Location

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 600.

The market for on-line education

►Place the following eight points onto the five forces model:

1. Start up costs are very low.
2. Students have access to books, videos, and paper-based distance learning packs.
3. Companies, governments, and self funding students invest huge amounts in their education.
4. There are very few high quality web sites available.
5. Traditional colleges and universities are adapting their products for on-line learning.
6. Government legislation in the US and Europe encourages on-line learning.
7. The more innovative learning sites give lesson for free just for the love of it.
8. More people with access to the web every second.

‘THEORY-5' POINT

In order to survive and grow, a business must recognize and respond to the dimensions or influences presented in ‘Warm-up Point'. One of the most important factors is possibly the location since the position of a business affects its performance. Several points must be taken into account (see the figure below). The importance of each can vary according to the type, purpose and nature of the business.

►Let's consider two different businesses. One is a big retailer, say Auchan or Wal-Mart; the other is a big car manufacturer, say Ford or BMW. Both are looking for a site for a new store and a production facility/factory respectively. Do the factors that they take into consideration differ? If so, in what respect? Consider the factors from the figure above.

‘BATTLE' POINT

►Team up with your classmate and start to develop your arguments about the following statements:

1. You win by being cheaper. There are no other ways to gain competitive advantage.
2. The only task of corporate governance is to sustain shareholder value over time.
3. SWOT is the best and the most comprehensive tool for formulating business strategy over long term.

See ‘Battle Point' in Unit 3 for instructions.

‘MAKE YOUR' POINT