sTRATEGIC INITIATIVE PAPER






Strategic Initiative Paper
Learning Team A: Jonathan Chafin, Demetria Humphrey, Jessica Landry, Angela Leland, David Rees, and Rebekah Thomson
FIN 370/Finance for Business
October 11, 2015
John Wetherington
Strategic Initiative Paper
Strategic initiative is the company’s goals for future success and expansion; it explains the direction the company is heading. Discussing a company’s initiatives and their affect on financial planning, costs, and revenues, explains the relationship between strategic and financial planning. Lastly, ethical concerns related to the initiative describe elements of initiatives related to the company’s financial plan. Microsoft continuously incorporates evolving initiatives into the company’s strategic planning to challenge an ever-competitive market. Competition directs Microsoft’s strategic planning.
Identify an Initiative Discussed in the Organization’s Annual Report
In the first quarter of FY 2014, Microsoft made investments in the areas of digital work and life experiences, Cloud operating systems, and devices operating system and hardware (Microsoft, 2014). In the fourth quarter, Microsoft moved toward a contract acquiring all Nokia devices and service business. These financial reports reside in the new Phone Hardware segment of the annual report (Microsoft, 2014). Microsoft directly relates this strategic initiative to financial planning in their financial review by stating “The segments enable the alignment of strategies and objectives across the development, sales, marketing, and services organizations, and they provide a framework for timely and rational allocation of development, sales, marketing, and services resources within businesses.” (Microsoft, 2014).
The company’s initiative is to remain efficient while effectively competing within the market. Apple and Google are Microsoft’s biggest competitors. Devices and Consumer (D&C) segments provides developing initiatives to remain a...