Effective Communication

Technology is arguably the fastest paced market. Everything in life revolves around the use of technology. To be successful in this extremely competitive market companies must be extremely adaptive to change and recognize areas in their companies where attention is needed. While investigating into Dell we found a company and CEO that can recognize where change is needed and implement effective communication processes. Dell constantly stays on top by reinforcing positive norms, and finding and changing negative norms. The company is moving into new channels to keep the most competitive edge by reaching the most possible consumers. Lastly Michael Dell is revaluating there financials by having an internal auditing group straighten out there fiscal issues.

After returning to the position of CEO for the Dell Corporation, Michael Dell began to change many things for Dell. Norms of the company were reassessed and the new CEO promptly began changing how the company flowed. Michael Dell refocused the company on its positive aspects and steered it away from the negative things it was experiencing.

One of the most common downfalls to such a large company is the presence of Groupthink. Groupthink, a term invented by social psychologist Irving Janis, occurs when a group makes poor decisions because group pressures lead to a decline of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (Janis, 1972). Being in a large group, or workforce, often time’s employees begin to feel invulnerable to dangers in the workplace. Groups give a false sense of security and with that flawed decisions are often made. With Michael Dell returning to his company he was determined to avoid the mistake that cripples so many companies. By staying open-minded in each area of the company they began to avoid negative Groupthink effects such as illusion of invulnerability, and collective rationalization. Avoiding Groupthink was a major step back in the right direction for Dell and paired with reinforcing positive norms the company was back on the right track.

The two main positive norms that Dell began reinforcing according to Lew Moorman, senior vice president of Rackspace, were becoming “more customer-centric” and, “listening more” (Unknown, 2008). Becoming more customer-centric was key to the success of Dell as it refocused the company’s concentration on customer satisfaction as well as what was best for the company. By becoming more customer-centric it allowed Dell to avoid mistakes often made because of the lack of understanding of what customers and partners actually want. “Customers need, and want, to talk to their peers in other companies about current issues and common areas of concern in their area of responsibility. This is a key feature of being Customer centric because it also helps build a learning relationship between the two organizations (Unknown, 2008).”

Also, by listening more to both customer feedback and associated companies opinions Dell removed any question of them being a close-minded company. By becoming open to feedback and suggestions from outside sources they have become a much more effective company. No longer hindered by Groupthink and now open and attentive to partnering companies Dell has made a huge turn around.

Since its opening day in 1984, Michael Dell’s namesake company has been selling computers directly to the consumer. Dell has been doing their best to avoid selling their computers in stores. According to Dell’s website, the idea of selling direct to the customer was devised by Michael Dell, himself. The idea being that, “by selling computer systems directly to the customer, we could best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most effective computer solutions to meet those needs.” (Dell, 2007) That was all during Michael Dell’s original time as CEO, and it remained that way after he left. However, after 3 years of Dell’s replacement, Kevin Rollins, failing to bring about growth, Dell returned in early 2007 as CEO, bringing with him the idea, among others, to start focusing on sales in retail stores instead of selling directly to the consumer. It seems that Michael Dell has finally determined that his original idea of direct sales is either outdated or is simply not making enough money to keep the company alive. Either way, Dell has started selling their computers at retail outlets around the globe. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Staples, Gome, Bic Camera, and Carphone Warehouse were partnered with as a way to break into the retail market. Wal-Mart and Staples being the most well known of the exclusive selling companies and along with Wal-Mart comes Sam’s Club.

Wal-Mart is the first store to start selling Dell computers, on June 10th, 2007. Wal-Mart was the first retailer to partner with Dell in its new style of selling. The partnership