Select a company with which you are familiar. Generate a quick summary of a Political, Economic, Social, and Technological (PEST) analysis, and predict this company’s market growth or decline. Support your prediction.

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Discussion 1

“Strong Brands” Please respond to the following:

· Several companies use their brand as a competitive advantage. Given your knowledge about the global economy, identify three brands you believe have the strongest likelihood of remaining a source of advantage in the 21st Century and explain why. Explain the affects you believe the Internet’s capabilities will have on the brands you identified in the previous discussion and what the owner of the brand should do in light of them.

· From the e-Activity, analyze the internal environment of the company you researched to determine that company’s strengths and weaknesses. Based on the strengths and weaknesses you discovered, determine what steps the company could take to positively impact the company’s competitiveness. Explain your rationale.

Week 3 eActivity

· Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research a company of your choice with a focus on the company’s internal environment. Be prepared to discuss.

Discussion 2

“Competitive Analysis” Please respond to the following:

· From the case study, the company defined its market as the biological testing industry. Using Porter’s competitive model from Chapter 5 of the text, predict the challenges that the company will face as it competes in this industry and suggest the solutions to mitigate the challenges.

· Select a company with which you are familiar. Generate a quick summary of a Political, Economic, Social, and Technological (PEST) analysis, and predict this company’s market growth or decline. Support your prediction.

Discussion 3

“Industry Analysis” Please respond to the following:

· From the e-Activity, analyze how the knowledge of job titles, salaries, and hiring practices provides information for the business planning for your business.

Week 3 e-Activity

Imagine you are running a small business. Research the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook located at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Take note of job titles, salaries range, and hiring practices applied for your business. Be prepared to discuss.

· From the business you proposed in Week 2, Discussion 1, use competitive information to generate a set of challenges you would have to overcome to succeed in that business. Support your answer.