Strategic Situation Analysis for Developing Critical Thinking Skills - Essay - 8

Strategic Situation Analysis for Developing Critical Thinking Skills - Matching Dell - Essay Example The approach towards analyzing a situation is based on productive and critical mindset and involves several steps in its execution. One of the most important steps in SSAS is to investigate the underlying strategy of a situation and find out how that strategy influences the outcomes, productivity, and results of the study at hand. This constitutes the third step in the SSAS approach. The pertinent case study is dealing with the functioning of the Dell computer company, and its comparison with its rival companies. This involves examining the management and strategies of the Dell Corporation and matching it with its rival corporations. Towards the mid-‘90s, the advent of personalized computers had taken over the market, and more and more customers were finding new reasons to obtain their own computers. This meant that computers were no longer limited to big corporations and businesses, but were becoming a household commodity. This gave companies like IBM and Apple, which were previously manufacturing mainframe machines, to produce PCs and tap the huge profits in this sector. Initially, IBM, the leading company in computer hardware, took over the market by manufacturing PCs and loading them with software developed mainly by Microsoft. Their contract with Microsoft proved fruitful and they were soon the leaders in the market. Other companies like Compaq, HP (Hewlett-Packard) and Gateway followed suit. They all focused on developing the hardware and contracting with software companies like Microsoft or Apple to provide them with the operational programs, and their main customers were big and medium-sized corpor ate organizations. Dell was another such company dealing with the manufacturing of PCs.However,  their method of working was radically different  from the other companies,  and it was so successful  that it gave  them a huge edge of advantage that  soon earned them  the leading position in the market.