Personal Computer and Dell Essay

Synopsis: In 1984 Dell Inc. was founded by University of Texas freshmen, Michael Dell. Dell would buy computers from the excess inventory of local retailers and revamp them to sell out of his trunk. Dell was able to sell his computers at 10%-15% below retail price. After Dell’s freshmen year he dropped out to run his business full time. By 1995 Dell had sales of nearly $3. 5 billion and was one of the top five PC vendors in the world. Dell focused on customer support and service and became the master of process engineering and supply chain management. Dell has faced many challenges including distribution through US retail stores, management changes, and keeping up with its competitors. Since consumers aren’t willing to pay huge amounts of money for computers unless they were unique, Dell is at a crossroads. Which road Dell chooses to follow will determine its future. Resources: Dell Inc. ’s most valuable resource has been Michael Dell and its ability to sell computers at 10-15% below market value. Another huge resource is the executive team that Dell formed for guidance. Capabilities: Dell’s capability at producing products at a lower cost to its consumers is key. By adding services such as laptops, software/peripherals, servers/networking, services, and storage Dell expanded its capabilities. With the added services Dell can keep pace with its competitors. Core Competencies: Dell’s core competencies are the ability to offer quality products at cheaper prices, personalized orders, and the ability to keep their inventory relatively low. These competencies have helped Dell become a leader in the computer industry. Finding of Fact: Dell is currently at a crossroads; the company’s margins aren’t in a favorable position for the company. In 2010 yes their net income rose, but was still only 2. 91% of net revenue. Dell’s consumers are no longer willing to pay top dollar for a computer, unless it was unique. Competitors are selling laptops for around $300. Tablets have pushed Dell’s laptop sales down as well. Many more competitors have stepped into the industry since Dell first was founded. Dell also spends about 1% of its sales on research and development, while other companies spend about 5%. Justified Recommendation: Dell should invest more of its money into research and development for its products. Technology is constantly changing and for Dell to stay ahead or at least at the same pace, research and development is a must. I’m not saying Dell needs to go out and hire some new employees for this team. Dell could use members from each of its sections to help brainstorm and come up with new and innovative ideas. Innovative employees are invaluable to a company. Dell’s management should perform environmental scanning both internally and externally to find Dells SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Once SWOT is determined management could strategically figure out how to move forward. Environmental scanning shouldn’t be done just when a company finds it has â€Å"hit a bump in the road†, but periodically to keep the company innovative and make sure it is on the correct path. Dell should also perform an industry analysis. This analysis will review potential entrants, buyers, substitutes, suppliers, other stakeholders, and competitors. By completing the analysis a company can determine the high and low forces against the company. The low forces could be turned into a possible opportunity or based on the analysis results, the company could switch strategies.

Developing and assessing employees Essay

â€Å"Success in a business requires discipline, training and hard work. But if you aren’t frightened by these things, opportunities are just as great today as they were.† David Rockefeller (US banker, 1915-present) As a human resource manager in an Interior Designing Company, Venture Interiors, I will be tackling training and development, and performance management in the company. Before I go any further, let me explain what I mean by training and employee development. Training is the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills, which can be applied to a particular job. In Venture Interiors, employees have the basic interior designing skills, however due to technological development, employees constantly require new and higher levels of skills. In the past, we used to sit down with a paper and pen to draw up our designs, beginning with sketches to the final piece of work, this was not simple and took days because it required a lot of calculations and erasing and sometimes a simple blunder like a miscalculation, would mean starting all over again, I mean work that has taken you days to complete, you can imagine how tiring and frustrating and time consuming this is. But thanks to Computer Aided Designing Programs such as AutoCAD, designing is much easier, accurate and faster, you as the designer need only to come up with the ideas, and the rest of the work like drawing, editing, calculations, adjustments and even suggestions are done by the computer and this concept extends beyond designing into other areas such as digital advertisements, use of business software, on-line training etc. However the employees need to be trained how to use these programs and these programs also keep updating, for example at the moment AutoCAD 2004 is on the market and if the company wants to upgrade, we will need to train our employees. It is therefore very essential for the efficiency and the competitiveness of our business to update our employees’ skills by drawing out training programs and employee development according to each employee’s potential. Read more:  Employee Training and Development Articles Employee development refers to a course of action designed to enable the individual to realise his or her potential for growth in the organisation; in other words we are not training employees for now, but for the future. For example, recently I promoted some employees in an internal recruitment scheme; these employees had undergone sufficient training for their prospective jobs over the last period of years they had served this company thus making them eligible for the new job positions. In order to develop an effective training program, it is vital for the human resource planner to draw up a need analysis, that is, what aims and objectives the organisation is trying to achieve from these programs, and what specific knowledge, skills and attitudes employees need to acquire in order to achieve these objectives, which skills are hot in the marketplace and identify which training route would be the best to achieve these objectives. For example, if I would like a staff member to develop his painting skills, I am not going to send him off for an IT course, I must choose a suitable training course like airless and conventional spray painting and decorative training. There are various types of training, which are broadly categorised into two; off the job training and on the job training. Off the job training is the kind of training where employees attain external courses. Members of staff are sent off elsewhere to receive training for days or even months. These could be commercial training courses or seminars. In Venture Interiors, we try to limit external courses to the staff members with the most potential because they are usually very expensive. Depending on the course, the overall cost could prove quite expensive for example; many courses may require an overnight stay at a hotel if the course is outside the area or the course itself may prove to be expensive due to the level of expertise or equipment needed to deliver the course. Sending employees to a training programme for one, two or even more days sometimes leads to shortage of labour, especially in the peak seasons causing loss of production within the company. On the other hand, off the job training is beneficial to the company in that external courses are sources of the latest information, current trends, skills and techniques for example current computer software or computerised technologies, decorative and photography skills, innovative administrative procedures etc. These new skills are brought back and utilised within the company. Employees sent to a course feel more valued as they realize that they are receiving quality training thus motivating them. ‘On the job’ training is the kind of training whereby members of staff acquire internal courses at their places of work. Employees are trained by experienced members of staff or external trainers; some companies such as ours, have even gone ahead to hire professional trainers. We decided on hiring professional trainers because we believe teaching or training is a specialisation in itself, so unless the person training has the skills and knowledge to train, this would mean that the training would not be done to a sufficient standard. According to the annual report by the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) in England, as much as 60% of on the job training available is inadequate. We interviewed our trainees and one of the profound reasons turned out to be that some employees are distracted by the pressures at work making it difficult for them to focus on their training. However, on the job training has turned out to be cost effective and productive, as the employees are still working as they are learning; the company also does not have to cover costs such as accommodation in hotels. As training progresses, employees begin to feel more confident, this confidence allows them to work at higher standards and be more productive. Induction is an example of on the job training whereby employers try to make new staff feel welcome, ensuring that they understand the work and the vision of the organisation, where and who they will be working with and for, and the various operations of the organisation. In the course of their employment, staff members are exposed to various kinds of training and development in order to update their skills and develop their potential. These forms of training and development include seminars, workshops, job rotation and enrichment, coaching, encouraging employees to go for advanced qualifications and so on and so forth. As a company, we need to evaluate the effectiveness of these training programs to ensure that these programs have been beneficial not only to the employees but to Venture Interiors as a company. This is quite a task because training courses do not have a system of assessment or standardisation, which can guarantee learning, has been achieved to a specific standard. However, right from the beginning we had specific aims we were trying to achieve, for example some staff members needed painting and decorating skills, have these skills been improved, how has it affected their job performance, has it affected their attitudes positively, has it given them more self confidence and motivation, what do they think about the training they received, do they think they have benefited from it? Usage of tests could also be very helpful in the evaluation. The information acquired from this evaluation is very useful to the human resource manager as it could be of help in providing ideas of how to increase the effectiveness of current or later training and development activities. Nowadays it is also essential to carryout appraisals regularly in the company. Before I go any further, what are appraisals? Appraisals are sessions held between the employers and the employees to ensure they are on the right track at work and are clear on what they need to do going forward. In Venture Interiors, appraisals are carried out every four months. The employees are appraised by their fellow colleagues, supervisors, managers and clients. The appraiser sits down with the appraisee, and exchange their opinions. The appraiser makes sure they highlight the successes as well as the areas of improvement, praise the employee where it is necessary, where there is need for training and development propose something. Appraisals are not only beneficial to the company but to the employee too. The employee maybe motivated and this will benefit the company in the long run. Motivation is a very important aspect. Job satisfaction is often a strong motivator in work performance, as satisfied employees will go the extra mile and this is what our company needs. Rewards such as salaries apart, there are other ways of helping employees feel satisfied by their jobs. Venture Interiors is an interior designing company, therefore we are employing designers and artists, artists love creativity, and in order to motivate them, we encourage our employees to be creative in their work and prevent boredom, rotate tasks so that their work is challenging, appreciate ideas and suggestions the employees and even reward them for the initiatives. This way we have been able to motivate our staff and this has not only benefited them but venture Interiors as a company.

