...today’s value; but, innovation creates tomorrow’s opportunities. With many markets increasingly becoming more and more competitive, those who innovate best will win the future. During the past nine weeks, you were exposed to a variety of perspectives on innovation via case studies and a collection of readings. You analyzed company after company and situation after situation that boosted your analytical skills and exposed you to the ways companies and managers actually do things. And, you were at the scene of the action, learning the events and organizational circumstances surrounding a particular managerial situation in the innovation process. You have learned how to identify the sources of innovative success and failure inside corporations and how companies can sustain a capability to innovate. However, there is no recipe for managing innovation, because the challenges that innovation poses change over time and reflect an organization’s unique history and culture. The readings of assigned book chapters and journal articles stretch your imagination and ability to think about corporate innovation strategies with a wide-ranging set of tools and skills in a conceptually sophisticated, yet practical, way. They do not provide innovation templates to be copied; but, they do provide stimuli for original thinking and accelerate your learning. Transmuting the multiplicity of innovation objectives into organizational designs, processes and structures, indeed, is a perplexing...
Words: 1334 - Pages: 6
...ISSN 1913-035X [Online] www.cscanada.net www.cscanada.org Management Science and Engineering Vol. 7, No. 2, 2013, pp. 94-103 DOI:10.3968/j.mse.1913035X20130702.Z001 A Strategic Analysis of Apple Computer Inc. & Recommendations for the Future Direction TAN Jinjin[a],* [a] “Think Different” (continuous innovation spirit), direct sale business model, customer-focused services and Apple brand power. With “Think Different” spirit, Apple innovates and upgrades its products inexhaustibly. As a successful imitation, Apple sells the products directly to customers over the web, by phone, and Apple stores in an endless stream. Implementing the customer-focused services and “Switcher” campaign, the population of Apple World and even People’s Republic of Mac (Feng, 2009) is proliferating day after day. Apple is not only an illustrious innovator and inventor, but also a successful imitator and strategist. School of Foreign Language, Shandong International University, Jinan, China. * Corresponding author. Received 11 April 2013; accepted 23 May 2013 Abstract Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter ended September 28, 2012. For the quarter, the Company posted a net profit of US$45 million or US$0.13 per share. These results compare to a net profit of US$66 million, or US$0.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter (Bryan Chaffin, 2012). Apple is ranked number six among the main computer makers, with a market...
Words: 6754 - Pages: 28
...Dell’s Supply Chain Management Strategy Build-to-order model, Dell, Direct model, PC Manufacturing, SCM, Supply Chain Case Study Abstract The focus of this case study is the supply chain management practices of Dell. Dell has been following its unique ‘direct build-to-order’ sales model for more than 20 years. Customers can plan their own configuration and place orders directly with the company via the phone or its Web site. Over the years, Dell’s supply chain efficiencies and direct sales gave it a competitive advantage. Can Dell regain its market leader position from HP? In 2006 however, Dell faced several problems. Many customers complained about long delays in supplies. Recall of Sony battery cells in its laptops brought undesirable media hype to the company. Increasing discontent of customers led to a slowdown in sales. Consequently, Dell lost its market leadership to Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP). Industry analysts felt that, with Dell’s competitors also improving their supply chains and matching Dell’s direct model, the company had been losing its competitive edge. Dell will have to bear additional costs with its foray into retail distribution thereby minimizing its cost advantage. Besides, profit margins of Dell will drop further since it will have to offer incentives to compete with HP in retail stores. Though Dell spruced up its product design and range but Apple is clearly far ahead of it. Many experts feel that such new initiatives will only distract Dell from its...
Words: 2572 - Pages: 11
...Introduction Dell Computer Corporation was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell in his dorm room at the University of Texas. In 2003, the company name was changed to Dell Inc. to reflect evolution of it from a computer manufacturer to a company that provides a wide range of technology related services. Dell Inc., now an American privately owned multinational company, became successful by providing quality inexpensive computer products than its competitors and grew to be the number one in the world (Exhibit 1) by implementation of its Direct Model. While competitors sold primarily through distributors, resellers and retailers, Dell directly took specified orders from customers through its established website and telephone lines, built and shipped devices to customers. Dell’s success started when its revenue surfaced $80,000 per month in 1984, and its ever growing revenue to billions of dollars, shares price and domination of PC market and standards until its defeat by Wlett-Packard (HP) in 2007. The ever falling of Dell’s shares price eventually made Michael Dell to buy back Dell’s shares in order to be able to restructure its legacy PC business one day. Company’s Current Strategy Dell Inc. pursues a focused differentiation strategy by offering premium quality products and devices and the best possible before and after sales customer service in a very timely manner. Dell believes it has the most efficient business model in the fierce competitive PC making industry. The company’s...
