Chipping Away at Intel

Chipping Away at Intel

Many companies are faced with challenges and are forced to undergo organizational changes necessary for their survival. There are many different factors, both internal and external that can put an organization in a position in which they must make changes. One such company is Intel. From 1998 through 2005 (www.intel.com), Intel was led by CEO, Craig R. Barrett. During his tenure, there were numerous organizational changes that many thought were unnecessary and ineffective (Palmer, Dunford, Akin, 2009). This paper discusses the different changes at Intel during the first three years of Barrett’s tenure, environmental pressures and internal organizational pressure for change under CEO Barrett’s leadership. Lastly discussed is Barrett’s performance and what he may have done differently.

Discuss the different changes at Intel over the first 3 years of CEO Barrett’s tenure.

During the first three years of CEO Barrett’s tenure at Intel, the organization went through some major changes. Many of the changes proved to be successful in the long run, but a few of the changes left the company in bad shape, the worst it had been in fifteen years (Anonymous, 2001). Some of these changes were venturing into new markets by investing and production of different appliances, software and Internet related products, but away from its core business of manufacturing computer chips (Krazit, 2009). Some of these changes were devastating to its stakeholders causing shares to fall drastically (Palmer, et al., 2009).

Perhaps the most notable change was CEO Barrett’s reorganization of Intel’s business units. Barrett noticed that duplication and coordination between the departments were some underlying issues. He restructured the business units in such a way that decentralized decision making and allowed for more delegation of responsibilities to different departments. By doing this, Intel was able to react to changes in a more efficient, effective and...