Michael Dell – Leadership Case Study

The most critical shifts in Dell’s contextual factors, including industry dynamics, trends, technology changes and shift of the competitive landscape are following: The industry has changed significantly over the last 20 years. The traditional business model in the PC industry was inside-out, supplying machines based on orders from distribution, resell and retail channels, thus following the indirect selling concept. Dell’s direct model was at this time a new, challenging concept, taking orders directly from the end-consumer, and thereby, eliminating the middleman, costs and time. This was the initial crucial shift away from the traditional schema, allowing Dell’s quick

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Dell is a multi-national information technology corporation which designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports a range of computer systems and services that are customized to individual customer requirements. As one of global PC suppliers, Dell set 2 strategic objectives to achieve, to be the No.1 global market share PC supplier, and optimize the balance of liquidity, profitability, and growth with a focus on increasing the mix of their product portfolio to higher margin products and recurring revenue streams. (Dell annual report 2009, pg 4). Dell existed in one of the biggest

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Present CEO and chairman of the board Michael Dell founded Dell in 1984, as a leading technology provider that designs, develops, manufactures, and supports PCs, software and peripherals, storage and servers, and associated services. With operations in four geographic areas and additional business centers and manufacturing sites in more than 20 locations around the world, Dell is able to reach more than 24,000 retail locations worldwide. Dell’s ability to process in-depth customer knowledge and the tailoring of solutions to the specific customer, through a direct customer sales model, catapulted the company in 2008 to the top PC provider in the United States and second worldwide in terms of sales.

When Dell started its campaign to allow customers to configure and customize their computers according to their needs and budget Dell had serious issue regarding Inventory Management. Dell needed and Inventory which comprised of right computer parts at right time and right place. To manage this entire Dell

Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Computer Corporation. He took Dell Computer public and the stock became “the number one stock of the 1990’s, soaring almost 90,000 percent” (Krames, 2003, p. 58-59). Michael Dell expanded the direct selling model because he believed a very close relationship with the customer and vendor would lead to success. His philosophy basically said, “Managers hoping to create successful brands cannot do it by imposing their own views on the marketplace … there needs to be a mechanism in place whereby the company learns to make the products that its target customers actually want” (Krames, 2003, p. 59). With this philosophy, he built a company that continuously attempts to interact with the customer at as many levels as possible to provide the customer with what they want at the price they want.

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Dell Computer Corporation was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. From the early 1990s until the mid-2000s, Dell was ranked as a PC market leader relying on their distinctive marketing pattern “Direct Model” which undertook direct communication with customers and provided customized products. Recently, the PC industry is facing inconceivable worldwide competition, and Dell is gradually losing their competitive advantages by using its direct model in critical business segments. The company is facing shrinkage of growth, increasing competition, declining quality of customer service, and limitation of expansion. These issues have an enormous impact on Dell’s position as a technological giant in the PC industry.

Dell Company has a successful business strategy. As it is following cost leadership strategy. Its success story is hidden in cost proposition, delivery, and unique customization. In response to the high performance and better chances for growth Dell is applying two way strategy parallel to one another.

1. What do you think Bill and Melinda Gate’s personality traits are for each of the Big Five dimensions? Compare the two.

The Dell Computer Corporation was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, who began the company by refurbishing IBM clones out of his dorm room for extra money. From the beginning and through the 1990’s, the company grew quickly and was very successful. Dell used a cost leadership strategy and focus on creating products that were already in the market place, but changed the timing of production and the method of distribution that was in place with the company’s competitors by assembling computers to order and selling directly to the customers. The company focused on creating value for customers and meeting their needs, but into the

Dell management was concerned that, although the firm carried almost no inventory, its suppliers might be holding much more inventory than was needed to provide desired customer service. For this reason, Dell asked a team from the Tauber Manufacturing Institute (TMI), a partnership between the engineering and business schools at the University of Michigan, to study this issue. Dell sought recommendations for a sustainable process and decision-support tools for determining optimal levels of component inventory to support the final assembly process.

Steven Jobs was one of the founders of Apple Computer. Apple Computer's initial strategy was to target specific sub-segments of the market that the company's management believed could be best served by the company. Apple Computer focused on these sub-segments, addressed the needs of these users, and developed a loyal following for the company's products (Fortune, 2011). The senior executives at Apple Computer, led by Jobs, reinforced a customer focus within the company. This customer focus was largely responsible for the success of the company's initial strategy.

“To understand what makes Dell so great, you need to understand the power of Dell's Mission Statement, as well as its history, growth, and entrepreneurial founder Michael Dell.” (Farfan, 2017) Today Dell forms partnerships with retailers on a global scale while adding online ordering and customization. With Dell’s variety of services coupled with its desktop, laptop, and other products, Dell has become a large company