Discussion 1: "Union Pacific Corporation"

Please respond to the following:

• Perform an analysis of the social / demographic, technological, economic, environmental / geographic, and political/legal / governmental segments to understand the general environment facing Union Pacific.

• Describe how Union Pacific will be affected by each of these external factors.

Discussion 2: "Five Forces of Competition Model"

Please respond to the following:

• From the e-Activity, analyze the industry you selected using the Five Forces of Competition Model to determine the impact of each of the five forces.

• Based on your analysis, determine if the industry is attractive or unattractive. Explain your rationale.

Discussion 3: "Strong Brands"

Please respond to the following:

• Several companies use their brand as a competitive advantage. Given your knowledge about the global economy, identify three brands you believe have the strongest likelihood of remaining a source of advantage in the 21st Century and explain why.

• Explain the effects you believe the Internet's capabilities will have on the brands you identified in the previous discussion and what the owner of the brand should do in light of them.

Discussion 4: "Internal Environment"

Please respond to the following:

• From the e-Activity, analyze the internal environment of the company you researched to determine that company's strengths and weaknesses.

• Based on the strengths and weaknesses you discovered, determine what steps the company could take to positively impact the company's competitiveness. Explain your rationale.

Discussion 5: "Business-Level Strategy"

Please respond to the following:

• From the first e-Activity, assess your satisfaction with the company you researched and make recommendations about how that company could modify its business-level strategy to both increase your overall level of satisfaction and to attract new customers. Provide specific examples to support your response.

• Analyze the five business-level strategies discussed in Chapter 4 to determine which strategy the company you researched most likely applies. Determine how your experience with that company might change if it switched to one of the other four strategies (your choice). Explain your rationale.

Discussion 6: "Apple, Inc: Keeping the "I" in Innovation"

Please respond to the following:

• From the second e-Activity and the case study, determine how market commonality and resource similarity impact Apple's competitive standing in terms of its main rivals. Provide specific examples to support your response.

• Determine what additional steps Apple's competitors are likely to take and how Apple will most likely respond. Explain your rationale.