Intel

MISSION STATEMENT

To produce and offer technology solutions and service to the customer through Consumer electronics, Wireless communication and improve the health care technology.

Vision

To win the lion share in PC manufacturing, telecommunication and healthcare technological equipments.

Objectives

Our objectives include;

Create ‘platform’ software though molding of chips in the processors hence eventually phasing out the Pentium IV.
Introduce troika of brands to the market i.e. Viiv (rhymes with ‘live’) for personal and home PCs which will generate power from the living room to the emergency room.  This will replace TiVo (TIVO) which will enable to consumer to download first-run movies, music and games.
Establish of set notebook PC chips and dual-core chips
Lowering of prices of PCs
To have a steady market growth.

Explore the prospects of developing a software chip which would be energy-efficient chips so as to conserve and preserve consumption of energy for companies fro example Google etc.
Goals

To achieve a growth rate of 10% in the next five years.

The strategic choices

These include the market areas in which the company can target so as to include them in its customer lists.  They include

a)      Chinas internet café’s

It has been estimated that there approximately over 110,000 internet cafes with each having almost 100 PC hence, the total number of PCs are approximately 11million PCs.  The internet café’s are frequented by Chinese students who play games (online games) watch movies and instant messaging.  These students always require the games and PCs to be upgraded, hence the owners replace over 2million PCs after every 2years.  It’s been estimated that there are approximately 500 people on three floors.  The introduction of a prototype program by Intel will help the café owners save time and cost maintenance by 78% and reduce soft ware upgrading by 85%.  Through the chips, the café owners will be able to reduced power consumption (which is their major expense before rent). This will be done by the local software engineers who work for Intel China.

b)      Motion industry and analysis

After, the introduction of motion analysis in Hollywood that has been used in movies like the minority report, Titanic, the development of softwares for motion analysis would be a big boom for Intel in the entertainment industry. The automobile industry e.g. Nissan are contemplating of use of software that would be put in the steering wheel which would detect  if the driver is a sleep and led to the care engine to stop reducing accidents.  It can also be used (ie motion analysis software) can be used by the advertisers to monitor and evaluate feelings and expressions of its consumers to their product especially the ones who browse.

c)      Health care industry

Through the hiring of Dr. Bern Shen (internal medicine) the company will be able to develop products for digital health, which would be extremely useful to diagnose for example Aizheimer Disease, hence the doctor can get daily reports about the patients condition, while the patients is for example at home. Through the motion analysis a surgeon can be able to assist a resident student in a distant village to perform some to the surgical procedure.

d)     Sports simulation

This software products will help the sports for example replay an soccer game; i.e. Penalty kicks instead of relying and waiting for a re-run or newscaster.

Organizational design

The articles indicate that the company is currently ran by Mr. Paul Ofellini who started working from 1974. The senior adviser is Mr. Groove to the company who the C.E.O reports to.  The company also has a chief marketing officer i.e. Mr. Eric B. Kim (former Samsung Marketer) whose main function to the company is to implement unpopular changes to the company and directly reports to the CEO, together with this, he ensures also that the employees produce products that the offer technology solutions and ease comfort of the consumer.  The company has not concentrated on hiring of engineer but has taken an ‘outside the box approach’ to hire employees for example hiring of ethnographers, sociologists, doctors etc, for example the hiring of Dr. Bern Shen.  The whole team i.e. from engineers to doctors works together with the marketing team and marketers to develop and market products to the consumer.

This approach has enabled the company to communicate more clearly on what technology can do for them instead of talking about ‘bite and bytes’ to the consumers.  There has also creation of business units for each product area including mobility and digital health, together with scattering of the processor experts to target market, products and channels.  From the articles, the company has used the approach of marketing effectiveness; rating review via.

Customers Philosophy; Does management recognize the importance of designating the company to serve the needs and wants of chosen markets?
Integrated marketing organization; Is there high-level marketing integration and control of the major marketing functions.
Adequate information;
What’s the latest research study?
Strategic orientation
Operational efficiency
The current CEO, Mr Otellini’s culture of implementation of strategies involves amore diplomatic ways whereby he uses the chief marketing officer Mr. Kim to implement the unpopular changes in the company because of his autocratic style of leadership.  He also collaborates with other PCs manufacturing companies to upgrade their processors. He also re-organized the company from top  to bottom i.e. putting the 98,000 employees to new work station, hence he created business units for each product area, including mobility and digital and scattering of the processor experts among them.  He also introduced a new marketing strategy, where the software developers, ethnographers work together with the marketing team to develop and sell the products. Mr. Otellini recruits more executives from outside so as to bring fresh ideas to the company.  E.g. Dr. Bern Sheen sees a need to offer a solution to it. for example in the case of Google (suggesting the exploration of new energy-efficient chips),Chinas internet café’s

Evaluate the relation (quez: 4)

From the articles, the company will be able to achieve its and implement the missions statement of the company. As the technology era widens intel company will continue to offer technology solutions to the consumer and communicate more clearly on what the technology can do for them. Through the recruiting of more executives from outside, the company will be able to compete effectively in the PC market and software development, as its increases its market choices to include;

Chinas internet café’s
Motion analysis industry be used in Entertainment, advertisement etc
Sports simulation
Health care industry

REFERENCES

Anonymous. (2007). Intel Corporation: adding multimedia Intel Technology Allows Nurses to Spend More Time with Patients Physician Business Week: Atlanta.

Edwards, C. (2006). Inside Intel. Business Week, New York January 9, 2006, Issue 3966.

Einhorn, B. (2006). In Chinas Net Cafes, Intel Pours it On. Business Week. New York: November 6, 2006, Issue 4008.

McConnon, A. (2007). The Mind-Bending New World of Work; Motion-capture technology burst out of Hollywood and into business from aerospace to advertising. Business Week. New York: April 02, 2007, Issue 4028, page 46.

