Strategic Management and Leadership: Dyson Company Case Study

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Dyson Limited's strategic management and leadership. It begins with an overview of the company, its business nature, and the challenges it faces. The report defines success both academically and practically, using a balanced scorecard framework to measure it. It explores the reasons for Dyson's success, highlighting key factors such as innovative bagless technology, ball barrow invention, and air blade hand dryer. The internal analysis includes a value chain assessment, core competencies identification, and VRIN framework application. The contribution of leaders within Dyson is examined, followed by a review of the company's growth, competitive, collaboration, and positioning strategies. Finally, the report analyzes Dyson's future prospects, considering the impact of PEST factors on its ability to sustain success. The report also touches upon the company's engineering designs, organizational culture, and customer attraction strategies.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
Dyson Limited is a popular British technology company which was established by Sir
James Dyson in United Kingdom in the year 1991. The company is known for its popular
household appliances such as the appliances which are used in the household, hair dryers,
vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans, hand dryers as well as air purifiers. Dyson is known for owning
more than 12000 employees as in a report in the year 2014. In the present years Dyson owns
more than 22000 employees. In the year 2019 Dyson is likely to move its headquarter in
Singapore so that they can announce the manufacturing of their new electric vehicle which will
be running on battery. Dyson vacuum cleaners are made in Malmesbury. It is said that the
company is shifting its manufacturing center from Malaysia to Singapore so as to increase the
manufacturing of the products and to increase the production of the company (Dyson 2019).
In the year 1974 when James Dyson bought a hover juror vacuum cleaner which had got
clogged very easily and it had also lost its suction power. By inventing these types of vacuum
cleaners which was eco friendly and easy to use, Dyson created a name in the market and started
to excel his company worldwide.
Challenges which are faced by Dyson
Dyson had invented vacuum cleaners in the 70”s which used the big dust bags in order to
carry out the dust. There were no modifications to the models which were sold by the company.
The company used to sell the products at a very high price. The vacuum cleaners suction power
used to get decreased day by day. A Japanese company, which got its license from a very small
manufacturing company in USA, started building vacuum cleaners using the latest technologies

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which were available in Japan. The vacuum cleaners, which were manufactured in Japan, used a
special cyclone technology in order to soak out the dust from the carpets. The vacuum cleaners
were build bag less which helped the people to use it more easily and efficiently. However
Dyson’s products did not always proved to be successful. The CR 01 washing machine which
was invented by him in the year of 1985 which removed the use of the hands in washing the
clothes. The washing machine had two convex positioned rotating drums which was used in
washing the clothes seamlessly. But the product was not much available and was soon discarded
by the company as because the production cost of the company was very high.
Define the success of the company
Dyson Company, which is an old company, is known for its innovation and success
which is still pretty alive. The company is still growing in a very larger scale and bringing
innovations in its product. The company has brought in success by creating the first bag less
vacuum cleaners in the industry. The bag less vacuum cleaners was a big change in the market of
vacuum cleaners history. The company is presently working in various kind of new technology
portfolios. The company has also invested in the future technologies so as to come up with the
latest innovations in the market. Apart from manufacturing the household appliance the company
is also dedicated in building new and modern types of electric vehicles which would fully run in
lead acid battery technologies. To solve the latest problems, which does the company face; it has
invested in different colleges as well as universities.

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Balanced Scorecard Framework of Dyson
Fig 1. Represents the Balanced Scorecard of Dyson
(Source: Quesado, Aibar Guzmán, & Lim 2018 )
Financial Factor – To succeed financially Dyson should make use of the following techniques
to appear to the shareholders. The common gathering of the shareholders in a publicly traded
company is the board of directors, which mainly comprises of the highly ranked executives.
They hold a very large amount of equity in the company. Any one of the stakeholders has the

