In five pages this paper examines the position and development of strategy for the Railtrack monopolistic United Kingdom country as assessed by the Boston Consulting Group Matrix and Porter's Five Forces model. Six sources are listed in the bibliography.
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of the company is the running of the track on which the train companies then run the trains. The ultimate customer is the commuter, but for Railtrack they are indirect
customers, and need to be served through the direct customers, companies such as GNER and Virgin are their customers. When we consider the company itself we can argue that
it was in a unique position, and as a monopolistic company it is a contradiction to have this as a privatised commercial company, rather than in the hands of a
regulating authority. We san see this is we apply the framework of Porters Five Forces. His five forces model considers the external
macro effects on an organisation in a business environment and the power balance between the organisation and its environment (Porter quoted in Goett, 1999, Porter, 1980). His five forces model
is designed to show how the external environment can effect the way a business operates, and that any strategy a business undertakes should take these factors into consideration when analysing
their position and possible future (DAveni PG). In understanding these external forces the business manager will be better placed to deal with
them when they come to play. The five forces Porter identifies are the existing competitors, the threat of new entrants, substitute products (or services), and the power of purchasers and
suppliers. Porter does not see these external factors as working alone, they act in relationship to each other, and can also be
influenced by the organisation which the effect, in understanding them the organisation is in the best position to influence them (Thompson, 1998). The