Critique a Research Article Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Critique a Article - Research Paper Example In addition, to make sure that victims take part more in physical exercises to progress their own health. The aim of this study is related to the importance of improving mobility of groups with MS. The author wants to make people with chronic body conditions to change their perceptions about physical activity, which is based on past studies that discouraged them from some activities. The author outlines some disadvantages of physical inactiveness. The researchers used direct and semi-structured interviews by means of open-ended questions in conjunction with prearranged ones. While the researchers did not spell out the type of research approach they used, all indicators show that the study was based upon a phenomenology model because it openly studies structures of insight as experienced by clients who responded. In this study, the people who were interviewed were patients who had just received medical intercession to stop their state of multiple sclerosis, with the most important int ention of the study being the adjustment of their insight to contribute more in physical activity. The author challenges the previous studies that discouraged physical activity among MS victims. The authors offered an equipped explanation to enable the person who reads to be aware of the subject matter being looked into in the research paper. The author draws information from the past publications for example basing their point of view on the outcome of the hypothetical novel physiotherapy intervention also called Blue prescription as a technique of advancing patient involvement in physical activity, the researchers supported their objectives with convincing and pertinent secondary sources numbering 38, pinched from just about the world. Many of the sources that they applied contained up to date information, but a petite number of them were in print more than ten years ago. On

Management and Leadership Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management and Leadership Paper - Essay Example Each of these aspects brings complexity to the leadership process. The findings presented in the paper provide discussion of leadership and management within Microsoft organization. Researched applied for the company reflects findings in the organizational culture of Microsoft, leaders' attempts to attempt to meet the retention and productivity challenges facing the company today as well as emphasize the role that organizational managers and leaders play in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture A primary activity of any type of leader within Microsoft involves motivating and reinforcing others to encourage superior performance (Chee et al., 2001). Following the theories of motivation, managers encourage employees to tie important outcomes to desired behaviors. Thus, whether managers endorse some variant of expectancy theory or reinforcement theory, the message is clear: to sustain motivation, leaders must demonstrate to employees a close link between performance and rewards. When speaking about leadership within Microsoft, it is needed to say that a highly authoritarian, control-oriented executive is likely to centralize the organization. The development of many rules and regulations and manuals also reinforces control, and so they are likely to be present. On the other hand, a participative leader delegates many of the decisions and may even be less likely to demand the development of uniform handbooks. Consequently, the style and personality of the leader are likely to be at least partly reflected in the structure of the organization. It is important to note the reverse relationship: The structure of a firm is one of the factors that influences the choice of leader. Microsoft organization is very informal and decentralized is likely to consciously or unconsciously recruit and select CEOs who have similar philosophies. The company has a leader whose style is known to mirror that of company's founder. The same firm is highly unlikely to select a hands-off manager unless a major crisis occurs, requiring a major shakeup (Microsoft Corporation Annual Report). Microsoft leaders are known for their attributes of high intelligence, their desire to dominate competitors, and their high technical competence. Microsoft business results revolve around moving to the Internet and maintaining software ubiquity. So the integration of Microsoft leadership attributes and business results might create a leadership brand statement such as: "Microsoft leaders embody high intelligence, a desire to win in every industry, as well as superior technical competence so that we can successfully transition to become a dominant Internet player while maintaining our presence in every software market." (Balthazard, Cooke 2004) Organizational culture of Microsoft can be referred to as a cultural web which is a useful tool when considering the cultural context for its business. Culture generally tends to consist of layers of values, beliefs and taken for-granted actions and ways of doing business within and outside the company. Therefore, the concept of cultural web is the representation of these actions taken for granted for understanding how they connect and influence the

