Implications of Cars Running on Oil - Essay Example

Implications of Cars Running on Oil There are many factors involved that are causing uncertainties and trends. These factors can be analyzed through PESTEL analysis however in the Better place case there are three stronger factors that are likely to cause change: There are also health and environment implications of cars running on oil. With global warming getting toll on our environment and health, it is expected that the world will have to stop the use of oil in majority of the places where it can be avoided. ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) that has been used over many decades poses threat not just to the environment but to extinction of oil. The automobile industry and personal transportation is flourishing, and more people are relying on their cars. To save time, people head to their office on personal car. This has however put much burden on economy and environment. While all the cars and transportation vehicles depend on oil, it is more likely that over the next decade the world will not have enough oil to fulfill the needs of cars. Scientists have been looking for alternative fuel and combination of fuel which can reduce the burden on oil. There are many combinations of liquids that can be used along with oil to reduce the oil usage but the materials that can work well with oil in a mixture are all derived from food crops. This will lead to burden on food crops and will affect the prices of the food items badly. Depending on food crops for food and as well as for transportation will put heavy burden and prices will soar so much that both will end up being not affordable. High prices will also increase the current food deficit all over the world. Many countries will not be able to provide the first basic necessity to their people which are food. This means adding mixture of fuel to the equation and keeping the same ICE will not solve the problem over the next decades, it will only worsen it. This means that the initiative taken to completely eliminate the oil from the equation can solve the problem. Many companies are working to invent batteries that can support EV (Electronic Vehicles), an idea which was dropped in 19th century due to dependence of EV on batteries which can only last 50 miles and needed replacement of battery very soon. There are also manufacturers who are reducing the car weight by replacing steel which help in increasing efficiency of the cars running on any other fuel or material other than oil. There are companies like GM which started its production for EV but later they called off the production. This was seen a setback but soon many small and big companies dived in the EV market. Companies like Renault believe in the capability of EV and planned to build EV over the next decade (Tuohy 2008). Manufacturer’s inclination towards EV is likely to make the shift successful. There are 4 scenarios possible for the Better place are as follow: High Risk Renewable energy Lack of customer acceptance Low Risk New reengineered batteries Making the switching stations available for charging Low Uncertainty High Uncertainty Since the car manufacturers are well aware with the fact that they will have to stop their dependence on oil soon, this means soon the industry will shift from oil to other possibilities among which EV has the strongest chances. Due to the burden that will be put on food crops, compounds and mixture of oil and other substances is not a strong option to be considered. This means EV are more likely to become the new trend, and Better place can flourish launching its new EV and charging system. Oil extinction will result in alternative being adopted. If the alternative of EV is chosen over food crop fuel mixture then Better place will have tremendous success. If the shift is carried out by every manufacturer only then it will be feasible for Better place to carry out the change. When all the manufacturers of cars will have standards set for plugs and other things like battery sizes, only then it will be easier for Better place to carry out the shift. If other companies do not stick to standards or they do not start shift to EV then it will be difficult for the Better place to continue with the change as it will need very large investments to setup a complete unique system of EV. If better place wants to have a successful shift then, it is necessary that all others also make the changes in the same direction because only through standardization a complete shift can be made. If all players perform the shift then Better place will have competition in the market. It seems that Better place has not worked on returns side of the equation as there are no analysis performed on the return for the infrastructure and technology cost that Better place will incur in making the changes. Answer 2 There are many ways to analyze stakeholders and for the strategic purpose a company must divide the stakeholders into power/interest grid in order to manage them properly (Bryson 2004). When one work on a project or a unique work, there are always stakeholders involved. Some stakeholders are more important than others and can affect the work. In order to handle the stakeholders, it is important to first do the analysis then put effort accordingly (Sharma 2010). See Appendix for Power / Interest grid (Stansbury 2012). Battery and automobile manufacturers fall in the high power, and high-interest grid, and better place needs to manage them closely as they have a strong effect on the Better place work. Company needs to keep the government satisfied enough as it has the power but is not highly interested. Government will help any company who wants to bring a change. The help is not exclusive for a better place. So, Better place needs to keep the government satisfied. Investors fall in the high interest and high power grid. Investors have high interest, and they can as well affect the work that is why company needs to manage them closely. Utility companies fall in the high interest and low power section of the grid which means the company needs to keep them informed. They can be very helpful, and the company needs to keep them informed so that if there is any problem they can inform the company and help it. At the moment, customer fall in the low interest and low power grid as the system is still in the process. When all the things are setup, then they will fall in a different section of the grid. For now company needs to monitor them only in order to know their needs and to know how to bring the changes in their interest. Company needs to monitor to know how to bring acceptance for the product when the product is launched worldwide. Competitors fall in the low interest and low power grid so company must put minimum effort in that area. Though from their side competitors are highly interested but this does not mean that Better place informs them about any of the company matter. They are external stakeholder and need least effort to manage them. REFERENCE LIST Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: stakeholder identification and analysis techniques. Public management review, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 21-53. Sharma, R. (2010, 7 31). Power/ Interest grid. Available fromhttp://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/80523-what-is-the-powerinterest-grid/ [Accessed 2 November 2014] Stansbury, P. (2012, 2 28). Stakeholder mapping - the Power Interest Matrix. Available from http://www.evoco.co.uk/_blog/Bishop's_Blog/post/Stakeholder_mapping_-_the_matrix/[Accessed 2 November 2014] Tuohy, M. (2008, 10 26). Paradigm shift gives new momentum to electric cars. Available fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/business/worldbusiness/26iht-rbogcar.1.18175215.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 APPENDIX Power / Interest Grid Read More