Porter’s 5 Forces Assignment

Using Porter’s 5 Forces model, assess the company you will be analyzing for your Employer SWOT assignments (presentation and paper).  Please review the rubric below for guidelines for the assignment.  The following are intended to also provide guidance with this assignment.  Class time will be spent prior to the due date to review foundational material to complete this assignment.
Barriers to Entry – Describe the primary conditions that prevent (or allow) competition to enter into the organization’s space or market.  Examples may include:

Branding
Customer loyalty
Economies of scale
Cost advantages
Regulations

Rivalry of Existing Firms – Describe the dynamic of the organization’s competition.  Consider the following questions:

Is the rivalry intense or weak?
Does the rivalry erode revenues and/or profitability?
What level of efforts does the firm engage in managing rivalries?
Is the industry in growth or decline?  Are there exit barriers?

Bargaining Power of Buyers/Sellers – As you consider the primary customer of the firm, describe the power dynamic between the firm and the customer.  If the customer is in the position of power, discuss the Bargaining Power of the Buyer.  If the firm is in the position of power, discuss the Bargaining Power of the Seller.  Consider the following:

Switching costs
Dependency of the buyer on the seller (or vice versa)
Competitive advantage (uniqueness) of value proposition (or lack thereof)
Ability to vertically integrate (forward or backwards)
How “important” is the product/relationship?  Is the customer primary/secondary?  Elastic/Inelastic to the customer?

Threat of Substitutes – Describe the degree to which others could “substitute” the organizations’ offering.  A substitute addresses a customer’s need, but in a different way (small or radical).  In layman’s terms, consider a potential substitute to be anything that could divert revenues from the firm.

400 words minimum