Michael Ulmer
BADM 494 Project Management
Summer 2020 Section 061
Assignment: A4
Date: June 7, 2020
1. Do you see a logical contradiction in Xerox’s willingness to devote millions of dollars to
support pure research sites like the PARC and its refusal to commercially introduce the
products developed?
Yes, Xerox was very willing to put forth the funds to research and develop the “Alto”
personal computer but after the Alto computer was finalized, Xerox vetoed the idea to
market the new product. Xerox was having difficulties at the time of the new
development in terms of failure to implement strategies that would let the company
make technological leaps and risks. Xerox was a well-established company that was
known for its development of the innovative Model 914 photocopier but due to the
change in leadership and switching to an incremental strategy their production of the
Alto was a waste. Xerox lost a great opportunity to have extraordinary success releasing
