Sociocultural Factors Affecting BP Petrol Filling Stations in the UK

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Sociocultural Factors Affecting BP Petrol Filling Stations in the UK

Introduction:

‘Sociocultural influences on organisations include changes in the age and structure of populations, the manner in which populations behave and the way in which the culture of a population or country changes and develops.’

Source: ‘Understanding Organisational Context’ – Claire Capon

Sociocultural factors affect BP petrol stations in both the micro and macro environment. Within the microenvironment factors affecting petrol stations are directly linked to factors that affect the need for transportation, where as in the macroenvironment there are factors that affect the need for petrol in general.

Factors within the Microenvironment:

There is an ageing population as well as a growing population, all requiring transportation. Two car families are more common as both parents work, as well as having children in school. Increased pressures in life lead to more car use, as public transportation is not flexible enough for many lives. Larger catchment areas for state schools increase car usage as many pupils are too far from school to walk. Increased centralisation of public services within cities creates a large car use from the suburban areas. The amount of commuters is rising, requiring more car usage. Increases in disposable income allow the population to spend more on shopping and entertainment, which may require transport. Due to global conflicts more UK holidaymakers are staying in the country and thus requiring transportation. There are more 17-year-olds with cars responding to the growing demand for transport. Failing public transport systems, like late buses, prompt more car use. More people use supermarket petrol stations due to convenience.

These are mostly local and national factors within the LoNGPEST, global factors can be found within the macroenvironmental factors.

Factors within the Macroenvironment:

The introduction of alternate fuel sources will have a global affect on BP. Biofuels and Hydrogen fuel cells are currently being researched by car manufacturers because they are potentially much less harmful to the environment than petrol and other fossil fuels.

Figure 1: Table Showing Fuel Cell Emissions in Comparison with Petrol Engine Emissions

Source: bullnet.co.uk

This table shows just how much better for the environment a fuel cell engine is, and Mercedes have developed one. The only stumbling block is the £300,000 price tag, which is a lot compared to the petrol engine A-Class at nearer £15,000.

Economically, the external environment in which BP operates in can be affected by both micro and macro influences. Some of these issues are discussed on a local, national and global scale and affect petrol stations and the price at which petrol is sold.

Over the past three years BP has seen significant improvements in its profits (2001 saw record profit of £2.8bn, due to lower petrol prices on the wholesale market) and has made major changes in its image and operations. However, the company has had its critics as they heavily spend on their new image, as customers still face the challenge of rising petrol prices. Every day BP serves 13 million customers around the world and yet UK prices are the highest in the EU.

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Local

An economic factor, which affects everyday customers, is not only the price of petrol but also the location of petrol filling stations. Some may argue that petrol prices are high in the UK due to a better standard of living, however, the cost of running a car can be considerably more expensive for someone who say lives in an out of town area. This isn’t because they necessarily have less disposable income but have to travel further to find a petrol station.

This may however; affect a very small number of the population (micro-environment) but demonstrates ...

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