Internal and external influences on business, business Studies Unit 1 - Stakeholders, Business Studies : Nature of Business
Ease of entry (EI)
Ability of a person to establish a business within an industry. This depends on the market concentration.
Private company
Can have a maximum of 50 shareholders. Shares are not floated in the market, people have to be granted permission from the owners to purchase shares.
Regulatory bodies (EI)
Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. Office of Fair Trading. Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Demographic influence (EI)
Features of a population such as age, sex, income, cultural background and family.
3 levels of Government in Australia
Federal, state and local impose regulations. Eg Taxes, employee entitlements, approve new developments.
Types of Market
Financial, labour and consumer
Internal influences
Things that can be controlled including the Product, location, management, resource management, business culture.
Product (IE)
Type and range of goods, Size of the business.
Characteristics of a recession period (EI)
Unemployment levels rise, Wages are less likely to rise, level of spending decreases, Inflation may remain stable or fall. Eg Global financial crisis
Partnership
Usually 2-20 partners own and operate a business. Some businesses, such as solicitors can have ho to 400 partners
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Technological Influences (EI)
increase in efficiency, productivity, innovation and new goods / services. EG Uber
Human resource (IE)
the employees of the business and who are generally its most important asset.
Public company
A company that has floated shares in the stock market. Shareholders have ownership of the company
Primary Industry
Extracts products from the earth and processes them into raw materials
External environment
Factors that a business has little control over
Internal environment
Factors that business has some control over
Geographical Spread
Local, National, Global: international and transnational
Effects on economic cycles
- Government Policies - Over seas trends
Name Characteristics of a Boom Period
- High levels of employment - Wage increase - Inflation may increase - Levels of spending by consumers increase
Four methods used to classify businesses
- Industry - Size - Geographical Spread - Legal Structure
Labour Market
- Labour Market has become less global in the last 60 years. Political barriers have restricted the flow of people between countries - Trend towards temporary skilled workers
External Influences on a business
- Market - Economy - Financial - Social - Political - Institutional - Technological - Geographical - Law - Competition
Financial market
- Mobile and flows easily - International Financial flows have increased rapidly the last three decades - GFC (Global Financial Market) saw the collapse of the US market and made changes to the domestic and international market
Industry
- Primary - Secondary - Tertiary - Quaternary - Quinary
Importance of Business to the economy
- Provides Challahges and rewards - Pays taxes - Provides employment - Assissts in the development of new tech - Provides income for business owners - Improves Quality of life - Produces product range - Creates value and encourages economic growth - provides training ground for future business people - Encourages competition, resukting in cheaper prices
Factors influencing choice of legal structure
- Size of Business - Ownership and Control - Finance needed
Legal structure
- Sole Trader - Partnership - Private company - Public company - Government Body Enterprise
Economic Influences
- The Australian economy experiences economic cycles (growth and recession) - After a period of growth business activity gradually slow until recession or depression is reached. Business will eventually pick up again
Consumer Market
- There has been growth in the value and amount of world trade since WW2 - global trade is set to rebound over the next few years
Recession Period
- Unemployment levels rise - Inflation may remain stable or rise - Wages are less likely to increase - Levels of spending decreases
Number of employees in a medium businesses
20-199 employees
Number of employees in a large business
200+ employees
Marketing strategies
A business can be influenced by the type of marketing measures taken by a competitor. Extent and type of marketing depends on: - Size of Market - Size of business - Number of Competition - Nature of product
Stakeholder (IE)
A stakeholder is any group or individual who has an interest in or is affected by the activities of a business.
Stakeholders
Any individual/group which is affected by a business & has an interest in its activities
Economic cycles (EI)
Are the periods of growth (boom) and recession (bust) that occur as a result of fluctuations in economic activity.
Size of business
As sales increase and business operations grow, the owner may need to change its business structure
ACCC (EI)
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
ASIC (EI)
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Government
Benefits from business with increased tax revenue increased employment and lower welfare payments. however this also means increased pollution, congestion and a loss of greenfield sites through development. The priority used to be growth but increased environmental awareness has forced governments into reducing development such as imposing landfill tax and climate change levy. These taxes increase costs, reduce competitiveness and likely increase unemployment. As a stakeholder businesses have to find a balance
Shareholders
Common objective of sustained long-term, giving both capital gain and increasing income. Although they can come into conflict as institutional shareholders are driven by the short term. This means high dividends and strategies to achieve growth quickly, which come into conflict with achieving long-term growth through reinvestment of profits and increasing brand value, which are what long term investors are looking for
Monopoly (EI)
Complete concentration by one firm in the industry. Eg Australia post Eg Oil Companies
Oligopoly (EI)
Consists of a small number of large firms. Eg Banks Oil companies Car manufacturers Phone manufacturers
Consumer luxury goods (EI)
Consumers are most likely to cut back on in a recession period
Quinary Industry
Domestic activities
External influences (EI)
Economic, financial, social, legal, political, institutional, technological, competitive situation and changes in the market.
