Can't move (not copy) an alias to the dock

Hi, I have used Windows for several years then I switched to a Mac about 2 years ago. However, I went back to Windows within 6 months due to many limitations. Well, I'm back on a Mac and still seeing many limitations, but I have to make this Mac thing work out. Here is my first of many questions and its about using an alias (shortcuts in the PC world).

When I create an alias for a folder I can't seem to "move" it (not copy it) to the dock? For example, when I create an alias for "folder1" on a drive it would appear along with "folder1 alias". Now, I can copy that alias to the desktop or even the dock. However, if I delete the "folder1 alias" where it was originally created because its clutter, all other aliases that I copied to the dock or desktop will break. I thought the alias referred to the orginal folder, in my example, "folder1" and not "folder1 alias" which doesn't make sense. And there is no way for me to "move" an alias to the dock. Maybe there is a better way for creating true shortcuts on a Mac.

What can I do to accomplish this? I never had this issue on Windows and any shortcut I created I could easily copy or move it.

Thanks!

Michel