Thursday, February 11, 2016

Week 6 Reading Reflection

The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
Michael Porter
  1. I have heard of all these forces before, but not in a couple of semesters. What surprised me was that there is so many ways in which the five forces have an impact on competitive advantage. One, in particular that I hadn't thought of was that suppliers can threaten to integrate into the industry if the industry is making large profits; it seems like many of the threats to entry would stop that.
  2. I was originally confused when Porter stated that "industry structure...sets industry profitability in the medium and long run." But when I continued to read, it made a lot more sense. For example, if there are many substitute products in the industry, then that structure defines how profitable your company can be--especially if the substitute products are much better or cheaper.
  3. Two questions. One: Which of the five forces do you think has the most impact? Two: What's a good way to go about eliminating rivals, but keeping good relations with suppliers and customers?
  4. I don't think I really disagree with this, but it is the pitfall that I have the hardest time accepting: "Using the framework to declare an industry attractive or unattractive rather than using it to guide strategic choices." I think you first have to decide if it's attractive or not when choosing whether to enter the industry.

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