In the video activity below, you can listen to an explanation of Michael E. Porter’s Five Forces analytical model. Although this model was originally published way back in 1980 in his book, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, it is still taught in MBA programs and still widely used to measure the competitive intensity, attractiveness and profitability of industries and markets (See Investopedia).
Before you watch
Before watching the video, check some key vocabulary that you’ll hear.
Use one of the words below to complete each of the definitions.
obstacle / compete / substitution / profit / likely / rivalry / threat / examine / analysis
While you watch
Watch the video and answer the questions that appear on the screen.
After you watch
Now that we know a little more about Porter’s Five Forces, let’s quickly focus on some of the language used in the video. Here’s an activity you can use to first look at some everyday phrases, which is followed by a language tip about how language is constantly changing.
Use this activity to learn five everyday phrases used in the video.
The words force and power, which are central to Porter’s model, are both nouns, with force meaning coercion, or strength or energy (“the force of the explosion threw him to the ground”), and power meaning the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of other people or events (“the school principal has the power to hire and fire teachers”).
Both are also verbs. In fact, force is used more frequently as a verb than a noun (“he forced her to leave the party before she wanted to”).
The verb power is used to refer to supplying something with mechanical or electrical energy (“the car is powered by the engine”) or moving with great speed or force (“they powered the boat through the harbour out to the ocean”).
But power is increasingly being used to refer to people’s actions, as in “she powered her way through the exam.” Here it means that the woman was very focused and pushed hard to get through the test. It has an admirable feel – you’re impressed that she did it. Here are some additional examples:
he powered his way up the mountain (he moved right up that mountain – he didn’t let anything stop him),
she powered her way through the crowd (she moved forcefully through the crowd, not letting anyone stop her).
The changing use of power is another example of how language is constantly evolving. What seems wrong now may be okay in the not-so-distant future!
If you have any questions about the activity on this page, post a comment below.