(a) Explain the concept of SWOT analysis. Discuss, in detail with suitable examples, the external and internal business…

(a) SWOT analysis and the environmental factors behind it (10 + 10 = 20 marks)

Concept (10). SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that examines an organisation's internal Strengths and Weaknesses and the external Opportunities and Threats it faces, to match resources with the environment and formulate strategy. Strengths (a strong brand, low cost, skilled staff) are to be used, weaknesses (weak finances, outdated technology) corrected, opportunities (new markets, growing demand) exploited, and threats (competition, regulation) countered. A TOWS matrix pairs them into strategies: strengths with opportunities (growth), strengths with threats (defence), weaknesses with opportunities (turnaround) and weaknesses with threats (retrenchment). It is simple and widely used, but is subjective and static unless the factors are prioritised and updated.

Environmental factors (10).

Internal factors, giving strengths and weaknesses: financial resources and capital structure; human resources, skills, morale and leadership; marketing, brand, distribution and customer loyalty; production and operations, cost, capacity and quality; research and technology; organisation structure and culture; and management information systems. Example: Amul's strengths are its farmer-cooperative network, brand trust and procurement system; a weakness would be dependence on milk supply and price regulation.

External factors, giving opportunities and threats. The macro environment (PESTEL): political and legal (government policy, taxes, laws such as the Competition Act), economic (growth, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, income), social and cultural (demographics, lifestyles, health awareness), technological (digitalisation, automation, e-commerce), environmental (climate, sustainability rules) and legal. The task or micro environment: customers, competitors, suppliers, substitutes and new entrants (Porter's five forces), distributors and pressure groups. Example: rising incomes and internet use are opportunities for consumer-goods firms, while new low-cost competitors and stricter regulation are threats.

(b) Price and distribution control by the government (7 + 8 = 15 marks)

Rationale (7). Markets for essential goods may fail: there can be scarcity, hoarding and black-marketing, monopoly or oligopoly power, or sudden price spikes that hurt the poor. Government control is therefore justified to: protect consumers, particularly the poor, and ensure access to essentials; curb inflation and maintain stability; prevent exploitation and unfair profiteering; ensure equitable distribution in shortage and emergencies; protect producers, such as farmers, through assured prices; regulate natural monopolies (electricity, water) and strategic goods (fuel, fertilisers); and secure social objectives such as food security. Its costs are shortages, black markets, distortions, subsidy burden and disincentives to investment.

Regulation in India (8). The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the government to control the production, supply, distribution and price of essential goods through control orders, stock limits and licensing (relaxed by the 2020 amendment for cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion and potato except in extraordinary price rises). The Public Distribution System, under the National Food Security Act, 2013, supplies subsidised grains through fair-price shops, and the Minimum Support Price system, on the CACP's recommendations, supports farmers. The Drug Price Control Order, 2013 (NPPA) fixes ceiling prices for scheduled drugs in the National List of Essential Medicines. For fuels, petrol was deregulated in 2010 and diesel in 2014; LPG is subsidised through direct benefit transfer. The government sets the maximum retail price of urea and gives nutrient-based subsidy for other fertilisers; the Fair and Remunerative Price applies to sugarcane; electricity tariffs are regulated by the Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions under the Electricity Act, 2003; telecom tariffs by TRAI; and the Prevention of Black-marketing Act, 1980, the Legal Metrology Act and the Consumer Protection Act support enforcement.

(c)(i) Issues in framing global marketing strategies (8 marks)

The central issue is standardisation versus adaptation: whether to sell a uniform product, brand and message worldwide for economies of scale, or adapt to local conditions. Other issues:

• Cultural and social differences in language, tastes, religion and buying behaviour affect product design, branding and advertising.
• Political and legal environment: tariffs, non-tariff barriers, quotas, foreign-ownership limits, standards, intellectual-property protection, and political stability.
• Economic conditions: income level, exchange-rate risk, inflation and convertibility.
• Product decisions: adaptation to standards and usage, packaging and labelling, and after-sales service.
• Pricing: cost escalation, transfer pricing, dumping rules and currency fluctuations.
• Distribution: channel structure and infrastructure differ by country.
• Promotion: language, media availability and advertising restrictions.
• Choice of market and entry mode (exporting, licensing, joint venture, wholly owned subsidiary), and organisation and control of global operations, plus ethical and competitive issues.

(c)(ii) Internationalisation of service firms and its challenges (7 marks)

Services are intangible, inseparable from delivery, variable and perishable, which shapes how they go abroad. GATS identifies four modes: cross-border supply (software and BPO delivered online), consumption abroad (medical tourism, education), commercial presence (bank branches, hotels, retail) and movement of natural persons (consultants, professionals). Indian IT and BPO firms are examples.

Challenges: regulatory barriers and licensing, such as foreign-ownership caps, professional qualification recognition, and visa and work-permit limits; cultural and language differences affecting service expectations; maintaining consistent quality and standardisation across countries and dependence on skilled people; building trust and reputation with no tangible product to show; data protection and cyber-security rules; local competition and protectionism; and payment, tax and currency difficulties.