TheValueChainAnalysisoDell英语论文_戴尔价值链分析.docx

The Value Chain Analysis of Dell Abstract In the business world, there are several classic business models that can evaluate a company from different perspectives. The value chain framework is a powerful analysis tool for strategic planning of a corporation. It creatively views a corporation as a serious of value adding activities. This essay attempts to use the value chain framework to analyze one famous corporation – Dell Inc. and tries to figure out how Dell achieves the value creation objective in each separate activity. Key words: Dell Value chain Marketing and sales Logistics Information system 1. Introduction Dell Inc. is a reputable multinational information technology corporation. Funded in 1984 by Michael Dell, the corporation has become one of the world’s largest computer manufacturers in merely two decades. Many studies have been done to explain the huge success of Dell from various angles, such as corporate strategy, organizational structure, etc. However, few researches touch upon the overall picture of Dell as a value chain. This essay aims to analyze Dell with value chain framework which is composed of two basic categories of value creation activities: primary activities and support activities. The following sections attempt to elaborate on the value chain framework and analyze Dell in depth with the theory. Part two provides an overview of the value chain theory, the original Porter’s (1985) version and Hill’s (2003) version in the textbook International Business. Part three portrays Dell as a value chain and analyzes the value creation activities in the corporation. 2. Literature review 2.1 Porter’s (1985) value chain Porter (1985) identifies a set of interrelated generic activities to analyze a firm’s value-creating process and to figure out a firm’s competitive advantage. Products pass through all activities of the chain, and at each activity, the product gains some value. Porter’s value chain is depicted as below: Support Activities