Management and Leadership at Dell Computers Tiffany Seda November 8, 2010 Greg Flick MGT/330 “Leadership and management are two opposing styles of employee supervision actively used within today’s business world” (Kumle & Kelly, 2006, Para. 1). The basic skills in leadership and management include problem solving, decision making, planning, meeting management, delegation, and communications; balancing these skills can differentiate between a successful management and leadership team.
According to Dell (2010) “Since the first Dell PC was introduced in 1986, Dell has continued to shape the industry by breaking new ground and pioneering critical developments in home, small business and enterprise computing. Dell's research and development (R;D) efforts now span the globe, driven by some of the industry's foremost product designers and engineers. At the core of Dell's innovation approach, however, remains an unwavering commitment to deliver new and better solutions that directly address customer needs” (Innovation Approach, para. ) The basic skills of leaders and managers within a corporation include leading the company in a positive direction. At Dell computers serving customers is the core of the leadership and management styles.
Dell computers leaders play roles and responsibilities to maintain a healthy organizational culture. Globally across borders Dell computers encourages a collective effort to remain successful in many countries. Strategies for guidelines used in Dell’s corporation are to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture.Management and leadership are responsible for establishing systems, which continue to make Dell computers a successful organization.
Dell computers focus is on investing in their employees as both leaders and managers to learn and excel as the next generation of Dell. In combining both management and leadership skills at Dell computers, the company has promoted mentoring connections such as web-based tools to assist in the mentoring of their managers and leaders. The leaders at Dell take an approach to provide guidance and tools to assist in employees thriving at their duties.The direction and success of Dell’s business strategy requires the solicited input from its leaders and employees worldwide to create strong networks internally and externally (Dell, 2010).
For Dell computers to differentiate between managers and leaders Dell has launched manager core programs, to improve on management’s focus to lead and to combine capabilities of both management and leadership to produce and maintain a successful company. Supervision is a major aspect of managing and leading at Dell computers, putting the product out correct the first time makes their success.The roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers are highly unique to the role of supervision and highly critical to the success of the organization at Dell, especially in the light of a product line for a computer. The topic of staffing and supervision is also an addressing issue at many of Dell’s leadership and managment training modules and meetings; just as the investment is made in the product Dell holds the same valuable investment in its people. In creating a healthy organizational culture for leaders and managers Dell computers has adopted a few unique ways of maintaining the culture.
The mentoring programs Dell computers created is building a culture between managers and leaders with the goal of professional and personal development of all of the employees of the corporation. Mentors become trusted advisers and role models for a company and using experienced people who have "been there" and "done that” is important as well for Dell. Uniquely mixing the staff with experienced individuals and those who may share new and fresh ideas and perspectives for the company is part of the growing organizational culture at Dell computers.The company supports and encourages their mentoring by offering suggestions and knowledge, both general and specific. The goal is to help mentors and their successors improve their skills and advance their careers. By mentoring effectively, an employee can improve the performance of key individuals within a company, thereby helping to reach organizational goals.
Mentoring also can give employees, leaders, and managers a personal satisfaction, knowing that helping someone else learn and grow is part of the job skill on a professional and personal level.The leaders at Dell computers take roles and responsibilities to maintain a healthy culture. The leaders at Dell mentor and focus on building relationships with employees, consumers, and future leaders of Dell and value differences of each individual. Leadership development and a focus on mentoring can provide employee growth and feedback this permits a company to include programs that can provide a healthy organizational culture to hire and retain the best employees.Organization leadership programs like mentoring at Dell by its leaders provides systems and procedures that facilitate effective and controlled environment maintaining a healthy organizational culture and one that can balance change. Viator (2008), "In the highly successful business model perfected by Dell computers, timing is everything.
From the speed with it adopts new technology to its build-to-order manufacturing model, timing drives every decision” (The Dell Model, Para. 1). Dell has managed successfully across borders by pacing themselves through the growth of the computer industry.Dell globally focused on nations of convinced success and marketed expansions in nations like Latin America for later dates.
