- One of the few remaining producers of lead additives must decide whether to continue producing them for use abroad. Banned in the United States, lead additives were still legal in developing nations. Ellie Shannon, the division manager overseeing bromine production for the Indiana-based Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (Great Lakes), must advise Great Lakes’ directors on whether the company should 1) continue production for the forseeable future, while developing countries moved from leaded vehicles to unleaded vehicles; 2) wash its hands entirely and immediately of the lead additive business; or 3) aggressively phase out its participation in this marketplace, with a five-year deadline, while lobbying for developing nations to switch to unleaded gasoline. Each of the options had its downside, however, financially, operationally, and in terms of reputation. Great Lakes placed a great deal of importance in its shareholders’ well-being and in remaining a viable company, but it also wanted to be–and to be seen as–a respectable corporate citizen
Assignment #1: Case 11: Great Lakes: Great Decisions
Read Case 11: Great Lakes: Great Decisions. Prepare a 3 page report that answers the following:
Perform an analysis of the Social/Demographic, Technological, Economic,
Environmental/Geographic, and Political/Legal/Governmental segments to
understand the general environment facing Great Lakes. Describe how Great
Lakes will be affected by each of these external factors.
2. Analyze the lead additives industry in the U.S. using the Five Forces of
Competition Model. Describe the impact of each of the five forces on the
industry and based on this analysis, determine if the industry is attractive orunattractive.
3. Describe who Great Lakes immediate, impending, and invisible competitors
are and how Great Lakes measures up against these competitors.
4. Describe the main capabilities of Great Lakes.
The format of the report is to be as follows:
o Typed, double spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one inch margins
on all sides, APA format.
o Type the question followed by your answer to the question.
o In addition to the 3 pages required, a title page is to be included. The title
page is to contain the title of the assignment, your name, the instructor’s
name, the course title, and the date.
The assignment will be graded using the following rubric:
Outcomes Assessed
ï‚· Identify how the six segments of the general environment affects an industry and its
firms.
ï‚· Identify the five forces of competition.
ï‚· Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats that affect the firm.
