Businesses are subject to many forces in the environment which they have limited control. Maersk like any other businesses has to contend with the forces that bring about uncertainty in its course of operation. The Danish company is the largest in the container shipping industry worldwide since 1996. It is widespread in over 135 countries employing over 109,000 employees globally at the same time. Maersk’s uncertainty is linked to the dynamic nature of the shipping market and industry as a whole environment (Greve et al., 2007, 19).
The company’s environment is well examined by the PESTLE analysis, which will translate to ease in assessment of the investment environment (Curnigham, 2012, p. 71). This is integral for Maersk’s efforts in global expansion and incorporating new marketing-related strategies. The political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, legal, and environmental conditions are the key elements of the analysis that guides the aforementioned strategic management and thinking at Maersk (Middlemiss, 2005, p.61).
In order for the company to chart its course well into the future, the company management must consider scenario planning in its long-term goals. The scenario planning will be crucial in establishing areas of high uncertainty as well as high impact at Maersk. Scenarios are established around factors that have the highest degree of future uncertainty and greatest impact on Maersk’s business objectives (Gottschalk,2006, p.136). It is the environmental factors identified by PESTEL analysis, which are distributed across the impact/uncertainty matrix. The matrix is essential in the ease in the prediction of future behavior of each of the environmental factors. It also points out how significantly how each of these environmental elements influences Maersk’s performance as a business. The matrix also enables the generation of alternative scenarios that may aid in the strategy formulation and market demand forecast (Wright, 2012, p.33).
