Abstract
Great Lake’s bad public relations image is its only immediate, impending and invisible competitor. The industry environment that Great Lakes is situated in is one that is characterized by global market shifts and pressures. At the moment, Great Lakes does not have any competition from possible competitors such as Ethyl Corporation, or Dow Chemical. However, they are beginning to receive criticism from the press on a global scale that is affecting their company’s image. If their corporate image is affected, then they are bound to see those affects trickle down into their profits in the near future. This paper will interpret those external conditions, Great Lakes is experiencing in their inability to provide a solution that would be an acceptable “coping mechanism” for the company’s board of directors. As long as Great Lakes remain in the lead additives arena, their public perception is only going to get worse. Pressure from the environmentalists will eventually be aided by strict government regulations on their lead usage, which will cause them more damage in the future than they can anticipate at the moment. The Decision to Between Business and Morality

Introduction
This essay will perform an analysis Five External Factors Influencing Great Lakes’ Environment. In regards to the environmental-geographic factors that Great Lakes has to account for, countries that will allow them access to their rich deposits will be a huge factor in their ability to profit in the coming years. The case study does not disclose where Great Lakes’ factories are, however the company would eventually need access to areas where they can retrieve the necessary elements for lead production. Due to government regulation, and possible global sanctions, they would eventually face a hard problem in trying to find countries such as those in the Middle East that would partner with them in cultivating sufficient enough refineries to produce the additive.
Socio-Demographic Environment
Great Lakes’ socio-demographic environment is confined to the region of the developing world, because this is the only area of their market that they are able to promote their top product. The developing world has a huge population. However, due to the public health concerns that their product raises, Great Lakes is reducing their potential customers on a smaller scale. Eventually, the problem of death related illnesses will become so great that other countries will move to create a ban on this additive as did other countries. A projected estimate of people that are old enough to use automobiles and drive is around 87%, and they are believed to be in the developed world more so than the developing world, which consists of some of the biggest countries in the world such as China, India, the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, (Mbendi, 2010).
Economic Challenges/Geographic
Great Lakes’ economic challenges are their biggest problem, and it is also connected with their technological problem. The demand in the developed world is extremely high for the lead additive. However, if they don’t eventually pull out of this market and revamp their top producing industry, then they will suffer a huge loss because their competitors will already have a huge advantage due to their focus on the biofuel and alternative fuel market. Innovation is one of the key elements that drive the market and helps to keep companies one step ahead of their competitors and other new threats to the market. Great Lakes is subject to various laws and regulations relating to maintaining and protecting the quality of the environment around them. Due to the nature of the products produced and distributed the company is subject to harsh OSHA Laws regarding environmental compliance.
Great Lakes’ Main Capabilities Great Lakes began as an oil and gas company. However, after expanding into the area of natural resources, they began to focus on chemicals such as bromine. Great Lakes quickly rose from brining in 50 million in revenues, to an estimated billion in a matter of 30 years. Great Lakes’ began focusing the bulk of their production on producing tetraethyl lead, (TEL). As a result of that change, Great Lakes became dominate in the domestic and global market. However, their company’s dependency on this area is slowly beginning to become a huge problem for the multinational company.
Political and Legal Challenges
In this arena Great Lakes is constantly facing threats of legal magnitude through governing environmental agencies. Due to respective investigations on the causes of bromine and brominated products on the public in the industry. Although in the US leaded gasoline has been obsolete for years, overseas it is still used even though the public and government is aware of the detrimental causes to health.Finally, the political and legal challenges that Great Lakes will have to account for will be future sanctions by governments and international organizations. Currently, the text does not indicate that they are experiencing any sanctions. However, the environmentalists are tarnishing their image in the press. In today’s market, the Obama administration is seeking to place sanctions on certain companies that try and sell lead additives to Iran, or even use their resources for lead production. According to recent reports, oil production is how some Middle Eastern countries buy political allegiance. Therefore, if Great Lakes, which is a U.K based company, wants to avoid problems with their government, they would have to limit some of the sources that they could use for the production of lead additives Threats of New Entrants
