The Problem
Dynacorp has been a prominent player in the personal computer industry since 1998 for its easy-to-use office computers, but has recently experienced moderate losses in personal computer sales due to the current boom in the business computer market. In regards to this, Dynacorp has hired Riley McMann (formerly of Corpsoft) as the new CFO, who has been a major supporter of the business computer boom and wishes to have the company expand its operations into this rapidly expanding market. These changes have irked current Dynacorp CEO and founder James O’Brien who has been hesitant to move into the business computer market due to concerns that it will cannibalize their existing line of personal computers and may alter Dynacorp’s identity
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as a producer of easy-to-use computers. These conflicting corporate agendas have created tension between O’Brien and McMann, especially after O’Brien’s failed attempt at firing McMann for allegedly over-tampering Dynacorp’s image. Major Players • James O’Brien: CEO and Founder of Dynacorp (Sabina Jakupaj) • Riley McMann: Dynacorp CFO formerly of Corpsoft (Inna Isbell) • Brian McGil: Dynacorp Middle Manager and ally to McMann (Reann Mommsen) • Jimmy Red: Computing Division Worker (Julia Henson) • Ted Roth: Shipping Worker and Facilitator (Christopher Sturniolo) Solutions Selected for SCAMPERing After reviewing the problem with the involved parties, we have decided that we wish to focus some portion (to be determined) of our manufacturing efforts towards the production of business computers. Part of this initiative will consist of constructing an appropriate timeframe for the research, development, manufacturing and rollout of these computers in relation to market demand and the actions of our competition. In addition, we will also coordinate these efforts around our projected 10% loss in personal computer sales due to a declining PC market and the recent surge in demand for business computers. We will also consider the possibility of producing tablet computers as they are expected to be the next major tech trend within the coming years. Modified Elements Upon applying the SCAMPER process to our proposed solutions, we have determined to dedicate 25% of our current production efforts to the development of business computers, which will consist of our manufacturing and marketing activities. Our plan to roll out these computers will take about a year which will require about three months each of market research, product design, manufacturing and final product evaluation. We plan to market these computers to our existing clientele base and reach out to small/family-owned businesses as the firm has only began to root itself in the business computer market. This will allow us to increase our existing business-to-business sales division to bolster this new venture. In addition, we have also decided to not invest in the production of tablet computers as we are uncertain about their long-term potential. While they may have potential in the future, they are not of concern to us this current moment. Final Agreement We have decided to begin the production of business computers which will feature the same easy-to-use technology as our existing personal computers.
While we still wish to remain in the production of personal computers, we have determined that we would need to dedicate 25% of our current production efforts to the marketing and manufacturing of our new line of business computers. Since these new computers have similar parts as our current line of personal computers, it will be easier on our production line workers who are already familiar with our existing hardware. In regards to this, we have decided to not enter the field of tablet computers as we are uncertain of their long-term success and would require additional factory worker assembly training. The launch of our new Dynacorp business computers will roughly take about a year to fully complete as we plan on spending 3-4 months each in the areas of conducting market research, product design, manufacturing and product evaluation. We also plan on marketing this product towards our current personal computer user base by offering them a loyalty discount for our new line of computers, as well as towards smaller businesses who may lack the funds to purchase top-line models. We also plan to use this initial launch as a prototype for future models depending on any changes in market demand or responses from our …show more content…
competitors. Marketing Pitch Dynacorp has decided to enter the field of business technology by introducing a new line of easy-to-use business computers, following the recent surge in market demand.
Since the business computing market is projected to triple within the coming decade, we have decided to capitalize on this trend by conveying the same easy-to-use hardware which made our personal computers an industry staple into this expanding market. To deliver this new line of computers to the market, we plan on dedicating 25% of our production efforts to this new enterprise while we will continue to produce our existing personal computers. This is will allow us enough capital to invest in the manufacturing and marketing of these computers as this undertaking is to be the largest in company history. We plan to have these computers on the market within a year from now after conducting marketing research, product development, manufacturing and product rollout, will require roughly 3-4 months each to carry out. In addition, we plan on marketing these computers to our existing clientele base, by offering our new computers at a discounted price and to smaller, family-owned businesses who may lack the financial resources to afford higher-end versions from our competition. Doing so will allow us to slowly expand our business-to-business sales division as we delve further into this market and our clientele begins to expand through word of mouth from our existing base. After the launch of these computers, we plan
to perform additional research based on consumer evaluations and any changes amongst our competitors before considering our next steps into this field. Finally, we have also decided to not enter the field of tablet computers as we do not expect them to have significant impact to either the personal or business computing industry in the coming years. Dynacorp is greatly looking forward to taking our first steps into the business computing industry as we continue to provide quality products within this new endeavor and begin this new era for our company.
