Week 02 – IT and Competitive Strategies (I)
Online discussion questions – Sep 12
- When would buyers have a strong bargaining power vis-a-vis sellers (except the number of buyers, price-sensitivity, and switching costs)?
- What are the examples of switching costs (other than long-term contracts or finding a new doctor/mechanic)?
- In what cases is it easy or inexpensive for you to change a service provider that you’ve been dealing with? (i.e. little switching cost)
- What are the examples of a bundle around us? (other than what discussed in-class – cable/Internet, Xbox/game, elevator/service, Microsoft Office, etc.)
Week 2 – IT and Competitive Strategies (I) – class slides and video (UPDATED)
The class slides updated on Sep 19.
Week 02 – IT and Strategy (I) (color).pdf
Week 02 – IT and Strategy (I) (bw).pdf
Interview with Michael Porter – HBR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_FBCvXw)
In-class discussion questions – Week 2 (Sep 12)
We will discuss the following questions in-class on Monday, September 12.
- What does it mean by a bargaining power of buyers? When would buyers have a strong bargaining power?
- Any example of switching costs for buyers?
- Suppose you’ve got $300 millions from winning a lottery. You want to start a new airline company. What does it takes for you to make the first flight take off?
- What would be substitutes for a travel by flight? Wha would be substitutes for grocery stores?
- According to the Otis case, which business is more profitable? Elevator manufacturing or service?
- In the Otis case, “The service market attracted many participants because of its steady demand, low barriers of entry, and high profitability.” (p. 3) Doesn’t it mean that the service market is not profitable for Otis?
- How often do you change your doctor? Why?
- Will Otis customers (building owners or managers) change an elevator service company often? Why or why not?
- Can you think of an example of bundle around us? Why do firms sell a bundle?
- Why would bundling up an elevator (product) and maintenance services together (i.e. total solutions) be more profitable than selling an elevator and services individually?
- How were things going before OTISLINE? How now are things going after OTISLINE?
- What are the improvements in customer service from OTISLINE?
Week 2 – Otis Elevator – Reading Brief Guideline
Read Otis Elevator case from the Harvard Business School coursepack and explain the following three points.
- What’s the direction of Otis’s strategic move?
- Why is Otis trying to shift its strategic focus?
- How do Otis’s IT projects (OtisLine, e*Lostistics) support such a move?
Instructions
- Submit via Blackboard (http://learn.temple.edu/).
- Up to 200 words.
- Due by 5:30pm on Monday, Sep 12. A late submission will not be graded.
- For your brief to be considered for a best brief with extra credits, you need to submit by noon, Sep 12.
- DO NOT COPY AND PASTE from the case. Use your own words. Plagiarized work will be graded at 0.