When one hears the word monopoly, most think of it as the board game or as the controlling of a market. Although the game Monopoly is more of an example of what a monopoly is, it is a great example in explaining the definition. The second way people think of a monopoly is its dictionary definition as the exclusive control of a given commodity or service in a given market. I will not try to explain what the definition of a monopoly is in this paper, but rather explain what components make up a monopoly and how they interact together. I will try and answer the questions on why monopolies exist and their traits that control the business world. Microsoft is probably one of the first companies that comes to mind when one thinks of a monopoly. I will discuss Microsoft in fairly well detail because I believe that they are a prime example in my dissection of monopoly because of their recent court litigation. I also believe John Rockefeller played an important role in creating a corporate enterprise and he is also considered to be a monopolist by many. I believe monopoly is just a term used for the process of a corporation or person trying to innovate and create standards for the success of their business.

             First of all, Microsoft is a technology corporation headed by Bill Gates that produces computer operating systems and software. It was formed in the 1970's and their objective was to create an operating system so one could run programs on a computer. They began with MS-Dos and eventually developed the Windows line of operating systems. The argument many pose is that Bill Gates created an empire that completely controls the market. However, this is not the whole story. Microsoft has created a standard for the computer software industry. Because of these standards, the world has been brought together. People can use their software and have it transferable without having to worry if it will run on a certain computer.