As well as currently, there is only pre programmable tablets, or software that has to be downloaded from a main website, to be able to utilize the hand held devices. All these things not only hinder the customer, it also creates a major gap between electronic uses and sufficiency within the industry. The world is evolving to electronics; everything these days there is an app for or you can do anything online. While these means some of the capabilities are being used currently within the industry. They are not be created and utilized to meet the current business owner of a restaurant demands. Let alone, simplify the process of the software and create app’s that can be downloaded. This not only creates the ease for the customer, but also generates continuous income for S.B. Solutions and Electronics. Other software engineers are starting to up their game, businesses are wanting to make things more cost effective yet at the same time save money; times are changing and our software will revolutionize the restaurant industry and not only increase the business success rates, but also create a whole new market space. We also plan on down the road, expanding our software to different industries, such as suppliers and
These documents bring in revenue through a subscription-based system that allows for forecasts of sales based on historical and growth analysis. The development (or iteration) of the new system was approved due to successful budgetary results over the previous two years and growth trends expected over the next two years. Additionally, ongoing maintenance on the system as problems began to arise was beginning to negatively influence production performance, and a need to iterate the system to incorporate evolving production goals was identified. The successful budget of the previous years encouraged the approval of replacing the current conversion system with a successor that promises to increase production performance while lowering the fixed costs of salaried programmers needed to maintain it. References Marshall, M.H., McManus, W.W., Manyer, V.F. (2003).
IDEO was riding on the success of the Palm Pilot, which at the time had become the fastest selling computer product ever. This was a marketplace with which they were familiar, having worked on the Newton handheld earlier fro Apple. The Newton was an example of a disruptive technology, but the need for a truly portable handheld computer could not outweigh the shortcomings of the technology or the value proposition in the marketplace. Working on these types of projects reinforced IDEO’s stature in the industry for not only producing award winning products but also leading consumers in to new ways of interfacing with technology.
“Supply manager Joe Smith was considering the purchase of 1,000 desktop Personal Computers (PC’s) for his organization.
Historically the personal computer (PC) industry has sold its products at reasonably high prices yet garnered only small profit margins. One reason for this is the high competition in the PC industry which led to competitive pricing among producers. Analyzing the competitive environment of the PC industry, it is evident that there is very little barrier to entry in this market. PC's have very low physical uniqueness and are made of standard components that require very little expertise to assemble.
To meet and respond to its customers needs, IBM creates, develops and manufactures many of the worlds most advanced technologies, ranging from computer systems and software to networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. Indeed, IBM has various product lines and services a few of which are: the Personal Computer that was first created in 1981, AS/400 business system, RS/6000 family of workstations and server systems, S/390 enterprise server, groundbreaking ThinkPad notebook computer; the award-winning IBM Netfinity and finally, PC Servers. It is an important supplier of hard disks, random access memories, and liquid crystal monitors.
Through Apple’s innovative enterprise approach, we seek to generate personal computing products which have higher quality at lower unit costs than the previously available one. In order to manage projects effectively in the program,
My report is on the company Hewlett – Packard (HP) which was founded in 1939. I mainly focused on the Personal Systems Group (PSG): business and consumers PCs mobile computing devices and workstations which is one of the major industries of HP. In order to succeed in the business industry a company needs to understand its customer’s needs and create wants for them. HP found out that the customer needed light weight, useful notebook PCs through its Research & Development (R&D) centre. Hence, it created a want; a New Commercial Notebook PC Compaq Evo Notebook N1015v which packs the power and performance necessary for mobility into a stylish design for only $899(US $). HP also finds out about its customer needs through online feedback forms and survey. Via that, HP was also able to understand that not everyone are able to use their products hence it has created this HP accessibility products which can be accessed by anyone including people with disabilities and age – limitations. Example of such product under the PSG industry is the Mobile Speak Pocket which was specially made for the visually impaired people. ( Refer To Exhibit 1a – 1c )
...nging technology market, they too have to make more innovative tablets capable of advanced multitasking.
