Reference no: EM133200911 , Length: Word count: 1 Page

Assignment Task: Changes in the general external environment may have different effects on different industries, as pointed out in chapter.

One industry that is currently being affected by many factors in the General Environment is the FOOD INDUSTRY (assume you are a manufacturer of a variety of general packaged food products such as Kraft-Heinz; Nestles, General Mills, or Conagra).

Do a complete General External Environmental Analysis (PESTEL Analysis) of the general food products industry.

Look at the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal conditions which currently exist that affect the industry.

Determine for each of the six (6) categories, primary conditions or trends that exist that affect the industry. Identify which ones are positive for the industry and which ones are negative. Explain why for each one.

If you were a company in the general packaged food products industry, what actions would you take to maintain a profitable and growing business given the current conditions or trends(how would you take advantage of the favorable conditions and offset the effect of the unfavorable conditions?). Be specific and explain how each action would either offset an adverse condition or take advantage of a favorable condition.

Chapter of our textbook discusses some of the advantages as well as some disadvantages of being the first mover (the first one to enter a new market).

In the technology area, several companies are now the leaders in their industries, even though they were not the first in the industry.

Google was not the first to develop an internet search engine, but now is the leader with over 50% of all searches and 40% of all dollars spent on online advertising.

Netflix was not the first company to offer internet video content, but now is the leader with over 160 million subscribers worldwide.

Microsoft was not the first company to develop an operating system for personal computers but is now the world leader.

These, as well as other examples show that there are advantages to not being the first mover; on the other hand, many first movers can protect their position as others enter the market. Apple was the first to enter the mass smart-phone market, and to date, in spite of many global competitors; it has been able to maintain a strong market position.

In the electric car industry, Tesla was the first company to enter the market on a broad scale and is currently the only manufacturer selling production volumes of fully electric cars on a global basis, having sold 285,000 in 2018. Most of the other world auto manufacturers have now announced plans to market, over the next several years, a broad range of fully electric cars, some beginning as early as 2019.

Address the following questions regarding Tesla and the electric car market:

Q1. What are the advantages to Tesla being the first in the mass-produced electric car market?

Q2. What advantages do the other auto manufacturers have over Tesla by waiting?

Q3. What are the risks to Tesla of other auto manufacturers entering the market? What do they have to offer that perhaps Tesla cannot?

Q4. What can Tesla do to protect its first-mover advantage as other traditional car manufacturers enter the electric car market?