2. Michael Porter’s Competitive Forces Model

Michael Porter identified five forces of competition that influence success.
These are:

1. Bargaining power os suppliers. This is high when you, as an organisation or person, can easily move to another supplier.The supplier here is the main source of your main asset, so to speak. This can be a traditional goods/services supplier or even a pal who gives you cash.

2. Bargaining Power of customers. It is the highest when the customers can easily switch from you to another person/organisation.Customer here may bear its traditional meaning or may take the meaning of the specific organisation/person whose attention you are seeking, in any way.

3. Rivalry Within the Industry. This relates to the jostling of position between the players within a particular industry i.e. are there any people doing something similar to what you are trying to do? Are they friendly?This influences the actions that can be done by an individual member of the industry because he/she/it has to consider how others will react.

4. Threats of New Entrants. This is the ease with which a particular organistion/person not previously in the indutry can enter into the industry as a competitor.

5. Threats of Substitutes. Substitutes are things or people that achieve the same general purpose of your product (or you) but they are not of the same industry. This will put some constraints on the activities that one in the industry can do.

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Use of this model is normally often confined to business strategy but let us attempt to diversify its use, shall we?

If you are female, replace: girl, guy, she, boyfriend with: boy, chick, he, girlfriend respectively.

Ok. There’s a girl you want and so you are in need of a strategy. Lets develop your strategy using Michael Porter’s model.

Firstly, look at the 5 competitive forces and analyse them.

Bargaining power of suppliers: Is there another girl you can chase after? Analyse your options and pick the easiest target.

Bargaining power of customers: Can she easily move from you to other guys? How many guys are after her? Knowing this, adjust your strategy to effectively curb the problem of other guys.

Rivalry within the industry: Identify the guys who are really after her. Note their moves and approach(es). Come up with ways of pacifying them and prevent them from doing the same to you.
Threats of new entrants: Is there a chance of even more guys coming after her?If ye, you need to figur out how to prevent this. Malicious rumor mongering may work-just kidding

Threats of substitutes: What can replace you, as a boyfriend, in her life? Studies? Work? Perhaps a …er… liking for other girls? Good luck trying to find ways of dealin with these.

Voila! Analyse the situation like this and you’re almost done as far a strategising is concerned.

More reading.
Next: Environmental Analysis.
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