Strategic Analysis of British Petroleum's External Business Environment

External Business Environment Analysis

In September 2021, some petrol stations in the UK were forced to close after the nationwide shortage of HGV drivers left forecourts without supplies. British Petroleum (BP) spokesperson apologised for any inconvenience, adding: “We are experiencing fuel supply issues at some of our retail sites in the UK and unfortunately have therefore seen a handful of sites temporarily close due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades.” Details of the disruption to petrol supplies emerged  after a meeting between the government and executives  from  several  companies  convened  to  brief  ministers  about  the  severity  of Britain’s supply chain crisis. Queues formed at some petrol stations in London and Kent on Friday as motorists rushed to fill up. Although Downing Street claimed there was no shortage of fuel, the developments will add to pressure on ministers already facing calls to take action 
to ease acute labour and supply chain shortages linked to Brexit and the pandemic  – with businesses  calling  for  a visa  scheme  to help  meet  demand  for  more  workers  on farms,  in factories and in road haulage firms. Rod McKenzie, of the Road Haulage Association trade body, accused ministers of “government by inertia”, allowing the situation to get gradually worse  in  recent  months.  (Source:  Partington  R.,  Partridge,  J.,  (2021)  BP  closes  some  petrol  stations  amid  HGV  driver  shortage. 

You need to conduct a strategic analysis of the British Petroleum’s (BP) external business environment. In specific, the following criteria should be covered in your report.  
 
1)  Evaluate  with  evidence  the  UK  and  global  Haulage  industry.  Use  related  frameworks  to critically analyse the industry as well as the sector. 
2)  Evaluate with evidence the competitive environment of British Petroleum (BP). 
 
*  For  this  assignment  you  are  required  to  apply  different  frameworks  discussed  in  class  such  as PESTEL Analysis, Industry Five Forces, Strategic Group Analysis, Industry Life Cycle, and SWOT Analysis. 
 
PRESENTING COURSEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT 
Assignments must be presented in the following format: 
• Assignments need a front cover page stating: Module number, Module name, Title of the assignment, Your name and student number, Submission date, Word count 
• An Executive Summary is not required. 
• It is mandatory that learners adhere to the specified word count given in the assignment brief within a margin of -/+10%. 
• Your assignments should be written in a report/essay style with an introduction, body of the essay (broken down into sub-sections), and conclusion. 
• Assignments must be word-processed in 11 font Arial and double spaced 
• All pages must be numbered 
• Margins must be as follows: Top: 1 inch, Bottom: 1 inch (2.5 cm), Left: 1.25 inches, Right: 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) 
• The assignment word limit does not include the cover page, reference list or appendices. 

UK and Global Haulage Industry Analysis

• The  length  of  an  assignment  is  limited  by  a  set  number  of  words  to  contribute  towards  the development of writing skills and to ensure all work is assessed equitably. We, therefore, require you to complete your assignments within the number of words specified in the assignment brief. If you write more than required words, the extra words will not be marked to ensure equality of marking. 
• Your report will be assessed based on the content within the main body of your report (within the word limit). However, you are encouraged to use appendices for the presentation of the detailed research which supports your discussion, and for the detailed analysis using course models. Please ensure, however, that your main argument and key findings are included in the body of your report. 
• Please  also  remember  that  a  report  can  be  enhanced  or  damaged  through  layout,  for  example, placing all tables and drawings in appendices can hamper the flow of discussion. Decisions, therefore, need to be made about the most appropriate place to use tables etc. to support your case. 

• Appendices themselves will not be marked. However, inappropriate use of appendices will be taken into consideration when awarding the final mark. 
• Assignments not complying with this format might be returned to students unmarked. 
 
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