Finally, MAD needs to switch the consumer’s fixation from specifications such as GHz and KGB, to visual experience. Although Llano is already delayed, it will be ready by mid-201. The next selling cycle, right after mid-2011 , is the Back – to – School season. This means that waiting until mid-2011 is not necessarily a bad thing. Intel already rushed out a CHIP+SPIN processor called Sandbagging in order to be the first to market, and in doing so produced a mediocre product. According to analysts, “Intel GAP technology is a generation behind its CPU technology and cannot Offer an outing-edge graphics experience. Unlike Intel, Mad’s strength is in dedicated Spies, due to the acquisition of AT I. Therefore, MAD can release a more complete CHIP+SPLIT processor, aka APP, in time for the Back-to-School season. Usually, incentives are negotiated prior to each selling cycle: Back-to- School, Holiday season, and Spring. MAD can offer incentives to retail stores such as Best Buy, H. H. Gregg and Office Depot prior to the Back-to-School season. The incentives would benefit the retailers because they would be paid an extra 5-10 dollars per PC sold, that contains one of Mad’s chips.

MAD would also benefit from giving retail incentives by getting more exposure on prominent displays, promotional merchandise available at the retail stores, PC’s with MAD chips featured in ad circulars, and MAD would have access to sales associates for training purposes in return for the incentive. MAD specifically should have a combination of merchandising and training because studies show that when merchandising and training are combined, the VISION brand is better communicated and recommended to customers via retail sales associates.

For example, when comparing VISION awareness, Merchandising Alone scored 88%, whereas Merchandising + Training scored 97%. For VISION recommendation, Merchandising Alone scored 46%, whereas Merchandising + Training scored 69%. The Fusion product line consists of one high end product called Llano that was suitable for high-performance desktops and laptops, one mid-tier product called Acetate suitable for low-end notebooks, and one low-end product called Ontario mainly used for notebooks. Acetate and Ontario were also referred to as Bravos.

The reason why we choose to launch Llano first, and not Bravos, is because the VISION rand needs to be associated with quality processors and reasonable prices in comparison to Intel. We assume that if MAD launches Bravos first, the VISION brand will run the risk of being miscommunication as a low-end, weak processor and thus MIS-positioned in consumers’ minds, due to a negative first impression. In the past, MAD lacked the ability to court high-end markets, and VISION’s Llano is an attempt to break into high-end markets which will give MAD an opportunity for larger profit margins and market share gains in PC’s.

Odessa said, “Internal projections forecasted that Llano, which would cover all mainstream and high-end products, would account for 70% of Fusion APP sales and that Acetate and Ontario would account for 30%”. Looking back at Mad’s history with Intel, the companies seem to always have a response to one another, or a way to get back at each other. Whether it is by launching a better product, price-cutting, acquisitions, or rushing products to the market, they usually respond within a year or two.

For instance, when Intel’s Titanium failed because it could not service 32-bit software, MAD developed the Petrol, which could service both 64-bit and 32-bit software hush creating success for MAD. Part of its success was due to the fact that users did not have to buy new software packages for the processor, unlike Titanium which required new software and proved to be costly. We would rather have the Llano be like a repeat of the Petrol in comparison to Intel’s Sandbagging.

This means that even though Intel went to market first with a CPU+SPIN processor, MAD can release a better APP about six months later, which is a relatively quick retaliation to Intel when compared to their history. In order to not make the same mistake that Titanium did, we recommend MAD ark with content and software makers before launching Llano. Another important characteristic about Llano is that it needs to be able to function with both 64-bit and 32-bit programs. The plan is to release Llano with only a few major necessary software applications and programs optimized for 64- bit, so that the Llano APP can be fully experienced by users.

As mentioned in the case, “the lead time for optimizing applications was typically a yea’. Releasing Llano with only a few optimized programs allows Llano to roll out in mid-2011. Also, the idea is that developers can create optimized software ever time, much like how Google Chromate was released with a few notable APS and has gained more over time. Some programs we would optimize are: Direct 1 1, Directorates, Photo and video editing APS, Adobe Acrobat. A large number of optimized programs and applications will come after Llano’s debut.

MAD should be concerned with improving relationships with Memos by not forcing the Memos to exclusively use MAD processors and logos, unlike Intel, which according to management “used its dominant position to dictate terms to Memos or threaten not to work with them if they did not use Intel chips exclusively”. By not imposing on Memos, MAD opens itself to being used by companies such as Apple, which prefers not to put other brands on its devices. MAD should continue following its new branding strategy VISION, which focuses on how the computer is used and not on how fast the computer can calculate excel spreadsheets. If we make the experience matter most, the VISION campaign has done its job. ” Currently the conversation between salespeople and consumers revolves around hardware specifications, but MAD wants the conversation to be about what the computer can do. MAD should define its CPU and JPG in simple terms that re straightforward, unlike Intel which is very technical. Communicating the change from Intel style specifications to MAD visual experience will require in person demonstrations done by retail sales associates.

Retail sales associates will carry out blind tests for consumers by showing shoppers two computers side by side, one with an Intel Sandbagging processor and the other with an MAD Fusion processor. Customers will then choose which computers they feel have the better graphics and visuals, from the demonstrations of the Intel vs.. MAD blind test. Another way to communicate to consumers that MAD APP processors are better, not only for use of Excel but also for visuals, is to show them an experience comparison with the competitor; in this case it is Intel.

The VISION Experience Comparison would be signage that translates industry standard specification lingo; it would show that Intel’s processor is equal to choppy, fixated gamely, whereas Amid APP is equal to vivid, clean, smooth game play. The VISION Experience Comparisons would be displayed on the retailer’s shelf, where the specifications are typically shown for each computer. The VISION Experience Comparisons would only be splayed for computers that contain MAD Pap’s. Add Apes for new form factors such as smoothness and tablets to the Fusion product line.

Create relationships and incentive Memos to use the smartened and tablet APES. Rationale #1 The Fusion line currently consists of three different processors: Llano, Acetate, and Ontario. Each processor in the Fusion line is geared toward a certain type of PC. For example, Llano is for powerful desktops and laptops, whereas Acetate is for low-end notebooks. Ontario is for notebooks. The Fusion line up competes with Intel’s ‘Core’ product line nicely. One area of concern is new form factors, such as tablets and smoothness. Currently, Intel is selling the Atom for tablets and smoothness.

