Construct a strategic case analysis for a company. Your company is BP British Petroleum.

1. Basic Elements of SWOT analysis.

You will research General Electric and collect information in key business areas. For the case analysis we would use the guidelines provided in Appendix 1.A on Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman and Bamford 2015. In particular, for this first discussion forum you will focus primarily

I. Current Situation (Identification of Problems and Issues) and

II Corporate Governance, Organizational Culture, and firm specific elements, as well as Industry setting.

2. SWOT: External Analysis (EFE) & Internal Analysis IFE

Construct a SWOT analysis for the BP. The SWOT analysis is broken down into the internal (SW) and external (OT) components.

I. For the OT segment of the analysis you are to follow the approach found in Chapter 4 and use the guidelines in Appendix 1.A under

III. External Environment. In particular, here you have to place a significant emphasis on the approach developed by M. Porter in his

Five Forces that Shape Strategy.

II. Construct an Industry Matrix (also known as Competitive Profile Matrix CPM). Provide a synthesis of your findings using an EFE matrix (also known as EFAS. p121). You are required to identify at least 5 but no more than 10 key external elements.

III. As part of your external analysis you also have to complete an Industry Matrix (also known as Competitive Profile Matrix), as demonstrated in Table 4-4 p.113.

IV. For the SW segment of the analysis you are to follow the approach found in Chapter 5 and use the guidelines in Appendix 1.A under

IV. Internal Environment. The internal component of the SWOT analysis places a major emphasis on the determination of Core and Distinctive Competencies along the VRIO framework (refer to Barney 1991 & 2001 under required readings). Provide a summary of your main internal elements using the IFE (known as IFAS). You are required to identify a minimum of 5 but no more than 10 key elements.

3. Problem(s) identification & TWOS matrix

Now that the first two steps (Information gathering and IFE and EFE construction), it is time to move on to the problem identification and construction of the TWOS matrix.

I. In this segment your duty is to identify the main problems/issues that your firm is currently facing, and also identify a set of secondary problems. Main or primary issues are those requiring immediate attention for the firm to achieve its goal and objectives (mostly to maximize profits but not limited to).

2. Secondary problems are also important for the firm and normally derive from failure to achieve its main goals and objectives along with its mission and vision. Thus, I expect that you as a group will spend a significant amount of time identifying these problems and providing a ranking according to their relevance. In this identification process is important to distinguish between recurrent problems (those requiring policies and procedures such as hiring practices) and those that involve actual decision making because of their less frequent occurrence (such as a M&A process).

In addition, your primary duty is to construct a TWOS matrix and identify a set of feasible strategies (a minimum of 12 strategies must be identified - three per each combination i.e., SO, WO, ST & WT), directly useful to address the main and secondary problems the firm is facing.

This should focus on identifying the strategies and discussing why and how they are useful for the company's success. Chapter 6 provides a detail list of Business and Corporate Strategies, but you should also explore further strategies as needed. More information is also available in Chapter 7.

Please be creative!

The textbook is Strategic Management and Business Policy, Globalization, Innovation and Sustainability. Wheelen, T.L., J.D. Hunger, A. Hoffman and C. E. Bamford 14th Edition.