PART 1 Having read Chapter 3, discuss Porter’s Five Forces model with reference

PART 1
Having read Chapter 3, discuss Porter’s Five Forces model with reference to what you know about the restaurant business in New York City (or wherever you may be living).
Assess the impact of macro-environmental factors (general environmental trends in society) as it relates to big businesses (Walmart, Home Depot, McDonald’s etc…) replacing independent small businesses in the U.S. What are the causes and effects of such trends.
Separately, read the mini case study at the end of Chapter 3 (page 67) entitled “The Multi-Industry Battle for Digital Living Room Entertainment”. Answer the 1 of the 4 questions posed. (Please make sure to post which question is being answered.)
Note: Technology, and its adoption (or lack thereof) moves at a very rapid pace. Since the date of the textbook’s publication, Google TV has not quite lived up to the hype. You may wish substitute any “Smart TV” (Samsung, SONY, LG, etc …) in its place as you read and answer the questions posed.
PART 2
Use your firm for your project for your analysis – Analyze and discuss the firm as it relates to its resources, capabilities and core competencies.
There are 4 characteristics of core competencies that lead to a competitive advantage? Does this firm have those? If so, how did they achieve it? If not, where does it fall short?
Describe its value chain. Give examples of its primary and secondary activities. In which activities do you see the firm create the most value?
PART 3
At the center of a business strategy is the objective of developing a firm-specific business model that enables a company to gain a competitive advantage over other firms operating in the same market. As our textbook states: “A business-level strategy is an action plan the firm develops to describe how it will compete in its chosen industry or market segment”.
As we noted earlier in the semester, the way that strategic managers define their company’s business is important as it relates to defining a business-level strategy. The process of this definition entails decisions made in the following key areas:
Customers’ Needs: What is to be satisfied?
Customer Groups: Who is to be satisfied?
Distinctive Competencies: How will customers’ needs are to be satisfied.
The text describes five generic business strategies that are typically used by firms. Which are: Cost leadership, Differentiation, focused cost leadership, focused differentiation, and integrated cost leadership/differentiation . Pick one of these strategies and discuss a particular company that is utilizing such a strategy.
Discuss it in terms of “evidence” you see that the firm is using such a strategy. Discuss the “What”, “Who” and “How” (see above bullet points). Do you agree/disagree with the strategy? What would you do differently?