We have an afternoon site visit to Microsoft’s Ireland Headquarters tomorrow. In preparation for this visit, this 4:29 YouTube video from 2013 makes several interesting points for why Microsoft saw Ireland as a source of commercial opportunities:
In preparation for your site visit to Microsoft Ireland, the short video reflects several of the points that Professor Darren Kelly made regarding the business environment in Ireland (and specifically Dublin) being a great setting for expansion into Ireland and Europe due to the combination of strong employee talent, favorable corporate taxes and the promise of a strong economy over time. Based on your quick review of the YouTube video on Microsoft in Ireland, identify one commercial opportunity and one commercial challenge they are addressing at Microsoft Ireland.
One commercial opportunity for Microsoft in Ireland is the accessibility to other European countries and students who are familiar with the technology. Ireland’s location is ideal for any multinational corporation, especially one looking to expand their reach to new countries. In addition, the growing presence of technology in Dublin has influenced the education system to become more technologically informative, which is an excellent talent pool for Microsoft to pull from. A commercial challenge at Microsoft Ireland is insuring the multicultural workforce works well together and everyone is included. From the video, it is evident that Microsoft has workers from around the globe. They must ensure that cultural diversity is upheld and used to their advantage.
Finally, acting as members of consulting teams that might choose to write a group paper about the commercial opportunities and challenges connected to Microsoft targeting Ireland as a destination for commercial development, what specific questions do you have about the business model for Microsoft Ireland that relate to our course material (Triple Bottom Line and sustainability, market segmentation, maximization versus shared value, etc.)? Give us a specific question for tomorrow’s visit.
To what extent is Microsoft looking to expand into other parts of Europe and South America?