Dell has incorporated globally and has a drive with global clients, expanding their networks to where Dell globally is geared for expansion. According to Dell (2010), “Globalization within the industry has impacted management of the product life cycle by involving more participants in the process, which makes the process more complex” (The Total Product Life Cycle, Para. ). Dell markets products globally so that the product will be profitable from day one and the company expects the same profitability from its managers globally.
A leader at Dell is expected to learn and grow the company within the culture globally, management at Dell like any other corporation’s success will depend on the extent of the people knowing and believing in the company’s organizational culture. The technology at Dell computers has advanced toward the future of a digital home.According to Dell (2010), “Dell has taken a leadership role in architecting the digital home by supporting a framework of interoperable standards and technologies. This framework is base of standards for media formats, content protection, networks, and storage, including: Standards-based wireless networking technologies such as WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless technology as well as technologies such as WiMAX™, ultra-wideband (UWB) and the white spaces.Standards that promote interoperability between PCs and consumer electronics devices include the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP™) and the standards promoted by the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).
Easy and intuitive content protection and digital rights management systems that offer exciting new ways for consumers to enjoy premium music and video, while protecting the rights of content owners. High-capacity Blu-ray discs, high-definition optical storage and PC-based multimedia management technologies.Dell uses these standards to expand the digital home network with a variety of interoperable systems and devices that provide a solid foundation for home entertainment. All are equipped with basic audio, video, and networking capabilities and customers can order their systems with advanced features for music, video, and television applications” (Innovation at Dell, Para.
4). With this type of advances in technology by Dell, innovation is at reach by freeing up a consumer’s time the tools and scopes of computers that can be enjoyed virtually anytime will take the parallels of technology.The parallels of this technology will take new personal computers to an all new level of commitment for the industry and the future for the company. Consistently maintain keys to new innovations of responsibilities and roles as leaders of the computer industry will make for an organizational culture of success across borders globally. The empowerment of a good team and a good product are limitless in the age of technology. The core aspects of strategies at Dell computers are to sustain a competitive edge by providing a model to build effective teams, products, and customer focus.
Dell establishes a formal approach to their planning, goal setting, auditing, and corrective actions to help support compliance and improvement in their product line (Dell, 2010). The organizational managers and leaders at Dell computers show strategic leadership in five categories: business and financial acumen, building effective teams, motivating others, strategic agility, and customer focus, the employees work and collaborate with an approach to win potential customer business, while satisfying the demands of the shareholders, employees, and business equirements of the product line (Dell, 2010). By Dell employing a strategic leadership model they can take risks as a company and aggressively target their global consumers and employees for effectiveness and operational efficiency. The strategic leadership and decision-making of the Dell corporation requires many strategies to maintain the focus of the company’s culture and organization.
The recommendation for a company like Dell strategically would be to create and maintain organizational values and norms and make certain when pursuing the goals of the organization they are culturally accepted.Values and norms held by an organization, establish the name and permanence of the organizations people and culture. For more than 26 years, Dell has empowered countries, communities, customers and people everywhere to use technology to realize their dreams. Customers trust us to deliver technology solutions that help them do and achieve more, whether they’re at home, work, school or anywhere in their world (Dell, 2010).The trust of a company like Dell by consumers drives the community at Dell and the people of Dell to believe empowerment as an employee who can make a difference. Management and leadership are two very important factors for Dell computers success as a company.
As a result of its environmental commitment and close collaboration with suppliers and consumers, Dell has topped Newsweek’s Greenest Companies in America ranking for 2010. The company moved to the top spot among Newsweek’s Green Rankings from its Number two position on the 500-company list last year (Dell, 2010).With developing to compete globally as a supplier internationally Dell has enlisted the strength of its people to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture. The people of a company are the backbone to its product and service. The ability of Dell computers as a company to implement strategies and align the managers, leaders, and employees talents together to keep the company moving in a positive direction is making the Dell computers corporation a successful and growing company. References: Kumle, J.
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