Thales Group: A Business Level Strategic Analysis

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BUSINESS: A RESEARCH PORTFOLIO OF THALES GROUP
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Introduction
Digital transformation has become a significant shift in not only the social landscape but also in
the modern corporate world. It has brought significant changes in how most companies or
business work and deliver services and solutions to their customers. It has impacted on the way
companies develop their strategic plans in a bid to achieve their strategic goals. The modern
corporate world has been faced with increased competitiveness which requires most companies
to strategically position themselves in developing effective business plans which will give them a
competitive edge in the market or industry they are operating (Fernandez et al. 2014, p. 228).
Most companies or organizations have been focused on understanding and developing their
internal environments by focusing on their inner strengths and weaknesses which include the
company resources and competencies. The success of any organizations is therefore dependent
on its ability to develop and implement effective strategies. This report seeks to provide an
understanding of the Thales Group with the aim of understanding its origin, its business structure
as well as the developed business strategies helping the company achieve their strategic goals
and remain competitive in the industry they operate.
Thales Group Background Information
Thales Group is a multinational company having operations in 56 countries however it is a
French-based company with most of the activities in France. The company is engaged in the
design, manufacture, and provision of electrical systems for markets such as the aerospace,
defense, and security as well as the transportation markets with the aim of making the world a
safer place. The company was founded in the year 1968 through a business merger of the
Thomson Brandt with the CSF Company (Compagnie Generale de Telegraphie San Fil (Botelho

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de Sousa et al. 2014, p. 14). However, these companies were operational before the year 1968
with the Thomson Brandt Company having been founded in the year 1893 while the CSF
Company was established in the year 1918. Both companies boasted of success in different fields
with the Thomson Brandt Company leading in the power generation and transport while the CSF
Company is leading in broadcasting services.
The company is a leading player in French high technology industry with over 70 operational
sites in 7 different regions where it has been able to employ 34 000 employees. Globally it has
operations running in 56 countries where it has operated 64, 000 employees. With such data, it is
evident that over 50 percent of the activities are based in France (Allal-Chérif & Bidan, 2017, p.
34). Over the years the company has been able to develop excellent relationships with their local
customers making the group a significant player in its local counties such as France, Australia,
United Kingdom, Canada, United States and the Netherlands. The company has been able to
expand its operations and business in Asia, South America, and the Middle East for company
strategic purposes of growth and taping to emerging markets.
The principal company activities are based on aerospace, space activities, transport, defense, and
security as well as market-specific solutions. Through their team of experts comprising of over
5000 IT engineers and over 200 exerts in cyber protection the company has gained significant
recognition for its capacity to develop dual civil and military technologies (Gerow et al. 2014, p.
1024). The global company sales are estimated to be $ 12.7 billion according to the company
2016 sustainability report with the defense and security activities recording $ 6.4 billion,
transport 1.5 billion while the aerospace activities marked sales return of $ 4.7 billion. France
recorded sales returns of 28%, UK 11% while the rest of Europe recorded sales return of 21%.

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The company has been built with careful strategic planning that has enabled it achieves most of
the company strategy and growth objectives.
A PESTEL Analysis of Thales Group Describing the Landscape it operates
PESTEL also was known as PESTLE is a strategic analytical tool used by most businesses for
strategic planning and plays an essential role in helping most organizations understanding the
factors influencing their firms from the external environments. Such knowledge puts the
companies or businesses in a strategic position to maximize the available opportunities and
minimize the threats to the organization resulting from the external environments they operate in
(Foreman & Gurugubelli, 2015, p. 97). The acronym stands for political, economic, social,
technological, legal and environmental influences for business operations.
POLITICA
L
ECONOMI
C
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIC
AL
ENVIRONMENT
AL
LEGAL
1.The
growing
populist
sediments
2. Political
tensions
1. Dynamic
defense
budgets
2. currency
volatility
and Brexit
effect
1.
increasing
aviation
demands
2. growing
urbanizatio
n
1. development of
cross over
technologies
2. differentiation
of innovations as a
competitive
advantage
1. call for
innovative
solutions to curb
climate change
2. global shift
towards the use of
renewable energy
1.intellectu
al property
rights
2. the new
quality
manageme
nt
regulations