Donna Dubinsky at Apple Essay

Words: 1175
Pages: 5
Open Document
Donna Dubinsky and Apple Computer Inc.

Recommendations and Findings - The Ultimatum
 “…Star performers who have been rewarded for their individual contributions and have come to expect wide latitude in how they work, becoming a manager can be a mixed blessing.” These words aptly describe the career of Donna Dubinsky at Apple Computer. As you will find in this paper, Donna’s case highlights key issues in organizational strategic direction and hierarchical structure; it illustrates power and influence, and the emotional effects of change.

Donna Dubinsky was a motivated and hardworking employee but also an elite, who had been accustomed to sole responsibility of the decision-making process in the distribution system. Though she …show more content…
She refused to whole-heartedly team up with members of the taskforce and was not prepared to make a presentation on her counter-argument. By so doing, Donna diminished her relational power with respect to the taskforce and was unable to influence the outcome of the group’s decision. Using the metaphor of “currencies” as postulated by Cohen and Bradford, she failed to realize the benefits of allies and adversaries upon whom relationship-related currencies trading could have helped push her agenda.

Moral Leadership And Political Tactics Issues Involved In This Case
In addition to the issues identified in the preceding paragraphs, Job’s multiple roles within the organization is a potential source of conflict. He was the chairman of the board, yet he also functioned as the Vice President/General Manager of the Macintosh division. His managerial approach is top-down, which is counter-culture to the company. On the other hand, Donna had enjoyed years of bottom-up decision-making approach. She has been solely responsible for most of the decision with regards to distribution operations at Apple.
On the issue of power and influence, Jobs as the chairman enjoys greater positional power within the organization as compared to Donna’s relatively smaller power. One way she could have made up for this gap is by building her relational power, forming alliances
Show More

Related Documents: Donna Dubinsky at Apple Essay

Dubinsky Essay

Donna Dubinsky and Apple Computer, Inc. Executive Summary Apple Computer was founded in 1976 and, a year later, released the Apple II computer which remained the major-selling product through 1985 In 1983, the company and cofounder Steve Jobs hired John Sculley as president. The Macintosh computer was introduced in early 1984 with impressive first year sales, although it was Apple II sales that carried the firm through the fourth quarter. By 1985, sales failed to reach projected planning levels…

Words 2247 - Pages 9

Donna Dubinsky Essay

I. Why was Donna so successful during her first 4 years at Apple before the JIT dispute? Dubinsky’s advanced because: (1) her division delivers results, (2) her individual performance is strong, (3) Apple’s environment permits rapid advancement, and (4) her boss helps her. 1. Sales delivered strong results, and Dubinsky was a recognized positive contributor to it. Dubinsky’s group performed well on key metrics including dealer satisfaction,supporting new product launches without delay, and scaling…

Words 3917 - Pages 16

Ideo Case Study Essay

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IDEO, one of the world’s largest and most successful product design firms. IDEO is responsible for the development of 3Com's Palm V hand-held computer. The Palm V’s market success has ingnited mass competition in the hand-held computer industry. This increase in competition has a major 3Com competitor, HandSpring to approach IDEO to now design the competing VISOR product. Handspring's management wants the VISOR prototype to be designed and manufactured in less than half…

Words 2119 - Pages 9