MAD should include an APP that can service these tablets and smoothness, as well. Looking at the competitive landscape, one can see that tablets and smoothness are under great demand from consumers. Apple’s phone has had major success since 2007 and pads, which were recently released in April 201 0, have shown strong sales. MAD has the ability and should position itself in the tablet and smartened markets as a graphically strong PAPAL maker. It is in Mad’s best interest to become an industry standard for smoothness and tablets. MAD can do this by creating good relationships with manufacturers through flexible deals.

For example, MAD will not require Apple to show MAD labels or logos on its products. Also, MAD will strive to have better prices than Intel. In addition, since some of the smartened Memos are also the same companies that create PC’s, MAD can offer bundles. For example, if the same MEMO uses MAD processors in both desktops and smoothness, MAD could Offer a larger discount on advertising or products. Strategy #2 Keep Mad’s VISION marketing strategy, but include a marketing campaign using various media to better portray the VISION marketing strategy.

In addition, improve retail and Memos relationship with MAD, to further increase sales. Rationale #2 Mad’s new branding strategy for the introduction of the integrated CHIP/ SPIN, VISION, focuses on consumers’ experience, visuals, and graphics instead of concentrating on the specifications, speed, and numbers a computer may have. The MAD PC purchasing study showed, “consumers want a simple, straight forward way to compare and choose computers”, which indicates hat most consumers are more concerned with “what the computer does, over what is inside Of it”.

An example Off circular ad featuring VISION is provided in the case; however, it only shows specifications on the MAD processor found inside the Notebooks, completely omitting the message of the VISION strategy. The idea is to provide customers with the most important specifications and also integrate the message, ‘the experience matters most”. For the Fusion processor, customers would want to experience HAD quality video online gaming, enhanced video and photo viewing, high-performance photo editing, and AD gaming. This would be a more social, recreational use for a computer or notebook.

The new Vision marketing strategy would include a marketing campaign that involves an initiative to change the consumer message throughout various types of media. The campaign will communicate to consumers that MAD APP processors are better, not only for use of Excel, but also for visuals. The ads in the campaign will show consumers a direct comparison with the competitor, in this case Intel. The campaign will be called the VISION Experience Comparison. The VISION Experience Comparison itself would include ads hat show translations of industry standard specification lingo.

For example, the ads will demonstrate that Intel’s processor is equal to choppy, fixated gamely, whereas Mad’s APP is equal to vivid, clean, smooth game play. The campaign will be in use two months before each Computer selling cycle. For instance, VISION Experience Comparison commercials will be displayed most heavily two months before the Back-to-School cycle, in order to generate demand. Marketing strategy is important, but relationships with retailers and Memos are also crucial in order for MAD to deliver its new APP processor to ND-users.

Intel has the lead on MAD when it comes to MEMO relationships; Intel goes as far as using threats as one of its partnership strategies by making Memos deal exclusively with them. MAD needs to use a non- threatening strategic partnership; make deals with Memos by not forcing them to place Mad’s VISION logo on its devices. For example, “Apple hasn’t allowed Intel to place a logo on its computers and the company has the most market share for notebooks over $1000”. This means that MAD has the opportunity to make a business deal with a top tier computer brand like Apple.

This is cause MAD will not threaten to not cooperate with Apple, in case Apple does not wish to display MAD logos on its devices. MAD should partner with leading Memos such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell Inc. , which have the lead in sales over Leno and Acre as seen on Exhibit 4 of the case. By introducing incentives, MAD could make itself more appealing to Memos. As mentioned in the case, “MAD can offer Memos 75% refund on full price of all print ads if Memos use the VISION brand”. Instead of reimbursing HP 3-5% of the purchase price of the chip, MAD could raise the percentage to 10%, making the deal appear more appealing to Memos.

Apple is a very successful producer of computer software and hardware that leads in its competitive industry. To evaluate the progress, success, and faults of the company, the SWOT analysis is used. The SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the organization. This model is used to help it identify internal and external areas that need improvement and internal and external areas that prove to be successful.

Strengths: Over the years, Apple has grown by offering superior products compared to interiors. Apple has positioned itself to be a pioneer in the personal computer industry. It is one of the original hardware producers in the market that controls both the manufacturing of its products as well as its operating system. Apple is self- sufficient and creates its own internal components for the core of its computers. Apple has set standards for high quality products in order to meet customer satisfaction.

It is dedicated to research and development in order to create new products, which are expected to make Apple’s products more efficient and feasible to use. As a result of the company’s commitment to excellence, most of its products are compact and simple to operate. Apple is known for its loyal consumers who purchase its products for quality, regardless of price. Apple has ascended to a brand of distinction in the computer industry, which yielded a successful net income. In addition, the company’s stock price is the highest in the personal computer industry.

Apple is financed mostly by its equity. In fact Apple does not have any debt, so investors would bear less risk by holding Apple’s stocks. The company is well-endowed and capable of acquiring any rim that could enhance the value of the company. Its customer service department is monumental and highly respected by consumers. Apple plans to maintain its status through organizational stability and creativity

Weaknesses: Advanced technology is being developed and produced for customers; therefore, Apple is faced with the difficult task of ensuring consistency and quality within its products.

For example, the pod, which is a global success, had many glitches and technological flaws including battery life and screen faults that plagued pods when they were first released. Currently, these flaws have been resolved in newer models, though the products are still not perfect. With many other companies creating similar products, it is imperative for Apple to remain competitive by solving technological errors in devices. It is advantageous that Apple continue to invest in its Research and Development department to remain competitive.

Apple is a seemingly financially stable organization; its lack of debt is a potential weakness for the infrastructure because it creates potential risk for stock acquisition by other corporations.

The employees at Apple are sufficient in their expertise because they predict the target audience for the latest technology. Because of their originality, Apple is known for its innovative thinking. It has developed a product line that is both functional and attractive. The organization is spreading beyond the confines of its products and into the lives of its consumers.

