...Dell’s Buyout Dell has always been one of the largest PC makers in the United States. Recently, though its share of the PC industry has been declining. It went from the number one low cost provider of PCs in the world to number 3. Its inability to adapt to the new markets that have emerged has caused the company to fall behind other hi-tech companies such as IBM, Apple, and even HP. I feel this is an important topic because it is an example of a large company that has lost touch with what consumers want and is currently trying to restructure itself in order to gain back the dominance they once had. Consequently, Michael Dell has announced his decision to attempt a leverage buyout in order to retain control of his company. Furthermore, throughout this paper, I will present the pros and cons of a leverage buyout and analyze the decision of Michael Dell to buy back his company. Jeff Sommer from The New York Times attempts to explain the situation in his article “The Dice are rolling on Dell’s Legacy” from the New York Times and goes into detail of the largest leveraged buyout that is taking place in the US since the financial crisis in 2008. Michael Dell founded his own tech company known as Dell in his dorm at the University of Texas in 1984. He revolutionized the PC industry when he created personal computers that were more powerful, reliable, and inexpensive whose features were able to be customized by the buyers (Sommer). Technology has evolved exponentially since then with...
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...w areHow companies are named? ABN AMRO- In the 1960s, the Nederlandse Handelmaatschappij (Dutch Trading Society; 1824) and the Twentsche Bank merged to form the Algemene Bank Nederland ( ABN; General Bank of the Netherlands). In 1966, the Amsterdamsche Bank and the Rotterdamsche Bank merged to form the Amro Bank. In 1991, ABNand Amro Bank merged to form ABN AMRO. Accenture- Accent on the Future. Greater-than 'accent' over the logo's t points forward towards the future. The name Accenture was proposed by a company employee in Norwayas part of a internal name finding process (BrandStorming). Prior to January 1, 2001 the company was called Andersen Consulting. Adidas- from the name of the founder Adolf (Adi) Dassler. Adobe- came from name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the houses of founders John Warnock and Chuck Geschke . AltaVista- Spanish for "high view". Amazon.com - Founder Jeff Bezos renamed the company to Amazon (from the earlier name of Cadabra.com) after the world's most voluminous river, the Amazon. He saw the potential for a larger volume of sales in an online bookstore as opposed to the then prevalent bookstores. (Alternative: It is said that Jeff Bezos named his book store Amazon simply to cash in on the popularity of Yahoo at the time. Yahoo listed entries alphabetically, and thus Amazon would always appear above its competitors in the relevant categories it was listed in.) AMD- Advanced Micro Devices. Apache- The name was chosen...
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...Product Development at DELL Since its founding in 1984, Dell corporation had enjoyed tremendous success in the desktop computer industry. Their strategy was to eliminate the middleman by directly servicing the customers through mail orders . Dell grew from obscurity to a fortune 500 company in 1992, making its founder Michael Dell one of the youngest highly successful entrepreneurs of his time. At the core of Dell’s business model was Spartanism which inspired informality in processes and low R&D costs allocation. This worked with their desktop business and their imitators such as Gateway 2000 and CompuAdd were always playing the catching-up game. However moving ahead this philosophy, their foray in to the portable computer business was not as successful. This was an industry that revolved around several technological breakthroughs and required higher workmanship & quality control to manufacture products. Here, Dell fell short of delivering quality portable computers. Their brand suffered a major setback when their first line of portables were reported to have technical problems and about 17,000 units had to be recalled just one day before the launch. Soon after, Dell’s percentage sales in portable computers went to 2% from 17%, and their stock plunged by $7 in a single day. The portable computer industry was growing fast [Exhibit 1] and was deemed to spark a new wave of consumer demand. The major problems staring Dell in face were regarding quality and management...
