Company SWOT Analysis and IT solution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Company SWOT Analysis and IT solution - Essay Example British Petroleum has been one of the frontline oil companies in the world with branches in some strategic countries, which include the United States, Nigeria, United Kingdom, and so on. Mostly, the products of BP include petrol, natural gas and other oil derivatives. Recently, the company is spearheading what is referred to as Energy Mix, which attempts to find out the possibility of generating electricity through wind, bio fuel and solar. Politically, BP cuts across many political terrains and the company is bent on capturing more oil market in this 21st century (British Petroleum, 2010). BP has some weaknesses, which would be analyzed using Porter’s 5 Forces Model and SWOT Analysis. Some solution would be suggested about how to address the weaknesses so that they would not continue to undermine the company’s success. Porter’s Five Forces Model analyzes a company based on the following criteria: (i) Bargaining power of customers; (ii) Threat of new entrants; (iii) Threat of substitute products; (iv) Bargaining power of suppliers; (v) Competitive rivalry within an industry (Porter, 1997). These 5 forces are analyzed below in the way that they affect the operations of BP as a giant oil company. (i) Bargaining power of customers: customers do not necessarily possess bargaining power as far as BP products are concerned. This gives the company the opportunity to fix the prices of its products (Bamberg, 2000). (ii) Threats of new entrants: Like every other company, BP has come under serious threats from big oil companies like Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell that compete with BP on all fronts. These threats have even become pronounced as new oil companies mount serious pressure on BP’s areas of operations (Bamberg, 2000). (iii) Threats of substitute products: The main business of BP is in the production of energy; however, the