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power to disrupt the decision and introduce new ideas to the company in order to increase the
shareholders of the company.
Internal Business – The shareholders are regarded as large investors who can either increase or
decrease the share in the company according to the financial performance. The activist investors
of Dyson will make widely unpredictable investments in the company in order to move the share
price and attract media attention to certain issues faced by the company.
Learning and Growth Factor – Dyson had failed many times when he was new to the
competitive market of vacuum cleaner. He had learned from his mistakes and after spending
years in the research and innovation of new vacuum cleaners. Dyson came up with the idea of
developing bag less and cyclone-technology suction system in the present vacuum cleaners. The
Chinese bought the technology and Dyson had much grown in its vacuum cleaners business.
This led to the growth of Dyson.
Customer Factor – The marketing strategies that is used by Dyson in attracting the market is by
using the latest and updated technology. The products, which were manufactured by Dyson, are
premium products and are of better quality. The products are more efficient rather than style. The
products used to save a lot of energy and were eco friendly. This attracted the customers towards
Dyson.
Reasons for success of Dyson vacuum cleaners
 Dyson had an insight, which he had conducted in the late 1952, when he founded his bag
invention technology. Dyson had replaced the big bags, which were used in the vacuum

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cleaners, and he had replaced those with the latest fast spinning motors which is used to
create a cyclone of the air and to clean out the dust by sucking it from the carpet.
 The bag less technology which was used by Dyson got rejected by the British companies.
It was the Japanese who had come to rescue Dyson from the problem. The first bag less
model was sold in Japan in the early 1933 which had gained enough success. Dyson had
gained much royalty in Japan. He then stared setting up the Research and Development
facilities in Malmesbury which facilitates the research work.
 Dyson’s first invention was the ball barrow. Te ball barrows that were used in the
previous machines used to get bend under pressure. The invention of the ball barrow
which is mainly a wheel barrow is used is a single piece molded wheel or a ball which is
made out of plastic was released in the year 1974.
 Dyson had also gained much success in the present years by building the CR01 washing
machine, which used a two contra rotating, drums which was later discontinued just
because the production cost of the product is too high.
 Few years ago Dyson had also invented the Air blade hand dryer. Sir James expertise his
new invention and tried to redesign it. The air hand dryer, which was built, was designed
to dry out wet hands in less than 10 second, which was only possible at that time by using
the latest narrow blast cool air technology.
 Dyson also had introduced the air blade tap after designing the air blade hand dryer. The
air blade hand dryer was designed in order to stop the water drop from the wet hands
which was used in the sink present in the bathrooms The initial model was used in the
restaurants and hotel for testing it. Dyson had hoped that it will also be used in the homes
as well.

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 Dyson had also invented bladeless fans which blows the air from the rings of the fan. The
fan does not use any external blade. The bales are present in the basement of the fan
which allows the air to flow from the hollow tube and allows the air to blow with a high
velocity across the surface of the torrid.
 The invention of the air purifier in the late 70’s has also led Dyson gain success. The air
purifiers or the air cleaners were designed to clean the room contaminates from the air,
which is present in the room. The US companies as very commonly and largely marketed
the devices because it was very beneficial to the allergy sufferers as well as the
asthmatics. It was also used to reduce the smoke from the cigarettes.
Value Chain of Dyson
Dyson Limited is a domestic appliance manufacturer. The products of the company
ranges from the vacuum cleaners, washing machines, hand dryers and air coolers. The value
chain is used to describe the various categories of activities, which is present inside as well as
outside the organization in creating product or service of the company. The Value Chain divides
the company activities and the value is measured in the amount the buyers and the sellers are
willing to pay to the company. Dyson can very easily cut down the costs by the effective
management of the system of information. The information technology which is used over here
is a very powerful and efficient tool in order to reduce the cost of documenting it, this can also
help in the easy access of the information in different sections of the organization. The following
diagram will be showing the Dyson Value Chain.

