Microsoft Case Study (Case Study Sample)

Microsoft's Partnership with UNHCR- Pro Bono Publico? Chapter John Mehta Microsoft's Partnership with UNHCR- Pro Bono Publico? Summary of the Case Study UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) together with Microsoft partnered to utilize ICT (information and communications technology) to enhance United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' operations and cultivate programs to assist refugees store their information, reform their lives, as well as access novel opportunities via connectivity and education. Together, Microsoft and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees aimed to support immigrants as an element of the global community's technology crusade and support information and communications technology learning and education in challenging settings. In the alliance, Microsoft supported United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees through affording technological proficiency while United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees contributes its experience in addressing exigent refugee issues. Throughout the Kosovo immigrant crisis during 1999, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Microsoft personnel, and other associates fostered a mobile registering system to afford more than 500 million immigrants with novel identification documents (IDs). This system was developed into a database known as ProGres. Via ProGres, refugees were systematically recorded upon influx. This helped enhance management of refugee camps through accurately establishing the composition and size of refugee populaces, and their needs for help. ProGres issued identification cards, recorded addresses for immigrants living past camps, issued voluntary deportation forms, as well as identified individuals with distinctive needs, for instance, unaccompanied children or the aged. ProGres created a consistent system for immigrant registration, replacing loads of old, irreconcilable databases. Microsoft is amid the founding associates of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' CBL (Council of Business Leaders), launched on the World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos, in January of 2005. The Council of Business Leaders aimed to foster groundbreaking private-public partnerships, better synchronize corporate investments, as well as help United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, find novel private-sector funding sources, as well as, private-public partnerships. The Council of Business Leaders organized regular field missions to better comprehend the actuality of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' work, as well as, identify actual prospects for partnership. 1. Is ‘partnership' the answer and can the company leverage all its assets to contribute pro bono public? In this situation, yes collaboration/partnership was the solution. Microsoft was not constantly as focused upon corporate citizenship/ corporate social responsibility as it is nowadays. Microsoft held a damaging image of being a persistent power procuring everything within their reach. Therefore, when the Kosovo fiasco arose during 1999, Microsoft emerged not only to afford assistance to masses of agonizing people, but to as well enhance the company's image. This partnership thrived in accomplishing just that. Once both affiliates stand to benefit from the collaboration as it is in this case study, then the alliance is a good venture to undertake. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees obtained all the help in serving the refugees, as well as Microsoft obtained a positive public image/impression. A firm can, therefore, leverage its entire resources pro bono publico as Microsoft did during the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees partnership. Microsoft offered software and cash to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as the time plus expertise of personnel, the skills management of managers, as well as online publicizing strategy. Through supporting the stipulations in stand-up with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Microsoft adopted a strategic alliance and partnership, goes well past fulfilling simple investor expectations; mobilizing an enormous personnel base of bequeathed talent and skills assets to help those in neediness. 2. Is Microsoft creating the right partnerships to complement its market opening and opportunity raising? I would articulate that Microsoft is generating the appropriate partnerships/alliances when it comes about their market expansion, as well as, raising prospects. Ages before Microsoft's affiliation with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, people regarded Microsoft as an establishment, which that looked down upon other corporations since they owned a lot of power and money. This formed a damaging image on their part, and I think they had to do something to reinvent their image. Assisting the refugees indicated that Microsoft had noble intentions as an organization, as well as, was available and ready to offer a helping hand for the struggling individuals. This move raised prospects for Microsoft for all of its novel thriving technology. It as well gave immigrants the prospect to lead normal lives after deportation, while pursuing employment and higher education. Microsoft could never have attained any of these undertakings without partnering with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Therefore, I would articulate that Microsoft did form appropriate partnerships. Moreover, the development of the collaboration amid the software titan Microsoft Corporation and the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) expedited a mutually and strategic beneficial alliance, in addition to, shaping the description today of appropriate corporate social responsibility (CSR). Microsoft has remarkable resources, as well as, global status in such tangible resources as capital and technology, in addition to, intangible resources such as human capital information, as well as, skills in management). Evidently, Microsoft recognized that its indispensable resources could give rise to future capacities to reach worldwide social components, therefore, creating remarkable value for each of its investors. 3. Was that lunchtime initiative, in 1999 during the Kosovo crisis, a sign for this vast multinational to serve the challenges of diversity internally and externally? The lunchtime initiative in the Kosovo calamity during 1999 was a terrific prospect for Microsoft Corporation to transform both externally and internally. During 1999, Microsoft Corporation's share value fell following Anti-trust lawsuit, in addition to, a status of being an organization, which tears down small businesses through monopolistic policies. In that time, Microsoft owned a CA (Community Affairs) unit, but they did not have a CSR approach (corporate social responsibility approach). At the lunchtime initiative during1999, some Microsoft personnel at the Europe's office in Paris talked about the immigrant calamity in Kosovo, Serbia. These Microsoft personnel concluded that they Microsoft needed to find a way to help the suffering immigr...