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...CASE: DELL COMPUTER’S STATE‐OF‐THE ART PRODUCTION CENTERS USING VENDOR MANAGED INVENTORY MODELS Michael Dell reshaped the computer industry with build‐to‐order computers directly sold to consumers. His business model positioned the company for emerging internet sales , with one of the highest sales figures in the industry. But Dell has done more than streamlined the selling and distribution process, he has also streamlined the manufacturing process as well. Dell can deliver the latest technology exactly the way the customer wants it at blinding speed, which has earned them the nickname of “Dellocity”. Examples of their speed are; they delivered eight customized fully loaded PowerEdge Servers to NASDAQ within 36 hours of receiving the order, or when they delivered 2,000 PCs and 4,000 servers with proprietary and multimedia software delivered and installed at 2,000 different WALMART stores all in 6 weeks. How does Dell manage to do all this at such incredible speeds ?? Through close customer contacts and carefully orchestrated manufacturing and distribution system. Dell manufactures its’ computer systems in 6 different locations‐ Texas, Tennessee, Brazil, Ireland, Malaysia, and China. Dell has recently added a new factory in Round Rock, Texas, called the OPTIPLEX Plant. This factory is state‐of‐the‐art and there are only a handful of such factories in the world. The OPTIPLEX is a showcase of networked manufacturing. The factory is 200...
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...Dell Inc., currently a US$60 billion company, was started by Michael Dell in 1984 when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Texas, in the United States. Within two decades, Dell, with headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, grew to become one of the world’s great computer companies, with near leading shares in the personal computer (PC) and server markets. Nearly 65 per cent of its revenue originated in North and South America; 23 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and 12 per cent in the Asia–Pacific region. In 2003, a year in which most computer makers lost money due to slumping global demand for PCs, Dell saw its annual revenues jump by US$5 billion to US$36 billion, made US$2.8 billion in operating profit, and gained 2.3 per cent in global market share. By this time Dell had gained, and held for five years, the position of market-share leader. However, during the mid to late 2000s, Dell’s position in the global PC market began to change. In 2005 it lost its market-share lead to one of its main rivals, Hewlett-Packard. By 2008–9, Dell’s second-place PC ranking came under threat from the Taiwanese computer maker Acer. In 2003, Acer had ranked seventh in PC sales around the world, but by 2008–9 Acer’s share of the global market had risen to 11.8 per cent, just behind Dell with 13.7 per cent and HP still on top with 19.6 per...
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...Krames (2003) is very enlightening an intuitive. Michael Dell according to Krames (2003) believes in the power of the customer, be it their positive or negative feedback, but especially in what the customer wants from a product (p. 56). Michael Dell birth a business model based solely on a one-on-one relationship with customers is the foundation of his company the Dell Corporation. Andy Grove’s model mandates protection or maximization of sales opportunities so to be prepared for all possibilities of success or failure which he based on Time magazine’s 1997 person of the year Andras Grof paranoid perspective (Only the paranoid survive) (Krames 2003, pp. 66-67). Business partner Moore’s metaphorically likened their organization to that of a three legged stool, if one leg is off balance so is the entire organization (Krames 2003, pp. 137-139). Lastly, Grove named the fear of an organization being on the brink of total failure as a “strategic inflection point” (SIP) which he describes as an organizations face-to-face with massive must change events even to a point of complete organizational failure (Krames, 2003, p. 141). Resistance Comparison Michael Dell organization encountered near death when the brilliance of his technical engineering team and himself put together a massive computer (The Olympic) that customers had no real need for, which in-turn caused a huge financial loss to the Dell corporation. Michael Dell went back to basics which involved customers from the beginning...
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...The Acer Group is one of the world's largest PC and computer component manufacturers. Associated Acer companies include the world's third largest PC manufacturer, and Acer's mobile computers, network servers and personal computers are ranked in the world's top ten most popular brands in their respective product categories. Acer is the market leader in many countries around the world, and is ranked in more than 30 countries globally owing to the strength of its core business. On the distribution side, in 2007 it is the world's No.4 PC branded PC vendor, number one in South East Asia, Latin America and Middle East, etc... Since spinning-off its manufacturing operation, Acer has focused on globally marketing its brand-name products: mobile and desktop PCs, servers and storage, LCD monitors and high-definition TVs, and handheld/navigational devices. Acer's unique Channel Business Model is instrumental to the company's continued success. The model encourages partners and suppliers to collaborate in a winning formula of supply-chain management, allowing Acer to provide customers with fresh technologies, competitive pricing, and quality service. Established in 1976, Acer Inc. employs 5,300 people supporting dealers and distributors in more than 100 countries. Estimated revenue for 2006 is US$11.31 billion (Acer Annual Report 2005). Stan Shih, the founder and chairman of the Acer group and widely regarded as a high-tech visionary, had a long term vision to transform the Group into a...