The Apple life applications allow users to connect to multiple programs through one package. ‘Life provides a well-integrated elegant interface that enables users to tie into mimic, tunes, movie, photo, Greenland and Youth accounts. The current opportunity for Apple is the development and campaign of the new pod shuffle – the world’s first talking MPH player. Apple has proven its quality by packing 4 gigabytes of memory into a device half the size of the original Shuffle. Another area that Apple is pursuing is the use of Intel chips.

The Apple Intel chips will allow new machines to run the Windows Operation System and could also be used to develop tunes and music player technology that can be applied to a mobile phone. Apple must continue to create opportunities through new, innovative software markets and strive to introduce its groundbreaking hardware into these markets.

Threats: The computer technology industry is a consistently transforming and highly competitive industry. There are more competitive companies entering the market that Apple has saturated.

Microsoft is Apple’s historic rival, and has managed to maintain its competitive status. In the computer hardware division, there are many competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Dell produces low-budget computers and products that appeal to economically cautious consumers. Apple has a higher tock price than Dell and HP but Apple’s market share and total revenue are significantly lower. It is imperative for Apple to consistently create new products that set financial and technological standards for the computer industry. Apple has a growing international market, specifically in Asia.

The exchange rates challenge the organization and create a shift in supply and demand. With the depreciation of the US dollar, the international revenue is declining. The global economy threatens most industries in the global market, which presents a revenue obstacle for Apple. Apple’s Porter Model The Porter Model is a study of the company in question compared to its competition. Apple differentiates itself from the competition by creating products that are unique and lead to innovation among the industry. Apple’s major competitors are Dell, Hewlett-Packard Company, and Microsoft.

In comparison, Apple excels in quarterly revenue growth, earnings per share, price per earnings ratio, price earning to grow in a five year expectancy, and purchases and sales which describes the margin of future traders. For the third straight year, Apple has overwhelmed competition and led Fortune’s list of Most Admired Companies for innovation mainly for the development of the pod, phone, and mimic. Original products; competitors have now followed with their own versions of several Apple products that model the pod, phone, Macro and pad.

The creation of the pod has stimulated the evolution of MPH players and encouraged competition and advancement. For example, Microsoft created the June, an MPH player to rival the pod with FM radio, sharing and syncing capabilities, and a larger video screen. To compete with tunes, Microsoft also has the June Marketplace where customers can purchase their MPH files. Dell has offered a$100 rebate program if potential customers would exchange their pod for Dell’s DC MPH player. The creation of the phone has sparked a demand for touch screen development in most rival companies.

To contrast, Samsung has developed the Samsung Ultra Smart FIFE which has a slide out QWERTY Keyboard, and resembles the phone when closed. The Samsung Ultra Smart also has a 5 megalith camera with auto focus, and the phone also supports the High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HASPS) network. Another famous Apple product is the Macro, a compact thirteen inch portable laptop. To counter the Macro in the arrest, Toshiba has created the KIDDED-SISSY, a thirteen inch laptop that is less expensive than the $1,299 Macro but has a slower MAD processor, a smaller hard drive, and mediocre integrated graphics.

As companies develop their own style of Apple products, it is apparent that none can compete against the innovation and creativity that Apple has established. Through Porter’s Model, Apple functions as a differentiator among its rivals and rival products. With the creation of the pad Apple made a niche market where they have a large market share and only now are competitors trying to catch up companies like Samsung, Motorola, Dell and ETC were all caught unawares.

This proves that apples innovation cannot be matched and is in fact their greatest strength Apple’s International Growth and Operations Apple is growing rapidly not Just in the United States, but also overseas. It has more than 250 stores in 10 countries, Apple is giving credit to its International Operations for its 134% Jump the international sales represented 47% of total business profits. Right now is a great time to expand into the international market. Apple’s stores average 4,000 square feet and the organization is opening up new “mint-locations” hat will be between 1,500 to 2,000-square-feet.

They will hold mainly “grab-and-go and impulse-buy products like pods and accessories”. These stores would be a great investment overseas to sell the popular items that Apple is famous for. Apple SCOFF Peter Oppenheim planned on opening 35-40 new stores and a large percentage of these would be international. For early August, Apple made definite plans Apple is showing universal strength. By being competitive internationally and within the United States, this company is setting standards other competitors have to match.

When someone mentions the word communication, one”s thoughts turn to a newspaper, the radio, television, or another more common means of mass-type communication. One does not usually make the connection between communication and other institutions such as business. Good business, however, goes hand in hand with good communication. Good managers and professionals realize that the ability to communicate is not a silly frill; it”s a necessity that helps all accomplish their work (Murphy 2). Therefore the question is often posed: Are these problems of poor communications that face managers and professionals becoming more and more critical?

The evidence suggests the answer to be yes- these problems are serious and are growing more and more serious everyday. John O. Morris, a Management Communications Consultant consolidates this problem into a single statement called the Morris Maxim. It states that “Communications problems grow much faster in any organization than the organization itself grows” (Morris 3). This maxim emphasizes the need for better communication in organizations such as big business through the implication of what would happen if that organization did not fix it”s structure to better handle increasing communication needs.

However, before dealing with a solution to the problem of communication in business, (frequently dubbed business speak) it is important to understand how big business operates. Big business was created in the mid-1800″s to organize corporations such as the railroad, oil and steel industries. At that time, the only other organizations that had a similar size and structure were the Roman Catholic Church and the United States Army. These organizations are extremely authoritative in nature, and use a system of hierarchical communication.

This translates into a business organization/communication style which is basically condescending in nature and is based primarily on status . Business speak is often straight, to the point, and beneficial to the individual speaking first, and to others second. This shows its hierarchical origins in that very often, the speaker is one who will use one or more power strategies, mostly the perception that someone can inflict negative consequences.

Other issues in business communications include lack of responsibility in the upper ranks of the hierarchy, lack of training in good communications for the majority of employees, and lack of honest, direct conversation between business and it”s customers. These problems need to be fixed for a business to truly succeed, and can be fixed if managers and high-ranking officials take the initiative and implement a few simple and straightforward techniques into their business styles. Current problems facing business communications deal mainly with the apparent lack of functional inter-level communication.

