Great Lakes
Great Lakes: Great Decisions
By: Judy Webb
Professor Natalie Marsh
Business Administration Capstone – BUS 499
January 12, 2011
Perform an analysis of the Social/Demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/Geographic, and Political /Legal/Government segments to understand the general environment facing Great Lakes. Describe how Great Lakes will be affected by each of these external factors. Social/Demographic Segments – The primary consumers of the products produced by Great Lakes—especially lead additives—hail from developing countries. And while the case study does not specifically comment on the demographics of these countries or the social status of their people, it is logical to assume that clients from these locales would be large in number and reside in densely populated areas. These dynamics, complemented by the fact that most cars in developing countries did not have catalytic converters clearly indicates that social/demographic factors did not adversely Great Lakes. And the numbers appear to bear this out: as of 1996, leaded gasoline comprised 93 percent of all gasoline in Africa and 94 percent in the Middle East. The numbers were 30 and 35 percent respectively in Asia and Latin America (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson , 2011). Technological – Technological considerations could have a great impact on Great Lakes when and if the countries in which it does business take the plunge and move from leaded to unleaded gasoline. Since leaded gasoline use was banned in the United States and most other developing countries, segments of the world’s population—especially environmentalists—have insisted that Great Lakes stop manufacturing lead additives. To date, the company has not yielded to these demands because of the negative impact it would have on its profits as well as its customers who have not made the move from leaded to unleaded for their vehicles. Despite its production of lead additives, Great Lakes had indicated that it was
By: Judy Webb
Professor Natalie Marsh
Business Administration Capstone – BUS 499
January 12, 2011
Perform an analysis of the Social/Demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/Geographic, and Political /Legal/Government segments to understand the general environment facing Great Lakes. Describe how Great Lakes will be affected by each of these external factors. Social/Demographic Segments – The primary consumers of the products produced by Great Lakes—especially lead additives—hail from developing countries. And while the case study does not specifically comment on the demographics of these countries or the social status of their people, it is logical to assume that clients from these locales would be large in number and reside in densely populated areas. These dynamics, complemented by the fact that most cars in developing countries did not have catalytic converters clearly indicates that social/demographic factors did not adversely Great Lakes. And the numbers appear to bear this out: as of 1996, leaded gasoline comprised 93 percent of all gasoline in Africa and 94 percent in the Middle East. The numbers were 30 and 35 percent respectively in Asia and Latin America (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson , 2011). Technological – Technological considerations could have a great impact on Great Lakes when and if the countries in which it does business take the plunge and move from leaded to unleaded gasoline. Since leaded gasoline use was banned in the United States and most other developing countries, segments of the world’s population—especially environmentalists—have insisted that Great Lakes stop manufacturing lead additives. To date, the company has not yielded to these demands because of the negative impact it would have on its profits as well as its customers who have not made the move from leaded to unleaded for their vehicles. Despite its production of lead additives, Great Lakes had indicated that it was
References: Great Lakes Chemical Corporation. (2010 December 24). Retrieved January 10, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes Hitt, M.A., Ireland, D.R. & Hoskisson, R.E. (2011). Strategic management:Concepts and cases:Competitiveness and globalization (pp .156-159).