GM13
Entrepreneurial Management
(For CNM Cases)
Assignment - I
Assignment Code: 2016GM13A1 Last Date of Submission: 30th April 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Section A
1. Do you agree that the most important elements of an entrepreneurial culture are; creativity and innovation, empowerment, strong relationship, continual learning and measured risk taking? Elaborate.
2. Describe the human resource management issues with which entrepreneurs have to deal with.
3. How will you conduct a feasibility study for the following :
(i) A good catering service
(ii) A book shop
4. What is franchising? Do you consider a ‘Franchisee’ to be a smart entrepreneur? Give some example of a successful franchising enterprise.
Section B
Case Study
Dell
Dell assembles computers. Originally assembled in the USA, they are now assembled also in Ireland, Malaysia, China and Brazil. However, from the start ,Michael Dell knew what the critical success factor for his business was. He used an expert to build prototype computers whilst he concentrated on finding cheap components. And the company still sources its components from around the world. Dell grew at an incredible pace, notching up sales to £3.7 million in the first nine months. The company pioneered direct marketing in the industry whereby systems are built to the customer's specifications after an order is placed, and then shipped directly to the customer. More lately, it has pioneered the development of integrated supply chain management, linking customers orders directly to its supply chain. At all the times it has focused clearly on a low-cost /low-price marketing strategy
'We built the company around a systematic process: give customers high-quality computers at a competitive price as quickly as possible, backed by great service.'
Each division in Dell is tasked to continuously improve efficiency and reduce costs, and workers undertake extensive training through its team-based Business Process Improvement programme. This is aimed at not only reinforcing the importance of cost reduction, but also putting in place processes and procedures that allow efficiency savings , giving the team control over implementing new ideas. As Dell says, 'Empower workers with the tools to make a difference and the innovation will follow.' Productivity at Dell, measured by the number of computers built per employee, has increased 240% in the last five years.
Dell was a pioneer of e-business. What makes Dell special today is its 'fully integrated value chain' - B2B2C. Suppliers, including small firms, have real-time access to information about customer orders and deliveries via the company's extra net. They organize supplies of hard drives, motherboards, modems etc. on a 'just-in-time' basis so as to keep the production line moving smoothly. From the parts being delivered to the orders being shipped out, takes just a few hours. Inventories are minimized and, what is more important, the cash is received from the customer before Dell pays its suppliers. These systems and processes are part of Dell's competitive advantage. They help keep Dell's costs low and allow it to build orders. In the 1990s, in order to protect this, the company started applying for patents, not for its products, but for different parts of its ordering, building and testing processes. It now holds over 80 such patents.
Dell has created a three-way 'information partnership' between itself and its customers and suppliers by treating them as collaborators, who together find ways of improving efficiency:
'The best way I know to establish and maintain a healthy, competitive culture is to partner with your people - through shared objectives and common strategies... Dell is very much a relationship orientated company how we communicate and partner with our employees and customers. But our commitment doesn't stop there. Our willingness and ability to partner to achieve our common goals is perhaps seen in its purest form in how we forge strong alliances with our suppliers. Early in Dell's history we had more than 140 different suppliers providing us with component parts. Today our rule is to keep it simple and have as few partners as possible. Fewer than 40 suppliers provide us with about 90 percent of our material needs. Closer partnerships with fewer suppliers is a great way to cut cost and further speed products to market.
Dell's market place is highly competitive. Dell prides itself on not only good marketing of quality products but, most importantly, speedy delivery of customized products - factors it believes are reflected in the Dell brand.
'The idea of building a business solely on cost or price was not a sustainable advantage. There would always be someone with something that was lower in price or cheaper to produce. What really important was sustaining loyalty among customers and employees, and that could be derived from having the highest level of service and very high performing products.'
Nevertheless, whilst Dell might not sell the cheapest computers in the market place, the price it asks must always be competitive and that means costs must be kept as low as possible.
Questions
a. How much of a generic product is a Dell computer?
b. What do you think of Dell's marketing strategy?
c. From what you know about the company, is Dell's competitive advantage based solely on its external architecture? What else might contribute to this?