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Fig 2. It displays the support activities of Dyson Company in Value Chain.
(Source: Schmit, Tamarkin, & Severson, 2018).
The initial stage of the four above given attributes was provided in order to improve as
well as also gain competitive advantage. The company is fully exploiting its competitive
potential of the valuable and rare imitable sources. The brand awareness of the firm is a very big
asset which is an intangible valuable thing to the firm. Dyson already had much experience in
designing, manufacturing as well as selling different types of vacuum cleaners. Dyson can make
use of these experiences and other skills in order to exploit the opportunities for stepping in to
the vacuum industry again. Dyson’s products are deeply included in designing and engineering
which has many capabilities. The products radically in different manner from the other products,
which are manufactured by the external companies. This makes the products of Dyson are
unique and different from the other company products. The unique hand blade dryer is known for

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drying the hands in a very innovative process and wipes out water in few seconds, it also uses
less energy than the standard evaporative hand dryer s which are available in the market.
Core Competencies
The most attractive and distinctive capability of Dyson Company is the company’s
engineering designs. The products, which are manufactured by Dyson, are unique innovation and
are featured for its well-shaped body. The company can innovate the daily useable things and
make things function even better and can create new platforms for the new products. The core
competence, which separates Dyson from the other companies, is the organizational culture of
the company. James Dyson is known for recruiting employees from a varied wide range of
personnel who are engaged in promoting new ideas to the company. This is the reason why
Dyson’s products are well known for its innovations and novelty.
These days customers are very much attracted to the modern technologies which are used
by Dyson in making the company products differ from the other competitive products. Other
companies also try to use bright color in their products in order to imitate the customers. Shape
and designs can only attract the customer, but the real invitation to the customers is wit the
efficiency of the products. Energy saving is the most important competency of Dyson where
most of the products which are manufactured by the company follow the trend.
VRIN Framework of Dyson

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Fig 3. VRIN Analysis of Dyson
(Source: Indartono, 2016).
Value
Dyson’s target is in solving the problem as well as in improving the traditional products.
In addition letting the end users use the products very easily. The outstanding Research and
development is an important factor in improving and maintenance of the products. Beside that
Dyson is also known for adding his innovation as well as special feature in the products like the
cyclone technology and bag less vacuum cleaners. The best thing with the products that are used
by Dyson’s customers is the special design and better functioning of the products.
Products or
Capabilities
Valuable Rare Inimitable Non-
substitutable
Brand name Yes Yes Yes Yes
Innovation Yes Yes Yes No
Patent Yes Yes No No
High-end
Products
Yes Yes No No

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Rarity
Dyson has many competitors in the market. They also provide products which are
cheaper than Dyson’s products. According to Amazon.com the cheapest vacuum cleaner of
Dyson was priced at only $200. Though Dyson is much known for its premium products and
good quality products which has special designs.
Inimitability
As because there is a huge number of competitors in the market, it is possible that those
companies will have the intension to imitate the products which are offered by Dyson. Adding to
the fact that Dyson has special patent to the products. Dyson has also filed 654 patent for the
Cyclone technology which is used in the vacuum cleaners manufactured by him. Dyson has also
invested a very large amount of money in the Research and Development of its products in
developing good and unique products. These are the ways which has let Dyson’s products
become inimitable.
Non-substitutable
The products manufactured by other companies can substitute Dyson’s products. But the
brand name of Dyson cannot be substituted which is a big competitive advantage of Dyson.
Dyson has already done a good job by earning a good name in the vacuum cleaner market by its
innovative technologies used and stylized products. This has helped Dyson keep a hold of the
old customers as well as attract the new customers in the market. Also the ownership of having a
special patent has also helped Dyson in specializing his products and helped him in preventing
his competitors in order to imitate the technologies used by him.

