INDUSTRY: Reflection

On reflecting on the magazine publishing industry research; the most surprising insight that I discovered was that printing is an $83 billion industry shared by only 47 businesses. Although surprised may not be the appropriate word, enlightened – may be a better word. When I think about all the printed material that I see every day – It’s not really a surprise. I can now say that I have been enlightened to the revenue stream of printing.

The industry exercises were relatively easy.  The coding and defining were very easy as were the information sources, the overview was not difficult – but it required quite a bit of time.  The five forces model was fun, but the value chain diagram was the most difficult for me. IBISWorld provided most of the elements, but I had to research to find the others. This element of the industry exercises was the most taxing for me as it took me a while to totally grasp the concept and complete the diagram.

I like my final results, but I think the value chain diagram can be improved in its appearance. I think I could include more detail on my analysis for the five forces model as the model is the result of very rough notes and inserting data on the fly; someone following my process may not be able to discern all of my steps. Other than that, I enjoyed this segment. I was not aware of these reach avenues and I’m delighted to add them to my tool box.