The value of PESTLE to organisations
The PESTLE analysis help business organisations to get a better understanding of the various influencers in the external environment. This evaluation helps firms to better position themselves uniquely in the market compared with the competitors. According to Bush (2017), the PESTLE analysis is a tool used to identify and analyse the key drivers of change in strategic or business environment. In its expanded form, the mnemonic denotes P for Political, E for Economic, S for Social, T for Technological, L for Legal and E for Environmental. Many companies use PESTLE to track the environment in which they are operating in or are planning to launch a new project, product or services (López-Gamero& Molina-Azorín, 2016).
PESTLE analysis of Scott
There are quite a good number of the external environmental factors impacting Scott Technology. Firstly, most of the countries in which the company operates are stable politically. This stability presents an opportunity for Scott to continue growing. The continuous growth in the processing and manufacturing industry is among the factors that economically influence Scott’s strategy. The company’s market increases with the growth in the industry especially in growing countries like Australia. On the social spheres, gender roles are changing globally (López-Gamero& Molina-Azorín, 2016). More particularly, the processing and manufacturing industry was previously dominated by men. The increased automation of the industry has helped in accommodating women in the industry.Scott also operates in a technologically changing world. The recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) influence the direction the company is taking in the development of its robotics and manufacturing systems. Regarding legal factors, health and safety has become a major concern. Governments across the world have developed very high standards of health and safety requirements. Though, meeting the norms may be costly, the company is obliged to uphold them. Lastly, there is a global concern of the increased solid waste from processing and manufacturing plants (Bush, 2017). The company has to address this problem as it designs its product. They should improve on the efficiency and recycling capability of their systems.
Scott Technology has satisfactorily adjusted itself accordingly to fit in the market. Going into the future however, the company still needs to respond to the ever-changing external environment. Particularly, Scott needs to invest more in researching and developing the AI and ML technologies. Efficiently incorporating these technologies into their products will improve the safety and efficiency of their products.
The SWOT is a strategic tool that is used by organisations to evaluate both the internal and external environment (Phadermrod et al., 2019). It is widely embraced for its simplicity. It is founded on two pillars; forward planning, and self-preservation and protection. The acronym denotes S for Strengths, W for Weaknesses, O for Opportunities and T for Threats. While the first two factors are internal, the other two are external. According to López-Gamero& Molina-Azorín (2016), the tool is used in setting a course to take advantage of prime business opportunities while leveraging on the firms’ strength. On the other hand, the tool helps organizations to scrutinize their deficiencies and foreseeable threats.
SWOT analysis of Scott Technology
The following table summarizes the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and weaknesses.
| Positive | Negative | |
| Internal | Strengths Automation and innovative roboticsHigh level of customer satisfaction | Weaknesses Limited product lineLimited global access |
| External | Opportunities The new technologyNew markets | Threats Increased competitionLiability laws |
Scott has both strengths and weaknesses. Among its core capabilities is automation and innovative robotics. The automation enhances quality of products. Secondly, the company enjoys a high level of customer satisfaction. It has a wide base of loyal customers that emanates from the company’s top quality machinery and consumer-based approach in production. However, the company also has several weaknesses. Compared to the competitors, the firm has a narrow product line. It only focuses on the processing and manufacturing space. Additionally, Scott Technology’s global presence is limited. They have not spread out to all the regions of the world. They only have offices in only about thirteen countries.
Scott’s external environment offers both opportunities and threats. There are two main opportunities for the company. The new technologies i.e. artificial intelligence and machine learning can help the company improve the efficiency of their products. There are also developing markets whose processing and manufacturing industries are growing at a high rate (Bush, 2017). Scott should exploit the opportunities to guarantee its continued growth. The company operates in an environment where there is stiff competition. The rivalry is a significant threat to its growth. Another threat is the diverse liability laws in the various markets. The company is exposed to various liability claims in case of malfunctioning of their machinery or in case of injuries to the operators.
Generally, Scott has a good opportunity for further growth. They have several strengths to leverage on. However, the company needs to revisit its global market approach. They should seek to accelerate their entry into as many markets as possible with a specific focus on the developing countries.
