I will be comparing the difference between types of ownership and the industrial sector it operates in. I will also look at different activities taking part for a business including daily activity, stakeholders and how location is chosen.
INTRODUCTION
I this assessment I will be comparing the difference between types of ownership and the industrial sector it operates in. I will also look at different activities taking part for a business including daily activity, stakeholders and how location is chosen. I have selected two different businesses to accomplish this portfolio set questions and conclude with my own perception to 'How Business Develops'. I have compiled information from variety of sources and publications on how business develops. I've researched in the library, used the college Internet and gained information from my teacher. The areas I will be analysing are:
. Business theory- a description of types of ownership
2. Industrial sectors and trends
3. Description of business attitudes
4. Location
5. Stakeholder
6. influences on business
PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY
The private limited company more commonly recognised as Ltd would need a minimum of 2 owners to start and have up to maximum members. The share invested can only be transferred by agreement from existing shareholders. The private and public companies abide by Memorandum of Association Company rulebook that consists of:
* The name & address of the registered office
* Company activities
* Type and amount of capital which has been invested to set up the company
The companies also have an Article of Association, which gives you an insight into working of a company. This includes:
* The procedure that have to be followed at the Annual General Meeting (known as an AGM)
* Duties of the direction of the company and voting rights of the shareholders
* How profits and losses are distributed among shareholders & how company officers will be appointed
* Accounts will be kept and recorded
* Rules and procedures for issuing shares and for transferring shares to other people
When these tow procedures have been drawn up it produces a birth certificate for the company. A privet limited company would be recognised by the word limited after the Ltd written after the business name.
PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
The same rules of starting up the business under this ownership apply. This is known as PLC that is just short for the actual name. This tends to be larger than a private company and differs from private as these companies are allowed to raise capital through their shares on the stock exchange, which gives the company more flexibility to raising capital. A board of directors makes decisions regarding the company and a managing director is appointed to run the business. all co-affairs are public with publications on accounts, profits and application of funds that can be found on the INTERNET or business newspapers. Shareholders have limited liability so they wouldn't lose the money they have invested but will lose all the profit they have gained. The business activity for both companies is to maximise market share on the stock exchange. But more importantly they would offer services and goods to the public to buy or use.
ADVANTAGES
* All shares are protected to the amount they have invested
* Easier to raise capital through share issue
* Better chances of a bank finance
* Possible to employ different skilled specialist
* Directors not liable
* Gain confidence of suppliers
* Publicity may have vital effect for the business
DISADVANTAGES
* Formation & running cost can be expensive
* Shares could decrease rapidly
* Slow decision making
* All co-affairs are public as wee as publications on accounts
SOLE TRADER
Sole trader is an independent trader who may work alone or might employ a few workers to accommodate him/her in their work. A sole trader is responsible for all operations it overtakes. The individual will be personally liable for supplying or borrowing all the money required by the business and for the actual running costs on a day to day basis. Sole traders may take out loans from banks or borrow money from friends to start up the business. The most common types of sole traders are craftsmen/women, plumbers, decorators, electricians and mobile hairdressers. The business could be run by one person but needs to be willing to work very long hours to complete work. The business activity for sole trader would be to increase workload for which would help them become more financially stable and again increase there capital.
ADVANTAGES
* No particular legal formalities or requirements to complete before commencing trade
* Decisions could be made quickly
* The annual accounts don't have to be audited
* Owner has the freedom to run the business the way they please
* May form into partnership if wanting to
DISADVANTAGES
* Capital is limited to the owners because of borrowing money to start off
* Owner has sole responsibility with all concept of the business
* Success of the business relies on the individual to how much input is put in
* Any accidents or illness could seriously affect business since the responsibility rest upon the individual
FRANCHISE
This is formed of organisations, which are imported into the UK to help companies to increase capital. Franchising is hiring out or licensing the use of product lines to other companies. A franchise agreement allows another company to trade under a particular name or in a particular area. A firm who sells the franchise is known as the franchiser. A person who takes out the franchise needs a sum of money for capital and is issued chisee. The franchise usually has a sole right of operating in a particular area e.g. Pizza Hut, Body Shop and McDonalds. Another important feature of franchise agreement is that the franchisee agrees to buy all of its supplies from the franchiser and later makes a profit on these supplies. They also take a share of the profits made by the franchisee's business without having to risk of any capital or being involved in management issues on a day to day basis. The franchise allows people to become their own boss without the risk from starting from scratch. The franchise can be both limited and unlimited to its owner's liability depending on the owner or the business it's franchising for. The business activity is to franchise products for companies so they would hopefully buy the franchise product off them.
