PORTER`S VALUE CHAIN - DEDAN KIMATHI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AS A COMPETITIVE UNIVERSITY (DEKUT)

Abstract

I am employee (Assistant Lecturer) at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, in Kenya. In January 2019, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) was voted the University of Choice in Kenya. This was based on the percentage of students aspiring to proceed for higher education selecting it as first choice. The ranking was a result of an indepth assessment done by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service

(KUCCPS). This is a great achievement for the university given that the country has over

seventy

(70) universities for prospective scholars to choose. The position places this university in a front competitive position enabling it enjoy many advantages that come with preference by most students as the University of Choice. The competitive advantages to be enjoyed include: More students being admitted in the university  Revenue being realized from fees paid by students  Economies of scale in utilization of university assets and other resources  More funding from the government and other collaborators because of higher student numbers  Stronger bargaining power between the university and its publics

This favourable competitive position of DeKUT can possibly be attributed to the integration of factors and processes working together to enable the university out-compete others in Kenya. This work attempts to analyse these factors basing on Porter’s Value Chain Model.