PESTEL analysis (France and Australia)
Your task is to analyse and report on the origins, structure, and strategy of the Thales Group and comment on its strategic strengths and weaknesses.
The aim of the paper is to give a detailed and thorough business analysis of an international company The Thales group. The multinational company designs and constructs electrical systems and offers services to the markets of transportation, defense, aerospace and security (Thalesgroup.com 2018). Over the years, the company has been adopting different strategies in order to position itself in the concerned industry. The study gives a clear understanding of the company’s current position in the market. The study begins with the brief overview of the company and then proceeds with the proceeds with the critical analysis of the company (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). In this regard, the study gives the PESTEL analysis in which political, economic, social, technological and legal factors will be discussed. Additionally, the study conducts Five Forces analysis of Porter’s model. In the later part of the discussion, the study highlights the business level strategy adopted by the company in the context of Bendigo which is the vehicle division of the company. Along with that, the report analyses the business level strategy of the cyber-security division of the company. Towards the conclusion of the discussion, the reports state the benefits drawn by the strategic relationship of the Thales group. Finally the report concludes by summing up the whole discussion.
Political factors
The Thales group is not only has its business in France but it has spread its business centers in other countries. The trade regulations across the globe have become stricter which demands the company to adhere to the regulations in order to run its business (Newton 2014). It has been seen that some companies are to suffer due to not following the regulations. Another aspect in this regard deserves mention is that governments in different countries have different rules and regulations (Ayerbe et al. 2014). As the company is spread all over the globe, it is mandatory for the company to follow all the different trade rules across the world.
Economic factors
The overall global economic crisis across the world has a negative impact on the entire business world regardless of any sector (Ho 2014). Apart from this, there are several other economic reformations like Brexit which heavily impacted on the business operation of the company. Economic situations in France differ from the economic situations of Australia, thus the company needs to take different strategies keeping the economic conditions of both the countries.
Key competitors in the market
Social factors
One of the major social factors that influence the business process of the companies is urbanization (Newton 2014). As the company deals with the technological solutions of the aerospace and defense sector, therefore, the more cities will urbanize, the more the company will grow further. The smart city drive has been seen extremely beneficial for the company as it contributes to the expansion of the aerospace and defense sector.
Technological factors
Technical innovations in the aviation industry create a demand of the technological solutions which is beneficial for the company and also forces the company to expand further. In sectors like defense and transportation, the demand of technological advancement is increasing in a rapid space. Thus it can be said the scope of expansion for the company is huge (Ho 2014).
Legal factors
The trade laws vary from one country to another (Newton 2014). This demands the company to secure the trade laws based on each country where it operates. For instance, the trade law of France and the trade laws of Australia have impose different regulations and directives on the companies those operate there.
Environmental factor
The recent years have seen a major shift towards the renewable energy in the business sector. The aerospace and defense is not exempted. The chances of increased of the sales margin is high if the country focus on the renewable energy for it business process (Newton 2014). There is growing demand in the aerospace and defense sector regarding innovative solutions in order to prevent the threats towards the environment. Considering this aspect the company can further expand.
Key competitors in the market
According to the five forces analysis, there are five major competitors in the aviation industry which give a tough competition to Thales group (E 2014). To name, Sophos, McAfee and eSentire deserve mention. The competitors are in the large number in order to have a adverse effect on the company. The business operation of the company is grossly affected by the existence of the large number of technological solution providers in the aerospace, defense and transport sector (Ayerbe et al. 2014). The continuous competition in the industry grossly affect business process of the company as it requires the company to put best effort to stay in the forefront. The main competitor among the other competitors in the industry is the McAfee, which posses a good hold of the customers. In order to offer best services to its customers, McAfee exclusively focuses on the quality. It continuously works on innovations in order to serve new and different in the industry. There is a new invention in the technological sphere every day, McAfee keep itself always updated with the latest technology in order to offer the best service to its customers. Most of the customers prefer McAfee and Sophos as per its popularity in the industry (Voirin, 2015). The service networks of Sophos and McAfee are more expanded than the Thales group. While Sophos and McAfee provide services at an affordable prices, the products of the Thales group is quiet costlier as compared to other brands. Sophos and McAfee have greater customers range as they are not limited to the aerospace and defense whereas Thales group is limited to the Aerospace, defense and transportation (Haderer et al. 2013). Thus it can be said that the company could not yet reach out customers to that extent as Sophos and McAfee did.
Business level strategic analysis of Thales’s vehicle division
Business level strategic analysis of Thales’s vehicle division
Porter’s five forces model has been chosen as a business level strategy in order to understand the business process of vehicle division of Thales (E 2014). Thales group’s Bending based vehicle division offers vehicle solution to its customers. In bending division, Thales manufactures different vehicles in the defense industry. The vehicles that the company offers in the defense sector include ships like Royal Navy Future Carrier, popularly known as CVF, Future Strategic, Air tanker and so on (Thalesgroup.com 2018). It also manufactures remote weapon station. By a through five forces analysis, it is understood that there are several factors which has been proved to be beneficial for Thales (Thalesgroup.com 2018). The economical as well as political condition of the Bendgo is un-favorable for the company to run its business practice. As per the scenario, the political condition is stable unlike other regions in the country. In order to manufacture vehicles which are used in the defense sector, the company needed a large extended area (Rothaermel 2015). Bendigo was able to provide the company the large are for which the company is now able to run its business process smoothly. The effective workforce is adequate in Bendigo, which is one of the most beneficial factors for the company. In regard to other factors, the growing sales and revenue record shows that Bendigo has been proved as the most suitable area for Thales group. Thus it can be said that the economic, social and political impact Bendigo in the real sense.
