Management Exercise

Solution Preview

-How would you describe the industry's key characteristics?

DELL
The key characteristics of the industry are that the computer industry is having a flood of innovations from software to hardware, further the industry is expected to grow as the performance of the computer is increasing the cost is coming down. Most important, the customers are getting a wider choice of computers and worldwide growth of the industry is imminent. One estimate is that 20% annual growth in sales globally is expected. Finally, the Internet has led to the growth of computers all over the world.
PUMA
The key characteristic of the industry that PUMA is operating in is that the sport shoe industry, the apparel industry and the eye wear industry depend on the spending power of the consumers. If the spending power of the consumer goes down there will be lower levels of purchases. PUMA has expanded into other consumer goods but if it wants its revenue growth to increase it must expand into those areas where there are large industrial purchases.
MCDONALDS
The characteristics of the fast food industry are that there is infinite scope for growth and development. On one side the US and European middle aged and older population has not adequately been targeted. On the other side, third world countries present opportunities for the industry. It is common to see KFC and McDonald's opening in China at breakneck speed. The race sometimes is related to who managers to get there first.

- What has leadership done to drive strategy?
DELL
Dell became the first company to set up onsite repairing programs for computers. Dell met the needs of the consumer by selling its computers through its websites. It continued to study the needs of the consumer and tried to satisfy it. The company expanded into multimedia and home entertainment markets. It introduced handhelds, TVs and even digital audio players. It introduced printers under its own name. The current strategy is to go in for educational institution, government agencies and large corporations. In addition, the company targets multinational customers.
PUMA
Puma has expanded to 80 countries. By 1997 eighty percent of PUMA's sales were outside Germany. In addition, the strategy of ...