That is, communication employees as well as customers can understand. One of the main reasons behind this lack of understandable communication is that there are some many ways to avoid good communication and maintain the status quo for the short term. These mostly pertain to issues brought to a company from outside sources. These include letters of complaint, inquiries from government bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission, and published evaluations (i. e. editorials, product reviews).

Instead of addressing these issues head-on and dealing with them, companies are more likely to dodge responsibility. There are 2 main ways to dodge accountability: denial and evasion of responsibility (Benoit, 90). In using denial, a corporation or employee refuses any wrong-doing, and usually transfers blame to another company or employee, often one that is lower on the “corporate ladder”. This is similar to evasion of responsibility, which often names scapegoats. In addition to that, evasion tactics often claim that any wrong-doing was an accident, or that the intentions behind their actions were good.

These tactics allow for excuses to be made and for responsibility to be forgotten. Lastly, some companies will refuse to accept any wrongdoing, and simply fix the problem. This was the case when Tylenol was accused of allowing their merchandise to be tampered by not putting a safety seal on their product”s bottle. This prompted Tylenol”s executives to start sealing their bottles, but they never accepted responsibility for not sealing them in the first place (Benoit 92). This is just one example of a company distancing itself from blame.

In order for there to be good communication, corporations must begin accepting responsibility for their actions, and begin making sound business decisions based on what the customer wants and needs. This would be most advantageously served with clear communication between a company and it”s customers. On the whole, communications between companies and customers are based on a “need to know” basis. There are exceptions to this rule, however. One company has done an increasingly good job in maintaining good communications lines with it”s customers.

Intel, Inc. s a computer micro-processor firm that controls over 90% of the computer chip-set industry (Yahoo Tech Headlines). In their annual report, Intel”s top executives announced the creation of a “sort of R&D lab and strategic think tank to the industry” in which “we (will) work with PC makers, software developers and PC users to understand their future needs and wishes, and work intensely with industry leaders to develop products or specifications that meet those needs”. In doing so, Intel has opened a direct link to it”s customers, allowing for direct customer impact on some of Intel”s management and directional decisions.

However, even the most open and direct company is not without it”s business speak. The following was taken from the same annual report, under the heading “Taking responsibility for our own growth”: We know we can’t wait for growth to come to us. We are responsible for our own future and work to make it as successful as possible by removing roadblocks to PC platform growth, developing preference for the Intel Inside(R) brand among PC users and supporting emerging PC markets around the world. Together, these strategies build value for our stockholders, which is, after all, our most important goal.

While this may look like a positive, non-aggressive statement, one finds a different meaning when looking at it from a business speak point of view. The most obvious example of business speak is the phrase “removing roadblocks to PC platform growth”. Basically stated, Intel wants to buyout or take-over any companies that might stand in the way of allowing Intel to control the industry. If Intel were to come right out and say this, there would be massive investigations from government and consumer groups that would plague Intel for years.

Therefore, by tailoring what they tell their customers and stockholders, they are dodging a bullet and enforcing a hierarchical position over it”s customers and stockholders. However, customers are not the only one”s often left in the dark on business decisions. Sometimes, even high ranking officials are not consulted and are left to adapt to a change they had no say in. Such was the case with James Bennett, CEO of Picadilly Cafeterias, Inc. In 1986, then chief financial officer Bennett sat in a meeting and listened as Picadilly”s CEO announced plans to change the recipes of some of their most popular items.

These changes were to be unannounced and were never tested or approved internally. There was no communication between the CEO and the company. James Bennett quit later that week and Picadilly”s sales plummeted from $11 a share to $6 (Forbes, 63). In 1992, Bennett was back in action, this time as CEO. He began a comprehensive overhaul that brought back the “good home cooking” that was the Picadilly tradition. “I”m just going back to ways that have always worked” (Forbes, 63). Those ways included clear communication between customer and company, as well as between employer and employee.

That difference has translated into profit: shares in Picadilly are now worth $14 a piece (Forbes 64). He proved that a business can not be run on a spreadsheet alone. Knowledge in the area of communication, even if at the most elementary level is one of the key factors in a successful employment history. In a survey of 13,586 of its college graduates, General Electric Company found that the great majority of its employees cited written and verbal communication as the college training that had contributed most to their success in business (Zelko 7).

It for this reason that many colleges have reported an increase in enrollment in communications classes. In addition to college courses, companies are now beginning to take the initiative and teach their current employees communications skills. This in-service of sorts can be accomplished very efficiently if a few guidelines are met. These include the establishment of an informal and permissive climate, the establishment of the value and importance of the training, and general across-the-board participation- that is, contributions to the group from all of it”s members (Zelko, 8).

These guidelines ensure that the environment will be right to help educate the employee that is not versed in communication. This training can be a catalyst in the growth of a business, as well as helping to create a work-friendly environment that encourages productivity (Murphy 9). The American Management Association calls the ability to communicate a “vital skill of management”, and declare that “progressive companies now recognize (this ability)”. It is important to improve not only downward communication , but upward communication as well.

Values of good downward communication include the ability to help a manager”s authority to be accepted, an evocation of cooperation that helps to solve problems, and a general expression of a more friendly atmosphere that builds morale everywhere (Murphy 281). Values of enhanced upward communication include the ability to forewarn top management of employees” reaction to policies, clarification of directives, and ability to offer valuable ideas to supervisors (Murphy 281). These values can help improve business exponentially, mostly due to the combined efforts of employees and their supervisors.

When upward and downward communication has been established, the major problems dealing with communications in business will be eliminated. The hierarchy that is big business will become less prominent, and the business will function much better. A basic analogy that sums up hierarchical structure in business is this- when times are rough, a car that uses both the front and rear tires to move will make out better than a car that uses just the front wheels. Business should be considered a vehicle that has four-wheel drive, not a vehicle with front-wheel drive.

