The Pc Industry Essay -- essays research papers

IntroductionIn this paper I go away discuss the industry structure and the behavior of inviol qualifieds in the individual(prenominal) computing machine Industry. The personal computing machine industry has quint drawing cards Compaq Computer Corporation (CCC), dingle Computer Corporation, International Business Machines (IBM), Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway, (Industry Survey, Apr. 2000). The PC industry, as discussed in the paper, is comprised only of home/business use machines, not mainframes, databases, or any kind of servers or super-computers. The PC industry is a fast-growing, consumer-based oligopoly. I will prove the latter through the use of industry characteristics and firm behaviors by giving an overview of each leading firm and their behaviors, then by combining them into an industry analysis. The companies will be addressed from top leader to bottom.Company OverviewsCompaq Computer Corporation,(CCC) is the current industry leader. CCC boasts a 1999 commercialize s h be of 12.8%. However, this figure has declined slightly from its 1998 share of 13.4%. The dip is due to dingle Computer Corp.s heavy presence in the small PC market, (Industry Survey, Apr. 2000). Compaq has a wide die hard of PC products from littler, less expensive machines to more costly, sophisticated systems. CCC has been most successful with their smaller machines, targeted to the home/family segment, because they are able to sell large quantities. However, Compaq has been unsuccessful in retaining customers because most of them were pleased with their smaller machines and did not upgrade to CCCs more expensive, high-tech systems,(Hamblen 1-2). Customer retention has been a line for the forty billion-dollar company, (Hamblen 1-2). It is my assessment that Compaq does still remain the leader because their products are precise easy to buy for the uneducated consumer. You may simply manner of walking into the WIZ or BEST BUY and there are five or so Compaq machines all com petitively priced with a good range of attributes, usually not the best that a veteran user would require. For compositors case CCCs newest product, the iPac, is a very simple-to-use, inexpensive machine. It is supposed to satisfy business workers ineluctably for a useful computer at low cost,(Wildstrom 1-2). Another problem in CCCs not-to-distant future is their distribution costs. With the use of the Internet, competitors have been able to ... ...pr. 2000). This will lower costs and possibly increase the bottom line for the computer giant. Like IBM, Hewlett-Packard made one mistake and cost itself billions of dollars in revenues. HP is a large electronics conglomerate. HP manufactures everything from calculators to top-secret government appliances. For HP the PC market is one of many. Originally Hewlett-Packard was the standard in computer electronics however, this is not reality straightaway. HPs reputation declined through the 80s and early 90s because of poor quality manage ment. To receive the respect they had lost the marketing and engineering departments at HP worked their fingers to the attire to create a new image for the company. This was very effective today HP owns a modest 6.2% of the PC market and a very healthy reputation for quality PCs and peripherals, (Industry Survey, Apr. 2000). HP has had some step-up in the past few years but has failed to match the industry growth rates. The companys years of poor quality put a considerable ache on their future growth while HP was busy plectrum in the hole it dug for itself, industry leaders like Compaq and Dell were basking in their success.