Entrepreneurial Management
(For CNM Cases)
Assignment - I
Assignment Code: 2016GM13A1 Last Date of Submission: 30th April 2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Section A
1. Do you agree that the most important elements of an entrepreneurial culture are; creativity and innovation, empowerment, strong relationship, continual learning and measured risk taking? Elaborate.
2. Describe the human resource management issues with which entrepreneurs have to deal with.
3. How will you conduct a feasibility study for the following :
(i) A good catering service
(ii) A book shop
4. What is franchising? Do you consider a ‘Franchisee’ to be a smart entrepreneur? Give some example of a successful franchising enterprise.
Section B
Case Study
Dell
Dell assembles computers. Originally assembled in the USA, they are now assembled also in Ireland, Malaysia, China and Brazil. However, from the start ,Michael Dell knew what the critical success factor for his business was. He used an expert to build prototype computers whilst he concentrated on finding cheap components. And the company still sources its components from around the world. Dell grew at an incredible pace, notching up sales to £3.7 million in the first nine months. The company pioneered direct marketing in the industry whereby systems are built to the customer's specifications after an order is placed, and then shipped directly to the customer. More lately, it has pioneered the development of integrated supply chain management, linking customers orders directly to its supply chain. At all the times it has focused clearly on a low-cost /low-price marketing strategy
'We built the company around a systematic process: give customers high-quality computers at a competitive price as quickly as possible, backed by great service.'
Each division in Dell is tasked to continuously improve efficiency and reduce costs, and workers undertake extensive training through its team-based Business Process Improvement programme. This is aimed at not only reinforcing the importance of cost reduction, but also putting in place processes and procedures that allow efficiency savings , giving the team control over implementing new ideas. As Dell says, 'Empower workers with the tools to make a difference and the innovation will follow.' Productivity at Dell, measured by the number of computers built per employee, has increased 240% in the last five years.
Dell was a pioneer of e-business. What makes Dell special today is its 'fully integrated value chain' - B2B2C. Suppliers, including small firms, have real-time access to information about customer orders and deliveries via the company's extra net. They organize supplies of hard drives, motherboards, modems etc. on a 'just-in-time' basis so as to keep the production line moving smoothly. From the parts being delivered to the orders being shipped out, takes just a few hours. Inventories are minimized and, what is more important, the cash is received from the customer before Dell pays its suppliers. These systems and processes are part of Dell's competitive advantage. They help keep Dell's costs low and allow it to build orders. In the 1990s, in order to protect this, the company started applying for patents, not for its products, but for different parts of its ordering, building and testing processes. It now holds over 80 such patents.
Dell has created a three-way 'information partnership' between itself and its customers and suppliers by treating them as collaborators, who together find ways of improving efficiency:
'The best way I know to establish and maintain a healthy, competitive culture is to partner with your people - through shared objectives and common strategies... Dell is very much a relationship orientated company how we communicate and partner with our employees and customers. But our commitment doesn't stop there. Our willingness and ability to partner to achieve our common goals is perhaps seen in its purest form in how we forge strong alliances with our suppliers. Early in Dell's history we had more than 140 different suppliers providing us with component parts. Today our rule is to keep it simple and have as few partners as possible. Fewer than 40 suppliers provide us with about 90 percent of our material needs. Closer partnerships with fewer suppliers is a great way to cut cost and further speed products to market.
Dell's market place is highly competitive. Dell prides itself on not only good marketing of quality products but, most importantly, speedy delivery of customized products - factors it believes are reflected in the Dell brand.
'The idea of building a business solely on cost or price was not a sustainable advantage. There would always be someone with something that was lower in price or cheaper to produce. What really important was sustaining loyalty among customers and employees, and that could be derived from having the highest level of service and very high performing products.'
Nevertheless, whilst Dell might not sell the cheapest computers in the market place, the price it asks must always be competitive and that means costs must be kept as low as possible.
Questions
a. How much of a generic product is a Dell computer?
b. What do you think of Dell's marketing strategy?
c. From what you know about the company, is Dell's competitive advantage based solely on its external architecture? What else might contribute to this?
No comments:
Post a Comment