Overview
In your discussion post, address the following:
- Choose one of the following groups and use Porter's Five Forces to analyze the pressures on profits for your chosen group's firms.
- Group 1: Firms in the retail sector (e.g., Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Sears, Macy's).
- Group 2: Firms in the wireless services industry (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Sprint/T-Mobile; focus on telecommunication services, not on the sale of phones).
- For each group determine and explain whether the group is monopolistic competitive or an oligopoly. Be specific in which market structures the firms operate.
- Choose one of the firms from one group.
- Using Porter's analysis, what are the threats to profitability faced by the firm? This would be a great time to expand your research skills by checking out the firm's investor relations page or by using some of the material from the vast collection of business databases at the Strayer Library.