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Contribution of Leaders in Dyson
 Leadership is a function which is required in all levels of management The top
management of leadership of Dyson is responsible for maintain the cooperation and
formulating the plans and policies of the company. The middle and lower level of
Leadership is required for interpreting and executing the plans and programs, which are
framed by the top management of Dyson. The leaders are involved in building morale to
the employees which involves in pulling everyone together to work towards the common
goal set by the leaders and top management. The workers are often placed in high
stressed situations which can also lead the department to lose their focus or can shut
down emotionally. A leader will always appreciate the work of the employees and let
them work in a better environment. Throwing small parties will be able to recognize the
unit’s victories which will be able to reunite the employee motivation towards work.
 The leaders of a company are also known as the representatives of the organization. They
are also responsible for presenting concerts, seminars, general meetings that were held
with the Board of Directors and conferences. They are also known for communicating the
rationale of Dyson to the outside public, consumers and the stakeholders. Making the
stakeholders. Making the stakeholders engagement is the first priority for building the
trust. It is very important to attribute appropriate resources in order to engage the
stakeholders. The strategies of the leaders in Dyson mainly includes in assigning the
internal responsibility for the stakeholder engagement actions, proper identification of all
the shareholders group. The leaders are also involved in setting parameters of
stakeholders involvement in various decisions. Communicating, negotiating and
managing conflicts with various problems regarding the pricing of the share price of the

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company in market. Stakeholder leadership is one of the most complex but important
thing in an organization like Dyson. A leader in Dyson needs to be very solid, having a
broad bas e of knowledge and leadership skills in order to be ready to lad the stakeholder
engagement process.
 Leaders of Dyson are known for integrating the personal goals along with the
organizational goals. The leaders in Dyson are responsible for combining the personal
goals of the employees in the manufacturing and development team along with the
organizational goals. He tries to coordinate the efforts of the members in a team towards
the purpose of achieving the organizations long term goals. Setting clear visions also
means influencing the employees in order to understand as well as accept the future state
and achieve the goals of the organization. A unit of the employees might not believe in
the particular mission and vision set by the leaders and managerial department. The aim
of the leaders in Dyson is to influence the employees in order to make them perform their
duties by explaining the vision as well as the importance of their role in the organization.
The employees will be more apt in order to follow it out
 A leader solicits support in an organization, besides being a leader, he is a person who
entertains as well as supports the effort of the subordinates in Dyson. This he does by
making proper use of his personality, intelligence, experience and maturity. They are
dedicated in motivating the employees and find out enough needs and wants of them.
They are also provided what they need and provide praise for the job which is well done.
Many employees in Dyson are being far from home and works lonely. A good leader will
be able to understand this and help him with the needs and wants.

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 When spoken about guiding the employees it is very important in defining the roles of the
workers in the organization or workplace. It is very important for the leaders to provide
them with the tools which are needed to perform and participate their efforts in a longer
way. Often there are orders from the upper level of management that the employees have
to work faster in developing and implementing a plan to increase the sales of vacuum
cleaners in a region. The leaders of Dyson perform very well as by helping the members
in developing strategic tools and explain the task. They are also dedicated in directing the
work to complete without a breakage. The leaders are always available to assist the
workers if they are run into a problem with understanding their task.
Review of the strategies set by Dyson
Growth Strategy
Dyson has decided its product strategies as well as its growth in the market. Dyson has
developed its market by entering into new market that is in 45 countries and is still expanding
further to sell its products in the outside market. Product development is conducted by
introducing many new features to the existing products of the company. The growth is further
explained by an increase in the awareness of the advantages of using the vacuum cleaners in the
Asian market. The vacuum grease market is the fastest growing market in the Asia – Pacific
region across the globe. Therefore, from the above analysis it can be said that by the year 2020
the global market for household vacuum cleaners is going to increase by 115.7 million of units
(Stroud ,2016). Dyson had first collaborated with Professor Andrew Davidson who is the
director and leader of Robotic Vision Group at Imperial College. Dyson had a very keen interest
in robotics since the year 2001 when he had decided in developing the robotic vacuum cleaner –

