ASSIGMENT 3

Article 1 – Intuiting a Victory:

I think the first statement is most accurate because as defined by www.dictionary.com a rival is “One who attempts to equal or surpass another, or who pursues the same object as another; a competitor”. And that’s exactly what Microsoft is a rival that’s trying to enter a new market. Although Microsoft might overcome most of the barriers to entry I think it will still have some trouble overcoming product differentiation and the cost disadvantages independent of scale barriers. The product differentiation will be difficult since the customers are used to a certain product and might not be willing to change to a new style program, even if it might offer better options. This is true because a long time will be needed to train the employees to use the new program and the cost of replacing the old program might be too much. Also the cost disadvantage barrier is a major one for Microsoft because Intuit has years of experience on what the customers need and wants from a finance software

Article 2 – Polly’s Gourmet:

The statement that seems most accurate to me is statement F, this is because Sheldrake tried to surpass the services offered by Starbucks by giving the customers that come to his coffee shop a rewarding experience. This is also true because there are many rival coffee shops (eleven to be exact) and since the product being sold is a substitute in all eleven, Sheldrake managed to attract customers be offering better services and a customer friendly atmosphere.