(1) Consider a golf club manufacturer that is running near capacity and considering an expansion of manufacturing facilities. Would it make sense to make that investment just before the peak of the current economic cycle? How do you know what stage the economy is actually in? What factors would you consider when making this decision?
(2) Sunnie Day is the CEO of a company, based in Enterprise, OR, that makes an innovative new kind of energy bar (The Energy Log). Based on your PESTEL analysis what are the top 2 or 3 environmental factors that Sunnie needs to be very aware of? How could they affect her business? What could she do to minimize the effect or maximize the opportunity?
(3) Consider Porter’s Five Forces model as it relates to Sunnie’s company (above). Which of the five forces are likely to be the most important and why? Based on your analysis, relatively speaking, is this opportunity going to be associated with higher or lower profit potential?