Strategic Analysis Report of BHP Billiton in Australia Mining

This report provides a strategic analysis of BHP Billiton, an Anglo-Australian multinational organization in the mining and petroleum industry. The analysis begins with an overview of the company's background and the Australian mining industry, followed by a PESTEL analysis of the general environ...Read More

Running head: STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Name if the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Executive Summary
Strategic Management is taken to be an essential aspect of any enterprise and any firm which
seeks to gain success needs to ensure that they apply various strategic tools and other such
solutions to enhance their operations. The report follows a systematized format whereby the
first half of the report gives a detailed introduction of the organization and is proceeded by
the analysis of the external environment. The next part of the report assessed the internal
aspect of the firm which was then followed by the recommended information solutions
systems and the evaluation of the same.

2STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Part 1: External analysis.............................................................................................................3
Business background..............................................................................................................3
Industry background...............................................................................................................3
General environmental analysis.............................................................................................4
The industry environment......................................................................................................5
Competitive environment.......................................................................................................6
Opportunities and threats.......................................................................................................7
Part 2: Internal analysis and proposal........................................................................................7
The firm`s resources...............................................................................................................7
Capabilities of the firm...........................................................................................................8
Core competencies.................................................................................................................8
Proposed suitable information system...................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
Evaluation and Recommendations...........................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

3STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Introduction
The Australian business landscape has become very competitive in nature and due to
this reason it is very important for all the businesses to ensure that they are successful in
forming policies. The strategies for the benefit of the business cannot be formed adequately
without ensuring that the organization is able to conduct a thorough external as well as
internal analysis (Frynas and Mellahi 2015). The objective of the report is to strategically
analyse the business environment of a company present in Australia named BHP Billiton.
The first part of the report will analyse the external business environment after throwing light
on the background of the company. The next part of the given report will be discussing the
different factors of the internal environment and propose an information system solution for
the same.
Part 1: External analysis
Business background
The BHP Billiton is an Anglo Australian multinational organization which is engaged
in the business of petroleum, metals and mining and is list as a public company with its
headquarters in Melbourne. The company was established in 1885, following which it
expanded substantially and became the world`s largest, mining enterprise in relations to
market value in the year 2015 (Bhp.com. 2018). The two companies Australian Broken hill
Property Company and the Billiton which is an Anglo firm joined together and formed the
chosen organization (Williamson et al. 2013). The company is one of those few companies
which are engaged in fossil fuel business. It is also a major contributor of the greenhouse gas
and the 19th largest polluter around the globe.
Industry background
The firm belongs to the mining and fossil industry of Australia. This industry is
considered to be one of the most important industries in the globe and more than $260 billion
has been invested into these projects. Australia is also considered to be the largest exporter of
iron ore, coal, alumina, lead and zinc. Moreover, it is also considered to be a leader in
diamonds, gold, copper, liquid natural gas and nickel (Bhp.com. 2018). Earnings in this
industry have been increasing considerably from $210 billion in 2014 to 350 $ billion in
2017. This can be described as a result of the price recovery since the last Global financial
crisis. For the industry more than 40% of the resources are generated in WA and the next is
Queensland’s which contributes to around 30 % of the total earnings.

4STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
General environmental analysis
The general environmental analysis is considered to be an important analysis for the
organization and forms the basis of the primary strategic analysis. The strategic analysis
usually begins with the examination of various factors as present in the external business
environment and comprises of factors like the Political, Economical, Socio-cultural,
Technological, Legal and Environmental (Ginter, Duncan and Swayne 2018). The tool used
to analyse these factors is known as PESTEL Analysis.
Political factors
The Political factors are considered to be one of the most important factors in a
business environment and have a large impact on the firm, BHP Billiton. As the firm is
involved in the business of basic resources, it is exposed to public opinion and a large number
of political risks. Moreover, the corruption in the public sector is also considered to be very
high in the domain of basic resources. In addition to the stated factors, the tariffs and trade
regulations are also considered to have a wide impact on the business. Recently, for the BHP
Company, there were various issues related to the use of land in its Arizona branch which led
to troubles for the firm.
Economic factors
The economic factors can be rightfully defined as those factors which have an impact
on the general functioning and financial operations of the business. As BHP is involved in
international operations, various factors like exchange rates, activities and other interest rates
of host and foreign countries (Londonminingnetwork.org. 2018).
Social factors
The social factors can be described as the factors such as cultural roles, demographics,
the spirit of the society, the behavioural patterns of the people and their leisure interests. Very
often also has a relation to attitudes of the different people on the society (Seekingalpha.com.
2018). The social factors control the demands of resources from the customer’s point of view.
Technological factors
The technology tends to play a major role in the domain of the company due to the
advancements which take place and due to the nature of the sector. The mining and shale
extraction activities require extensive use of technology and hence, the company needs to

5STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
look out for the impact of the technology on the business, the cost structure involved and the
rate of diffusion of technology.
Environmental factors
The environmental factors can be defined as the factors which are faced by the
organization from different perspectives, norms and standards which have a huge effect on
the profitability of the organization (Rothaermel 2015). Moreover, they have become even
stricter due to the perishable nature of the resources which BHP Billiton deals in. Hence,
BHP Billiton needs to be careful of the different environmental aspects in this respect.
Legal
The last critical factor in this regard is the legal factors which comprise of various
laws and regulations which cover areas like employment laws, data protection, antitrust laws,
environmental standards and policies and even includes health and safety laws (Wheelen et
al. 2017).
Out of these given factors of the general environment, the political factors,
technological factors and the environmental factors are those factors which are considered to
be most relevant.
The industry environment
The industry environment can be rightfully described as the different forces which
tend to operate in the industry in which the company BHP Billiton operates in
(Telegraph.co.uk. 2018). The industry environment of the business is usually analysed by
using the strategic tool of porter’s five forces which comprises of five different relevant
components of the industry. It helps in examining of the effect of these forces on the firm`s
operations.
The Bargaining Power of the Buyers
The bargaining power of the buyers can be rightfully described as the weightage of
the purchasers of the goods or services as provided by the organization. If the buyers have a
high power then it is not considered to be good for the firm. However, in the case of BHP
Billiton, there are not many substitutes available for the products being offered by the firm
and hence, the company has the price control in its hand. This means that the power of the
buyers is considered to be low.

6STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
A high power, puts the company in a compromising position (Slack 2015). The
bargaining power of the suppliers in the industry of BHP Billiton is very high with respect to
factors like the materials, labour, shippings and other energy costs. Moreover, as there are no
other substitutes available for the firm, the bargaining power of the suppliers can be stated to
be quite high.
The threat of the new entrants
As there exists a limited capacity with respect to the resources in which the company
deals in and the investments which are required to be made are quite high, the threat of
entrants is very low. If the threat of entrants are high then the competition in the industry
becomes even fiercer in nature (Barrons.com. 2018).
The threat of substitutes
In case the threat of substitutes is considered to be high then, there are chances that
the firm would be in danger. However, in the case of BHP Billiton, the threat of substitutes is
very low as there does not exist an availability of the various raw materials in the market.
Intensity of Existing Competitive Rivalry
Competition tends to drive the business and those industries which have a higher level
of competition, tend to be more successful than those without. The competition and rivalry
existing in the resource and mining industry is very high because of the large profits and
limited resources.
Competitive environment
The sector comprises of a large number of companies inclusive of the global giants
like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is the major competition of BHP Billiton with its
headquarters in Melbourne and London. The firm has expanded the operations into various
parts of the world and follows a similar strategy of ensuring that by looking out for health and
safety measures, the company is successfully able to inculcate and grow its operations
(Lasserre 2017). The other companies in the same sector are the Newcrest Mining, Fortescue
Metals Group, Lihir Gold and OneSteel among others. The companies follow extreme
differentiation strategy as well as pricing strategies. The capabilities which can be stated to be

7STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
possessed by the firm comprise of their global roots and experienced management, especially
in the case of Rio Tinto.
Opportunities and threats
The opportunities and threat analysis can be rightfully described as a useful tool
which can be used to determine the correct strategy for BHP Billiton.
Opportunities
 The company needs to ensure that it improves the image of the firm in the eyes of its
customers and in a similar manner is able to improve its brand positioning.
 The next opportunity to which BHP Billiton is exposed to is the reduction in the
emission of greenhouse gasses.
 Moreover, there exists a feasibility phase of 29 projects for BHP.
Threats
 The rising cost of suppliers in the different fields of suppliers. Energy, contract
labours and shipping have bought about a huge threat for the firm.
 Secondly, the firm needs to ensure that it combats against competition and deals in a
better manner with its different customers (Stead and Stead 2013).
Part 2: Internal analysis and proposal
The internal environment of the organization is also very crucial in order to
understand the strengths, capabilities, resources as well as the weaknesses of the business.
This assists the business to reposition itself and even look out for various capabilities. Hence,
this section shall conduct an internal analysis of the business and set an information solutions
system for the same.
The firm`s resources
Tangible
 Access to various mines and grounds: The organization has an access to a large
number of mines and grounds which makes it helpful in their daily operations (Rogers
et al. 2015).
 Political connections: The organization has an access to certain political connections
which tend to come in useful for the different operations of the organization.

8STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
 Human resources: The organization has a good human resource base which assists it
in carrying out the daily operations (Hubbard, Rice and Galvin 2014).
 Technology: BHP Billiton also has an access to adequate technology which further
goes a long way in assisting them to gain a competitive advantage in the long run.
 Finances: BHP Billiton has been performing well since the last few years which
further assist the firm in ensuring success.
Intangible
 Good will of the firm: The firm is one of the largest companies in Australia and for
this reason, it has a good name in the industry at large.
 Good relations with suppliers: The firm has cordial relations with its different
suppliers which tends to serve as a useful resource for the firm (Johnson 2016).
 Intellectual rights: Moreover, the organization also has an access to a large number
intellectual rights and resources which makes it easier for them to carry out the
businesses.
Capabilities of the firm
The capabilities of the organization are as follows:
 Ability to provide the necessary solutions: The firm is largely successful in its
operations and has them widespread in various parts of the world.
 Ability to manage a larger asset portfolio: The firm has the ability to manage a large
portfolio base. It makes a large number of investments and this allows them to gain
natural resources (Harrison and John 2013).
 Ability to ensure safety and maintain ethicality in its resources: It conducts safe
operations to build the trust of the public and the employees.
Core competencies
The core competencies of the firm will be measured using VRIO Analysis (Zott and
Amit 2013).
Resource or
capability
Valuable Rare Imitabl
e or
Organize
d to
Competitive Implication

9STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Non-
substit
utable
Exploit
Ability to
provide
solutions
Yes No No Yes Competitive advantage
Large asset
portfolio
Yes Yes No Yes Sustained Competitive
advantage
Safety and
ethicality
Yes No Yes No Parity
Hence, the primary core competency of the organization is its wide Asset portfolio
which helps it to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors.
Proposed suitable information system
After analysing the internal as well as the external forces of the enterprise, BHP
Billiton, it can be stated that the information solutions system which can be used for them is a
Management Information system. Any business which is functioning in the competitive
business environment is required to check that it gets industry specific management
information and assess its performance successfully (Hahn 2013). Hence, the installation of
the management information systems will not only assist BHP Billiton in ensuring that it will
be able to create and manage reports to be used in the tactical as well as strategic operations
but shall also ensure the collection of the information at a single source which can be easily
used by all. Hence, using this business solution, will assist the company to gain a competitive
edge in the market
Conclusion
Therefore, from analysis given it can be stated that, BHP Billiton has been performing
considerably well in the market domain and has an access to an adequate number of resources

10STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
which shall allow the firm to gain an advantage. However, after conducting the different
analysis reflected that the firm was in a need of a management information system solutions
which has been suggested to be implemented and accessed to. The following section, shall
provide certain recommendations based on the use of the system in the firm.
Evaluation and Recommendations
After considering the various advantages of the Management information system and
its application in BHP Billiton, it can be stated that the system will be beneficial to the
organization and the given recommendations have been provided:
1. Provide adequate training to the different employees: The different employees need to
be provided with adequate training so as to ensure that the organization is successfully
able to implement the different operations and that there exists no errors with respect
to the same.
2. Align business activities with the different system solutions: The business needs to
ensure that it successfully aligns all the business activities with the system solutions to
ensure successful implementation.

11STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
References
Barrons.com., 2018. Investor Criticism [online]. Retrieved from:
https://www.barrons.com/articles/bhp-billiton-shakes-up-board-amid-investor-criticism-
1503455260 (10 September. 2018)
Bhp.com., 2018. BHP Live. [online]. Retrieved from: https://www.bhp.com/ (10 September.
2018)
Bhp.com., 2018. Our Approach. [online]. Retrieved from: https://www.bhp.com/our-
approach/our-company/strategy (10 September. 2018)
Frynas, J.G. and Mellahi, K., 2015. Global strategic management. Oxford University Press,
USA.
Ginter, P.M., Duncan, J. and Swayne, L.E., 2018. The Strategic Management of Healthcare
Organizations. John Wiley and Sons.
Hahn, R., 2013. ISO 26000 and the standardization of strategic management processes for
sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Business Strategy and the
Environment, 22(7), pp.442-455.
Harrison, J.S. and John, C.H.S., 2013. Foundations in strategic management. Cengage
Learning.
Hubbard, G., Rice, J. and Galvin, P., 2014. Strategic management. Pearson Australia.
Johnson, G., 2016. Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson Education.
Lasserre, P., 2017. Global strategic management. Palgrave.
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http://londonminingnetwork.org/2015/01/controversy-over-rio-tintobhp-billiton-copper-mine-
continues-in-arizona/ (10 September. 2018)
Rogers, B.C., Brown, R.R., de Haan, F.J. and Deletic, A., 2015. Analysis of institutional
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Australia. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 15, pp.42-64.

12STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
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Williamson, D., Cooke, P., Jenkins, W. and Moreton, K.M., 2013. Strategic management
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Zott, C. and Amit, R., 2013. The business model: A theoretically anchored robust construct
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