Case:

Printer Wars: Dell and the Printer Business

(Instead 06/2007-5251

Preparatory Questions:

1. If you were the CEO of Dell in August 2002, would you enter the printer business? Why / why not?


2. Can dell leverage its current position and market power in the PC business? How? Why/why not?


3. If you decide to enter, recommend an entry strategy for Dell into the printer business – i.e. what entry mode (organic growth, M&A, or alliances), what products, what customers, what distribution strategy, what manufacturing strategy, etc.


4. How would HP respond to an entry move?

Memo

To: … [Company executive in charge]

From: … [Team members names]

Date: … [Date]

Re: … [Case name]

Executive Summary

· The single most important problem faced by the company is … [outline the problem].

· The primary cause of this problem is … [identify the cause].

· To address this problem the company should … [briefly outline the essence of the proposed action].

Situation Overview

· The most important
problem
facing the company is … [define the problem]. This is because … [explain why this is the most important problem facing the company].

· The primary actionable
cause
for this problem is … [identify the cause]. This is because … [explain why this is the most important cause of the identified problem].

Action Overview

To solve the above problem the company should make the following changes to its strategy and tactics.

Proposed changes in the strategy:

· … [outline the key proposed changes in the strategy].

· … [outline the key proposed changes in the strategy].

Proposed changes in the tactics:

· … [outline the key proposed changes in financing, marketing, operations, etc.].

· … [outline the key proposed changes in financing, marketing, operations, etc.].

Action Rationale

The proposed course of action is the best approach to solve the identified problem for the following reasons:

· … [outline the rationale, potential arguments, and your counterarguments].

· … [outline the rationale, potential arguments, and your counterarguments].

· … [outline the rationale, potential arguments, and your counterarguments].

Conclusion

The above analysis reflects our strong belief that the proposed action to … [summarize the action] is the best strategy to solve the key problem faced by the company to ensure its long-term success.

Exhibits

The above analysis is supported by the attached exhibit(s) as follows:

Exhibit 1: ……..

Exhibit 2: ……..

Exhibit 3: Miscellaneous considerations