Shelly Jimenez
Summary: Intel Case Study
January 30, 2011

This case chronicles the rise of Intel Corporation from a small entrepreneurship to a multibillion dollar enterprise that has been a household name in the technology industry. The company started, and was very successful, at creating memory for technology but then in 1984 was forced to change it strategy to microprocessors due to a shift in market share. This, as it turns out, was one of the best decisions made by the leaders of the Intel Corporation and made the company what it is today. In the early years, Intel was able to grab a large market share in the manufacture of memory chip because they were able to stay ahead of the market in providing quality memory chips to their customers well before their competitors. That was before the era of DRAM. DRAM provided a number of obstacles that held Intel back and allowed other U.S. companies to at least try to compete and Japan forged well ahead of Intel. The Japanese had better access to capital via bank loans and a number of strategic business relationships that kept them well ahead of Intel with the DRAM technology. At this point Intel realized that they had to put less focus onto trying to surpass the Japanese and more focus into providing their investors with profits they had seen in earlier years. Although Intel had microprocessor technology in the seventy’s it was not until the early eighty’s that they realized how useful this technology would be In the early eighties Intel’s corporate leaders realized there was no way they could be successfully competitive with DRAM and decided to move on to the PC industry. Up until this point microprocessors were primarily used in calculators and as components in industrial controls but Intel saw the potential to move it into more useable technology. Intel was able to sustain a competitive advantage for a number of years due to patents and strategic partnerships with companies such as Microsoft and also through product branding by releasing the “Intel Inside” advertising campaign that made the Intel name a recognizable name in quality computer technologies. As the competitive advantage started to slip Intel has moved onto to bigger and better innovations with hopes to corner a niche in wireless and internet applications. The key point in this case was the effectiveness of the Intel leadership in recognizing opportunity and knowing when to seize and opportunity and when to move on. At one point in the case Intel’s leaders posed the question “What would a new CEO due if he were brought in?” which effectively brought on change without a change in leadership. The move from memory to microprocessor, although brought on by a fall in market share, was one of the key decisions made by the leadership team. This was not the only key decision but it was the most important in the history of Intel. Another key factor, although less significant, was the ability of leaders to recognize key relationships in the industry. Intel effectively marketed its components to industry leaders in the PC realm. This case was a key lesson in effective leadership. This is the type of case that shows the qualities that a leader needs to possess to propel a company into profitability and keep it there even through adversity. This is the embodiment of what the course is designed to teach. The lessons I hope to carry on is to be open to all possibilities and not let the fear of failure stand in the way of strategic decisions. Sometimes a change of plan is what is needed to change a venture into total profitability. Leadership involves more than education, it involves having the ability to make strategic decisions even when it involves big changes. It also means not backing down when things are not going your way and making big decisions to turn profits around.