ADVANTAGES
* Not needing to set up a business from scratch
* Could be registered as both limited and unlimited
* Profit could be reinvested
DISADVANTAGES
* Finance could be covered by own assets, franchiser, loan or even grants
PARTNERSHIP
A partnership incorporate between two and twenty people whom set up together and share equal responsibility of the business which has unlimited liability of it's owners. The unlimited liability implements that the owners of the business are personally liable for all dept the company incurs. They may have to sell their possessions including house & car to escape bankruptcy. Partnerships of accountants, solicitor and the stock exchange members can have more than 20 partners. Each partner is required to contribute some capital and profits are shared equally amongst partners. The control of the business is the responsibility of all partners and decisions made by one partner are always binding on the others so comprise is necessary. Individuals who enter the business may set up a partnership agreement that includes he/she rights to the business. It also includes the amount of capital contributed by each partner, the ratio of the profits and losses shared, the rules admitting or expelling partners and if a partner dies what would happen to their capital. The activity here is to also maximise profits, work with different skilled people but more importantly to work and influence each other with ideas. This business is more teamwork based as everyone would work together to maximise capital.
ADVANTAGES
* Easier for partner to raise capital
* Partners share their expertise and workload
* Additional capital can be raised by introducing more partners into partnership
* They can arrange to cover one another at any time of illness, holidays or even during lunch break
DISADVANTAGES
* Partners are personally liable for all the firms dept
* Disagreements may arise between partners about the amount of effort each of them puts in
* Partnership can raise limited amounts of capital compared with business with different ownership e.g. limited companies
* Death or retirement could bring the partnership to an end if such rules are written in deed of partnership
* All profits must be shared equally
CO-OPERATIVE
Co-operative is an association of people united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs through a jointly owned and a democratically controlled enterprise. It has open membership where anyone could become a member but to start off you'd need two associates. Co-operative organisations make decisions, increase & share workload and also share the profits. All members have an equal say in all affairs rather than a manager pursuing his own interests. The co-operative has limited liability so you'd not lose any money than you've invested. The core objective of the bushiness activity is to optimise profits from businesses where the co-operative values give a positive marketing advantage. The business activity here is to increase profits, work with public to increase Co-operative liability and help many areas where co-operate schemes need valuing.
ADVANTAGES
* Equal say in all affairs of the business
* Brings more workers/drivers for employment because of co-operative schemes
* Easy to expand business
* Autonomy and independence
DISADVANTAGES
* Difficult to raise capital from banks because the co-operatives are not just a business to make profit
* The success or failure will depend on the expertise of the members
* A solid management structure is vital in order for the co-operative objectives to work
The two businesses I have chosen to asses are both of different ownerships. The first company BMW a successful car-manufacturing company that manufacture and sell their own products. This business is under PLC ownership and operate both in the manufacturing and tertiary sector. I then decided to analyse a business that I am very familiar with so I choose the local Co-op store located near my home. This co-operative owned business offers services and products to the public hence making it part of the tertiary sector. The Co-op offers such products such as milk, bread, butter to other goods as toiletries and alcohol.
As all businesses can be classified according to what activity they do and produce. Businesses extend across three major sectors:
BRIEF SUMMARY
PRIMARY SECTOR-extracting raw materials
This primary sector comprises the getting of raw materials, the growing of food and the catch of fish. Industries in this sector include mining for oil, coal, iron and other minerals as forestry, agriculture, fish farming and land reclamation. So basically this sector extracts raw materials then be passed on to the secondary sector.
SECONDARY SECTOR-manufacturing
This sector refines, process and manufactures raw materials into manufactured products. This sector includes industries like steel-making mills, factories for making equipment, machinery for industry and goods for consumer purchase. As BMW my chosen company would use primary sector goods to produce their models. This sector also manufactured products as fruits into pies and metal into cars.
TERTIARY SECTOR-services
In this sector are the businesses that distribute and retail manufactured goods. The third classification involves a business providing a service rather than a manufactured item including catering, shops, insurance, travel and advertising. The other business I have opted to asses Co-op retail that is a member of this sector and offers shops for the public.
