Assignment Overview

The ability to construct a PESTEL Analysis and a Porters Five-Forces Analysis is essential to making informed decisions that impact strategic planning. A key theme of Introduction to Management focuses on the relationship between the external environment and organizational performance. An important function of any manager is the ability to analyze external environmental conditions and the level of competition within a particular industry/market in an effort to make informed decisions and think strategically. This assignment provides students with an opportunity to examine a variety of external environmental and industry factors, and the role they play in decision-making.

Scenario (address the following scenario for your assignment)

Big Rock Brewery. Imagine you are a management consultant who has just been hired by Big Rock Brewery. Big Rock Brewery craft ten signature beers, eight seasonals, four ciders, and countless private label products for beer lovers nationwide and are looking to expand into Montreal (Quebec). You have been hired to assess the Canadian external environment in Montreal (Quebec) as it relates to brewery industry and provide important information to help Big Rock Brewery decide whether they should expand into Montreal. Your job is to construct a PESTEL Analysis and a Porters Five-Forces Analysis to help Big Rock Brewery make an informed decision.

Assignment length: 4 pages of content double-spaced (MAXIMUM 1000 words 4 pages) NOT including the title page and reference page.

Assignment weighting: 57 points (15%)

Research

Research is required throughout:

This is a research assignment and therefore you are required you to conduct research, which involves the use of existing data to form your responses (e.g., electronic articles, websites, other market research available, etc.). In addition to our course textbook, you are required to use a minimum of FOUR different sources for your PESTEL Analysis and FOUR different sources for your Porters Five-Forces Analysis to gather information and inform your understanding of the external environment as it relates to the specific scenario provided in this assignment.

Although research is required, you are also expected to include your own original thoughts and insights within your analysis while using research to support your claims. Your insights will add relevance to the research you provide and will help create a meaningful examination of the external environment and the degree of competition within it.

RESEARCH CRITERIA

ALL research used must be RELEVANT to the assignment topic and scenario. For example, do NOT include a resource on the education system or employment rates in Bangladesh or Polar Bears in Alaska if the assignment scenario is addressing the hospitality industry in Alberta. Any non-relevant research sources that are used will be considered a breach of the college academic honesty and integrity policy and the assignment will receive a ZERO grade.

In addition, any resource that is used must be ACCESSIBLE for instructor review. This means the full document must be available to the instructor when reviewing the sources provided on your reference page.

Students must illustrate that they have extracted meaningful information from the sources used and did NOT simply draw from an article introduction or abstract. Use of sources that are not relevant or where the full document cannot be accessed and reviewed (e.g., journals, paid subscriptions, restricted access to article abstract, etc.) will result in an automatic ZERO grade on the assignment and will be subject to the colleges formal academic dishonesty process.

Resources to use for research

The PESTEL Analysis falls into the general environment, which represents the macro level and includes the broad political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental, and legal conditions that may affect the organization. Managers must consider these conditions as they plan, organize, lead, and control. (*Refer to Chapter 2 and Chapter 4 [page 118] in the course textbook. Also, be sure to refer to the resources in the course modules and watch the video tutorial Ive provided).

The Porters Five-Forces Analysis is used to gain a clearer understanding of the specific competition within a particular market/industry. E.g., Competition within the sportswear industry, competition within the automobile industry, competition within the restaurant industry, etc. The Porters Five Forces Analysis is a competitive analysis which helps inform decisions made by managers.

(*Refer to Chapter 4 [page 123 124] in the course textbook. Also, be sure to refer to the resources in the course modules and watch the PESTEL and Porters video tutorials that are provided).

Use the following resources when conducting research to construct your PESTEL and Porters Five-Forces Plus One Analysis. *Note: You are not limited to these resources as I simply provided these to help you get started:

Google (simply begin typing key words into the search engine to begin your research process)

Google News (make sure your research is specific to the region and industry provided in the assignment)

Bow Valley College library commons data base (this was addressed in the course research tutorial you completed)

Statistics Canada: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/start

Statista: https://www.statista.com

Alberta Government: https://www.alberta.ca/index.aspx

*Note: I suggest you begin your process using Google search. Please ensure that any resource you select for research is considered to be "academically credible." Academically credible research is a credible source that is unbiased, is backed up with evidence, and has bene published within the last seven years. For further details regarding what makes a research source credible, refer back to the research tutorial you completed earlier in the course.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

PESTEL Analysis (15 marks)

Construct a PESTEL Analysis focussing on Montreal ,Quebec as this is where your client is looking to expand. Make sure you address all six conditions within your PESTEL which include political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental, and legal conditions to better understand threats and opportunities regarding expanding within Canada.

*Your PESTEL should be written in BULLET FORMAT. Each point you make within your PESTEL should be written in concise full sentence format and should contain research with proper in-text citations.

PESTEL Synopsis (7 marks)

A synopsis is simply a summary/an interpretation of something. In two three paragraphs create a synopsis of your PESTEL. Do NOT simply summarize your entire analysis. Your synopsis should address key facts you have uncovered and why these are more relevant than others as it relates to the company. In addition, discuss which information is less relevant and why it might be considered less important.

Porters Five-Forces Analysis (15 marks)

Construct a competitive analysis of the brewery industry in Canada using the Porters Five-Forces Analysis. Be sure to focus on all five areas which include the degree of rivalry (direct competitors), threat of new entrants, consumer buying power, threat of substitutes, and supplier power to better understand the competitive market and help the company make an informed decision regarding expanding within Canada.

Begin by reviewing the companys social media to gain further insight into who they are, products/services offered, etc.

*Your Porters Five-Forces Analysis should be written in BULLET FORMAT, just like your PESTEL. Each point you make should be written in full/complete sentence format and should contain research with proper in-text citations.

Porters Synopsis (7 marks)

A synopsis is simply a summary/an interpretation of something. In two three paragraphs create a synopsis of your Porters Five-Forces Analysis. Do NOT simply summarize your entire analysis. Your synopsis should address key facts you have uncovered and why these are more relevant than others as it relates to the company. In addition, discuss which information is less relevant and why it might be considered less important.