In conclusion, communicating in business is one of the leading restraints that a corporation has to deal with in it”s advancement up the ladder of success. However, if a business chooses to hone it”s ability to communicate and increase the level of productivity due to the sharing of ideas all across the corporate ladder, employee and consumer alike will share the increase in quality of a business products, be it computer microprocessors, or cafeteria food. In short, good communication makes good business.

PUBLIC ISSUES AND PERSONAL PROBLEMS Most of the time, we don’t think of problems we go through as social issues, but when we compare ourselves to others we can see that many of the everyday problems of average people occur on a larger basis in our country. Some are easier to spot such as unemployment, even though it affects each person laid off once the rates get to a certain point it is obvious that the rates are due to economical factors not the characteristics of each individual (Mills 1). I have found that a problem that is becoming more evident in our daily life is a growing use of dangerous supplements in teenage athletes.

When I was thirteen I started in my first school sport. I became a runner. I fell in love with the sport. As I grew older it was something that dominated my life on and off the mat. I often found myself in class wishing I were running. Naturally as I became older I also became more a competitive athlete, as did the rest of my friends that ran or played any high school sport for that matter. Talk of being a competitor at state championships or who was favored at the next match often filled the hallways. Generally this competition appeared a good thing to me. I was a better athlete because of that competition.

Being a runner I often heard people talk about “why would you do that to your body? ” referring to dropping weight. At first the idea seemed absurd. The conversations with others about what supplements I was taking or not taking took place almost every day. As I spent more time conversing with wrestlers from other school I found the phenomenon was far from isolated to my school or even my state. Pills such as Xenadrine, DHEA, and Androstat where almost a necessary thing. To keep up with the bell curve of students taking the same things everyone “had to do it. Instead of sticking with these already dangerous or at the very least unhealthy pills people often felt pushed to try even bigger and better things. Over time the use of very unhealthy supplements to drop or gain weight or to gain any kind of edge became almost common. Sadly many of these pills, drinks, and even injections where available to anyone at most “health food stores. ” The long term use of these can have a devastating effect on teens. I have seen the best wrestlers walk off the mat and into the locker room to puke. Thankfully I have never known anyone personally to suffer any long-term effects but I ave often seen on the news and read in the paper about athletes that have. I recently saw on the news that a pitching prospect for the Oriels, Steve Belcher, died from taking Xenadrine RFA-1. It is true that this was not the only factor, but it was defiantly a major contributor. I am familiar with this particular drug as I probably went through two hundred dollars worth in high school. The major ingredient is Ephedrine. Ephedrine is the principal extract from Ma Huang. Ephedrine is a “beta-adrenergic agonist,” which means it increases heart rate, blood pressure, and thermal energy by burning fat for energy.

My experience with this is it is very effective but unless a person is already in good health (which is unlikely if they are taking a fat burning formula) this can be a very dangerous chemical. Such as in the case of Steve Belcher. The company that makes Xenadrine recently released a new formula of the supplement with out Ephedrine in my opinion because this is because Ephedrine is being evaluated by the USDA and may become illegal over the counter. As I made it though high school and I no longer take part in the rush for the hot new supplements to make me perform better I have found that I haven’t even thought about it in a long time.

At the time I didn’t even give it a second thought but now I see that supplements that are meant for short term use by grown adults or that are just plain not healthy to use for anyone are finding their way to the hands of athletes more often. The need to gain an edge and be the best drives them to do whatever it takes for them to win. I find myself relegated to telling my little brother of the dangers and hoping that these supplements will be pulled from the shelf before more harm is done. Bibliography: Works Cited Mills, C. Wright “The Promise” Mapping the Social Landscape, Ed Susan J. Ferguson McGraw Hill, 2002. 1-6.

CPU: Past, Present,  “A CPU (central processing unit) is the “brain” of the computer; it follows the instructions of the software to manipulate data into information. ” (Sawyer, 2010, p. 208) The CPU performs logic and arithmetic operations, controls instruction processing, and supervises the overall operation of the computer. The main components of the CPU are the CU (control unit) and the ALU (arithmetic/logic unit). (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 78) The CPU also has registers which temporary store data during processing, and buses that act as roadways which transmit bits of data within the CPU and to other components on the motherboard. CPU: The control unit deciphers the instructions from the input and moves them into memory. For each instruction the CPU will fetch the instruction, decode the instruction, execute the instruction, and store the result. These four basic operations are known as a machine cycle. The control unit is therefore responsible in the CPU to instruct and control where the data goes to and what will happen to it. (Sawyer, 2010, p. 208)

ALU: The arithmetic/logic unit executes data that the control unit has sent to it. It performs basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The ALU also performs basic logic operations such as comparing two numbers to see if they are equal, less than, greater than, or not equal. (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 581) Registers: “Registers are high-speed storage areas that temporarily store data during processing. ” (Sawyer, 2010, p. 209) The CPU contains several types of registers such as an instruction register, address register, storage register, and an accumulator register.

These registers may store a program instruction, store data while being processed, or store the results of a calculation. Without the registers the control unit or arithmetic/logic unit could not complete their work. Buses: “A bus is a group of parallel conductors which carry information. ” (“Microprocessors,” 1983, pp. 2-2) The conductors may be wires in a cable, foil patterns on a printed circuit board, or microscopic metal deposits in a silicon chip. Buses act as data roadways to get data from one place to another as needed. The term CPU/central processing unit has been in use since the 1960s.

Nowadays, we are more familiar with the term microprocessors which are CPUs that are manufactured on integrated circuits in a single-chip package. However, before getting into today’s technology I will take a look at the past CPU technology. Past Exactly which computer was the first electronic computer completed in the United States is a controversial subject. Iowa State University claims that the Atanasoff-Berry Computer at ISU was completed in 1942 just before its creator was called up for duty in the war effort. (Munns) Another computer at the University of Pennsylvania which was funded by the military was completed in 1946 by J.

Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. First Generation: Eckert and Mauchly’s invention was called the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, or as many now know it, as ENIAC. This first generation computer weighed 30 tons and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes. ENIAC could do 5000 additions per second. Each specific sequence of calculations had to be hard-wired into the machine. To change programs, ENIAC had to be completely rewired. ENIAC is generally known as the first electronic computer in the United States. However, since ENIAC could not store a program it did not have, what we would call, a CPU. Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 571) In 1945 John von Neumann created a design for a computer system. His design included four basic units for a computer: a CPU, an input device, an output device, and storage. (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 571) In 1946 John von Neumann joined with Eckert and Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania to create the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC). EDVAC was completed in 1949. It contained almost 6000 vacuum tubes and had 12,000 diodes. EDVAC covered 490 square feet of flooring and weighed almost 9 tons. It required thirty people to operate it.

EDVAC is considered the first truly programmable electronic computer that included a central processing unit. No doubt the CPU was enormous, but still a recognizable CPU. (“EDVAC”) Second Generation: In 1954 Texas Instruments introduced the silicon transistor. This revolutionized computer technology and created the Second Generation of computers. Transistorized CPUs of the 1950’s and 60’s were no longer hampered by vacuum tubes and electrical relay. Second Generation computers were smaller, faster, more rugged, and more reliable. “With this improvement, more complex and reliable CPUs were built onto one or several rinted circuit boards containing discrete transistor components. ” (“Central Processing Unit”) Third Generation: The development of integrated circuits and their use in computers began in the mid 1960’s. This shift in technology brought about the Third Generation of computers which were faster, more reliable, cheaper to operate and much smaller. Throughout the advances in computer technology and electronics the CPU continued to become faster and smaller. Fourth Generation: In the early 1970’s, Ted Hoff at Intel invented the first microprocessor.

Essentially, this was the first time that a complete processing unit was contained within a single chip and it revolutionized the way computers were applied and designed forever. This is where the Fourth Generation of computers was born. The Intel 4004 was a four bit device, measured 1/8 inch by 1/6 inch, and could execute 60,000 operations per second. (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 574) By 1972 Intel had come out with an 8-bit microprocessor, the Intel 8008, and within a year had bettered it with the Intel 8080 which could execute about 290,000 operations per second.

In 1979, Motorola developed a 16-bit microprocessor. The Motorola 68000 was very popular in the blossoming personal computer market. Around the same time Intel rolled out their 16-bit microprocessor; the Intel 8086. While other companies tried to compete in the microprocessor market, it was generally Intel and Motorola who were in the race to built smaller and better processors with each other. By the mid 80’s each had produced 32-bit microprocessors. Beyond: According to Moore’s Law, at our rate of technological development, the complexity of an integrated circuit will double in about 24 months.

By the early 90’s, 64-bit microprocessors entered the market. Each succeeding processor is smaller and can produce data much faster. The 90’ saw Intel introduce its first Pentium chip and Motorola introduced their Power PC CPU. Throughout the 90’s Intel improved on its Pentium technology releashing the Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium MMX, and Pentium III. In the late 90’s AMD introduced their Athlon CPU. The Athlon worked at 800 MHz. In 2000, both Intel and AMD released 1 GHz microprocessors in the Pentium 4 and Athlon CPU. By 2002, Intel’s Pentium 4 reaches 3. 06 GHz.

By 2006, both Intel and AMD introduce dual-core processors. 64-bit processors have been around for use in mainframes and supercomputers, but now 64-bit processors are being made for personal computers. Present Today’s main competitors for CPU’s in microprocessors are Intel and AMD. Motorola sold off their semiconductor manufacturing section to become Freescale, and has basically bowed out of the CPU race. CPU’s of today are extremely fast. The new Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition released the beginning of 2010 has six cores, 12 threads, a max turbo speed of 3. GHz , a 12 MB Smart Cache, and a clock speed of 3. 33 GHz. (“Intel Processors,”) “The faster a CPU runs the more power it consumes and the more waste heat it produces. ” (Sawyer, 2010, p. 206) For that reason, rather than increasing clock speed, Intel and AMD have pursued using multi-core technology, which employs additional CPU cores and runs them in parallel. Dual, Quad, and multi-core processors are very popular today in CPUs for computers, games and other technology that needs a CPU. Future 128-bit microprocessors are still being developed. Some experts predict that advances in microprocessor technology will produce a 50 GHz processor by 2010, the kind of power that will be required to support such function as true speech interfaces and real-time speech translation” (Sawyer, p. 206) ClusterOnaChip (CoC) is a popular example of the future in CPU technology. Engineers are working on how to place thousands of more processors in a “cluster” on a single chip. IBM in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology has created a prototype silicon-germanium hetero-junction bipolar transistor able to operate at a speed of 500 GHz at 4. degrees Kelvin. At room temperature, the transistor achieves a speed of 350 GHz. “This demonstrates that speeds of half a trillion cycles per second can be achieved in a commercial, silicon-based technology, using large wafers and low-cost, silicon-compatible manufacturing techniques,” says John D. Cressler, Byers Professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a researcher at the Georgia Electronic Design Center at Georgia Tech. Our current technological knowledge is not good enough to produce the microprocessors and CPU’s of the future.

We are limited by our current materials and in need of innovation to jump start us towards even smaller and faster CPU’s. One can only dream of the day when rather than having a bulky transistor made of silicon, we have processors that are scaled down to the size of an electron itself. Conclusion With Moore’s Law in mind, we can see that over the past decades we have certainly obeyed his law. From ENIAC to EDVAC, to transistors, to integrated circuits and single chip microprocessors, CPU technology has evolved and is still evolving to bring us the computers that e want and need. Further advances into CPU technology will allow us to compute faster and realize scientific discoveries that can change our world for the better. Our thirst for deep space exploration could become a reality. Medical research will be simplified. The possibilities are endless. References (1983). Microcomputer Basics. In Microprocessors (pp. 2-2). Benton Harbor, MI: Heath Company. Central Processing Unit. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. spiritus-temporis. com/central-processing-unit/history. html Dugger, W. E. , & Gerrish, H.

