Business Competition

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Project 1:success in every business.
Introduction:The other strength is the introduction of internet
Dell is an American company which deals withorder of products, customers order through the
computer and computer related products, theinternet which enable a swift and improved
company employs over 78,000 employees, thisdistribution process, this also enables the expansion
company is the second largest company in theof value added services, through the introduction of
computer industry while Compaq is the largest. Thea website where sales are undertaken the company
company was funded by Michael Dell in 1984 henceis in a position to eliminate retailers and wholesalers
the name Dell.and for this reason their products reach the market
Competitors:at very competitive prices.[3]
The Dell Company faces major competition fromWeaknesses:
other companies, this include Apple, SunThe Dell Company has some weaknesses where one
Microsystems, Gateway, Sony, Asus, Toshiba andof its weaknesses is that it highly depends on the
Hewlett Packard which is also referred to as HP. Allsuppliers of components. This makes it a weakness in
this companies are its competitors but HP is its majorthat it depends on other companies to supply them
competitor, competition increased when HP mergedwith computer components instead of them
with Compaq in the year 2006, this meant stifferproducing their own computer components.
competition and the company lost its market positionThe other weakness is that the company does not in
to become the second largest seller of computersitself produce new technology, they are not the
and computer appliances.proprietors of the technology they use to produce
Success of Dell:and for this reason they depend on others to
Dell has been successful in the computer industryintroduce a certain technology where they adopt the
while other companies such as Sony and Toshibatechnology and introduce it to the market.[4]
have not made as much as Dell. In the computerOpportunities:
industry the products that are produced have a veryThere is a market potential in many regions in the
short life cycle and for this reason products quicklyworld where Dell has not introduced its products,
become obsolete. Toshiba and Sony have only triedthese markets especially are in china, India and
to make a steady supply of their products but in theEurope, and for this reason therefore this company
computer industry this is not very important, what ishas the potential to expand their market size in these
important in the computer industry is flexibility.regions where the company would experience an
Flexibility means that a volume of one product isincrease in the market area.
supplied quickly and when there is a change inAnother opportunity of this company is that it would
technology a company must switch quickly and offerbe in a position to under price its competitor and in
the new product to the market.[1]turn increase sales levels which will result into higher
Dell has succeeded in changing their products when aprofits, for this reason therefore the company should
new technology emerges. This is followed by a wellinvest more in discovery of new technology which
organised supply chain where products are offered inwill ensure that they are in a position to provide
the market, for this reason therefore Dell has beenlatest technology products at low prices to its
successful due to their quick adoption to newcustomers.
technology that emerge in the production ofThreats:
computers and computer products.The Dell Company is faced with strong competition
The other reason why Dell has been successful is thefrom its rivals, this threatens the existence of the
adoption of a sophisticated supply network, Dellcompany where prices of products produced by its
products are shipped directly from the supplier to thecompetitors are likely to go down forcing them to
end customer, customers will only order theirlower prices and in turn their profits will decline and in
products and they are directly delivered to them, thisextreme cases may force Dell Company to close due
has ensured a very effective supply chain which hasto the failure to break even.[5]
led to the success of Dell, its competitors likeCurrency fluctuations in countries which are outside
Toshiba and Sony have not adopted such supplythe united states also pose a threat to the company,
networks and for this reason they have not been inthis fluctuations may lead the company to loose their
a position to succeed in this industry.[2]earnings as customers order goods from outside the
Performance measures in the computer industry:united states and the currency fluctuates.
Performance measures are those indicators that helpFinancial ratios:
a company to define and measure the progress ofOne of the most important financial ration is the
the company, the computer industry has come upprofit margin, this ratio provides us with a measure
with benchmarks to measure performance, the Rawof profitability of a company, the profit margin is
speed is one of benchmark used to measurecalculated by dividing the net revenue by the net
performance in this industry, it is a measure fromsales revenue, for the dell company according to the
SPEC which stands for standard performanceUS market comparison of companies the Dell
evaluation Corp, this benchmark measures the centralcompany profit margin is 5.0, the industry profit
processing unit, however this measure does notmargin is 12.4, this is low compared with the industry
consider how fast data can be retrieved from thelevel provided by S and P index which is 12.4.[6]
hard disk and this measure is complicated.The other financial ratio is the debt equity ratio, this
Another test checks the CPU integer performance.ratio n provides a measure of a companies proportion
this means checking how the CPU handles simpleof equity and debts used to finance the companies
tasks, the other measure is the SPECINT95 whichoperations. Dell debt equity ratio is 0.09 while the
checks how the product handles complexindustry ratio is equal to 0.03. This ratio is also
mathematics. Another performance measure is thereferred to as risk because it is equal to the debts
graphic performance benchmark, it is aimed atdivided by the shareholders equity.[7]
measuring how fast computers will run graphicReferences:
intensive applications, and the graphic performanceHaim M. and Johannes Z. (1999) Survival of the
measure is provided by the GPC which stands forSmartest: Managing Information, John Wiley and Sons
Graphic performance committee.publishers, New York
Project two:SWOT analysis:MSN market ratios (2008) Dell financial ratios,
Strengths:retrieved on 5th February, available at
Strength of the Dell company is that the companyDell official website (2008) About Dell, retrieved on
offer customised products to its consumers, the5th February, available at
company products are built to order, the customer[1] Haim M. and Johannes Z. (1999) Survival of the
orders and he or she is shipped the product, for thisSmartest: Managing Information, John Wiley and Sons
reason therefore the customer gets what he or shepublishers, New York, page 98
wants, this is a strength through which the company[2] Haim M. and Johannes Z.