Pearson Education Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Pearson Education - Case Study Example When the SWOT related perspectives of the company are posited against the STEEPLE - social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal and ethical - framework of analysis at a macro-environmental level the picture that emerges of the company is essentially a multifaceted business proposition of the current decade (Kallis, Alier & Norgaard, 2009). Pearson Education's SWOT - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats - environment is characterized by a highly competitive external environment of fewer opportunities and more threats as against a highly volatile internal environment of more strengths and equally more weaknesses, the latter arising from competition related phenomena (Clark & Phillips, 2008). Its cultural diversity, organizational culture, supply chain management, employee motivation strategies, modern Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, management structure and style, have contributed in large measure towards this success though as many critics have pointed out the company needs a well defined directional thrust in the current economic and financial turbulence. Articulate business strategy of the company has been responsible for its present achievements in organizational cum corporate objectives though the very direction of the strategy needs a still greater focus on the long term goals rather than the immediate goals (Finlay, 2000). AnalysisPearson Education, proper, as distinct from the Pearson Group is involved in education related activities. These activities can be divided into three broader segments - publishing academic books, publishing non-academic books and education technology related work. Its current operations involving an expansive global network are focused on the North American and European markets (Piercy, 2002). The very strategic perspectives on which the company has evolved have been responsible for its current business strategy. There is a very strong premise on which the company top management has sought to define its growth trajectory. The learning outcomes of this paper would delineate the related aspects of this strategic approach of the company with added emphasis on corporate goals (Mullins, 2005). Changing business strategy of Pearson Education in particular and Pearson Group in general has been responsible for the present revolutionary shift in focus at the company. The underlying principle of this change in business strategy is the successive creation of M&A related synergies through a series of high profile acquisitions and mergers in the recent past (Clarke & Hermens, 2001). This aspect of Pearson Education's organizational behavior requires greater attention because the company has been able to posit itself against competitors with remarkable success due to the positive outcomes related to M&A. The causative elements of this strategic orientation of the company need to be looked at from two different angles. In the first place, Pearson Education is aware of the growing threat of the fast changing technological environment that favors those rivals with technology-based resources. Secondly its own resource base has been expanding at a much faster rate both in diversity and complexity (Davenport, 1994). The latter element includes even