Case Study Questions: Pick n Pay

Strategic analysis is basically concerned with the structuring of the relationship between a business and its environment. The external environment which is dynamic and changing holds both opportunities and threats for the organizations. The organizations while attempting at strategic realignments, try to capture these opportunities and avoid the emerging threats. So it is very important for organizations like Intel to study and understand about the external environment. To do this, we can use the PESTEL framework.

PESTEL analysis is widely used to better understand the external environment of the company. The acronym PESTEL stands for political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors. PESTEL analysis helps managers better understand the threats and opportunities a company faces.

Analyze the external and internal environment for opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

Macro environment comprises external forces that organisation cannot directly control, instead organisation need to manage their macro environment in a way that benefits them ("The Macro Environment & Pest Analysis", 2016). The PESTLE analysis is the most widely recognized approach for considering the external business environment (Gupta, 2013). PESTLE analysis stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological, Legal and environmental analysis and describe a framework of macro environmental factors utilized as a part of the environmental scanning component of strategic management. Generally, all the PESTLE factors might not important for all types of industry its depends up industry nature or size. This PESTLE analysis is based on Accor Hotels in Australia which is a famous and globally recognise hospitality brand.

Macro environment is crucial to the development of a company. All the external factors can have huge positive or negative influences on Travis Perkins plc, therefore a better understanding of the environment of the company is of supreme significance (Peng & Nunes, 2007). Among all the analysis tools, PEST analysis is one of the most effective tools to analyze the external environment of a company (Riley, 2012). This part will demonstrate PESTLE analysis of Travis Perkins plc below. The result of PESTLE analysis can be demonstrated in the following table 1.

The business environment of an organization reveals much about its competitiveness and the possible influences on the success of its strategies. The focus of this paper will be an environmental scan of the internal and external environments of two real-world firms, their competitive advantages and company strategies for creating value and sustaining competitiveness, measurement guidelines for verifying strategic effectiveness and their evaluation.

PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis) describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. Some analysts added Legal and rearranged the mnemonic to SLEPT;[1] inserting Environmental factors expanded it to PESTEL or PESTLE, which is popular in the United Kingdom.[2] The model has recently been further extended to STEEPLE and STEEPLED, adding Ethics and Demographic factors. It is a part of the external analysis when conducting a strategic analysis or doing market

PEST analysis is an imperative strategy tool used for a company, mainly to oversee and assists in project management. PEST analysis stands for the political, economic, social and technological factors of an organization. This tool is used as an aspect of an organization's competitive strategy to analyze and assess the critical external factors that may positively or negatively impact the organization (Kadlubek, 2016). When a PEST analysis is performed, the external factors are analyzed and monitor the external marketing environment. A company may consist of several external factors that can bolster or impede the development of an organization; therefore, it is beneficial and more productive to subdivide the external analysis into more feasible segments (Frederick, Agnes and John, 2011).

Companies often use a (CPM) – Competitive Profile Matrix to better understand their external environment as well as their competition within the industry they operate. The matrix identifies a company’s key competitors and draws a comparison using the industry’s critical success factors. The analysis also reveals a company’s strengths and weaknesses against its competition, making them aware of problematic areas needing improvement and also areas that are doing well and need to be protected (See Appendix F).

The environment is like a double-edged sword, providing companies opportunities but threats as well. Therefore, in an increasingly hostile marketplace, a systematic and careful environmental analysis is supposed to be considered by companies (Johnson et al, 2011). The macro-environment of a company can be analysed by the framework of PESTEL, which includes six categories: political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (Johnson et al, 2011, Appendix A ).

“PESTEL model involves the collection and portrayal of information about external factors which have, or may have, an impact on business.”

PESTEL Analysis consist of political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors that make up an organization and for this paper we will analysis Apple as a company and their products. Apple is among the fastest growing company that has made itself a recognizable consumer name for electronics and gadgets. Investors have always looked forward for investing in Apple due to its strong revenue and high return on investment. Started operating as a traditional computer company, it has continuously come up with new ideas and products. Using the PESTEL analysis identifies the most significant external factors that Apple must include in addressing its remote or macro-environment. Finch says, “The process of systematically assessing how elements of the external environment will impact a business or market is termed environmental scanning. Factors of particular concern to marketing managers include those issues and trends that influence the attitudes and behavior of current and prospective target markets”, (Finch, 2012). The company was founded by Steven Paul Jobs, Ronald Gerald Wayne, and Stephen G. Wozniak on April 1, 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, CA,” (CNN). Apple products was first known to be the most expensive, versatile and fast moving product in today’s technology evolving from computers to now cell phones and music players, but Apple was used more by professionals and creators and now are available to anyone.

External analysis of general environment will be done using PESTEL which refers to how the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environment affects an organization. Below will be a diagram of PESTEL, followed by a brief explanation of each factor and their examples.

PESTEL analysis is a method used to study macroeconomics - the macroeconomic environment of an enterprise. Otherwise, it is called the general segmentation of the environment. It defines the basic spheres of the environment, which are areas that have a crucial impact on the functioning of the organization. Also marks the future strategy of the organization through an in-depth analysis.

PESTEL analysis is to identify and analyze the strategy and business environment, it is stand for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. This model is to assessing the current environment and potential changes. If