Professor Elam

Thank you Jordan (see his post about DELL) which is the perfect introduction to my next obsession, I think the entire MBA degree as it exists should be junked, everyone is offering the same MBA. Instead if UNT Dallas wants to differentiate itself, we should focus on DESIGN. I will post some of my articles on design. look at the Fast Company website, Designers Reign Supreme. Jobs took Apple from less than 5% of the computer market to folks looking at his computers for the first time by

Designing a whole new music download interface, still the easiest to use after everyone else has tried their hand at it
Designing a whole new easy to use media storehouse called the iPod
Followed that up with iPhone
Soon iVideo

These are not supply chain or value chain breakthroughs which is all the MBA lit talks about, these are

DESIGN INNOVATIONS

Dell is not going to improve his company with chain innovations because everyone is too competitive in that area. Does he employ creative designers? Well guess not, we know MSFT hasn’t, anyone buying ZUNE? OK MSFT has sold a lot of play stations but other efforts like ZUNE and the electronic book have gone nowhere. The reason is that MSFT employs programmers and code writers, not designers.

Great design can change completely the way people look at a firm, examples

Ford T Bird 1953
Datsun 240 Z 1972
Mazda RX 7 1978
Mazda Miata 1989

Ferrari sells less than 5,000 vehicles in the US per year, yet is there anyone who does not know the name and what it stands for, years of cooperation with Pininfarina is no accident here, this is why Ford bought Aston Martin, and it is doing well, too gad we can’t say that for Ford, can you watch the latest run of Bond movies and NOT want an Aston?

THe new Jag is on backorder after the whole Jag line has sagged for years, why, it is a new design, not an old model rehashed.

Soon everyone will be oggling the latest female fashions on display as ‘stars’ attend the Oscars, same story.

More as we continiue the semester, your thoughts?

DLE

DLE