Task

BP

BP plc is an integrated energy business headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the world’s seven oil and gas “supermajors”, with operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. BP operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has an established and growing alternative energy business including interest in biofuels, wind power, smart grid and solar technology. BP’s operations are organised into three business segments, namely, ‘Upstream’, ‘Downstream’, and ‘Renewables’. For information on BP’s strategy click: BP

This assignment focuses on the following question:

Assess the challenges facing BP’s ‘Renewables’ business segment in the Americas market

To address the above, you are required to cover the following tasks:

a) An indication of the current business level strategy and corporate strategy using appropriate frameworks.

b) Environmental and competitor analysis, encompassing key regulatory issues facing the industry.

c) Resources and capability audit using VRIO analysis.

Given the analysis in parts a, b, and c, provide a reasoned argument for the strategic direction you believe BP should consider.

Guidance

You are expected to refer to the key content covered in the capsules.

Moreover, in addition to further academic literature, please refer to market intelligence-based research including news articles and annual reports, that have up-to-date information.

Structure and Organisation

Typically, a report should follow the below structure:

Summary

Contents

Introduction

Main Body

Recommendations

Conclusion

The main body of the report should explore in detail points a, b, and c.

You should be able to detail a clear understanding of BP’s current business and corporate level strategy making use of appropriate frameworks.

This should be followed with an exploration of BP’s external environment focussing on the ‘Renewables’ business segment (in the Americas market); two such models that could be utilised to do this are the PESTEL and Five Forces Frameworks. Please note that the external analysis is not limited to the use of the PESTEL and Five Forces Frameworks; you can also make use of other frameworks where appropriate that are covered in the capsule content.

As per the capsule content, resources refer to what BP has, and capabilities to what BP does well (in terms of physical, financial and human).

Your report should demonstrate a high level of logic and argument development, informed by cited research.

The marking rubric will reflect this advice; you will be awarded marks depending on whether your report broadly fits with this structure and so feels well balanced (amongst other aspects, such as content, accuracy, spelling, punctuation and grammar, etc.).

Word Count: 2000 words (+- 10%)

Task

BP

BP plc is an integrated energy business headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the world’s seven oil and gas “supermajors”, with operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. BP operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has an established and growing alternative energy business including interest in biofuels, wind power, smart grid and solar technology. BP’s operations are organised into three business segments, namely, ‘Upstream’, ‘Downstream’, and ‘Renewables’. For information on BP’s strategy click: BP

This assignment focuses on the following question:

Assess the challenges facing BP’s ‘Renewables’ business segment in the Americas market

To address the above, you are required to cover the following tasks:

a) An indication of the current business level strategy and corporate strategy using appropriate frameworks.

b) Environmental and competitor analysis, encompassing key regulatory issues facing the industry.

c) Resources and capability audit using VRIO analysis.

Given the analysis in parts a, b, and c, provide a reasoned argument for the strategic direction you believe BP should consider.

Guidance

You are expected to refer to the key content covered in the capsules.

Moreover, in addition to further academic literature, please refer to market intelligence-based research including news articles and annual reports, that have up-to-date information.

Structure and Organisation

Typically, a report should follow the below structure:

Summary

Contents

Introduction

Main Body

Recommendations

Conclusion

The main body of the report should explore in detail points a, b, and c.

You should be able to detail a clear understanding of BP’s current business and corporate level strategy making use of appropriate frameworks.

This should be followed with an exploration of BP’s external environment focussing on the ‘Renewables’ business segment (in the Americas market); two such models that could be utilised to do this are the PESTEL and Five Forces Frameworks. Please note that the external analysis is not limited to the use of the PESTEL and Five Forces Frameworks; you can also make use of other frameworks where appropriate that are covered in the capsule content.

As per the capsule content, resources refer to what BP has, and capabilities to what BP does well (in terms of physical, financial and human).

Your report should demonstrate a high level of logic and argument development, informed by cited research.

The marking rubric will reflect this advice; you will be awarded marks depending on whether your report broadly fits with this structure and so feels well balanced (amongst other aspects, such as content, accuracy, spelling, punctuation and grammar, etc.).

Word Count: 2000 words (+- 10%)