Assignment: Application: Porter's Five Competitive Forces

A key component of strategic analysis and planning is the assessment of a company's competitive advantage (referred to by some as competitive position). In the article by Michael Porter in this week's Readings, he identifies five potential sources of competitive strength or vulnerability:

Existing level of competitive rivalry in the industry

Buyer bargaining power

Supplier bargaining power

Threat of substitute products

Threat of new entrants

Porter's Competitive Forces model is an extension of his earlier work on strategy (Porter, M. E., 1996).

For this Assignment, use this week's resources and any outside appropriate resources to prepare a competitive analysis for an existing product and complete the following:

Imagine that you are asked to provide a presentation on an organization's competitive advantage to the organization's board. To choose an organization, you may select your own or one with which you are familiar.

Submit by Day 7 a PowerPoint presentation (9-12 slides excluding title and reference slides, consistent with APA guidelines) that examines the competitive advantage of your chosen organization. Include the following:

Describe the target market and apparent marketing mix of your chosen organization.

Conduct a five forces analysis for the selected organization.

Choose a competitor for the selected organization and conduct a five forces analysis for the chosen competitor.

Finally, evaluate which of the two organizations has the competitive advantage using your five forces analyses. Be sure to identify any leverage or advantages that your organization has in relation to the chosen competitor. Use facts from the two analyses to support your conclusion.

Be sure to use the Notes view in PowerPoint to provide your analysis, assessment, evidence, or examples relevant to each slide.