Define Porter’s competitive forces model and explain how it works.

BMP6010- Strategic Information Management -Assignment 2 

Suggested areas to focus on for assignment 2

This assignment must be written in a report formant using the following structure:

• Title
• Table co content
• Brief summary of assignment content
• Introduction
• Main Body
• Conclusion
• References

Please note: You must use relevant literature to support definitions and key statements made in your answers for each question.  You are also allowed to use your own examples and ideas.

Assignment Brief:

Critically analyse how Porter’s competitive forces model help companies develop competitive strategies using information systems.

Areas to focus on:

Define Porter’s competitive forces model and explain how it works.

This model provides a general view of the firm, its competitors, and the firm’s environment. Porter’s model is all about the firm’s general business environment. In this model, five competitive forces shape the fate of the firm, analyse each of them:

• Traditional competitors
• New market entrants
• Substitute products and services
• Customers
• Suppliers

• Describe what the competitive forces model explains about competitive advantage.
• Define competitive strategy
• Explain strategic information systems
• Analyze the competitive strategies enabled by information systems that firms can pursue, see examples of the competitive strategies below:

• Low-cost leadership: Lowest operational costs and the lowest prices.
• Product differentiation: Enable new products and services, or greatly change the customer convenience in using existing products and services.
• Focus on market niche: Enable a specific market focus and serve this narrow target market better than competitors.
• Strengthen customer and supplier relationship

Analyse how information systems can support each of these competitive strategies and give examples.  See below examples you can expand on.

• Low-cost leadership: Use information systems to improve inventory management, supply management, and create efficient customer response systems. Examples required.
• Product differentiation: Use information systems to create products and services that are customized and personalized to fit the precise specifications of individual customers. Examples: Examples required.
• Focus on market niche: Use information systems to produce and analyze data for finely tuned sales and marketing techniques. Analyze customer buying patterns, tastes, and preferences closely in order to efficiently pitch advertising and marketing campaigns to smaller target markets. Examples required.
• Strengthen customer and supplier intimacies: Use information systems to facilitate direct access from suppliers to information within the company. Increase switching costs and loyalty to the company. Examples required.

Summarize with a conclusion.