Sunrise Medical's Wheelchair Products Essay

• QVC has been trying to capitalize on the growing success of reality-based television shows.

Porter’s Five Forces is a framework that consists of five competitive forces, threat of entry, power of supplier and buyer, threat of substitution and competitive rivalry. These forces facilitate the analysis of the task environment of an industry or company (Wheelen and Hunger, 2009).

3. Please apply Porter’s Five Forces model to the steel industry. While doing so, clearly identify who is behind each force – for instance Suppliers, Buyers, Substitutes, Competitors, etc. And what is the impact of each force on the profitability of the industry – in terms of the following levels - High/Medium/Low. At the end, also provide a summary of all the five forces and propose whether you think the steel industry is attractive industry or not an attractive industry.

Everyone in life has trials and tribulations, but the way in which everyone responds to them is different. Some people dwell on the negative situations, whereas other people turn their negative situations into positive situations. The book, “Wheelchair Warrior,” by Melvin Juette and Ronald J. Berger, conveys how a positive mindset, self-efficacy, and support from family and friends are essential when trying to get through difficult times. Juette uses these characteristics as he transforms from being a gang member to being a world-class national athlete. The life story of Juette, contributes to the understanding of sport and society, reveals the American notion of social differences, and portrays sport in similar ways compared to many other

John Atherley is the owner of Atherley Furniture Company located near Orillia, Ontario. In recent years the progression of his chair division has had mediocre results and profits have been declining steadily each year. From the years 1995 to 1998 Atherley Furniture’s total profits have suffered a 24% loss within that time span. In the company’s chair division there are three models of chairs that have quite the reputation the “Caledonia”, “Atherley”, and lastly the “Parkdale”. Growing concern for the company’s performance led the executive team to analyze income statements for each model to determine the attributed expenses and revenues. With a decline in profits for the Atherley Company, it is crucial that they

Medicare is a health insurance program purposely created for people over sixty five (65) years of age. However the service is open to people with certain disabilities or permanent kidney failures. The process of choosing the right Medicare involves having to weigh different plans on account of benefits of their cover. Different types of Medicare plans are important in: Inpatient hospital care, outpatient services, doctor visits, home health care, prescription drugs, and care in a skilled nursing facility among others. In addition, the program covers the cost of health care but does not cover all medical expenses including cost of long term care. If one ought to choose an original Medicare coverage, one may buy a Medicare supplement policy from a private insurance company to aid in coverage of costs that are not supported by Medicare. Most of these Medicare expenses are covered by a part of the pay role offered to workers by their employer. This paper covers different Medicare plans; A, B, C, D and their influence towards my decision on the best preferred option.

Are you the caregiver/family member of a recovering stroke patient? Have you been looking for a wheelchair that can improve the patient’s mobility as well as speed up rehabilitation? What your patient requires is the highly flexible and user-friendly Profhand Pedal Wheelchair.

The primary sticking point of the wheelchair ordering process was discussed in this case. What changes in the process can be implemented to reduce the lag created by this sticking point?

Another obvious physical disability is an individual's confinement to a wheelchair. People who cannot walk under their own power are usually at a great disadvantage. Many times there are no special considerations made for these people. Even some typical expressions demonstrate this lack of compassion, such as "I have to run to the store", or "I'm going for a walk." People in wheelchairs are often considered weak and unable to care for themselves. However, some advances have been made in our society that encourages the independence of these people. Wheelchair ramps, handicap parking, and cuts in the curb of sidewalks are just some of the more obvious changes that have been made to better accommodate these people. But some problems may still occur for people in wheelchairs. Some hallways and doors may not be wide enough for the chair to fit through and when it is icy outside it is very easy to slide if the pavement is not sanded properly.

The wheelchair industry is currently (1992-1993) composed of three companies controlling 72% of the wheelchair market (including parts). Even though together they are a dominating force, the overall profitability of the industry is comparable to that of a not a very attractive one, with the top two players averaging a meager 5.7% Net Income and the third one (the former market leader) losing considerable money (see Exhibit A).

Porter 's five forces framework assesses the competitive pressures a company faces within the industry. The five forces of competitive pressure include: competition from rival sellers, competition from potential new entrants to the industry, competition from producers of substitute products, supplier bargaining power and customer bargaining power. The model helps us determine the strength of competitive pressures and profitability of an industry. [3]

The Wheelchair industry is relatively small in U.S. market. However, within a short period American manufacturers became trendsetters comparing to European companies, which usually presented new technologies years after they were implemented in the United States (pg.1). In 1993 industry’s approximate sales were about $400 million. With the Medicare participation in reimbursement program and recognition of lightweight model as a distinct standard, the growth rate was expected to increase about 5% -15%. (pg.2). In order analyze the attractiveness of wheelchair industry and predict future profitability, it would be beneficial to study the wheelchair market through M. Porter’s “The Five forces that shape competitive strategy” framework.

If suppliers are limited, they have a greater opportunity to charge higher prices for raw materials, and they may also pose a threat of forward integration to the industry.  Similarly, if an industry has few buyers, or buyers can cheaply and easily change suppliers, they can make demands for less expensive higher quality products, causing impact to profit (Porter, 2008, p. 83).

The Porter`s five forces are threats of new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers ,product substitution and intensity of rival of rival among competitors .These forces measure the competitiveness of the market and also helps the company to identify strategies to use to penetrate such and gain market share.

Porter’s five forces are used to determine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market. These are close forces that affect a company’s ability to make a profit and serve customers. If any of these forces change, a company must reassess its marketplace. The five forces include: the threat of substitute products, the threat of the entry of new competitors, the intensity of competitive rivalry, the bargaining power of customers and the bargaining power of suppliers.