Introduction Dell has matured to become one of the greatest computer manufacturing companies; the company has a significant

market leading share in the personal computer and server business. Dell delighted folks in its early years with its distinctive and well executed supply chain management model, directly selling customized computers to its customers to meet up growing PC demand. With this model of innovative direct sales, Dell grew to become an industry leader and a darling to stockholders, a high-tech champion with ostensibly unlimited growth. Those days are long gone: Dells profits and share prices have significantly dropped from their highs in modern times. This report begins by decisively appraising a number of tools that business strategists can be use to evaluate the dependability of Dells purpose, mission, and vision as well as its values statement. To add on that, the will critically evaluate the suitability of Dells current goals and objectives in relation to its core competencies. The report will conclude with a recommendation of a suitable strategy and briefly discuss tools for effectively implementing and monitoring the proposed strategic plan. Lynchs Strategy and the Purpose of Dell According to Richard Lynch (2006), there are several factors that determine an organisations strategic purpose. These factors are basically the organisations values, its nous of vision and its mission. According to Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Inc., the purpose of Dell was to provide its customers with excellent value technology. The business strategy was founded on the concept of selling directly to customers. The idea behind direct sales was that, by cutting out the middle of the distribution chain, the company could offer lower prices to customers. Dell started direct sales by mail and phone before going online. The companys profits dramatically increased when it started to sell its products online. Lynch argues that an organizations values, strategic vision and mission are crafted in line with shareholders expectations and wishes. Dells visions and missions are a collective commitment to their customers, direct partners, global citizenry, employees and shareholders. Dell aimed at creating loyal customers by providing superior customer experience at a good value. The company was committed to direct sales and direct relationships with customers, provision of best PCs with standard based technology. This strategy accentuated the company to outperform competitors in the PC industry as a result of enhanced value and a better customer experience (Lynch, 2006). Richard Lynch argues that an organisations purpose is normally expressed in form of statements. When a understanding and organising its purpose, the organisation is able to establish its aims and objectives, which is the root source sense of purpose in moving into something more tangible. This is the beginning of strategic planning. Dells purpose has been shaped to provide high quality, relevant technology, and customized systems. The companys values were built on superior service and customer support, as well as affordable and easy to use PCs. It is clear that Dells purpose was in line with its vision statement: the way they do business and the way they relate with the community. Dells purpose is spelled out in the way the company interprets the world around it; its customers needs, the dynamic future of PC technology, and the supranational business climate. The companys vision remains open to future changes, but the vision remains to be Dells guiding force. Therefore, Dell aspires to deliver full customer satisfaction. So as to become the most successful computer manufacturing company, it will not only need

the up-to-the-minute technology and loyal customers but also the latest strategy that match the industrys competitiveness (Lynch, 2006). Lynchs Five Elements Critical Evaluation of Dells Mission [cleeng_content id="950954766" description="A very comprehensive article on Dell Inc., Nice read!" price="7.49" referral="0.05"]Lynch posits that the mission of any given organisation serves as a compass for the broad directions that is to be followed and is a brief summary of the underlying ideas and values. In addition, a mission statement is a brief summary for stakeholders indicating where the company is positioned. This is why the mission statement is very useful. As indicated below, Lynch outlines five criteria for critiquing the effectiveness of an organisations mission statement. In general, an organisations mission statement should be: Appropriately specific to affect the behaviour of individuals in the organisation; a reflection of an organisations distinctive competitive advantages; reasoned upon an evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses; attainable and pragmatic and stretchy to accommodate environmental changes. Dells Mission is to be The most successful Computer Company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. In doing so, Dell will meet customer expectations of: Highest quality, Leading technology, Competitive pricing, Individual and company accountability, Best-in-class service and support, Flexible customization capability, Superior corporate citizenship, and financial stability. (Dell, 2007, p. 2). This report will critically evaluate Dells mission based on Lynchs (2006) five elements as follows; Consideration of the nature of the organisations business Dell operates in a highly competitive and very dynamic technology industry. As such, it can be argued that Dell cannot select one strategy (direct sales and customization) strategy and expect it to always be winning. In order to sustain competitive advantage in the PC and laptop industry Dell must align its chosen channels strengths to match current product and market demands. This is very real especially given that the PC and even the consumer electronics industrys in general has been characterised by unique dynamics over the last decade. Based on Lynchs approach, Dells mission is in harmony with its vision. On the other hand, the speed of integrated circuit improvement has been rather invariantapproximately doubling in every two years, but the relative value derived by consumers from each additional improved computing chip has shrank considerably. That is why a three-year-old PC today is capable of running most of the common business applications especially those of Microsoft Office. With this reasoning, Dells mission to provide high quality and affordable PCs must be aligned to match customers needs. The responses needed to be considered from the customers perspective The current technology trend in the computing world has direct implications for customers demands and, in turn, the business model for Dell computer sales. According to Lynch, an organisations mission should

