Week 4: Clear Strategy and Technology

Week 4:
This week's lesson included a lot of information, such as: Strategy & Technology, The Value Chain, and Porter's Five Forces.
Much of the information I read about this week was also linked to my previous Marketing class, I love it when material seems to flow and much of the terminology is already known to me. It also gives me a sense of pleasure that everything I take from each class is connected together and isn't alien to me.
It was clear to me that when dealing with strategy and technology, you must stay up with the times, but you can't rely solely on the technology to do all of the work for you as technology can be easily imitated and rarely offers sustainable advantage. In the business world one must also be innovative and be able to sense timing. I also had a clear understanding that competition is a good thing, as it leads to improvements in the industry such as stronger products and more benefits for the consumer. It was interesting to learn that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates once worked together!

"Image created by (Pedro Cano).
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"Image created by (PC Site).
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I also learned about "Switching Costs & Data" and that the costs a consumer incurs when moving from one product to another can involve actual money spent as well as investments in time and possible data loss.
Some sources of switching costs are:

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• Learning Costs
• Information & Data
• Financial Commitment                  
• Contractual Commitment
• Search Costs
• Loyalty Programs

One particular piece of information that I read about and watched a video on that I really enjoyed was about
Porter's Five Forces. This bit of information helped me understand the framework considering the interplay between:

1. The intensity of rivalry among existing competitors.
2. The threat of new entrants.
3. The threat of substitute goods or services.
4. The bargaining power of buyers.
5. The bargaining power of suppliers.

It was amazing to learn that Michael Porter had written this framework 30 years ago, and is still successful today.

All in all this was a good week of information, I just hope it all sticks with me, not only for my exam, but also as I grow and work in my career.

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