Words: 1790 - Pages: 8
...120014 Sam Verlaat - 111449 Bas Vliegen - 122959 Thijs Bavelaar - 091698 Carlijn Swagemakers - 120014 Sam Verlaat - 111449 Bas Vliegen - 122959 Executive summary Within this report the Starbuck’s Corporation is being analyzed, in this way the company can be positioned on how they are performing within the competitive set. Through research Starbucks’ core competencies are found, and on elaborated. Those competencies are researched in the competitive set with the main competitors of Starbucks’ as well, via basic benchmarking there has been determined where Starbucks is within the market. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Core competencies 5 Key competitors 9 Competitive advantages 11 Communication within organization 12 Competency - strategy matrix 13 Conclusion and recommendations 14 Bibliography 15 Appendices 19 Appendix 1: Value chain analysis 19 Appendix 2: SWOT analysis 22 Appendix 3: Functional analysis 25 Appendix 4: VRIO analysis 26 Introduction The purpose of this paper is to analyze both Starbucks’ strategies and core competencies, and use this analysis to assess the degree of synergy between the two. First, the core competencies of Starbucks, specified to the US, are identified and presented with the use of a value chain analysis, SWOT analysis and functional analysis. Secondly, its competitive set will be presented. Key competitors will be identified using basic benchmarking, and Starbucks’ place in the competitive set is...
Words: 6083 - Pages: 25
...Entertainment in 2020 The world as we know it today is not the same as it was ten years ago, let alone five years ago. Technology is advancing at a drastic speed therefore causing everything attached to it to change; economy, demography, etc. The industry that we have chosen to focus on is the entertainment industry, with regards to the evolution of technology. We will be analyzing the different changes in the past decade and try to predict what the workforce will look like in 2020. The Generations X, Y and Z are the population born after the World War II era. By the year 2020, most of the population in these three categories will still be in the workforce, with only the ones born at the very beginning of “Generation X” entering retirement. Born between the early years of the 1960’s to early 80’s, Generation X witnessed the expansion of technology, with such things as the personal computer, video games, cable TV, Internet etc.. They are generally considered as very independent and self-sufficient because many of them were born in an era where their families earned two incomes and where divorce rates were rising. This generation was born into a faltering economy therefore witnessed the struggle their parents went through to maintain their jobs, they tend to ignore their leaders and are less committed to one employer because of that. According to the US Census Bureau in their 2009 statistical abstract and also the 2001 Canadian census on education statistics, Generation...
Words: 3103 - Pages: 13
...Catarina Barata | Guillermo Simoes | Inês Sousa | Iris Neto | José Aleixo Maria Osório | Pedro Castro STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SMARTPHONES Professor Francesco Castellaneta FIND INSIDE Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION 2 o II. Mission, Vision, Core Values 2 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 3 o o o o Pest analysis 3 Porter’s Five Forces of Competition Framework 4 Market Segmentation 5 Key success factors 8 III. COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE ANALYSIS 9 o o o Emergence of Competitive Advantage 9 Porter’s Value Chain 12 Porter’s Generic Strategies 15 IV. CORPORATE STRATEGY 16 o o o The scope of the firm 16 Vertical and Horizontal Diversification 20 Managing the corporate portfolio 23 V. GLOBAL STRATEGY AND THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS 25 o o o o o Patterns of internationalization 25 Analyzing competitive advantage in an international context 25 International Location of Production 27 Global integration vs. National differentiation 27 Strategy and organization within the multinational corporation 28 VI. VII. VIII. CONCLUSION 28 APPENDIX 29 BIBLIOGRAPHY 30 I. Introduction COMPANY PROFILE Nokia is a Multinational communications and information technology Corporation, with headquarters in Finland. Even though, their product portfolio is quite diverse, their main products are mobile phones and IT devices. Nokia occupied the leadership position in the mobile phones’ industry for more than a decade; however in 2011 this position was lost. The introduction of the...