be created from a customer perspective, i.e., the people who the business targeted at. It is clear that Dell aims at delivering the best customer experience by meeting customers expectations through the provision of the highest quality, vanguard technology, affordability and company accountability to its customers. When Dell first emerged as a company that aimed at dealing consumers directly, by highly valuing customization, surplus stock was quickly diminished, allowing for profitable assembly-to-order and centralization of storage relative to selling pre-configured PCs through retail stores. The need for the mission to reflect the basic values and beliefs of the organisation Dells current mission is in line with its basic values and beliefs. Dells ability to customize PCs combined with competitive prices has made the company to be attractive to customers. The company manages its global supply chain with an aim of minimizing inventory accumulation. Dell makes use of the internet to ensure that suppliers get real time information about order. The company ultimate vision is to drive all inventories out of the supply chain and to effectively replace inventory with information. The elements of a sustainable competitive advantage There are several elements of competitive advantage for a company; Product differentiation: this is the uniqueness of a companys product that sets it apart from competitors. Dells direct sales and customization makes its PCs unique, as a customer is able to specify specs that fit their needs. Low costs: This is where a customers benefit as a result of lower prices. Dells vision has been to cut out the middle man so as to pass the benefits to the customer. Dell has also dominated the PC market with its sales revenues rising even against the back drop of the global financial meltdown. Dells high performance can be attributed to its innovativeness and its strong brand. This has enhanced customers loyalty as its PCs and servers are superior to those of rivals for instance in terms of performance or durability The use of the internet has allowed the company to form solid relationships with its suppliers and other partners. This has been made possible through the creation of an information management that allows the exchange of information in real time. The main reasons for its choice of approach The internet is basically increasing the rationale of buyer-driven commodity chains, even as power and information is increasingly shifting from producers and retailers to consumers. Instead of being a substitute to buyer-driven chains, the web has intensified the shift pushing all industries to be more buyerdriven as new consumer-oriented competitors (such as Dell) are taking advantage of the internets power to make easy mass customization. Dells business model is a buyer-driven competitive paradigm in the PC industry. Nevertheless, vanguard firms in key industries are resorting to unorthodox strategies with regard to supply-chain management including outsourcing and globalization (Lencioni, 2002, p. 115).

The Governance Chain of Dell According to Pitt-Watkins principle agent theory and use of the Governance Chain in the identification of all stakeholders and their contribution to the performance of the organisation, Dells management are in full knowledge regarding stakeholders expectations. The company is dynamically pursuing their interest and keeping them informed. External and Internal Analysis of Dell External Dell is facing emerging strengths of competitors such as IBM which are creating new threats and opportunities. The development of the Information Technology (IT) platform has that allowed for effective and efficient exchange of information and has enhanced coordination across Dells supply chain. Development of third party logistics service providers has supported Dells business model The computing industry emphasises on virtual integration as opposed to vertical integration Other external factors that can potentially affect Dell include future legal developments especially on environmental issues In addition, developments in the global political economy such as political crises and new trade agreements affect the operations of the company. Internal Internal politics and restructuring Stakeholder relationships especially with customers and suppliers Dells products life cycle Alternative Strategies for Dell However, the modern customer is more willing to pick from a lesser number of off-the-shelf PCs, and is least concerned with customisation. In addition, PC prices have fallen; as a result, profitability is less determined by increased inventory turnover of standardized PC models. Therefore, the value of direct sales rationalised by a centralised inventory storage and customisation has been significantly dampened. This is why Dells profits and market share have plummeted in recent times. This is why Dell should consider augmenting its sales model with a retail channel so as move forward. Chopra presented two complementary strategies by which Dell could use retailers to sell its products (Chopra, S, 2007, para.6): Hybrid business model This is where direct and retail sales channels can be used to serve both standardised segments of the PC market and those that seek standard models. With this approach, Dell would continue to directly sell PCs to consumers but also offer a variety of pre-configured PC models through retail outlets.

Allow retailers to perform final product configuration With this model, retailers would be allowed to carryout final PC configuration in response to consumer demand, thus decreasing inventory costs. Another argument for this strategy is that supplies are preserved in component form which increases assembly capacity costs. It is important to note that this model can serve well in emerging markets (such as China and India), technicians are inexpensive to employ and customization is regarded. Johnson and Scholes Mapping Techniques Johnson and Scholes mapping techniques are important when it comes to conducting of stakeholders audit. Mapping techniques can be applied to identify the likely response of Dells main stakeholder groups to the companys new strategic plan. As suggested by Johnson and Scholes, the range of potential stakeholders is broad and diverse. Nevertheless a helpful approach is to categorise stakeholders into primary and secondary grouping. Primary stakeholders are important to the sustained success of Dell and include shareholders, employees, investors, contractors, customers and suppliers. On the other hand, secondary stakeholders potentially influence Dells business or are affected by it. These stakeholders are not directly engaged in Dells transactions. In addition, they are not directly indispensable to the survival of Dells business but can have long-term impact on the company (Johnson., Scholes., & Whittington., 2008, p. 203). [/cleeng_content] The Roles and Responsibilities For Strategy Implementation In order for Dell to enter the retail market successfully, it is required to sign contracts with leading retailers in the US and abroad. The companys management must play a key role of in communicating the vision and in giving guidance to the implementation of the strategy. Teams from all levels must be involved in the strategic planning process to help in the creation of a shared vision, and to motivate each.

REFERENCES Chopra, S, 2007, A New Channel Strategy for Dell. The PC industrys increasing maturity pushed Dell to shift its longstanding direct sales model. Accessed April, 6th fromhttp://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/index.php/Kellogg/article/a_new_channel_strategy_for_dell Collis, D.J., and Urckstad, M.G., April 2008,Can you say what your strategy is?, Harvard Business Review, Vol 86, Issue 4, pp. 8290 Dell, 2007, Get closer to Dell, Accessed April, 6th from http://www.dell.com/downloads/emea/marcom/whydell/uk.pdf?c=ga&l=fr&s=gen

Johnson, G., Scholes, K., and Whittington, R., 2008, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th edition, Pearson Education. Lencioni, Patrick, M., July 2002, Make your values mean something, Harvard Business Review, Vol 80, Issue 7, pp. 11317 Lynch, R., 2006, Corporate Strategy, 4th edition, Pearson Education