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Dell opened up competition for a newly created
customer experience award program.
The program, established in conjunction with the
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), will honor
small businesses that instill the spirit of innovation and apply
information technology to improve the customer experience.
Selection of the winner will be announced at the NFIB National
Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C.,
June 16-18, 2004.
Download application (
368KB)
The winner will receive $20,000 in technology
from Dell; a "Day with Dell" program with Dell experts,
including Michael Dell, to share best practices in technology; a
lifetime membership to NFIB; and other prizes. Nine finalists
will receive a Dell Latitude notebook computer and a one-year
membership to NFIB.
"Twenty years ago, as a small business, we
introduced the direct sales model, with a singular focus on
listening to customers and working hard to get them exactly what
they need," said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive
officer. "This approach has been instrumental in our growth. Our
partnership with NFIB gives us an opportunity to highlight the
successes of small businesses through the award program."
"Small businesses fuel our economy and their
success is essential to the productivity of the nation," said
NFIB President and CEO Jack Faris. "NFIB is pleased to join Dell
in honoring small businesses that provide exceptional customer
service."
To be considered for the award, small businesses
must show how they have used information technology to drive a
significant change and/or develop a competitive advantage in
delivering superior customer value and experience, including
customer case studies.
Judges for this year's program include:
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John
Sibley Butler holds The Gale Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small
Business in the Graduate School of Business (Department of
Management). He is the Director of the
Herb Kelleher Center
for Entrepreneurship and the Innovation
and the Director of the Institute for Innovation and Creativity
(IC2). ICē has as its research laboratory The Austin Technology
Incubator. This incubator, founded in 1989 by George Kozmetsky,
has graduated 60 companies including five that have gone public.
More
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Michael Dell is the chairman and chief executive officer of Dell, the company he
founded in 1984 with $1,000 and an unprecedented idea - to sell computer systems
directly to customers. The company employs approximately 44,300 team members
worldwide and reported revenues of $39.7 billion for the past four quarters.
More. |
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Professor
Doggett is Director of Executive Education Entrepreneurship
Programs and a Senior Lecturer of International Entrepreneurship
and Management at the McCombs School of Business of the
University of Texas at Austin (UT). Professor Doggett is also a
Senior Research Fellow at UT's IC2 Institute. Professor Doggett
created the From Idea to IPOTM
executive education workshop series and is Co-Founder of UT's
International Idea to Product Competition TM .
More
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Jack Faris has served as president & CEO of NFIB since March 1992.After graduating from David Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., Faris
worked in the banking industry. He later joined the international construction
firm of Joe M. Rodgers and Associates, where he was responsible for marketing,
personnel and planning. Faris also served as campaign finance director for
Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander in 1978 and as executive director of the
Republican National Finance Committee from 1978 to 1981. For 12 years, Faris
owned his own marketing and management consulting firm, working primarily with
small and independent businesses.
More |
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Vice President for Research and PolicyKauffman Foundation
Robert E. Litan is the Vice President for Research and Policy at
the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City and a Senior Fellow in
Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. At Kauffman, Dr.
Litan oversees a multi-million dollar budget for academic
research relating to entrepreneurship. At Brookings, Litan is
the director of the AEI-Brookings Joint Center on Regulatory
Studies and co-editor of the Brookings-Wharton Papers on
Financial Services (with the Financial Institutions Center
at Wharton), and an annual publication on emerging markets
finance (with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund).
He is both an economist and an attorney.
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For a complete description of the criteria and
to submit an application, visit
www.dell.com/excellenceawardd. Submissions will be accepted
online until March 31, 2004.
NFIB's 2004 National Small Business Summit will be held June
16-18 in Washington, D.C. More information is available at
www.NFIB.com/summit.
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John
Sibley Butler holds The Gale Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small
Business in the Graduate School of Business (Department of
Management). He is the Director of the 
Professor
Doggett is Director of Executive Education Entrepreneurship
Programs and a Senior Lecturer of International Entrepreneurship
and Management at the McCombs School of Business of the
University of Texas at Austin (UT). Professor Doggett is also a
Senior Research Fellow at UT's IC2 Institute. Professor Doggett
created the From Idea to IPOTM
executive education workshop series and is Co-Founder of UT's
International Idea to Product Competition TM .
