Case II-13: Intel Corporation Strategy for the 1990s Is Intel still a technology leader? How well do the three corporate macro strategies outlined in the case serve to guide Intel through the 1990s? INTEL'S STRATEGY Intel's strategy in 1990 is to be the architectural leader in microprocessors, a proprietary, high profit margin business. This implies an emphasis on design skills and the ability to implement design architectures. They also want to continue as the leader in transistor density. This implies the continued importance of process technology skills associated with "line width reduction". Intel wants to be a world class manufacturer. This is particularly important because their corporate strategy is to be the sole source supplier of microprocessors to OEM PC makers. Customers will be locked into one supplier, so it is essential their manufacturing capacity and capability support this strategy. RATIONALIZING TECHOLOGY STRATEGY WITH CHANGING INDUSTRY DYNAMICS There are three key Intel managers discussed in the case. While each appears to represent a significantly different viewpoint, a more detailed analysis uncovers common threads in their logic and an evolution in the strategic position of the company. Chou argues that Intel does not need to have a high volume product to continue learning and remain a technological leader. He argues that learning is "time and engineering constricted, not number of wafers constrained". In his view, enhanced learning techniques can take the place of "brute force" techniques of volume production. Chou's position contradicts the traditional learning model in which cost reduction is related to cumulative volume. This was the learning model used at Intel prior to its exit ... ... middle of paper ... ... Is Intel's strategy for these products sound? Is it consistent? (example: Intel exited the DRAM business when it changed to a commodity business. What is different now that makes EPROM, a commodity product, attractive? Since they appear to be the current strategy, what is the nature of EPROM and FLASH from a business perspective? How well do they fit Intel's strategy Final thoughts notice that I kept the discussion a non-technical as possible, focusing instead on business and strategic issues. I also provided a minimum of financial information and only when it supports my discussion. I've tried to think each major issue through, making logical connections between different facts as well as making some logical assumptions. Using this example in conjunction with the guidelines I've already provided should equip you to do well on the case study assignments.
After conducting a basic 10 year financial analysis of the company, it has become evident that even with a highly competitive market structure they are able to improve on their performance. Ranging from 2004 to 2013 financial information, the company has shown a significant increase in their sales revenue roughly $3865 million sales in 2004 to almost four time that valuing $12970 million in 2013, which was an “increase of 10.4% over the 53 week prior year” The company’s growth strategy has been to diversify its product market and make them...
The Hefty Hardware case study presents multiple critical issues that will impact both short-term and long-term growth and development of the company. The first issue is the communication gap and lack of integration between stakeholders in business and the Information Technology division. The second critical issue is the lack of shared knowledge and each department working on projects in essentially silos. The third critical issue is internal company politics driving the executive-level decision making process. Solutions to the above issues will need to be addressed with utmost urgency to ensure Hefty Hardware’s foothold in the marketplace.
Capital requirements to set up an assembly line to produce PC's are also relatively low, estimated at roughly a million dollars (Rivkin & Porter,1999 pg. 5) which means that virtually any firm can enter the market easily. Despite sky rocketing demands for PC's, PC producers are unable to capitalize due to increasing number of competitors. The PC industry is also affected by environmental turbulence due to price fluctuations of its components. Constant innovation in PC technology causes older components to be rendered obsolete and prices of older versions to plummet. PC producers who are stuck with inventory of obsolete products incur high costs of dumping these components.
Clearly Polycom’s success does not just stem from quality products and services, but also from the employees who are in the trenches every day; creating new products, increasing productivity, maintaining and increasing customer satisfaction, excellent customer service, etc. Foresight, innovation, and strategic planning are a daily routine to keep the company a successful competitor in the market. It is without a doubt that Polycom needs qualified leadership. High caliber leadership/management is vital to successfully run a global enterprise of this statute. Constant re-organization and product structure changes are necessary to adapt to current and future consumer demands. I interviewed one of the leading managers at Polycom to find out what it takes to keep the machine rolling and what the typical duties of a manager entail.
During the 1990s, each company experienced specific difficulties to their market share. Both companies struggled to reestablish themselves in the global consumer electronics world. As the year 2000 came around, new CEOs at both companies came up with even more complicated initiatives and reorganizations. Outsiders wondered how each company’s internal changes would affect their endless competitive battle in the industry.
PC industry is affected by two opposite forces: technological advance that pushes the industry forward and the industry sensitivity to economical stagnation (if the economical situation is bad customers won't upgrade their computers).
Should Dell continue with its current strategy of following the consumer market down in price and adjusting its costs accordingly or, like IBM, should it change its focus to more profitable business services, or, like HP, should it do both?
2: Finkle, Todd A., and Michael L. Mallin. "Steve Jobs and Apple, Inc." Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies 16.8 (2010): 49+. General OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.
...cing crystalline silicon and vertically integrate their manufacturing process, therefore further weakening the bargaining power of suppliers.
O'Grady, J.D. (2008). Recent Titles in Corporations That Changed the World. In Apple Inc... Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. Retrieved from http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/reader.aspx?isbn=9780313362453&id=GR6244-4
According to the casing study, Intel’s “Rebates” and Other Ways It “Helped” Customers Intel paid customer huge pay. As the dominating company, they purposely paid other companies not to use ADM products. They paid Dell 6 billion dollars over a 5 year period (Velasquez, 2014). In addition, they knew ADM would not be able to compete with them: they took advantage of their size and used their rebate program to try and ADM from advancing in the x86 processor industry. In addition, Intel’s monolply-like behavior is displayed in the terms of quality. They did not care about customers wanting the reliable x86 processors, they wanted to monopolize the market with their product, and would pay a huge amount of money to achieve their
In 2010, because of its innovation strategy and acquisitions, Lenovo became one of the world’s largest PC producers by having achieved a considerable market share (Lenovo 2013b).
A processor is the chip inside a computer which carries out of the functions of the computer at various speeds. There are many processors on the market today. The two most well known companies that make processors are Intel and AMD. Intel produces the Pentium chip, with the most recent version of the Pentium chip being the Pentium 3. Intel also produces the Celeron processor (Intel processors). AMD produces the Athlon processor and the Duron processor (AMD presents).
Management Efficiency: During the 80s, the company’s refocus to manufacturing quality and technical leadership and profits reinvestments in R&D, state-of-the-art manufacturing, and supply chain activities helped the company to grow in a great extend. This management vision was not only upgraded the company’s products to compete in the high-tech electronics industry but also gave foundations of its global brand awareness.
The computer has progressed in many ways, but the most important improvement is the speed and operating capabilities. It was only around 6 years ago when a 386 DX2 processor was the fastest and most powerful CPU in the market. This processor could do a plethora of small tasks and still not be working to hard. Around 2-3 years ago, the Pentium came out, paving the way for new and faster computers. Intel was the most proficient in this area and came out with a range of processors from 66 MHz-166 Mhz. These processors are also now starting to become obsolete. Todays computers come equipped with 400-600 Mhz processors that can multi-task at an alarming rate. Intel has just started the release phase of it’s new Pentium III-800MHz processor. Glenn Henry is