A series of mishaps, one after another, ranging from a massive recall of potentially self-igniting laptop batteries, a dismal earnings report, to an announcement by the computer maker that it is under Securities and Exchange Commission's scrutiny for the way it counts revenues possibly were more than enough for Michael Dell to put an end to the journey of Kevin Rollins, the former CEO of Dell Inc. with the company and to reclaim the position. His comeback as CEO of Dell on January 31, 2007, emphasizes not only a complete management shake-up, including exodus of former CFO James Schneider and a number of senior vice-presidents, but also endorses Dell 2.0 more closely, refocusing customer service and usability, especially targeting emerging markets. However, Wall Street sent a cautious welcome to the founder's homecoming as CEO, raising share value by 1.6% to $24.60, amidst skepticism that whether such a reshuffle is sufficient to bring new life in Dell at least in short run. For Dell, the $60 bn Round Rock, Texas-based company, the global PC market has gone too far to bestow reward to its ultra-efficient supply-chain management and direct-sales strategy eyeing on delivering PCs at the lowest cost to corporates. But Michael Dell, who is in no mood to change the direct-sales model, tried to get a strong foothold in service arena by acquiring ACS, a UK-based IT services group.
|