H. (1994). Electronics Technology: Devices and Circuits. South Holland, IL: Goodheart-Wilcox Company, Inc. EDVAC. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. spiritus-temporis. com/edvac/ Intel Processors. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. intel. com/products/processor_number/about. htm Munns, R. (n. d. ). First-Computer controversy finally nearing a conclusion. Retrieved from http://www. scl. ameslab. gov/abc/articles/first-computer. html Sawyer, W. (2010). Hardware: The CPU & Storage. In Using Information Technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Intel Corporation is one of the world leaders in terms of microchip and microprocessor production. They embark on a mission of staying in the top and even formulated a strategy on exploring other forms of markets like that of digital health and wireless applications. They have also been known to forge tie-ups with leaders of the prospective markets they are exploring. They have tied up with search engine Google for the wireless application as an example.

Basically, Intel operations are divided into two sections: the communications group, known as ICG or Intel Communications Group; and the other section consists of the Intel Architectural business. The architectural section is responsible for the production of “platform” boards that consists of chipsets and microchips, which are used in desktop processors; including the Intel Pentium 4 processor and the Celeron. On the other hand, the communications section deal mostly with the production and development of wireless technology. They are mostly concerned with flash memory and cellular base-band technology.

Intel is also known for large-scale tie-ups with other firms. Example of such is their tie-up with search engine Google for development of wireless technologies. They are also know to be connected with other firms like Microsoft and Dell. However, competition has been seen to catch up on the leadership oh Intel.

Recently, a lot of clamors have been heard in the recent decision of present CEO Paul Otellini unveiled his plan to ship the micro-chip corporation to another industry. While the rest had their problems with it, former CEO Andrew Grove is all praises for it.

The present CEO’s vision is to generally change the image of Intel starting from what Andrew Grove practically built. Starting from the scrapping of the famous “e” trademark of the logo, the company motto and even the brand, the company has been envisioned to undergo a transformation. A lot of managers seem to be against the changing of such things that made Intel a household name. Even the logo has been widely known in all parts of the globe.

Meanwhile, Andrew Grove has been vocal about his approval of the said changes. In his opinion, they are of the same line of thinking that the present CEO has, that the company really has to undergo these changes in order for the to tell the world that even Intel is adjusting to the fast-paced growth of the industry and that they, as a company, should be at equal footing with the rest of the companies in the same industry.  He further stresses that it is a imperative for the company to show that the company exhibits a show of risk-taking and result orientation, accompanied also by the value of discipline.

Before, under Grove’s supervision and Craig Barrett (Grove’s successor), the company focused on the production of microprocessors and took the lead in that industry for years. They helped give birth to the Information Age by producing more microchips and therefore, producing faster computers and ending in the development of micro processing. However, what Otellini had in mind is far from the former image of Intel, considering that he even wanted to change the logo and company symbol. He wanted to venture into uncharted regions of digital health industry and that of “platform” inventions.

Despite the negative views about Otellini’s decision, Analysts from outside the company have cited other views about the subject, stating the fact that sometimes, change is needed for a big company to maintain solid advantage. They also added that other companies that survived the changes maintained industry leadership, just like what happened to Texas Instruments. However, the other side notes that it is not really that advisable to change their target industry and find a niche in other markets, although they have leadership in the industry they would leave.

Adding firepower to the firepower of the critics, Intel’s competitor, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) Inc., have scored a major point against Intel as it topped the company in terms of consumption as AMD Inc rose to a higher percentage in 2003 and analysts view that it would continue to rise against Intel unless Intel releases a new competitive line of processors in the future.. In the wireless communications field, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm Inc are still standing their own ground against Intel’s advances. Also, the two companies are planning to release their own versions of the platform that they assured, would gain more shares of the market than the new Intel is trying to build a niche on.

On the other hand, many people are applauding Otellini’s vision of the new Intel, stating that they have never seen so much innovation in technology with respect to their fields, especially that of medicine. Also, people have actually seen the growth of the company, showing promise for a whole variety of new plans that are underway. Not only did the plans boost company ties with other companies, but also made their partner companies believe in the new flexibility of Intel. They promoted closer ties with cellular phone conglomerates Nokia and Samsung; had present tie-ups with Google; ties with Sony and Philips; and with those ties, Intel was able to produce and release different types of innovative products.

There different developments have different market reactions. Some producing great results, others not. However, analysts are right in pointing out that other companies that are industry leaders also experienced changes that looked like they are headed nowhere, although in the end, they have proven that their change would actually pay off. And now, Intel took their lead and eventually took some changes in themselves as well. The problem would be, if they can maintain the positive effects and eliminate the negative effects of the changes.

As for their decision of making the company over, It is. The industry’s reaction to it seemed to treat the decision as a smart move as well. Rival AMD Inc made some deals with ATI, and this showed that Intel produced a bigger threat than before. Also, the result of other marketing strategies in the release of the new products proved that Intel can really hold its own against the rivals in the industries that they have entered. They also showed that they can maintain the leadership in their industry, and even remodeled themselves into a more serious threat than that of before.

However, not all decisions solely produce good effects. The negative effects therefore should be dealt with accordingly. Otellini did not make a bad move and he assured that he would produce good results which he did, although in the process nearly humiliating the company as he suffered near losses and continue to be behind Texas Instrument in the other fields. Intel not only made a good decision externally but also made breakthrough decisions internally, taking care of their employees better and giving chances to other fields like medicine to be at the same level as that of the engineers, the firepower of Intel before. May be this was a factor in Otellini’s equation that he devised for company growth.

All in all, Intel has made a remarkable shift from the way it was thirty seven years ago. It also departed from the household figure that we recognized. Although this a bold move in there part and a rather risky one considering the old model is one of the main reasons why Intel made it to the top. In Otellini’s, and now Intel’s belief, It is one risky move that was designed to maintain leadership and gain advantages in other fields that they would pursue in the future. The market and business world would have to look out as Intel’s new look is bound to stay, and so is their new outlook in the business battles.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Intel Corp. Company Profile. Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved October 26, 2006. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/13/13787.html)
Intel Corporation. Computer Business Review Online. Retrieved October 26, 2006. (http://www.cbronline.com/companyprofile.asp?guid=E82C088A-0488-4DB5-8953-9E316C2B44D1&CType=Background)