing themselves from the Report, the establishments created will bear the cast of administrative officials who may hold a vested interest in claiming discretionary powers to themselves. In such an event, Mohan's fears will surely come to pass. I would handle Mulji's dissenting note differently. While Mohan is concerned with the discretionary powers of the authorities and the dangers of regulatory capture, Mulji is against all Numerous Internet Service Providers (ISP) operate in Mumbai, as they do in many other cities. One of these providers is MTNL, which also offers telephone services in the city. It is known that to access the internet, one needs to use telephone lines regardless of the

ISP being used.

Suppose that MTNL were to create a system where an endorser to a non-MTNL ISP experienced frequent disconnections and poor phone connection quality. On the other hand, suppose that an endorser to MTNL's internet service did not face this disadvantage. Subscribers of non-MTNL ISPs would be tempted to switch their subscription to MTNL, resulting in an increase in MTNL's market share at the expense of others. This hypothetical situation is similar to Microsoft denying access to interface information for Netscape Navigator, making the use of Navigator a frustrating experience.

Clearly, in the hypothetical situation described above, MTNL's actions would be considered anti-competitive and would need to be regulated in order to protect the interests of other ISPs and consumers. Mulji would describe regulations that control this behavior as the "nanny syndrome" and suggests replacing them with "excesses." He believes that policymakers should abolish all monopoly laws until it becomes evident that competition is harmful. While Mulji is concerned about potential actions of a Competitive Commission that could restrict market freedom, I am also worried about acts of negligence. I strongly believe that getting rid of all monopoly laws and waiting to see if competition results in harm is a risky form of negligence.

Surely, the demand exists to move away from the mentality of the license-permit Raj and the MRTP act. However, these cannot be replaced by a void, as Mulji suggests.