ExxonMobil Case Study

Introduction

ExxonMobil has been in existence for over a hundred years and is the world's largest company that is publicly traded and operates in the integrated petroleum and natural gas industry. The organization operates facilities around the world and explores for oil and natural gas in all six continents around the world. The organization leads the industry in every aspect of energy and petrochemicals. Further it has taken an active role in exploring for new sources of energy to help meet the increased demand for energy in the past few years. ExxonMobil is a leader in the research and development of new energy sources and technologies in response to the needs of the depleting resources, climate change, environment concerns and rising energy costs that have plagued the industry in the past few years.

Reasons for Success

There are many different factors that have contributed to the success of the organization in the last century that it has been in operations. The first has been that the organization has been able to expand its operations throughout the other globe thus increasing its customer base and its markets. Further the organization has spent much on research and development throughout the years, which has helped the organization to be the leader in the industry for so many year and this expenditure in research and development will continue to help the organization to be a leader in the industry. Further the organization has grown through mergers and acquisitions and has been able to penetrate markets that were out of reach to it like the ones in the emerging markets of India and China. The diversification of the business operations into different areas of the energy supply, the increased investment in technology and again the investment in research and development to discover new methods of energy exploration, energy refinement and energy efficiency have contributed to a great extent to the success of the organization.

Threats and Problems

While the organization is no doubt the leader in the industry and is known to be very strong in its makeup, its market potential and its ability to remain profitable in the future there are many different threats that are looming in the immediate future of the organization. The biggest threat that the organization is currently faced with is the decline in energy prices in the past few weeks to levels not seen over a year ago. While this boards well for the reduction of inflation in the economy, it does not board well for the organization and has reduced its projected profits for the coming year. Further it should be stated that the decline in the growth prospects of emerging economies like China and India has caused a reduction in the demand for energy that is indeed a serious threat for the long-term survival and profitability of the organization. Another threat for the organization is the increased concern for the environment and the depletion of natural resources that is making consumers more conscious of energy consumption and results in a reduction of energy consumption, thus reducing the profitability of the organization even further.