analysis of the South West Gas holdings

analysis of the South West Gas holdings

The business environment is the most critical indicator or predictor of success for a corporation. Therefore, the general business environment influences the growth of the business corporation because it must be incorporated into the strategic planning of a corporation. The general environment constitutes the political, socio-cultural, demographic, economic, and global technological forces. These forces are embedded in the broader business environment, and they are part of the pertinent predictors of success or failure of a business. However, not all predictors or segments of the general environment are profitable to a business, and it is the role of the business to identify all the opportunities in each of these segments. A business analyzes the segment of the general environment that it can manipulate and build on to build a competitive advantage over other similar businesses in the industry. Therefore, in an analysis of the South West Gas holdings, it is essential to identify which of the segment provides a higher advantage for the business.

Business-Level Strategy

One of the most influential segments for SouthWest Gas Holding is the economic environment of business because of the nature of the business that the company deals with. The company has interests in Natural Gas Operations and the Utility Infrastructure Services industry. For the economic segment, one of the most critical predictors is the business level strategy that allows consumers to identify a brand and rely on the brand as a provider of products and services that are indispensable. For this segment, it is, therefore, to shift focus on the two industries from different perspectives because the parent company runs the two types of businesses separately. However, both segments must rely on business-level strategies that help the entire business to hold a better competitive advantage over other companies.

In the utility infrastructure service industry, the company’s main supplies go to the Northern America sphere and some parts of Canada (“About Us.”). Therefore, at a business level, the company should ensure that the company becomes a household name owing to the dynamic and indispensable nature of the products they are selling. Their main clients are homeowners and people who are constructing new homes. Additionally, the utility service is also part of supplies that are needed by every household, mainly because the products are everyday use utilities. Having a robust consumer base is essential because the entire business depends on the trust they build in their consumers. Therefore, the company must incorporate strategic marketing campaigns that look at the economic status of those who seek to use these products and provide flexible yet competitive prices for their brands.

In the Natural Gas Industry, the company has already supplied over 2 million people with gas in the areas of operation (“About Us.”). Therefore, the company has a basis to start looking at the critical aspect of business that involves the expansion of its client base, which means earning a larger share of the market available. A critical aspect of the gas industry is the economic business environment. The fluctuation of prices and the dynamic changes in rates is a crucial regulator of the market. The company enjoys a huge customer base that relies on its constant supply of gas, and therefore, it can collect essential data on how the fluctuation of prices affects the clients. Therefore, the company should look to incorporate such essential data in the formulation of packages that they offer to their clients to ensure that the economic business environment does not affect how reliable the clients perceive the company. On the other hand, the fluctuations may adversely affect the business in terms of profits, and it is, therefore, a necessary caution to take when making the right decisions on pricing.

While the utility business is not affected by fluctuations, the Natural Gas business is prone to natural gas demand and supply tussles (Chen 181). The company’s ability to predict the fluctuations can increase the profitability of their proceeds as well as create a good a good rapport with the clients. Maintaining a 2 million clientele base is not easy, and therefore, the company should always have predictions of the supply and demand curve over the next few months to ensure that the company is never in crisis. The economic business environment can be manipulated by the company to create reliability and, in effect, gain a competitive advantage in the industry that provides such an indispensable product for a household.

Corporate Level Strategies

For a business to ensure competitive power Avery, Brown, Rosenkranz, & Wood (449) analyzed the optimization of purchase, storage, and transmission of contract agreements, which prepare a competitive distribution system to meet the market demand. The forces of competition help to measure the intensity and profitability of the market industry and therefore provide a basis for predicting the most sustainable aspects of business strategy that are essential to a company. Part of the general business environment that can assist in the wading off or competing equally with businesses in the technology segment of the business. Technology is essential in the natural gas industry because of the volatility of the product, and the high precision companies must ensure to promote safety in the household. Technological safe and up to date companies in the natural gas industry get the best reliability scores from their clients and offers the company an edge in competing with other companies.

Southwest Gas Holdings, as a corporation, must make strategic decisions at a corporate strategy that ensures the company remains competitive, but it may affect the entire operations of the company. The maximization of the use of technology that is safe and meets all the standard requirements of the industry is a strategy that affects how all the departments of a gas company operate (Chen 183). Therefore, based on the evidence on the company’s website, the company has invested in state of the art process technology that ensures the company has tapped natural gasses to keep their clients at a constant and reliable supply. Additionally, the company is committed to increasing safety measures in the company’s production and delivery systems to ensure the sustainability of their processes and maintain the confidence and trust of its clients. The reliability is the company’s most significant advantage and lowers the customer’s bargaining power, which means the company can maximize its profits. The Technological aspect of the business environment is, therefore, an indispensable predictor of success for the corporation. However, the company suffers the weakness of failing to manage the competition from existing competitors. For Southwest Gas Holdings to expand, it must employ tactics that will ensure it has outsmarted the exiting competitors to ensure it grows its clientele base.

Southwest Gas Holding is a company that is affected by the general business environment, specifically the economic and technological segments. At a business level, the company can take advantage of the economic segment to proliferate its growth. However, at the corporate strategic level, the company presents the advantage of being a reliable brand, but it faces competition from the existing competitors.