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...1. Acer's strategy has been described as "divide and conquer." Compare and contrast this to Lenovo's strategy. From the very beginning Acer has been a leading marketer of notebook and desktop PCs that were relabeled electronic products marketed and sold by recognized global companies. Acer struggled growing its business in the American market. To address this issue Acer spun off its manufacturing operations to transform from a global PC manufacturer to a marketing and services powerhouse by producing products faster, cheaper and more efficiently. The most effective way for Acer to grow was to engage in expanding its operations, marketing and selling activities to another market. In this case Acer decided to take the company globally and begin building a solid market in China. It's believed that if China becomes the company's "home" market, Acer will capture critical economies of scale that will allow it to develop innovative new products that will succeed in China as well as the rest of the world. Acer's chief technology officer, believes that Acer's knowledge of China's market will help the company achieve its growth and market share objectives. Acer implemented initiatives that placed them in a better position than Lenovo. At first Acer was suffering from poor brand recognition. Consumers were concerned about the quality and the reliability of its products. One of the ways that Acer overcame this obstacle was acquiring Gateway which created a path for Lenovo to their...
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...Business Analysis Business Analysis In this paper, an overall business analysis of Apple Inc. will discuss the company’s financial statements, the company’s financial health and how it compare to other companies in the industry and globalization and how it has affected the company’s business strategies. Lastly, a benchmarking analysis will be conducted in the following comparison with other companies in the same industry. Apple Inc. has the talents of Steven Jobs along with other top idealists. Having such talent clearly gives Apple the advantage over other competitors in this industry. The collaborative efforts of the leaders give Apple Inc. a clear strategic advantage. Apple main goal is to stay on top of its competition. In order to accomplish this goal, the employees have to spend long hours determining what the consumer’s want and how to design their products based on that outcome. A good example would be the development of the iPhone. The iPhone was derived from a display of information of the iPod. This included a bigger touch screen that helped in the development of the smart phone. This vision didn’t stop there; Jobs began to think in the future toward concepts of applications for the smart phone. Once it was realized that the iPhone was a personal computer, three years later Apple Inc. introduce the iPhone and its application system. According to (Bajarin, 2011) Apple raises the bar with every new generation of the iPhone. Apple’s new version of the iPad has stood...
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...Dell Company Today, I would like to talk about a famous computer company called Dell. I chose to write about Dell company because it has become one of the most successful corporation in the computer business. From the year 2000, Dell Computer has become the U.S. leader in personal computer sales and the second biggest one worldwide. Before I start on my presentation, I would like to ask a question: What has made Dell company set apart from most computer companies? My presentation will be focusing on answering this question. But, before I answer such a question, let me first give us a brief history of Dell Company. Firstly, looking at the background of Dell company. Dell Company was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell who was a college student at that time. Michael Dell started out his business by buying computer parts from the wholesale distributors, assembled them using IBM models, and sold these computers via mail at a high price. Then, Dell expanded rapidly and its growth move fast. Now, Dell employs more than 77,000 people around the world. Now, let me talk about the secret behind the great success of Dell company. Dell has followed two strategies, which no company has ever thought about. The first strategy is to sell computers directly to consumers. In this way, they eliminate the need for retailers to serve as middle-men. This process is known as a "direct business model". It has made Dell to grow...
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...1.Which company is competitively stronger—Dell or Hewlett-Packard? HP is still competitively stronger than Dell today in regards to overall sales. While Dell had been the industry leader in lean manufacturing approaches and cost-efficient build-to-order production methods in producing desktop PCs, it had fallen behind in producing laptop computers. The three elements in Dell’s business strategy included: entering the white-box pc segment, advertising, and continuously reducing costs. While these strategies have brought success to Dell, the Hewlett-Packard Company excelled in the printer market. Dell believed that HP was using its big margins on printer products to subsidize selling its PCs at prices comparable to Dell’s, even though Dell had costs that were about eight percent lower than HPs. Since the computer technology industry is constantly changing, the market leaders shift all the time. Currently Acer Inc. is close to taking over HP’s industry lead. 2.What actions and strategy changes would you recommend to Michael Dell to boost the company’s performance and its prospects for overtaking HP in global sales of PCs? Most of HP’s global market share in PCs and servers came from having the world’s biggest and most diverse network of distribution partners. The percentage of PCs and servers sold by its direct sales force and by its various channel partners varied by geographic region and country. The customer buying patterns and market conditions from these different...
