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Political: (includes legal and regulatory): elections, employment law, consumer protection, environmental regulations, industry-specific regulations, competitive regulations, inter-country relationships/attitudes, war, terrorism, political trends, governmental leadership, taxes, and government structures.

Economic: economic growth trends (various countries), taxation, government spending levels, disposable income, job growth/unemployment, exchange rates, tariffs, inflation, consumer confidence index, import/export ratios, and production levels.

Social: demographics (age, gender, race, family size, etc.), lifestyle changes, population shifts, education, trends, fads, diversity, immigration/emigration, health, living standards, housing trends, fashion, attitudes to work, leisure activities, occupations, and earning capacity.

Technological: inventions, new discoveries, research, energy uses/sources/fuels, communications, rates of obsolescence, health (pharmaceutical, equipment, etc.), manufacturing advances, information technology, internet, transportation, bio-tech, genetics, agri-tech, waste removal/recycling, and so on.After the key trends have been identified, the next step is to analyze the potential each trend has to disrupt the way the company does business. The company is able to determine the changes needed to exploit the opportunities, and blunt the threats (Pearce and Robinson, 2005).

When carrying out a PEST analysis it is important to show how and how much the factors that the firm picks out influence the nature of competition. It is this appraisal of the impact of each factor that distinguishes an analysis from a mere list. A common error is to try and devise a single analysis to try and cover the entire history of a firm and an industry. Therefore, the company must keep the analysis of past developments separate from that of the present situation and future trends. When analyzing PEST