In Chapter 13 we discuss strategy and the factors that impact how a company positions itself in the marketplace.  This discussion encompasses the Five Forces Model outlined by Michael Porter in 1979, even though our textbook doesn’t reference this fact.  Porter is still teaching at Harvard and has recently provided an updated look at his model and the way that it applies to competition today even with the introduction of the brand new technologies like the internet and online shipping/competition.

I stumbled upon an interview of Michael Porter when I subscribed to the Harvard Business Video IdeaCast series in Itunes.  If a picture is worth a thousand words then I guess that makes video worth even more.  If you are so inclined, I recommend that you subscribe to both the video and audio versions of IdeaCast in your RSS reader or Itunes (video/audio).  You may also want to track down some topics that interest you at one of the many sites that carry these resources such as the Harvard Business Publishing YouTube site.