Different changes at Intel over the first three years of Barrett’s tenure
One of the changes that had happened during Barrett’s tenure was that he has increased the production capacity for Intel and had made it possible for the company to go further than producing PCs chips to manufacturing information and communication appliances as well as internet related services. After competition had increased form other companies such as Dell and Cisco, Intel under the stewardship of Barrett then decided to withdraw from new markets consequently withdrawing from the production of network servers and routers. This was because the two companies that were customers for Intel’s chips (Dell and Cisco) had started competing with Intel in other markets. Other changes with regard to cutting down on production and services by Intel were, the closing down of an e-commerce service for small businesses (I Cat), web broadcasting for shareholder meetings was also terminated as well as cutting back on web- surfing applications in other countries other than Spain.
Other changes that occurred in the first three years of Barrett were reorganizations in the company. Due to inadequate coordination and as a result of duplication where units in the same organization were competing against themselves, Barrett decided that it was necessary for there to be reorganization in the company. The first reorganization to take place was creating a new wireless unit that combined newly acquired assets such as DSP communications inc. that was a chipset supplier for digital communications with Intel’s flash memory operations. This change took place in the first year of Barrett’s tenure. Another reorganization change was the combination of development and manufacturing of core processors by creating the architecture group. This was done in the second year of Barrett’s tenure. In his third year, the architecture group was reorganized and anew unit that consisted of a merger of communications and networking operations was created. According to Barrett all these reorganizations were for the purpose of ensuring that the company decentralization and delegation which would enhance better decision making. Barrett also decided to invest in research and development where new production technologies that would cut the production costs of chips would be invented.
Environmental pressures for change that were experienced by Intel
Intel as one of the companies in the production of computer chips experienced several environmental pressures that would call for change. One of these environmental pressures was declining markets. In the year 2001 the national economy of the United States of America had greatly slowed down and therefore this would have a negative impact on Intel as it had on many other companies and institutions. This would therefore mean that big companies that had large markets would lose some share of their market as a result of the slowdown of the economy.
Another environmental pressure that had a negative impact on Intel was the looming war between the United States of America and Iraq. Any organization would not wish to do business in a country where there is no assurance of security. This therefore meant that Intel would lose its relationship with other business partners who were skeptical of the future security situation in the country.
High competition was also another environmental pressure that faced Intel at the time. Other companies such as Dell and Cisco had with no doubt become great rivals of Intel to an extent that Intel dissolved the relations it had with them. Another environmental pressure that faced Intel was corporate reputation. During his tenure Barrett aimed at changing the culture of the company form where it was seen as the only worthy competitor to a company that was aimed at achieving better customer relations. Improved customer relations would consequently give the organization good corporate reputation.
Internal organization pressure for change that were experienced by Intel
Intel during the time was experiencing certain internal organization pressures. One of the internal pressures that Intel was going through was delaying of products. This had a negative impact on the company as it meant that there was no just in time delivery which consequently meant that there were inconveniencies that were created and it affected the company’s customers. Delayed deliveries would therefore mean that the company lost some of its market where consumers decided to turn into other alternatives. The company was also faced with internal pressures of shortages where there were no sufficient products. This would be as a result of ineffective production which meant that the company was not able to supply in accordance with demand in the market. This therefore necessitated the production of products with regard to the quantities that were being demanded for in the market.
Intel was also faced with other internal pressures such as recalls. This was as a result of production inefficiency and ineffectiveness that led to manufacturing of products that did not meet the expected standards. This led to selling of products to the market that had quality concerns and later had to be recalled in order to address the concerns. Overpricing was also an internal pressure that faced Intel. This saw the company fix prices that were way too high as compared to the quality and function of the products that were being produced. Overpricing would mean that customers were not able to purchase Intel products and therefore the company lost some of its market share. All this internal pressures if not address would mean that the company was going to lose a huge share of its market.
Conclusions about why Barrett made changes
One of the reasons as to why Barrett made changes in the organization was for the purpose of increasing the market share of the company which would in turn improve the revenues of the organization. For the company to have increased its market share it needed to have good and improved customer relations and it is for this reason that Barrett created change in the company. Another reason as to why Barrett created change in the organization was so as to cohesiveness and improved working relations in the organization. Divisions had emerged and for the company to achieve its goals and objectives, it needed to all the energy of the units and departments in one direction as opposed to competing against each other. Diversification was also important so as to be able to tap into new markets. In order to achieve this, Barrett in his initial years decided to make some major decisions that saw the company venture into production of information and communication appliances as well as services that were related to the internet. Doing this increased the production capacity of the company.
Pressures of change that might face Barrett in the future
Being in the technology sector of computer related equipments, Barrett might be faced with certain pressures of change. This industry requires that companies should continuously produce new products that are of high standards. Barrett would therefore need to have his organization comprise of innovative employees who would develop products that would serve new purpose. Failure to do so would result to losing the market share as competitors are always working hard to ensure they capture the largest market share. Another pressure that would always face Intel is the production of high quality products. Production of substandard products would have a negative effect on the organization and issues such as reduced customer loyalty would arise.This assessment has been arrived at since in the information and technology sector quality and innovation can never be over emphasized. It is up to the players in the sector to up their game or face the risk of being irrelevant in the industry.
How to Barrett would cope with the pressures
In order for Barrett and Intel to address the pressures of change, Intel would require forming a strong research and development team. This would serve the purpose of providing new information with regard to production of products that possessed high capabilities and that would serve the consumers in an effective and efficient manner. The team must be comprised of members that are creative and innovative.The organization would also need to have a strong production and technical team that was competent enough in their duties. They would also need up to date machinery and equipment which would be used in developing the products of the company.