Microsoft Mission Statement

This is Microsoft Corporation mission statement overview in 2013. For more information on how to write a mission statement, please refer to our article.

Company Background

NameMicrosoft Corporation
LogoMicrosoft logo
Industries servedComputer software, Electronics
Geographic areas servedWorldwide
HeadquartersU.S.
Current CEOSteve Ballmer
Revenue$ 73.72 billion (2012)
Profit$ 16.97 billion (2012)
Employees94,000 (2012)
Main CompetitorsApple Inc., Google Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., International Business Machines Corporation and many other companies.

Microsoft Corporation is one of the best-known software companies in the world. The company is famous for its Windows and Office software. In addition to software products, the company manufactures and develops consumer electronics such as tablets and game system.

Mission

Microsoft mission statement 2013

“At Microsoft, our mission and values are to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.”
Evaluation
Does it include…?
CustomersProducts/ ServicesMarkets
YesNoYes
TechnologyConcern for survivalPhilosophy
NoNoNo
Self-conceptConcern for public imageEmployees
NoNoNo
Does it mention values like…?Customer or product-oriented?
CitizenshipTeamworkCustomer-oriented
NoNoScore
ExcellenceIntegrity
NoNo1.3/4.5

(This evaluation framework is composed of the guidelines listed in our article: Mission Statement for Success)

Overview

Microsoft’s mission is one of the poorest statements in our evaluations. The company only includes markets (throughout the world) and customers (people and business) components into its statement, which provides little information to Microsoft’s stakeholders about the company itself. The mission also doesn’t mention any values or philosophy that guide the corporate’s actions and decisions. Nonetheless, the company additionally express its values in a separate statement:

“As a company, and as individuals, we value integrity, honesty, openness, personal excellence, constructive self-criticism, continual self-improvement, and mutual respect. We are committed to our customers and partners and have a passion for technology. We take on big challenges, and pride ourselves on seeing them through. We hold ourselves accountable to our customers, shareholders, partners, and employees by honoring our commitments, providing results, and striving for the highest quality.”

This statement is what an official Microsoft’s mission should sound like. It includes 6 out of 9 components and mentions 2 of the values used in our evaluation. Both statements are customer-oriented, but the second statement provides much more information about the Microsoft’s business and addresses more stakeholders. Therefore, the company should provide one combined mission to better communicate its purpose it to its employees and to the world.

Sources

  1. Microsoft (2013). About us. Available at: http://www.microsoft.com/about/en/us/default.aspx

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