As time progresses for business there has been much dramatic change for each sector that has brought current UK trends in growth and decline. Much of these problems have occurred through time because of many different factors and trends.
Fig 1
Figure 1 shows the value of goods and services produced in the UK
(As a percentage)
The primary and secondary sector has both declined through time because of numerous reasons. The primary sector has declined because of less demand of British raw materials such as fruit apples and wood. Many businesses import raw goods/materials from abroad as this is much cheaper to locate their supplies from a low colony country such as India. This would enable the business to maximise profits and help the bank balance. The decline in secondary sector means less raw materials needed for manufacturing so this has also played a part for the decline. As more retail outlets buy many raw materials from abroad such as exotic fruits because as the decline of the primary sector many businesses look to aboard for service. Their has been more use of plastic than wood so there are various factors for the decline in this sector. The main reason for the decline of the primary sector is that demand is low so many companies that operate in this sector would look elsewhere to run a business and help keep them financially stable. This sector has been hit the worst compared to manufacturing and decreased more rapidly than the secondary. The UK trends for this sector have differed as many businesses are leaving this sector to gain profits from the tertiary.
The secondary sector that concerns manufacturing of raw materials have declined as the primary sector does not produce much materials that can be manufactured. This has a knock effect that has left this sector to decline but not as swiftly as primary. The more use of technology has played a positive and negative effect for this sector. It has helped productivity level to increase but has left many people out of work as labour is taken over by computers, more machinery that has left work minimal. Manufacturing industry has is not recruiting many new businesses because of the downfall making the need for this sector minimal. This is because of cheap labour abroad and UK now imports many products by foreign countries. This is a common trend in this day and age to import foreign goods because of the main reason of cheap labour and manufacturing expenses. The same factors that occurred for the decline in the primary sector are similar to the trends of decline in this sector. So both these sectors are both in comparison because of the factors that make these sectors to decline.
However, as these two businesses have been in decline this has played a positive effect on the tertiary sector. This is mainly because of the loss of business in agriculture and manufacturing businesses now have chosen to gain losses by pushing into the tertiary sector.
Fig. 2
FIGURE 2 is the national data of how many people are in employed in each sector. By looking at the table you see the great movement in people employed in each sector and the amount employed. Yu can see much movement into the retail and financial services by business to gain profits and their has been a rise of people employed mainly because of the great rush to offer services to the public as the other two sectors have been declining. This would be much safer than opening a business in the primary or ...
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Fig. 2
FIGURE 2 is the national data of how many people are in employed in each sector. By looking at the table you see the great movement in people employed in each sector and the amount employed. Yu can see much movement into the retail and financial services by business to gain profits and their has been a rise of people employed mainly because of the great rush to offer services to the public as the other two sectors have been declining. This would be much safer than opening a business in the primary or secondary.
Finally, the tertiary sector overall has been increasing rapidly and the knock on effect played by the other two sectors has brought more business in this sector. Many farmers from the primary sector have now opened up farm lodges where people can stay and also opened up their farm for the public to see. This type of activities have become more popular for businesses who may want to maximise profits or make up for any losses because of the decline. More companies in the tertiary sector now employ more workers because of the amount of businesses that operate in the sector. The use of technology has also helped businesses carry out their daily activity more effectively and has less brutal effects than in the other two sectors. So from all three sectors this sector has been doing the best and as more companies are becoming part of it has to be known that this is a common trend for the UK for business to become part of this sector.
The two companies that I will be looking at both operate in the tertiary sector but one is also involved in manufacturing. The first company I will be looking at is BMW that is a limited company that manufactures and sells their own vehicles and parts. The other company is the Co-op that is a co-operative business that operates in the retail sector.
CAR-MANUFACTURING SECTOR
BMW operates in the secondary sector, involved in manufacturing and construction of raw materials from the primary sector. The company is privately owned and operated by numerous groups across the UK. The BMW car-manufacturing sector has had a notable number of car sales during the early years of 1988-1989, as this was a great time of public expenditure. However, the following three years showed a downfall in expenditure and therefore sales had rapidly decreased for the sector. Nevertheless, in 1994 the sale of cars had regained confidence and thus an increase in car sales was noted. The diagram fig.1 illustrates the trend in car sales over the years. It is evident that the sale of private cars performed well during 1988-1989 and a sudden downfall during the nineties. The car sales seem to have gradually recovered during 1994 onwards. In comparison, the sale of other vehicles i.e. lorries and vans has remained constant with a slight improvement during 1998. However, this could be because, the sale of these vehicles were low to begin with so therefore, it was not hard to increase sales. Overall, the total number of vehicle registrations has shown an increasing trend and after the downfall in sales during the early nineties it has regained consumer confidence and therefore led to increased sales.
