Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Fernanda,

I understand your urgency on this, given your assignment is due Wednesday. However, the likelihood of you finding a PEST analysis completed is very limited. Even if you did, that would be a violation of most university ethics policies. I'm sure that your professor expected you do DO this PEST, not simply report on one you found. With most university assignments, it's the mastery of the analysis technique and one's ability to draw conclusions from it that are important, not the results of your analysis. So, since you have just a few hours left to complete this, I would recommend you get started immediately.

When you do get started, you will have some questions: Where do I find the data? How am I supposed to understand the company - I don't work for it? How will I understand the political climate, economic climate, etc for this analysis?

The answer to this is that you do research, make some assumptions for information you can't find, and then based on the data and assumptions, draw your conclusions. As I mentioned, it's not so much that your professor is looking for the "right" answer as it is that he wants to see how you go about the analysis. If you note that you couldn't find a pertinent piece of data and that based on what you did find, you assumed something, that will be adequate.

As a side note: Please note the Important Guidelines for this forum:

https://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/guidelines.asp

In particular, please note #5:

Experts are happy to help students explore their thoughts, but they will not do their assignments for them. If you are a student, be sure to share your own ideas along with your question.

If you would like to do some analysis and then post some of your original thoughts for discussions, the experts here gladly will provide insight and thoughts. We won't actually DO your homework.

I hope this helps.

Wayde

Dear Fernanda,

Few things shower the sparks of panic onto students more than the urgency of an impending deadline.

Research is much like a skill one acquires or masters because one has spent time on it: it is fulfilling and empowering.

In the past I've found that when I've told myself that something was impossible, that I by default became incapable of doing it, so
I wound up talking myself out of it and that I therefore MADE the task impossible.

But not now. Now, I tell myself that with focus, all things (within reason) are possible.

When carrying out an exercise such as a PEST analysis you'll find you'll learn my by taking the time to stop, look, listen, and formulate ideas.

To find the PEST on EasyJet you must sit down and think: you are obviously a bright guy, so why not put that brain to work? Think literally and laterally; look at competing companies; ask yourself what YOU would do were YOU in charge; imagine outcomes and then add in variables.

Wayde's outline above is gold. I hope you'll bind it (and my humble contribution here) to your soul with hoops of steel.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA