Michael Porter facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Michael Porter
Porter in 2017
Born	Michael Eugene Porter (1947-05-23) May 23, 1947 (age 78) Ann Arbor, Michigan, US

Contributions	Porter hypothesis Porter's five forces Porter's four corners model

Michael Eugene Porter (born May 23, 1947) is a famous American professor and businessman. He teaches at Harvard Business School. He helped start important companies like The Monitor Group and FSG.

Porter is known for creating "Porter's Five Forces." This is a popular way to understand how businesses compete. Many people call him the "father of modern business strategy." He is one of the most important thinkers about how businesses succeed and compete. Governments and universities have recognized his work.

Early Life and Learning
His Career and Ideas
Awards and Recognition
Criticism of His Work
His Impact
His Books and Articles
Books About His Work
See also

Early Life and Learning

Michael Porter's dad was an engineer and an army officer. Because of his dad's job, Michael's family moved a lot. They lived in different parts of the United States, France, and Canada. This made Michael interested in how countries and regions grow economically. He wanted to understand why some places were more competitive than others.

Porter shared that he first learned about competition through sports. He played football, baseball, and basketball when he was young. He was even on the NCAA championship golf team at Princeton University.

He went to Princeton University and studied engineering. He graduated in 1969 as the top student in his class. Then, he went to Harvard Business School (HBS) for his MBA. He also earned a PhD in business economics from Harvard University in 1973. Porter says his professor, Roland Christensen, inspired him a lot.

His Career and Ideas

Michael Porter developed the "Five Forces" framework. This tool helps people understand how different industries work. He got the idea from his economics classes at Harvard.

Porter always says that good business strategy is about making smart choices. He has given many speeches about how important it is to plan a strategy. He has also advised many governments and organizations on how to create their strategies.

He has written 20 books and many articles. Some of his famous books are Competitive Strategy and Competitive Advantage. He is the most cited author in business and economics. This means his work is often mentioned by others.

How Nations Compete

Understanding Competitive Advantage

In 1990, Porter wrote a book called The Competitive Advantage of Nations. This book looked at ten different countries. He argued that a country's wealth comes from how productive its businesses and workers are. He said that the environment in a country helps this productivity.

He created the "diamond" framework. This framework has four main parts that help a country be competitive. These parts work together to make a nation strong. They include things like resources, customer demand, related industries, and how companies compete. Information, good incentives, and strong infrastructure are also key.

In 2014, Porter talked about "The Social Progress Index." This is a scorecard that measures how well countries are doing. The US ranked 16th overall on this scorecard.

Michael Porter explained two ways a company can be better than its rivals. One way is to have a "cost advantage." This means a business offers the same products but at a lower price. The other way is a "differentiation advantage." This means a business offers better or unique products. Porter believed that good business management should focus on keeping these advantages.

He first introduced "Porter's Five Forces" in 1979. This model helps businesses analyze an industry. It helps them decide if it's a good idea to enter that industry. The five forces look at the power of buyers and suppliers. They also consider new companies, existing competition, and substitute products. He wrote about this in his 1979 article "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy."

Porter also introduced the idea of "competitive advantage" in 1985. This became a very important idea in business management. He wrote a bestselling book about it called Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. This book also talks about the "value chain" concept.

The Value Chain Idea

Porter explained the "value chain" in his 1985 book. The value chain includes all the steps a company takes to make a product. This goes from designing it to selling it. These steps are seen as the main parts that create a company's competitive advantage.

Improving Health Care

Porter has also worked on improving health care. He wrote a book called Redefining Health Care. This book suggests a new way to make health care better and more valuable. It has ideas for hospitals, insurance companies, and governments.

His ideas are used to solve health care problems in many countries. He works with others at Harvard Medical School to do this.

Working as a Consultant

Porter has worked as an advisor for many businesses and governments. He has advised large companies like Caterpillar and Procter & Gamble. He also worked with leaders in Rwanda and South Korea.

In 1983, Porter helped start a company called The Monitor Group. This company advised businesses on strategy. It later became part of Deloitte Consulting.

Non-Profit Work

Michael Porter has started four important non-profit organizations.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) helps poor urban areas grow economically.
The Center for Effective Philanthropy helps measure how well charities are doing.
FSG Social Impact Advisors helps non-profits and companies create social value.
The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurements (ICHOM) works to set global standards for measuring health results.

He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Princeton University.

Politics and Competition

Porter, with Katherine Gehl, looked at the US two-party political system. They described it like a business "duopoly." This means two main companies control the market. They argued that this "political industry" often serves the parties' interests more than the public's. They wrote a report and a book about this idea.

Awards and Recognition

In 2000, Michael Porter received a very high honor from Harvard University. He was named a "University Professor." He has also won the McKinsey Award six times. This award is for the best article in the Harvard Business Review each year.

Criticism of His Work

Some experts have criticized Porter's work. They say his arguments are sometimes inconsistent. They also say his conclusions might not have enough proof. Some critics believe he doesn't always give credit to the original ideas from economics.

His Impact

Michael Porter has written many books about business strategy. His ideas are taught in universities all over the world. Concepts like Porter's Five Forces, the Diamond Model, and the Value Chain are widely used.

In an interview, Porter said his greatest gift is taking complex problems and making them understandable. He wants to help people actually solve these problems.

His Books and Articles

Competitive Strategy

Porter, M.E. (1979) "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy", Harvard Business Review, March/April 1979.
Porter, M.E. (1980) Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York, 1980. This book was voted the ninth most influential management book of the 20th century.
Porter, M.E. (1987) "From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy", Harvard Business Review, May/June 1987.
Porter, M.E. (1996) "What is Strategy", Harvard Business Review, Nov/Dec 1996.
Porter, M.E. (1998) On Competition, Boston: Harvard Business School, 1998.
Porter, M.E. (1990, 1998) The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Free Press, New York, 1990.
Porter, M.E. (2001) "Strategy and the Internet", Harvard Business Review, March 2001.
Porter, M.E. & Kramer, M.R. (2006) "Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility", Harvard Business Review, December 2069.
Porter, M.E. (2008) "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy", Harvard Business Review, January 2008.
Porter, M.E. & Kramer, M.R. (2011) "Creating Shared Value", Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb 2011.
Porter, M.E. & Heppelmann, J.E. (2014) "How Smart, Connected Products are Transforming Competition", Harvard Business Review, November 2014.

US Political Competition

Gehl, K.M. & Porter, M.E. (2017) "Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America", Harvard Business School, September 2017.

Health Care in the US

Porter, M.E. & Teisberg, E.O. (2006) Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition On Results, Harvard Business School Press, 2006.

Global Health Care

Jain SH, Weintraub R, Rhatigan J, Porter ME, Kim JY. "Delivering Global Health". Student British Medical Journal 2008.
Kim JY, Rhatigan J, Jain SH, Weintraub R, Porter ME. "From a declaration of values to the creation of value in global health: a report from Harvard University's Global Health Delivery Project". Global Public Health. 2010.

Books About His Work

Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy. Magretta, Joan. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2012.
The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World. Kiechel, Walter III. Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, 2010.
The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy, Katherine M. Gehl, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review Press, 2020.