The Internet Era is here and the advances in digital technology are completely changing the way we live. From digital cellular phones to handheld computers not much bigger than a stack of playing cards, digital technology has created an unprecedented explosion of new products that allow consumers to communicate with one another as well as integrate the numerous products they use in their daily lives. This increase in integration along with the increased speed of communication has created the “global” economy in which most business must operate to remain competitive. “Hardly a day goes by that we do not encounter products that are enabled by DSP technology. From consumer electronics including cell phones, toys, TV’s DVD, answering machines, to military, scientific, medical and infrastructure applications. DSP’s are showing up everywhere.”(Frantz, 2000) Let us take a look at one company that is heavily involved in the Internet Era.
The Osborne Computer Corporation was founded in 1980 by Adam Osborne. This company was founded upon the idea of developing one product, the portable computer system. The first Osborne 1 was shown at the National Computer Conference in May of 1981 and was an instant hit. It brought brand new concepts to the table, such as a built-in screen and an optional battery back. (2) This computer, though a success, had lots of room for technological advances. A small 5" screen and a weight of 24.5 lbs left users wanting more. Surprisingly, it wasn't the mobility of the computer that was the selling point, but it was the $1500 worth of software that was included in the $1795 price tag. To the business consumer, this was an incredible deal. Within the first 8 months of sales, 11,000 units were shipped and 50,000 were on backorder. The success of the world's first portable computer was apparent, but the business smarts of the Osborne Computer Corporation were not. After massive success with the Osborne 1, the company began to develop a new portable computer system to sell. Despite the rampant success of the Osborne 1, several other computer companies offered a large amount of competition. Not only did the competition make improvements upon the Osborne 1, but they also introduced a new a new IBM operating system that was faster and had more software titles available. Although the competition was heavy, the Osborne 1 continued to sell until early in 1983 when Adam Osborne announced the future arrival of a new product from the Osborne Computer Corporation. This announcement killed the demand for the Osborne 1 in anticipation for its replacement. As inventory increased, sales decreased until Sept. 13th, 1983 when Osborne Computer Corporation filed for bankruptcy. (3)
Apple Inc. is a multinational company, based in America, which innovate, develop and sell personal computer its software named Macintosh and various other products like the iPhone and the iPad. In 1976, Steve Jobs started the apple era and the business has grown rapidly to one of todays’ iconic inventors of consumer electronics. Despite the company operates in a wide field of products, Apple is handling every of their products as a separate business unit, but with a similar and recognisable design. This report will focus on Apples last invention, the iPad, and analysis its position within the market and future perspectives (Apple Inc., 2012).
Computers are one of the most popular kinds of electronic devices in the world today. Whether kid or adult, male or female, everyone wants to learn how to operate the computer. People use computers for different purposes such as typing papers, creating websites, making presentations, browsing on the internet, playing games, etc. In fact, many people are still confused about choosing what kind of computer they want to buy. In the world today, there are two types of computers: notebook/laptop and desktop. They both are actually very different in several ways. In this paper, I will compare the size, connectivity, power, and price of notebook and desktop computers. I can make these comparisons because I have both a notebook and a desktop computer in my apartment.
One of the largest technology company in the world, Lenovo had a humble beginning as a small Chinese firm founded in 1984. The company showed modest growth throughout the rest of the 20th century. It wasn’t until the company’s acquisition of IBM’s personal computer business in 2005 (Martin, 2014) that the company began to gain prominence in the technology industry. Lenovo’s innovation and strategic decision making has allowed the company to evolve on a global platform and enabled it to become one of the leading technology companies in the market today.
The laptop computer has had a tremendous impact in the areas of business, education, government, and personal use. The emergence of portable computing and the laptop computer can be traced to the introduction of the personal computer itself. In 1975, the MITS Altair 8800 was introduced. The Altair is recognized as being the first commercially successful personal computer and the launching point for the personal computer revolution (Sysop, n.d.). Almost simultaneously, the idea of portability (in particular for the business-person) became a major focus in the industry.