Why does Microsoft feel that every 4 years, it must rearrange all the commands and options in a product that many have just begun to master? My best guess is that the product only needs some bugfixing/refactoring/enhancement, but nobody's going to shell out $350 for a product that doesn't visibly look new. It's not just Word... it's Windows, it's every piece of shit that comes out of their advanced fecal labs in Redmond.
This is a racket between Microsoft and IT departments, IMO. You have a bunch of people who get paid to upgrade software (IT workers). Microsoft gets paid to sell software. What will they possibly lobby for except to install the same software over and over again, repackaging it so that it looks new? Fuckers.