Mistaking africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mistaking africa - Essay Example It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the critical concern of cultural bias is quite discriminative in nature (Flanagan 153). With this concern, this paper intends to provide a comprehensive understanding about own cultural biases towards Africa through reading the text i.e. Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’. DISCUSSION The book of Curtis A. Keim i.e. ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ has portrayed certain significant ideas and perceptions that have broadly influenced or imposed extensive impacts especially upon social along with cultural aspects of Africa. This particular book provides a general idea about the existence of cultural biasness within the nation of Africa. According to the findings of the aforesaid book, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that an individual can acquire a valuable idea about diverse aspects such as the use and the misuse o f stereotypes, racism, exploitation and various other sorts of cultural aspects. The author in this book revealed that for several Americans, the nation i.e. Africa appears to be the indication of various surroundings i.e. dense jungles, safaris, strangely dressed tribesmen and ferocious animals. It is worth mentioning that Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ mainly concentrates upon conducting historical evolution and addressing the most widespread preconceptions along with myths concerning dissimilar cultures and people belonging to Africa (Keim 101-170). In order to present my own notions regarding cultural biases towards Africa through reading the abovementioned book of Keim, certain significant aspects need to be taken into concern and discussed broadly. In this similar context, it can be observed in Keim’s text that a huge majority of Americans considered the facets of exploitation and racism against A frica to be quite acceptable. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the Americans did enslave Africans and maintain segregation along with slavery system, though they by no means ruled colonies in Africa. According to my own perception, as the Americans did enslave the Africans, it can be stated that there laid the existence of cultural biasness within the nation by a significant level. Moreover, apart from enslaving the Africans, the treatment of the Africans as inferiors by the Americans also demonstrates the prevalence of cultural biasness within the nation at large. There also lay certain other significant evidences that have eventually developed my perception towards recognizing the prevalence of cultural biasness in the region of Africa. One of the evidences can be apparently observed in the readings of Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’. This particular evidence which proves to be quiet effe ctive in determining the existence of cultural biasness in Africa can be related with the notion of prejudice. With reference to the reading i.e. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’, it can be revealed that with every passing decade, Americans are incessantly treating Africans with less prejudice. Though the nation i.e. Africa is growing to play an imperative role in developing worldwide economy because of its huge size, greater amount of population and accessibility of vast resources,

Anotated bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Anotated bibliography - Essay Example stions and how does someone or something get this popular and how does it disseminate globally and what about underdeveloped cultures and I want to look at how popular culture spreads and find a definition The article by author discusses how pop culture is spread in society through college classes used in curriculum primarily in the departments of social science course and humanities in the 1950s. Pop culture classes offered now and later, pop culture not only used of theorists but also became a part of English in mode of pop literature where certain types of popular books were being read by students and . students enjoyed this type of literature and it appealed to instructors because of it was liked that the literature at this level was â€Å"less rigorous† and more interesting to them students in classes. Pop is customarily used in the classroom as part of culture studies and how it is spread because many citizens even use pop culture for methods of creation criticisms. Some of the topics or themes including people, places or things that exist in pop culture are topics that are commonly heard of and then the students in classes c relate better to them and think about the topics that they exposed to in order to rip it apart about it. This then allows students a basis for which to compare thoughts about it. The author attempts to discuss the origin of popular culture and how it crawls across a certain area. His explanation somewhat follows the guide lines that which while some areas were becoming more populated, it was easier for information to spread and therefore, if one person started reading a book, then they could easily pass it on to their buddy friend and share it. Some of the earliest points of the intro of pop culture can be in found when Shakesphere literature started to become popular among different societies and society groups of smaller sizes. Author also discusses who folk culture survived, being passed down through

Nanotechnology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nanotechnology - Research Paper Example Since it is a relatively new field, it is crucial to examine its various applications and challenges, as well as ethical issues surrounding it, which is the goal of this essay. Nanotechnology has its roots in the 1980s and was the result of the convergence of experimental advances that include the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope and the discovery of fullerenes, after which the goals of nanotechnology were created in 1986 with the publication of the book â€Å"Engines of Creation† (Nanotechnology 27). A scanning electron microscope image of the silver nanowires in which the cotton is dipped during the process of constructing a filter; moreover, the large fibers are cotton, Credit: Yi Cui, Stanford University (Roberts 12) Bucicminsterfullerene also known as the buckyball is a representative member of the carbon structures known as fullerenes (Nanotechnology 27). The tunneling microscope was crucial due to its use in imaging surfaces at an atomic level. From the publication of the objectives of nanotechnology, other scientists developed and popularized the concept of nanotechnology and developed other fields of nanotechnology, such as molecular nanotechnology, from where the field grew into a controversial sector of science and technology with talk of its implications and feasibility, as well as its application. This has made nanoscience a technology with a large variety of application in the daily life of humans and diverse benefits. However, the application comes with its own risks that shall be discussed in the ethical part of this paper covering the ethics of applying nanotechnology. In the field of medicine, nanotechnology is applied for its health benefits in the human body functions. This is especially so in cases where it is used in research to develop improved delivery systems with lower drug toxicity. Nanotechnology allows for advanced research and strategies that