Micron Technology is a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems. The company has a large brand portfolio in high-performance memory technologies that include DRAM, NAND Flash, and NOR Flash technologies. The company was founded in Boise Idaho in the year 1978 and has since grown to become a global leader in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. In trying to analyze the company’s operations, this paper analyzes six different aspects of Micron that include Organization, Teamwork, and communications; marketing; Managing services and manufacturing; accounting and finance; ethics and social responsibility; and international business activities.
Organization, Teamwork, and Communications
An organization’s structure determines how well it will make decisions, respond to problems, and it influences the attitudes of employees in their work. According to Ferrell (2018), a suitable business structure can minimize the costs of a business and maximize its efficiency. A firm requires a strong strategic plan in order to remain continually competitive in the market industry. Micron has run its business through a strong organizational structure and strategic plan. The company achieves this through organization, teamwork, and communications (Ferrel, 2018).
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Micron is a technology company with a very strong organizational structure. The company is highly organized as it diversifies its interests in the development of new technology, meeting the changing consumer needs, and staying ahead of the competition. The company’s organization has seen it invest in technology and infrastructure that has made it grow to become a global leader.
The second element to create a successful company is teamwork. Without proper teamwork, a firm will have a faulty environment and could lead to its demise. Teamwork can be defined as the coordinated effort of a group of people that act together as a team as they work towards a common cause. From the year it was established, Micron has managed to create a successful team both internally and with the community around it. The nature of teamwork in Micron has seen it become labeled as one of the leading employers in the United States. The company also maintains the Micron Foundation that creates a strong team with the community by supporting students, educators, and their communities.
The third critical element for the success of a company is communication. Communication can be defined as the imparting or the interchange of ideas, opinions, thoughts, and information through speech or written formats. Micron has established a strong communication with the staff which enables it to foster innovation. The company’s management freely interacts with the employees through the strong communication structure. The company’s strong communication can be attributed to the organizational structure where everyone plays a big role in the success of the company.
Marketing
Marketing can be defined as a group of activities designed to foster transactions by creating awareness through distribution, promotion, and pricing of goods and services. Marketing plays a big role in the operations of Micron. Marketing is important in the sale of products to the consumer and the distribution of goods from the company to the consumer (Ferrel, 2018). The company has a strong marketing department that is in charge of branding the products and managing the growth of sales.
Micron operates in a very competitive semiconductor market. The company tries to stay ahead of the competition through the development of proper marketing strategies. Micron sells specialized computer chips and memory devices and thus uses a different marketing strategy. The company does not push their products through commercials or endorsements. Instead, the primary marketing strategy is through direct sales. The company has representative offices and sales offices in key markets in different parts of the world.
The company also uses other marketing tools that include product differentiation, price adjustments, and building a strong brand reputation. Micron engages in product differentiation by developing high-end semiconductor devices. The company maintains standard pricing for its products to ensure that it remains continually competitive. Micron maintains a strong brand image by sponsoring several events around its community. The company donated a large sum of money to sponsor the construction of a new business leading and send guest speakers to Boise State University ("Intelligence Accelerated: Highlights from Insight 2018", 2018).
Managing Services and Manufacturing
Before the final production of a product, a company should first determine the consumers and then design the product to satisfy their process. The design process is one of the most complex parts in developing a product. To ensure the success of a product, every company should strive to manage its services and manufacturing in order to bring production costs (Wirtz and Lovelock, 2016). Micron has engaged in various endeavors that ensure accurate management of its services through investing in technology. The company has built high-tech manufacturing plants that use robots to ensure accuracy in the manufacturing process. Such proper management of services and manufacturing brings production costs low and ensure that its products are affordable for its consumers.
Micron maintains manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Japan, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The company’s manufacturing products are done on 300 mm wafers in facilities that operate 24 hours every day, 7 days every week ("Micron Technology, Inc. - Annual Report", 2017). The manufacture of semiconductor devices is capital intensive and requires the use of sophisticated equipment and facilities. According to the company’s 10k report, it replaces a significant portion of their semiconductor manufacturing equipment within every five to seven years with equipment that is more advanced. The company invests heavily in technology to aid in the manufacture of top-notch quality products ("Micron Technology, Inc. - Annual Report", 2017).
Accounting and Finance
Accounting and finance can be regarded as the basic structure that holds various elements of the company together. This section of a company should be closely monitored to ensure that a company makes profits and manages its debt. Micron has managed its finance well over the years and has grown to become a multinational corporation. The company accounts for every aspect of the business. The accounting process goes towards maintaining up to date records and ensuring that the company’s funds are well managed. The accounting section of Micron is responsible for the recording, investing, financing, and operating of various sections of the business.