Words: 11144 - Pages: 45
...Management Information Systems Laudon & Laudon Lecture Notes on Management Information Systems (Chapters: 1, 2, 5, and 9) 1. Concepts of MIS/IS 2. What’s New in Management Information Systems? 3. Digital Firm 4. Strategic Business Objectives of Information Systems 5. Information Systems (IS) Vs. Information Technology (IT) 6. Perspectives on Information Systems 7. Information System and its Functions 8. Contemporary Approaches to Information Systems. 9. Dimensions of Information Systems 10. Defining IT infrastructure: 11. Evolution of IT infrastructure 12. The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem 13. Types of Structured Business Information Systems 14. Systems That Span the Enterprise Concepts of MIS/IS: Management Information Systems: MIS means the whole network of systems which support the organization to manage their business affairs. • Many organizations have information systems that are entirely manual. Such systems are a subset of a wider class of systems, computer-based information systems, which rely on information technology as well as humans for their operational functions. IS need not be necessarily computer-based. Management information systems (MIS) deals with behavioral issues as well as technical issues surrounding the development, use, and impact of information systems used by managers and employees in the firm. As such, MIS is defined as the study of information...
Words: 6353 - Pages: 26
...Computer Financial and Market Performance D. Significance of Information Systems at Dell Computer E. Strengths and Weaknesses of Dell Computer Section III : Structured Analysis of Information Systems at Dell Computer A. Strategic Option Generator B. Roles, Roles and Relationships C. Redefine and/or Define D. Significance of Telecommunications E. Success Factor Profile Section IV : Final Analysis – The Success of Dell Computer in the PC Industry A. Success of Business Strategy and Information Systems Use to Day B. Is Dell Computer effectively positioned themselves for the Future? Bibliography Three Outstanding Articles Analysis Paper Objective The objective of this paper is to analyze Dell Computer Corporation (Dell) business strategies and the effective use of information systems to gain competitive advantage in the personal computer (PC) industry. Because of the highly competitive nature in the PC industry, information systems become a crucial tool for companies to compete with each other. However, having information systems in a firm do not...
Words: 13153 - Pages: 53
...and its Effects on the Demand, Supply, and Prosperity of the Music Industry Abstract In an era where pop culture and technology are rapidly growing, intertwining and becoming embedded in the everyday lives of Americans, it was inevitable that their paths would cross. Possibly the most affected medium of pop culture is the music industry. The growth and development of the internet is either their biggest gift or biggest curse. Modern technology has made wide-scale trading of music possible in the form of MP3 files available over the internet for free. Users can simply upload the files to these sharing sites and millions of others at any given time have the ability to download it from them. The Recording Industry Association of America, however, doesn’t share the enthusiasm about these file sharing practices. To them, it is stealing from the record company and from the artist themselves. Consumers don’t tend to see it that way. The issue that arises here is whether or not should music be accessible for free trade over the internet. On the one hand, it is thought that MP3 downloads reduce sales of legitimate CDs. On the other hand, it can be argued that downloading free MP3s could actually encourage someone to buy a CD which they may not have purchased had they not heard it in its entirety. This is known as the sampling effect. The focus of this research paper will be to paper analyze the impact of music file sharing on the demand, supply, and prosperity of the music...
Words: 6792 - Pages: 28
...Complimentary Businesses 16 Climate 16 Political/Legal 16 Economic 16 Technological 17 Social/Cultural 17 Issues Analysis 17 Personal Computer Market 17 New Products 17 International Operations 18 Digital rights management system (DRM) 18 eBusiness Models 18 Market Research and Market Intelligence 20 Marketing Strategy 25 Tactical e-Marketing and Communications Planning 28 Tactical Approach 28 Product 28 Promotion 29 Price 31 Place 31 Use of Technology 31 Delivery Mechanism 34 Flexible manufacturing plants 34 Supplier Relationship Management. 35 Channel Management 36 Marketing Communications 37 Developing an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan 37 Overarching Goals of the Plan 38 Message Development 38 Communication Media, Venues, and Campaign Elements 39 Tactical Marketing Plan Elements 40 Regulation and Ethics Issues 45 Responding to Regulation and Ethics Issues 46 Assessing E-Marketing Effectiveness 47 Conclusion 50 References 51 List of Figures Figure 1 - Porter's Five Forces Analysis Framework 22 Figure 2 - Comparative Competitor Specifications 23 Figure 3 ' Online Advertising Tracking Sample 30 Figure 4 - Shop Floor Hierarchy 35 Figure 5 - Collaborative Marketplaces and E-Hubs 36 Figure 6 - Demand Management 37 Figure 7 - Transactional and Relationship Marketing 38 Figure 8 - Example of iPod Shuffle Messaging 39 Figure 9 - Adoption Curves for Various Media 40 Figure 10 ' Integration of the Product Lines 41 Figure 11 '...
