EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
A. Societal Environment
? Economic
? Amount of disposable and discretionary income from the domestic and international markets (O)
? Volatile international business environment made it difficult to effectively manage international operations (T)
? Must cater to different customer preferences in the international arena (T)
? Technological
? Political-legal
? Volatile political environment in the Middle East created serious problems (T)
? Faced criticism from Non governmental organizations (T) (NGOs)?urged company to acquire certified coffee beans
? Ensure that those coffee beans were grown and marketed under certain economic and social conditions
? The existence of political risk (T)
? Licensing issues (T)
? Socio-cultural
? Diet conscious consumers (O)
? Consumers enjoy drinking coffee while visiting bookstores and other places?opportunity for cooperative ventures (O)
? Foreign markets with different preferences and desires (T)
B. Task Environment: Porter's Competitive Analysis
1. Threat of new entrants: Low
? Becoming a saturated market (particularly in the United States), so it is slightly more difficult for new competitor to enter the market
2. Bargaining power of buyers: Low
? Established prices are non-negotiable among buyers
3. Threat of substitute products or services: High
? Domestically: ...