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DC06. Both Dyson and Prof. Davidson were very eager to build the relationship the robotics
with the vacuum cleaners. Dyson has also funded several times in building a robotic expert team,
which will help the robot to move beyond the limits and successfully interact with the real world.
The problems, which were faced by the company in the year 2014, was with the political
environment when sir James Dyson had decided to decentralize the production line from its base
which is in Malmesbury to Malaysia. Doing this Dyson’s production cost had decreased by 30%
and the firm is seen to double up its profit from the next year. The transfer of the industry also
resulted to 800 jobs in Malaysia (Hu, Leopold-Wildburger, & Strohhecker, 2017).
Competitive Strategies
Dyson is well known for being competitive in the market of vacuum cleaners. Being well
competitive in the market is one of the main strategy of Dyson. Dyson has been investing
billions of dollars in the Research and Development of the firm. But however a new company is
born in the market of UK known as the Grey Technology which had introduced a latest
revolutionary product which has the same capabilities and competencies as of the Dyson’s and
are also less expensive. As mentioned in the exchange rates will be affecting the profit
maximization in certain countries. However, Dyson has successfully expanded in the South East
Asia and has become big competitors in the market of floor cleaning industries. The trend of
moving the manufacturing units in different countries has let Dyson get cheaper products at a
good rate. This will also range in lowering the operation cost of the product. Dyson’s positioning
strategies can hugely benefit them, and they will be able to expand even more globally. There are
different kinds of business strategies, which a business can follow, focusing on the strategies,
differentiation, low cost and synergy. Dyson is already known for following the differentiation
strategy, which offers the customers a better and enhanced product in the market. The

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differentiation strategy, which is very costly, helps Dyson in vesting money for the research and
development. An organization will only be distinct from the competitors when they are dedicated
in selling different products, which enables them to set a better brand image to the consumers at
a premium level.
Therefore the activities are aligned in order to lead out the success of the company. From
sketching the designs, t the rigorous process of testing it and the company production programs
also tap to the company advantage in the internal environment which are dedicated in providing
the product which are rare, valuable, inimitable and non-sustainable. The major competitive
advantage is also the business follows the differentiation strategies where the main focus of the
engineers and development department is to design the products in a proper manner in order to
attract the customers. Differentiation is when the products of the company meet the needs of the
customers better than the other brands. The competitive strategies, which are used in Dyson, is
working very well for them and it is not required to change them as because they are already in a
position to dominate the market.
Analysis of the future
The market development strategy set by Dyson has helped them to figure out the new
markets internationally. Market development is usually when the firm offers its existing products
to the new products to the new market. Dyson had followed this strategy to expand its business
in the market of America and Southwest countries. This has helped Dyson to gain popularity and
increase its business. The market penetration of Dyson has also helped to increase the shares in
the current market. Dyson is also heading towards the diversification in the development of the
new products that will be sold in the market. Diversification is only possible to work in the long

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run if the product which is developed is of great value and have great qualities which match the
brand reputation. Dyson has also created the everlasting powerful suction technology, which
allows the air inside the vacuum cleaners to spin at a very high sped and results in a string
consistent suction. This is the reason why Dyson vacuum cleaners are so successful in the market
Thus from the analysis of above strategies which are set by Dyson it can be clearly said that the
company will retain success in the future.
PEST Factors which can affect the company future
Economic Factor – The exchange rates are constantly changing which can lower the
prices of the products, which are being sold out in UK. GDP is another economic factor, which
can affect Dyson in determining the demand of the products in the country where it operates. The
country China can be taken as an example where its GDP is growing which directly affects the
demand of the product. Dyson has also followed the outsourcing trend, which can also benefit
the company by gaining an excess a capacity of demand, the units costs has also reduced and has
spread economic risks over a wider number of market in China.
Environmental Factor – Dyson has always stated that he always had an eye on the
quality of the products. The company is dedicated to the environment and tries to stay green as
much as possible. The materials, which are used in the products, are mainly robust and
recyclable. Dyson also follows the environmental laws. Dyson has always been doing good for
the environment, by creating products which uses less amount of energy. Dyson has also planned
in developing an electric car, which will get its power form the lead acid batteries.

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