Words: 10270 - Pages: 42
...[Date] [Date] INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Globalization refers to the widely flow of production factors within the entire globe in order to understand the optimum resource allocation. Different authors provide different definitions of globalisation with their profound research. According to international monetary fund, globalization increases the rapid and extensive transmission of technology along with international commodity, transactions of service and scale of global capital flow. The mutual independence of economy is also strengthened by Globalisation. Economic globalisation builds international capital, production, technology, market, resources and manpower in order to understand reasonable and effective allocation. Competition between the countries are intensified during the effective promotion of global cooperation. This is due to the limited resources and extended capital in economic perspective. In terms of politics each country tends to increase the strength to achieve more profit (Broad & David, 2006). The independent flow of production factors in the world are accelerated though economic globalization which forms a global market. Therefore the global operation of the multinational companies along with the involvement of global industrial structure are promoted. The advantages of capital and technology can be used by the developing countries and by transferring these capital and technology the...
Words: 3863 - Pages: 16
...Management Information Systems, 13E Laudon & Laudon Lecture Files by Barbara J. Ellestad Chapter 5 IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies As information becomes a valuable resource of a digital firm, the infrastructure used to care for it takes on added importance. We’ll examine all of the components that comprise today’s and tomorrow’s IT infrastructure and how best to manage it. 5.1 IT Infrastructure When you mention the phrase “information technology infrastructure,” most people immediately think of just hardware and software. However, there is more to it than just those two. In fact, the most important and often most-ignored component is that of services. Integrating all three components forces a business to think in terms of the value of the whole and not just the parts. Including all three components in any discussion of IT infrastructure truly fits the cliché that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Defining IT Infrastructure If you define a firm’s IT infrastructure in terms of technology you limit the discussion to the hardware and software components. By broadening the definition to that of service-based, you are then bringing into the discussion the services generated by the first two components. Also, you are including the persware element that we discussed in Chapter 1. As technology advances the types of hardware and software available, it becomes more critical for the firm to focus on the services that a firm can provide to its customers...
Words: 8576 - Pages: 35
...The Analysis of Smartphone Industry Author Note This paper was prepared for MRK 3001 Marketing Strategies, taught by Associate Professor Burcu İlter. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT This study aims at measuring industry analysis about smartphone. Firstly, we had to determine which smartphone industry is going to handle. We did brain stormy with group members on this subject. We looked over many web pages about this subject. And then, we did internet searching about the comparison of industry analysis examples. We did task distribution after internet searching. Description of smartphone, smartphone industry and nature of the industry is handled by Emir Nişancı. Structural analysis within the industry and industry dynamics are handled by Merve Demirkıran, Damla Dutlu and Perihan Yıldırım. Competitor analysis for each key player is handled Anna Bivol. We have had a lot of knowledge that we didn’t know about the smartphone industry through this term project. This term project has had enjoyable and beneficial for us. Keywords: Smartphone Industry, Industry Dynamics, Key Player of Smartphone Industry 1. Introduction This report will focus on the smartphone industry given that the global market, in terms of the major players involved. In this report, we mainly focused on the dynamics of the smartphone industry and the factors that affects the change over the conditions of competition. The smartphone industry consists of all companies that manufacture and sell smartphones...
Words: 10647 - Pages: 43
...From Followers to Market Leaders: Asian Electronics Firms in the Global Economy Henry Wai-chung Yeung Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 (Tel: 65-6516 6810; Fax: 65-6777 3091; Email: HenryYeung@nus.edu.sg; Homepage: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/geoywc/henry.htm) Forthcoming in Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol.48(1), pp.1-30, 2007. Acknowledgement An earlier version of this paper was presented as the Asia Pacific Viewpoint Lecture at the International Geographical Union Regional Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 3-7 July 2006. I would like to thank Asia Pacific Viewpoint and the editor, Warwick Murray, for inviting and funding me to deliver the lecture. Conference participants also offered some useful comments. The paper was subsequently revised and reworked while I was a Visiting Researcher at the International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development (ICSEAD), Kitakyushu, Japan, 10 July to 9 September 2006. I am very grateful to ICSEAD for its generous Visiting Researcher scheme and ICSEAD colleagues for their comments on an earlier version of this paper that was presented at an ICSEAD public seminar and appeared as an ICSEAD Working Paper (No.2006-16). Further helpful comments from anonymous reviewers are much appreciated. The NUS Academic Research Fund (R-109-000-050-112) supports the research project underpinning this paper. I am grateful to all corporate and institutional interviewees for their generosity and helpfulness...
Words: 14480 - Pages: 58