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...Abstract Company Overview Michael Dell, who was a student at the University of Texas, decided to establish a computer company with a capital of only $1000. He was following the "direct model" concept where all the products were customized based on the orders and requests of the customers. It is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas but receives nearly half of its revenues from outside the United States. Dell offers produces and markets a wide range of technology products for the consumer, education, enterprise, and government sectors. In addition to a full line of desktop and notebook PCs, Dell offers network servers, data storage systems, printers, Ethernet switches, and peripherals such as displays and projectors. In addition to third-party software and many services such as asset recovery, financing, support and so on. Strategic analysis summary This case study analyzes Dell Company from a strategic perspective, which shows that Dell follows a differentiation Strategy. In the analysis of Internal and External factors; Dell has scored medium on both external and internal factors analysis with scores of (2.78) and (2.56) respectively. Showing good financial position compared to its competitors, the financial analysis revealed that the company was able to enhance and increase its market share and power after the recession especially after 2009. This study led us to recommend using the QSPM matrix. Dell has to be aware of the price war started by rivals in which...
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...February 11, 2013 Integrative thinking (guest speaker) (an introduction) What’s going on in the world of business last week? * Blackberry 10 came out * Michael Dell said he wanted to go private * If you buy all the shares, you can make all the decisions * Corporate debt is cheaper right now in any form of financing * UK: Mark Carney fit to become the new chair for the national bank of England How do successful leaders think? * GE (Jack Walsh) * rate of return: $400 billion * first, tell your biz to be really big; second, tell your biz to be really small * too big: too many subsidiaries; can’t use money efficiently * entrepreneurs: more innovated, focus more on growths Model: idealized representation of something; exists to explain something to us * we substitute our models for the original * our models become reality * models matter so much b/c we make our decisions on them; we act overly confidently on them * investors in a stock market think their decisions based on the model * ex: there were strong belief on mortgages, but most of mortgages were toxic * “ninja mortgages”: no income, not job/assets * models actually matter more with interpersonal relations * world naturally builds opposing models * an alternative approach: seek out opposing models; use it for the better consumer goods lives and thrives on new products * P&G not doing a good job ...
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...The technical approach for implementing Dell Mobile Precision the five key components: (1) system functionality, (2) system architecture (3) database structure, (4) user interface and (5) products. The system at hand will be implemented by rapidly approaching clients and soliciting and developing an avenue for user feedback. This will guarantee that user issues will be taking care of, the graphical user interface is tailored to user specifications. Functions of the system: Addressing any user issues User friendly interface Each user productivity and efficiency The system initial functions were developed as a first for Dell Mobile Precision. Our development team spend much time in developing a product that tailored directly to the user and this is what the users want for a while now and we’re the first company actually take the user feedback and implement and build a system that will help minimize any user issues and the interface is very user friendly. Other functional components: - Building a road map - Synchronizing data without a delay - Stay updated - System maintenance constantly perform - Easy to use e.g. input data It is necessary for the user to stay inform of any changes and this system can help a company maximize that by using the system capability of automatically send out updates to members, but this are updates that maybe the CEO brief the mangers on. The actual update will be sent to each member of the company on the date one chooses. Staying...
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...Dell Strategic Management Assignment/Case Study Solution Dell Strategic Management Assignment/Case Study. It reviews the organizational structure, vision, mission, SWOT, PESTEL Analysis, Strategic Group Map Competition and Product Positioning Map of Dell. This is a sample paper. If you like to order your own paper, please Click Here Introduction This report undergoes a strategic management overview of Dell, one of the leading PC vendors of the world with a unique operations model focusing on built to order and direct to consumer frameworks. The report begins with a comprehensive overview of the company’s operations, its hierarchy, location and principle of logistics. An understanding of the vision, mission and objectives allows for the strategic analysis to be put into context and perspective. Our first strategic analysis tool is the SWOT analysis followed by an internal and external factor analysis. This is accompanied by a TWOS matrix allowing the report to pin point specific strategies which may help the organization cash on its strength and opportunities to offset threats. An overview of the life cycle of the industry is followed by a PEST analysis. Understanding the political factors is critical and along with the location principles explained in the first section – allows us to pin point some strategic direction for the company. Similarly the economic, social and technological factors are discussed for the industry and the implications for Dell on a strategic level. A competitive...
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