abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. The company, a subsidiary of Grupo México, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. ASARCO planned to emerge from bankruptcy in 2008, and opposes calls for it to totally liquidate its mining and industrial assets.[1]
Its three largest open pit mines are the Mission, Silver Bell and the Ray mines in Arizona. Its mines produce 350 to 400 million pounds of copper a year. ASARCO conducts solvent extraction/electrowinning at the Ray and Silver Bell mines in Pima County, Arizona and Pinal County, Arizona and a smelter in Hayden, Arizona. Before its smelting plant in El Paso, Texas was suspended in 1999 it was producing 1 billion pounds of anodes each year. Refining at the mines as well as at a copper refinery in Amarillo, Texas produce 375 million pounds of refined copper each year.
ASARCO's hourly workers are primarily represented by the United Steelworkers.
ASARCO has 20 superfund sites across the United States, and it is subject to considerable litigation over pollution.
As of September 2009, ASARCO was the focus of a bidding war begun in May 2008 between its own parent company Grupo México and India-based Sterlite Industries. On August 31, 2009, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard Schmidt recommended that U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen accept Grupo México's $2.5 billion bid for ASARCO as it prepares to come out of bankruptcy. However, on September 11, Sterlite increased its bid from $2.14 billion to $2.57 billion and requested that the court evaluate its new offer before issuing a final decision.[2]
a. PEST Analysis
The PEST analysis is one of the traditional and dependable tools in looking at the existing conditions of the company and how it fits with the current conditions in the external environment. The following will focus on the situation of Marks and Spencer as covered by the case study of Collier (2004)
i. POLITICAL
Looking at the case study, Marks and Spencer possess a very potent weapon in business: very high brand name recognition. In this manner, their brand is connected with the elements of class and quality. Another POLITICAL that the company possess is seen in its rich history of trade. Throughout the years of its operations, it has acquired a lot of facilities at double as moneymaking centres. Along with this history is the existence of longstanding partners and alliances that has been acquired through over a century of operations.
ii. ECONOMICAL
Among the major ECONOMICAL of the company are primarily seen its management. Specifically, a fit between the structure of the company, the nature of its trade, and the actual management styles has yet to be found. In the same regard, being a player in the cutthroat industry of retail, a company must possess dynamic marketing skills. Based on the case study, Marks and Spencer has been left behind in terms of marketing innovations like loyalty cards and implementation of customer-focused operations.
iii. SOCIAL
One of the seen SOCIAL in the retail market is the encouraging legislation present in the political environment. This shows that the company is able to maximise its operations provided that it is within the bounds of the law. In the same manner, the dynamic nature of the market also shows that the major consumers are placing value on their money. This means that they lay preference on issues of price over quality. Furthermore, the current marketing campaigns of the company appear to be highly promising as they are now employed icons of UK to help them convey the message of the Marks and Spencer brands.
iv. TECHNOLOGICAL
As mentioned earlier, the competitors in this industry works 24/7 and they move like sharks. Every chance they have in acquiring a portion of the overall market share, they will take. This is a threat as the Marks and Spencer continues to hold that reputation of having boring and non-trendy designs that appeal to the much younger age brackets. Moreover, as Collier (2004) pointed out in her work, the company is for some reason always susceptible to imprudence, lack of skill, and lack of foresight of the management.
Its three largest open pit mines are the Mission, Silver Bell and the Ray mines in Arizona. Its mines produce 350 to 400 million pounds of copper a year. ASARCO conducts solvent extraction/electrowinning at the Ray and Silver Bell mines in Pima County, Arizona and Pinal County, Arizona and a smelter in Hayden, Arizona. Before its smelting plant in El Paso, Texas was suspended in 1999 it was producing 1 billion pounds of anodes each year. Refining at the mines as well as at a copper refinery in Amarillo, Texas produce 375 million pounds of refined copper each year.
ASARCO's hourly workers are primarily represented by the United Steelworkers.
ASARCO has 20 superfund sites across the United States, and it is subject to considerable litigation over pollution.
As of September 2009, ASARCO was the focus of a bidding war begun in May 2008 between its own parent company Grupo México and India-based Sterlite Industries. On August 31, 2009, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard Schmidt recommended that U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen accept Grupo México's $2.5 billion bid for ASARCO as it prepares to come out of bankruptcy. However, on September 11, Sterlite increased its bid from $2.14 billion to $2.57 billion and requested that the court evaluate its new offer before issuing a final decision.[2]
a. PEST Analysis
The PEST analysis is one of the traditional and dependable tools in looking at the existing conditions of the company and how it fits with the current conditions in the external environment. The following will focus on the situation of Marks and Spencer as covered by the case study of Collier (2004)
i. POLITICAL
Looking at the case study, Marks and Spencer possess a very potent weapon in business: very high brand name recognition. In this manner, their brand is connected with the elements of class and quality. Another POLITICAL that the company possess is seen in its rich history of trade. Throughout the years of its operations, it has acquired a lot of facilities at double as moneymaking centres. Along with this history is the existence of longstanding partners and alliances that has been acquired through over a century of operations.
ii. ECONOMICAL
Among the major ECONOMICAL of the company are primarily seen its management. Specifically, a fit between the structure of the company, the nature of its trade, and the actual management styles has yet to be found. In the same regard, being a player in the cutthroat industry of retail, a company must possess dynamic marketing skills. Based on the case study, Marks and Spencer has been left behind in terms of marketing innovations like loyalty cards and implementation of customer-focused operations.
iii. SOCIAL
One of the seen SOCIAL in the retail market is the encouraging legislation present in the political environment. This shows that the company is able to maximise its operations provided that it is within the bounds of the law. In the same manner, the dynamic nature of the market also shows that the major consumers are placing value on their money. This means that they lay preference on issues of price over quality. Furthermore, the current marketing campaigns of the company appear to be highly promising as they are now employed icons of UK to help them convey the message of the Marks and Spencer brands.
iv. TECHNOLOGICAL
As mentioned earlier, the competitors in this industry works 24/7 and they move like sharks. Every chance they have in acquiring a portion of the overall market share, they will take. This is a threat as the Marks and Spencer continues to hold that reputation of having boring and non-trendy designs that appeal to the much younger age brackets. Moreover, as Collier (2004) pointed out in her work, the company is for some reason always susceptible to imprudence, lack of skill, and lack of foresight of the management.