Value Chain

Value Chain

Submitted by:

ARMIE C. CACATIAN

MIS

Introduction

A value chain is a chain of activities that a firm operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable product or service for the market. It is a systematic approach to examining the development of competitive advantage. It helps in the identification of the core competencies of an organization.

The higher education has undergone significant changes in the recent past. The notion of “business approach of education “and “the students as customers” is getting stronger. Porter defined the ―value chain as a representation of a firm‘s value-adding activities, based on its pricing strategy and cost structure. Other scholars have also defined value chain like; Kaplinsky (2000) defines the value chain as ―the full range of activities which are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the intermediary phases of production, delivery to final consumers, and final disposal after use. While, Stonehouse and Snowdon (2007) defined value chain as ―Porter's technique for understanding an organization's ability to add value through its activities, and their internal and external linkages, and allows managers to identify where value is currently added in the system and where there is potential to create further value in the future by reconfiguration and improved coordination of activities. According to John Del Vecchio a value chain is "a string of companies working together to satisfy market demands." The definition of the value chain, according to Lynch, is “The value chain identifies where the value is added in an organisation and links the process with the main functional parts of the organisation”.

Figure 1. WPU VALUE CHAIN

The value chain of this university can be viewed as a network of activities that involves teaching, research and educational package of learning opportunities and tools that enables students’ acquisition of target knowledge and skills,...