Business level strategic analysis of Thales’s cyber security division
Thales group is not limited in delivering services to the vehicle solutions. It has expanded its business to the sector of cyber-Security by providing security solutions to its customers. In order to protect computers from several malwares, Thales offer security packages which protect the personal computers from the virus, malwares and other issues (Indiatsy et al.2014). As per cyber crime is growing at a rapid speed, the company provides the service of protection. In this regard, it must be mentioned that there are several other cyber-security providers in the industry. The continuous competition with the other brand like Sophos and McAfee heavily impacts the business process of the company as it demands the company to stay stand out among them (Haderer et al. 2013). Like other brands, Thales conducts a continuous research towards the further development of its products. However, in this regard, it must be mentioned that to some extent Thales group is lagging behind as compared to Sophos and McAfee. The business level strategy thus can be considered as week because the brand recognition is under satisfactory level (Voirin et al. 2015). In the business level, several business strategies have been taken in order to secure the productivity of a considerable rate. Along with that the company has been taking different measures as well strategies in order to address the issues which affect the overall business process of the company. The business level strategy of the company also includes the measures to identify the issues regarding workforce management and resolve them accordingly. By adopting different business level strategies, Thales group has been able to determine the actions in order to provide quality service to its customers while achieving a competitive advantage (E 2014). Other than porter’s generic strategies, there are other strategies too which have been adopted by the Thales group, are cost leadership, focus and the differentiation.
Benefits of Thales strategic relationship
Popularly known as the strategic business partnership, the strategic relationship has been assisting Thales group in competing with the leading brands. The shareholders of the company have been able to mark itself as one of leading companies that provides technical solutions (MOELYADI 2014). The one of the shareholder can be named is the Association du Personnel Actionnaire de Thales. The association represents the employee shareholders of the company. It determines the employee security. At the same time the association plays an important part in the managerial decision which secures the future by assuring the growth of the company (McAdam and Marlow 2013). While discussing the strategic relations, merger and acquisition also needs to be mentioned. Gemalto joined its hands with Thales group towards fulfilling a bigger ambition of offer latest technology based best service to its customers. According to the merger agreement, the joint project by Thales group and Gemalto had drawn benefits for the digital security while it was beneficial for reducing the threat of unemployment as well (McAdam and Marlow 2013). Thus it can be said that the strategic relationship plays a crucial role in order to grow further. Thus it cannot be denied that rather than individually, strategic relations can generate more revenue from market.
Conclusion
In order to conclude, it can be said that the purpose of the study is to have a close look to the business analysis of an international company The Thales group. The multinational French company designs and constructs electrical systems and offers services to the markets of transportation, defense, aerospace and security. Over the years, the company has been adopting different strategies in order to position itself in the concerned industry. The paper gave a clear understanding of the company’s current position in the market. The study began with the brief overview of the company and then proceeds with the proceeds with the critical analysis of the company. In relation to the discussion, the study gave the PESTEL analysis in which political, economic, social, technological and legal factors will be discussed. Additionally, the study conducted Five Forces analysis of Porter’s model to understand the key competitors of the company and their present market position. In the later part of the discussion, the study highlighted the business level strategy adopted by the company in the context of Bendigo which is the vehicle division of the company. Along with that, the report analyzed the business level strategy of the cyber-security division of the company. Towards the conclusion of the discussion, the reports stated the benefits drawn by the strategic relationship of the Thales group.
References
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Haderer, N., Rouvoy, R., Ribeiro, C. and Seinturier, L., 2013. Apisense: Crowd-sensing made easy. ERCIM News, 93, pp.28-29.
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Dobbs, M., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter’s five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), pp.32-45.
Indiatsy, C.M., Mwangi, M.S., Mandere, E.N., Bichanga, J.M. and George, G.E., 2014. The Application of Porter’s Five Forces Model on Organization Performance: A Case of Cooperative Bank of Kenya Ltd. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(16), pp.75-85.
Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Mori, L., Factors Influencing Employer-Employee Relationship in Strategy Execution in Non-Govermental Organisation In Nairobi, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation).
MOELYADI, H., 2014. Re-formulasi Strategic Supply Relationship PT. PAL Indonesia (Persero) (Doctoral dissertation, UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA).
Voirin, J.L., Bonnet, S., Normand, V. and Exertier, D., 2015, October. From initial investigations up to large?scale rollout of an MBSE method and its supporting workbench: the Thales experience. In INCOSE International Symposium (Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 325-340).