case study of dubinsky

7/31/2019 Case Study of Dubinsky

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Dubinsky, a yale graduate and MBA fromHarvard.

In 1981, started as customer support liaison in

departmen distribution,service and support group.

April 1985, became director of distribution andsales administration.

Her management style, caring and honestrelationship with her subordinated.


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Founding in 1976 1977, release Apple II, a home and educational

computer. In 1983, Cofounder, Steve Jobs, hired John Sculley as

presidency at Apple In 1984, Macintosh first introduced By 1985, Apple II sales failed to reach projected

planning levels, causing profitability problems. Tension were mounting between Apple II Apple attempted to create and solidify a sense of

identity by developing a statement basis of basicvalue


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July 1981 joined firm as customer support liaison

July 1982 Customer support program manager

Add first report and field management responsibility

October 1982 Add customer relations

December 1982 Add direct sales administration group

January 1984 Distribution manager

Add product distribution group

Add warehousing

June 1984 Add field communications

Add applelink operations

October 1984 Add teacher buy(special distribution project)

January 1985 Add traffic

Add developer ralations

April 1985 Director, distribution and sales administration (promotion approved december

1984)Add forecasting


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Donna Dubinsky in 1984 became distributionmanager with responsibility

6 fields warehouses and sales adm., inventorycontrol, and customer relations.

Because Apples operation was primarily design andassembly, warehousing control for parts, work inprocess and finished good were potentially costly andcritical to Apple profits.

Planning and analysis were luxuries for productdistribution in Apple.


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The conflict began in September 1984, when Dubinsky andher boss, Weaver presented the distribution, services andsupport for 1985s plan.

Jobs, the president complaining that he not receive a good

explanation for current distribution, service and support costlevels and structure.

A few later, Jobs meet Fred Smith, CEO ofFederal Express.

They talked about Just in Time (JIT) distribution which been

used by IBM for their computer components.


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Jobs saw a potential for reducing cost in this JIT,which could eliminate the need for Apples

warehouse, carrying costs and extensive inventory JIT projects was been investigated by Job and Debi

Coleman, Director of manufacturing that JIT couldefficiently in corporate the distribution function.

The project is more attractive to Jobs becauseMacintosh sales were down.

Dubinsky, however, believed the change proposedby Jobs was a mistake. She and Weaver haddiffuculty taking this new distribution idea seriosly.


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The conflict sharpened when Coleman would bepresenting her distribution proposal in executivemeeting in Pajoro Dunes.

That meeting is messed up, The disagreements grewbetween Jobs and Sculley and Jobs was pressuringSculley to accept Colemans proposal.

The conflict was resolved by entrust the distributionproblem to task force composed of the parties

involved and a few neutral individuals.


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This form of task force disappointed Dubinsky, she

still believe that distribution is her job and Colemans

proposal is not just simply suggested improvements,

but it was total change in distribution and

manufacturing strategy, taking Apple from supply

driven to demand driven procedures and reducing the

distribution and warehouse centers from six to zero.


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In April 1985, Dubinsky meet Campbell, in theirmeeting she acknowledge her previous blind spot,and she asked for 30 days to get her own distributionstrategy, but without the interference of task force.

Campbell doesnt agree about no interference by taskforce.

Dubinsky give ultimatum: If Campbell did not agreeto her terms, she would leave Apple.


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Campbell was frustrated because he knew that Jobswas pushing Sculley to accept Colemans plan and

Campbell had no alternative plan from his group tooffer Sculley.

The task force group made finally report that theyagree that JIT concept was the best direction for

Apple to pursue, but it had not agreed on feasibleimplementation plan.

This report was reject by Dubinsky

case study of dubinsky

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