Blog #2 - Every Click You Make

One of the major challenges for any business is balancing customers’ wants and needs with the wants and needs of the business itself. Microsoft had to tackle this challenge when designing its Internet Explorer 8.0 browser. The browser started out based on protecting consumers’ privacy interests but was quickly bombarded with internal and external criticism for limiting advertising opportunities. The article “Microsoft Quashed Effort to Boost Online Privacy” states that Microsoft had to “balance conflicting interests: helping people surf the Web with its browser to keep their mouse clicks private, and helping advertisers who want to see those clicks” (Wingfield, 2010).

As the article’s title suggests, ultimately the advertising interests won. This non-programmed decision sparked much debate inside and outside of Microsoft requiring managers to carefully weigh the alternatives and their consequences. The article, “The future of the future: making knowledge-informed decisions in a flat world” states that there are 3 important steps to making knowledge-informed decisions, and, in my opinion, Microsoft operated those steps: acknowledge the customer, acknowledge the business, and coalesce resources with strategy (Murray and Devlin, 2007).

So how exactly did Microsoft decide whose interests’ to accommodate? Well, Microsoft used structured debate to allow outside organizations and internal departments to voice their opinions. In the end, the “economic forces” represented by advertising, internet, and web-tracking advocates, internally and externally, proved dominant over consumers’ privacy interests (Wingfield). As the saying goes, money talks. At this stage in the game, Microsoft has too much invested in: future technology, advertising revenue opportunities, and with other internet giants to switch focus to consumers’ privacy interests.

Unfortunately, Microsoft did not take advantage of what could have been seen as a major play in the web browser market by launching Internet Explorer 8.0 as the premium browser for consumer privacy. Therefore, their decline in market share is unlikely to change. It seems that Microsoft used satisficing to launch their new product rather than delaying launch and finding a better solution for all parties involved.

Microsoft weighed its options and released a product ultimately acknowledging both the interests of consumer privacy and advertising opportunities but satisfying them to what degree is less clear. Consumers are given more privacy options than in previous editions, but are they even aware of those options? Advertisers, web-tracking companies, etc. have used future revenue generation and current investing to pave the way for Microsoft to continue allowing free access to every click a consumer makes.

Devlin, Jim and Murray, Art. (2007 February 1). “The future of the future: making knowledge-informed decision in a flat world. Retrieved from:http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Column/Future-of-the-Future/The-Future-of-the-Future-Making-knowledge-informed-decisions-in-a-flat-world-19137.aspx on September 26, 2010.

Wingfield, Nick. (2010 August 2). “Microsoft quashed effort to boost online privacy.” Retrieved from: https://jsu.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_89257_1%26url%3D on September 26, 2010.