According to the company’s 10k report, the preparation of the company’s financial statements conforms with the U.S GAAP requirements. The company reports the amount of assets, revenues, expenses, and other required disclosures on a yearly basis. The company’s accounting management believes that strong accounting policies followed by the company are critical to portray an accurate financial condition ("Micron Technology, Inc. - Annual Report", 2017). Micron follows the required laws, makes use of its own set of guidelines in creating financial reports. Micron’s accounting operations are healthy and promote business growth.
The 10k report by Micron shows the progress of net sales, its total assets, and total liabilities. The company’s net sales amounted to $12,399 million and had reduced from $16,192 in 2015. The total assets of the company were $ 27,540 million in 2016 and had increased from $ 24,143 in 2015. The increase in the company’s assets could be attributed to several acquisitions that were made between the two years. The company acquired Inotera in the second quarter of 2016. The total liabilities of the company were $14,612 million in 2016 and had increased from $10,855 in 2015 ("Micron Technology, Inc. - Annual Report", 2017).
Ethical and Social Responsibility
Companies today are faced with the task of adding value to the community. Unlike the previous centuries where companies only focused on making profits, companies today have to focus on adding value to the community and conducting its business in an ethical manner. Additionally, companies have to adhere to laws and regulation which ensure that its business process is ethical and does not cause harm to others. Following ethical business practices can enable a company to evade penalties and huge fines (Ferrel, 2018). Engaging in social responsibility endeavors ensures that the company maintains a strong touch with the community and that it can build a strong brand portfolio with its customers.
Micron conducts its business by following proper ethical procedures. The company maintains integrity and is strict in following ethical laws and regulations. The company has a good business sense, undertakes proper business operations, and is concerned with its customers to provide the best services. Proper responsibility and following of ethical procedures have seen it earn the trust of customers, suppliers, co-workers, and shareholders. The company is committed to complying with business ethics in every business decision and is responsible in case of misconduct. The company has a strong commitment to integrity and has a strong reputation for quality products ("Code of Business Conduct and Ethics", 2018).
Micron engages through in various social responsibility endeavors by working with the community. The company has a Micron Technology Foundation that promotes education in engineering, math, and science with members of the community. The participation of these activities provides an improvement in technology and research. The company also offers workshops, provides grants, plans for activities, and helps students in different ways. It believes that their strong support in education, technology, and research will motivate students to be passionate in the endeavors. The participation with universities and industries creates long-term benefits for the company. Micron enriches the community through participation in education. The company knows that education is crucial in making the community strong. Various innovations can occur as a result of proper education that solves the needs of the community ("Intelligence Accelerated: Highlights from Insight 2018", 2018).
International Business Activities
The strong communication and transport infrastructure in the modern world makes it easy for a company to carry out business operations in different parts of the world. The true success of a company today can thus be measured by its reach in other countries. A company that has grown and exploited the market in its country can seek growth and expansion opportunities in different parts of the world (Ferrel, 2018).
Established in 1978, Micron has grown over the years and expanded its business operations in different parts of the world. The company’s sales to customers residing outside the United States was approximately 84% for its consolidated sales in the year 2016. Additionally, the company has a significant portion of its manufacturing operations that are found outside the US. A signification portion of the company’s business operations is located in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, China, and Malaysia. The company maintains three water fabrication, assembly, test, and module assembly facility in China.
The company sells its products under three different brands in different parts of the world. The brands include Micron, Crucial, and Ballistix. Such a wide variety of brands enables it to maintain a broad industry portfolio. Micron is thus one of the only companies that manufacture major storage and memory technologies such as NAND, NOR, DRAM, and 3D Xpoint. Micron also maintains a global manufacturing footprint, global back-end assembly and test operations, and international IT teams. The company’s global operation organizations ensure that Micron is responsive to meet customer needs through alignment with customer needs in different parts of the world.
In conclusion, Micron has grown to be a world leader in semiconductor technology. The success can be attributed to the company’s efficient business management process. The organization, teamwork, and communication structure of the company is healthy and provides room for growth and expansion. The company engages in strategic marketing endeavors that ensure consistent growth in sales and profits. Micron strives to manage its services and manufacturing to ensure efficient business operations. The accounting and finance are well managed to ensure proper allocation of funds. Micron abides by various business ethics and social responsibility endeavors to help support the community. The success of the company has seen its expansion in different parts of the world such as Japan, Taiwan, China, and Singapore.
References
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.micron.com/about/our-commitment/governance/ethics
Ferrel, O. C. (2018). Business: A changing world . Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Intelligence Accelerated: Highlights from Insight 2018. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.micron.com/about/blogs/2018/october/live-updates-from-micron-insight-2018-with-ceo-sanjay-mehrotra-discussing-artificial-intelligence
Micron Technology, Inc. - Annual Report. (2017). Retrieved from http://investors.micron.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=723125-16-269&cik =
Wirtz, J., & Lovelock, C. (2016). Services Marketing: People, Technology . World Scientific Publishing Company.
