Case Study Objectives and Discussion Questions
Case Study Objectives and Discussion Questions
Week 5 Case 6: Dell Inc. in 2008 [Objectives] Provides sufficient information for students to complete a thorough SWOT analysis and to develop a solid list of key success factors and driving forces [Discussion questions]
1. What is your evaluation of Michael Dell’s performance in his roles as Dell’s CEO and Chairman? How well has he performed the five tasks of crafting and executing strategy that were discussed in Chapter 2?
2. What are the elements of Dell’s strategy? Which one of the five generic competitive strategies is Dell employing? How well do the different pieces of Dell’s strategy fit together? In what ways is Dell’s strategy evolving?
3. Does Dell’s expansion into other IT products and services make good strategic sense? Why or why not?
4. Is Dell’s strategy working? What is your assessment of the financial performance that Dell’s strategy has delivered during fiscal years 2000-2008? Use the financial ratios presented in Table 4.1 of Chapter 4 (pages 104-105) as a basis for doing your calculations and drawing conclusions about Dell’s performance.
5. What does a SWOT analysis reveal about the attractiveness of Dell’s situation in 2008?
6. Which company is competitively stronger—Dell or Hewlett-Packard? Use the weighted competitive strength assessment methodology shown in Table 4.4 of Chapter 4 to support your answer.
7. In what respects, if any, is Hewlett-Packard’s strategy in PCs more appealing or better than Dell’s strategy?
8. What issues and problems does Michael Dell need to address?
9. 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? ·
Week 6 Case 14 Google’s Strategy in 2008 [Objectives] Help students to integrate industry and business level analyses. Conduct an industry level analysis as well as a
Week 5 Case 6: Dell Inc. in 2008 [Objectives] Provides sufficient information for students to complete a thorough SWOT analysis and to develop a solid list of key success factors and driving forces [Discussion questions]
1. What is your evaluation of Michael Dell’s performance in his roles as Dell’s CEO and Chairman? How well has he performed the five tasks of crafting and executing strategy that were discussed in Chapter 2?
2. What are the elements of Dell’s strategy? Which one of the five generic competitive strategies is Dell employing? How well do the different pieces of Dell’s strategy fit together? In what ways is Dell’s strategy evolving?
3. Does Dell’s expansion into other IT products and services make good strategic sense? Why or why not?
4. Is Dell’s strategy working? What is your assessment of the financial performance that Dell’s strategy has delivered during fiscal years 2000-2008? Use the financial ratios presented in Table 4.1 of Chapter 4 (pages 104-105) as a basis for doing your calculations and drawing conclusions about Dell’s performance.
5. What does a SWOT analysis reveal about the attractiveness of Dell’s situation in 2008?
6. Which company is competitively stronger—Dell or Hewlett-Packard? Use the weighted competitive strength assessment methodology shown in Table 4.4 of Chapter 4 to support your answer.
7. In what respects, if any, is Hewlett-Packard’s strategy in PCs more appealing or better than Dell’s strategy?
8. What issues and problems does Michael Dell need to address?
9. 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? ·
Week 6 Case 14 Google’s Strategy in 2008 [Objectives] Help students to integrate industry and business level analyses. Conduct an industry level analysis as well as a