Social Influences (EI)
Environmental movement, Family friendly workplaces, Time poor consumers.
Directors and managers
Focus their efforts on achieving long term objectives, and they use resources under their control to achieve maximum benefits and to gain the most from the assets they manage. The rewards they achieve usually reflect the fortunes of the business. However, self preservation is sometimes a motivator for middle managers and senior managers by attempting to maximise their salaries and benefits whilst cutting costs through redundancies
Financial resources (IE)
Funds the business uses to meet its obligations to various creditors.
What is GDP?
GDP stand for Gross Domestic products and it is the total value of goods and services provided in a country in one year
Political influences (EI)
Government policies have a considerable impact on the business environment.
Institutional influences (EI)
Government, regulatory bodies and other groups.
Characteristics of a boom period (EI)
Higher levels of employment, Wages increase, consumer spending increases, Inflation may increase. Eg Growth of China on Australian exports.
4 main Resource of a business (IE)
Human resources, Information resources, Physical resources, Financial resources.
Physical resources (IE)
Include equipment, machinery, buildings and raw materials.
Internal environment (IE)
Includes those factors over which the business has some degree of control.
External environment (EI)
Includes those factors over which the business has very little control.
Deregulation (EI)
Is the removal of government regulation from industry, with the aim of increasing efficiency and improving competition. Eg: Pharmaceutical Industry regulations
Monopolistic competition (EI)
Large number of buyers and sellers. Eg Clothing manufacturers Local retailing
Size
Large, medium, small, micro
Number of employees in a small business
Less than 20 employees
Number of employees in a micro business
Less than 5
Management influences (IE)
Levels of business structure
Secondary Industry
Manufactures finished goods made from raw materials
ACCC (EI)
Monitor misuse of market power, product safety and liability, misleading and deceptive advertising. EG Nurofen
Competition (EI)
Number of competitors, Local and foreign Marketing, Ease of entry. Eg Apparition media
Sole trader
One person owns and operates the business
Tertiary Industry
Provides a service to general population and to businesses
Ambient media (EI)
Refers to the new breed of outdoor advertising.
Business Culture (IE)
Refers to the values, ideas, expectations and beliefs shared by members of the organisation.
Information resources (IE)
Resources include the knowledge and data required by the business. Eg market research, sales reports, economic forecasts, technical material, legal advice.
Regulations (EI)
Rules, laws or orders that businesses must follow.
Customer
Satisfying customer needs through providing a quality product and efficient service at a competitive price, should not be at odds with good business practice, but they sometimes are. The short term nature of business means that the achievement of immediate profit comes before customer satisfaction. Customers like to feel needed and respected, its far too easy to alienate your customer base, which means maintaining customer relations is increasingly important
Quaternary Industry
Services that involve the transfer and processing of information and knowledge
Main Stakeholders of a business
Shareholders Directors & Mangers Employees/workers Customers Suppliers Government Local communities
SLEEPT analysis (EI)
Social, legal, economic, environmental, political, technological.
SWOT analysis
Strengths, Weakness, opportunities, threats.
Suppliers
The business and its suppliers are mutually dependant. Suppliers want a fair price while businesses want to minimise costs. However, the business usually hold the power in the market which is market imperfection. Supplies in developing countries are the worst off as they only see a tiny portion of the final sales value, although fair trade is trying to correct this
Ownership and Control
The legal structure of the business will depend on how much control the owner wants over the business
Employees/Workers
The major concern is job security and with many businesses incorporating technology, this conflicts with the views of the stakeholder. At one point this would have lead to industrial action, however, the workforce is aware of modern employment and the lack of trade union power so strikes are unlikely, and are thus more likely to accept job restructuring, and redundancy
Incorporated
The process companies go through to become separate legal entities from their owners
Business environment
The surrounding condition in which a business operates. It's divided into 2 categories; external and internal
Local communities
There are a number of benefits of business activity for local communities such as employment, increased regional wealth, improved facilities and infrastructure. However, conflict can arise with disputes over pollution, environmental damage, loss of open space and noise pollution
Finance needed
When a business expands it will need injections of money. Money can be obtained from debt, venture capital or floating shares in the market.
Unincorporated
Where the business and the owner are one entity
Business culture (IE)
can be revealed officially in the policies, goals, slogans or how people in the business behave. The culture of a business is often evident in its organisational structure. Eg Apparition media.
Location influence (IE)
customer convenience, visibility, proximity to other businesses.
Legal Influences (EI)
laws on taxation, industrial relations, occupational health and safety, equal employment opportunity, anti-discrimination and protection of the environment.
Geographical influences (EI)
location in Asia pacific region, Globalisation and demographics.
Globalisation (EI)
process where people, goods, money and ideas move around the world faster and more cheaply than before. (export and import sales)
Shareholders (IE)
the owners of a business.
Business Environment
the surrounding conditions in which the business operates. It can be divided into internal and external factors.