Case studies are an important learning strategy in business classes as they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze events that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your critical thinking and research skills as you research the competition and industry in which your business resides with an end goal of formulating a recommendation for the challenges faced by the company.
Option 1: Microsoft (pp. 94–95)
- Evaluate Microsoft’s product and marketing evolution over the years. What has the company done well, and where did it falter?
- Through the application of a political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) analysis, what are the current environmental factors impacting Microsoft?
- Who are the top three competitors of Microsoft, and what are their advantages/disadvantages with respect to satisfying the value proposition of their customers?
- Evaluate Microsoft’s recent expansions into areas such as search engines and smartphones. Do you think these are good areas of growth for Microsoft with a focus on customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty?
In formatting your case analysis, do not use the question-and-answer format; instead, use an essay format with subheadings. Your APA-formatted case study should be a minimum of 500 words in length (not counting the title and reference pages). You are required to use a minimum of three peer-reviewed, academic sources that are no more than 5 years old (one may be your textbook). All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased material must have accompanying in-text citations.