Purpose
To effectively learn strategic management, we need to apply course concepts and frameworks to real-world situations. Online education also provides access to a variety of other professionals and an opportunity to learn from them. Accordingly, this assignment asks you to reflect on and apply strategy concepts and tools in a discussion board post (reaction), and then to engage in conversation with your classmates by responding to their posts (interaction).
In order to undertake this assignment, you may choose a real-world context or example (industry) already familiar to you such as your current or former employer, or pick an example or context from the news. What is critical is that you apply what you learn in the course to this context or example … think of yourself as a strategy expert being called on to discuss your expert view on the real-world example you picked. After you have posted your “reaction”, also respond to two other classmates’ reactions in your “interaction”.
Prompt
(N.B. This discussion prompt is different for each week this assignment is due. Please review carefully beforehand.)
For this week’s topic on External (Industry) Analysis, apply Porter’s 5-Forces industry analysis framework to a real industry and provide an analysis of at least two important forces (from the 5-Forces framework) in that industry. Provide your opinion on whether this industry is attractive (profitable) or not, and how that is likely to change in the future (based on anticipated changes in some of the 5-forces of the industry).
