Pest Analysis Case

The assignment: Conduct a PEST Analysis on the cruise industry. Imagine your focal company is Carnival Cruise Lines and you are conducting a PEST analysis of your industry. (Note: Carnival Cruise Lines is one brand of parent company Carnival Corporation & PLC, so when looking at the company's SEC filings, you'll want to pull up the 10-K for Carnival Corporation, which you can access from the parent company's web site investor relations area.)

For each of the following, articulate 4-5 bulleted points that illustrate the factors in the macroenvironment that could impact your industry, and thus, your firm, and thus, your strategy in the years to come.

Political (could include legal, global) … see the full list on page 3 of the 4-page PEST handout

Economic (could include global) … see the full list on page 3 of the 4-page PEST handout

Sociocultural (could include demographic, global) … see the full list on page 3 of the 4-page PEST handout

Technology… see the full list on page 3 of the 4-page PEST handout

Where to start?

1. Access the 10-K for Carnival Corporation & PLC and go the section on "risk factors" to read a discussion of risk factors pertaining to the cruise industry, many of which originate in the external environment. As you read these risk factors, think about which are political, legal, economic, sociocultural, technological, global.

2. Search Google using key terms. Look for news articles, industry reports, lobbying efforts, economic indicators, research reports, profiles, etc. that might shed light on the macroenvironment of the industry. Search terms might include:

• Cruise industry pending legislation

• Cruise industry legal issues