Assignment 1: Dell Computer Corporation Case.

Juan Sebastian Ramirez Vargas Stephen Cheung Bachelor of Business Administration Corporate Communications

2012-09-12

1) This are some of the most relevant strengths and weaknesses, I found out on the Dell corporate communication structure. A. Strenghts: Email-Based Culture for all types of Communication Direct Communication Coorporate communication Representant in each of the sectors of the Company, disregarding the location. Communication providing facilities for marketing purposes. High company reputation among their field. Loose Matrix Coorporate communication structure. Rapid Response Communication system B. Weaknesses: Lack of Face to face Communication when needed. MIssleading Coorporate Mission Constant layoffs on the Corporate communication sector, and others. The frequent cost reduction forbids innovation, development, and planning in most of the cases, being this one of the main cause for most of the company issues. 2) As the Vice-President of corporate communication at Dell, Elizabeth Allen will assume many challenges, due to the importance of a leading-Corporate communication program by the Company. Dells total revenue, has been affected noticeably. Acording to the comments made by the President & COO of Sony, this issue is caused mainly by the lack on investment on research and development by Dell Computer Corporation. To maintain its position as the Low cost provider, Dell was constantly forced to apply notorious cut-costs annually, and reduction of the workforce periodically as well. In order to continue Leading the company industry, with Michael Dells business ideals the company was forced to work on those issues, by changing the way this sectors operate. Dell should first invest more of its revenue capital on R&D, at least up to the point that they equal or surpass the investments of its main competitors. This, due to the fact that and investment on R&D department is the way of information companies such as dell to create new products that manage costumer needs well. One of the ways to promote high R&D results without investing considerable amounts, was developing joint-ventures with other companies in the field, to develop those innovative products. Even though dell develop joint-ventures, the percentage of investment was still to low, compared to other informatics companies. The operating cost of dell including R&D was set to a very low 10%. But this is not the only issue in the company. Corporate communication must be linked to a companys vision and strategy, otherwise it may have a negative image among the steakholders. The Company must improve its communications among its constituencies, because communication is an ongoing process by which information is paired between individuals.

In order to improve the communications at Dell, Elizabeth Allen, should first work slightly closer to the marketing communications department, and develop with it a new, stronger corporate mission, that reflects the companys goals. By doing so, and with todays constantly changing environment, A Clear-cut corporate mission not only keeps employees aligned with the companys striving, but also acts as a source of stability for consumers weary of the constant change surrounding them. If more focus was put into corporate communications and the development of the new polices and ideals that should be implemented by dell regarding the changes the environment is occurring, then dell would clarify and adjust the negative view that its constituencies may have developed from the company issues. But making all the changes on the corporate communication section of the company have to be very carefully managed, due to the reason that company must stay attached to its original corporate mission, and never stray with its foundation and believes. Other very important issue, corporate communication has to deal with is within its internal communication section. According to the case, Michael dell implemented on the company a very particular, but effective communication method within its company. Dell states that working on an Email, loose-matrix policy. Email was a very convenient way to communicate due to dells business structure. Dells Corporate communication team was organized based and costumer, products and geography. So with members spread all across the globe the best way to manage them was with email, to fight with issues such as time zones, locations, and clearer replies. But apart from being effective, this working method created various issues , as isolation between the workers, lack of face to face communication, and even higher risk of depression. Also could create missinformed workers, about situations, polices, etc occurring on the company at any moment. All this could be solved by implementing new methods of communications among the counterparts, such as face to face communication through meetings, team building activities, and company outings. Giving more emphasis on internal communication produces more productive, satisfied, engaged employees, and company relationships can be strengthened. The philosophy of dell focused of 5 main areas: Costumers Dell team Direct relationships Global citizenship Leadership among companys sector The challenge that Dell computer corporation has is to maintain a balance within this 5 areas. Dell must satisfy costumer needs, maintain the rapid-response policy with its steak-holders that has characterized dell through the years, implement the new communication policies, and last but not least, develop, and strengthen relationships with other parties, such as suppliers, management, external agencies, etc. 3) Senior management at Dell Computer corporation implemented a formal and structural approach to the communications among the team, by implementing complement ways to the existing communications, such as standing meetings and conference calls. These was on an effort to implement the way to communicate among the company, in the same way as dell was already applying it with other external agencies.

Corporate strategy at Dell, usually came from senior management, rather than a formal strategy process. Communication allowed the company implement new strategies, as essential parts of the actual execution process, in which the company could have an outstanding behavior. By working according to its strategy, even on crisis moments , Dell managed to handle all situations in a better way; by being in constant communication with its counterparts. It also allowed the company to develop a contingency plan that help It to execute accurate solutions to dell situations. Dell maintained and reinforced its overall strategy and business objectives, and emerged the crisis both from the consumer perspective, and the financial perspective. Dells four rapid-response systems are critical success factors for achieving the organizations results because they place all of the organizations stakeholders in realtime interactive communication relationships with each other. Dells four profiling activities are necessary communication processes for guiding communication content, so it is precisely adapted to all Dells stakeholders. The use of profiling and report cards makes sure that the content of interaction is focused on customer needs, product use, customer service issues, and value-chain performance targets. Without these processes, speed of response would lose its focus on improved organizational performance and goals. 4) As Dell CEO Michael Dell is working hard to position the company as more than just a PC- Vendor, willing to walk away from low-margin PC deals, The step to follow is the further investment on R&D department. The improved profitability and cash flow, should enable Dell to move forward with strategic investments I, in both hardware and software. They should invest at an annual run rate reaching the billion dollars margin, by acquiring patents, and further developing on Dells management strengths in order to differenciate from its competitors, and gain as much market share as the changes aloud them to. His investments would enhance Dells capability as an enterprise solutions provider with a focus on server, storage, networking, and security. Dells strategy should be move towards a upstream higher-end IT partnerships, in order to set a standard of product line in which it would pioneer the industry. This by being more innovative, and be more key partner in enterprise IT. According to studies that show Dells competitors R&D program expenses in relationship to the annual total revenue, Dell should at least spend 3% on R&D, in order to achieve the organization goals. In settling constituencies, during the implementation of the new planned practices in dell, communication sector in Dell should work along with all management processes, because is the external communication the only mean to present the ideas to the general public, giving them an idea of all the changes on the modus-operandi of the company, creating confidence on the company, and most importantly making investors and costumers more interested in the companies products, and services, and how they are changing the market by adding new technologies to their line-up.