“Great Lakes major new entrants threats is from those new entrants that want to produce the same or similar products, as well as businesses producing products intended for similar use at a more affordable price bracket. “(Retrieved from www.waterdogjournal.com/type... /great%20lakes%202001.pdf) Bargaining Power of Buyers “Great Lakes has a significant presence in foreign markets, principally Western Europe and Asia. Approximately one-third of the Company’s assets and sales are outside the United States due to the demand of leaded gasoline in developing countries such as China, the Middle East, and many African countries. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of Great Lakes’ total consolidated sales. The Company has no material contracts or subcontracts with government agencies. A major portion of the Company’s sales are sold to industrial or commercial businesses for use in the production of other products. Some products, such as recreational water treatment chemicals and supplies, are sold to a large number of retail pool stores, mass merchandisers and distributors. Some export sales are marketed through distributors and brokers. The Company’s business does not normally reflect any material backlog of orders at year-end.” (Retrieved from www.waterdogjournal.com/type.../great%20lakes%202001 .pdf) Threat of Substitute Products
Great Lakes threats of substitute products are minimal. The only other major producer of bromine and bromine derivatives in the United States is Ethyl and it competes with the Company in varying degrees, depending on the product. In addition, the Company competes with only one major overseas manufacturer, Octel, in the United States and elsewhere. Several small producers in the United States and overseas are competitors for several individual products. “Furthermore, there are numerous manufacturers that compete with the Company by offering alternatives to Great Lakes products. In Polymer Stabilizers, the Company competes with a significantly larger supplier across the entire product line and with a number of smaller companies in individual product areas. Within Performance Chemicals, the Fluorine business competes with a global manufacturer producing similar products, as well as manufacturers with products intended for similar use. The Company’s Water Treatment business competes with several manufacturers and distributors of swimming pool and spa chemicals.” (waterdogjournal)
The Lead Additives Industry and the Five Forces of Competition Model The lead additive industry is actually still being spearheaded by one of the companies that is mentioned in the book as Octel. The company’s real name, Associated Octel was changed from that to Innospec in 2006 in an attempt to rebrand themselves. Therefore, when the five forces of competition model is applied, one of the more noticeable forces that are relevant to this industry is the threat of substitute products. Associated Octel, which is now known as Innospec revamped their image due to the health hazards that lead, (TEL) based products was causing around the world. As a result, there were real bans on it in the U.S. and also in the UK in around 1986, (All Business, 2008). Government regulations forced both Innospect and its competitors to look for alternative sources of additives for fuel. Therefore biofuels became extremely important, and their competitors began to offer substitute products that rivaled the control that Innospect wielded over the market with production of their lead additives. As a result, Innospect began work on other fuel additives and specialty chemicals in its plants. According to one of their chief executives at Innospect, the additives that they are working on “include products that improve vehicles' fuel efficiency and assist reductions in particulate and sulphur emissions”, (All Business, 2008).

Conclusion I believe this industry would be an attractive industry for potential new entrants. If they can effectively and efficiently enter the arena with fresh new alternatives for the products and services already offered by its existing competitors then hey too can profit. The key to this industry is providing an attractive price on very much demanded products on this way can a new entrant be equal as profitable as its counterparts in this industry. This industry is in high demand due to all the “different products developed and produced such as water treatment applications, specialty household cleaners, flame retardants, polymer stabilizers, fire suppressants, and performance chemicals.

References
(Mead, Wicks, Werhane, Freeman. (2008). Great Lakes: Great Decisions. University of Virginia, Darden School Foundation.
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. (2001) . Great Lakes Chemical Corporation 10-K Form [Data file]. Retrieved from www.waterdogjournal.com/type.../great%20lakes%202001.pdf