Fig.1
This graph illustrates the number of new cars registered during the past ten-years.
All sections of the British economy was struck by the September 11th massacre, the car-manufacturing sector as a result has not been effected., in fact increase in car sales has been reported. The BBC radio 1 stated that there has been an increase of 25% during September and in October the sales have maximised to 20%. The knock on effect has brought minimal problems for the car sector unlike the travel and tourism sector.
BMW-TRENDS
Much of the current company's success in the UK can be attributed to the development of its marketing policy. All vehicle brands have been built up of key trends to which the companies have repeated success each year as this is always developed to keep above competitors.
The advancement in car technology has contributed to the increase in car sales yearly as BMW models are built to various standards making the differences from 92% of cars on the road. Consequently, this led to a great car sale success as 64,160 car registrations for the BMW in 1998 putting them above rivals such as Mercedes and Jaguar. The BMW models have raced ahead of many other leading businesses because of the design philosophy and precision developments of cars such as Z5, Z8 or the public favourite the BMW.
The promotion and publicity of BMW plays an important part in the selling of cars. The main channel utilised by the whole sector is through the television during 1999. Advertising has been a key element on much of the BMW success adopted since 1979 using the same agency WORD. The brand image has built up by using 300 colour press adverts and more through a total of 64 different television commercials. BMW dealer also run their own local campaign with local press, radio stations and a bus advertisements provides the dealer with a central source for advertising. BMW increasing involvement in major public events during 1999 Grand Prix and also during 2000 they became the key sponsors for the BMW Williams F1 team. BMW's sponsorship was a good strategy and they then went to new heights of advertising. This took place at the home of English Rugby Twickenham stadium which they sponsored the Jumbotron screen. This achieved a sporting first, as throughout the breaks of the match BMW ads became a platform for the 1999 television brands. From normal home commercials to sponsored sports games they were involved in a Hollywood production of the 19th 007 film. This film became the feature of the Z8 sports car that was operated by remote control and other technical features. This was a cross promotion project overtaken by BMW and accomplished world-wide success with TV commercials, print ads and displays in BMW showrooms. The global publicity communicated through this promotion project attracts more buyers into show rooms but more importantly to other BMW models.
The success levels that BMW has achieved not only in Britain but also internationally helps to bring more consumer confidence for expenditure. The trends that I have elucidated also plays a major part for increased sales and more importantly their overall strategy for each year.
FIG. 2
The UK market share has been doing very good for BMW but also for the economy as the share price has been increasing annually yet giving the company another boost from rivals. A advantage for a limited company would be that they would be able to maximise profits on the stock exchange.
FIG.3
As problems loomed during 1989 as it has been a downward trend as shares have fell annually but yet has met his demise and it has been increasing ever-since.
FIG.4
Activities for a business involves communication whether it be internal as face to face with a workers in the business or external that could be advertising to customers on products. They might even have daily activities as talking to an advisor in a retail store. So whether it is a small or big business they are both situated in some form activity. The most important from the two is external, as this would determine the success of the company. This section includes the activities that my two chosen businesses have to go through to become more successful.
BMW
INTERNAL-communication
There are many different activities that take part inside the business whether that being on a daily or weekly basis. These activities may be informing employees on changes or a face to face conversation with a manager. This may be orders or giving instructions out of the memorandum or training employees. The BMW directors may want to influence the different showrooms with new ideas or services so that profit could be maximised.
EXTERNAL-communication
The most important external conversation is with customers this would determine the success of the company. This may advertise new vehicles on offer on TV or on local billboards or even on the Internet. This would play a fair amount in business activity as they offer their services to the public and rely on them if they want to maximise profits. Telephone conversations with suppliers would be done regularly to drop off BMW parts and vehicles. This would also be important as every company would want6 to offer their customers the best possible service, as customers would not be very happy if their vehicles were delayed. There would be mass conversations between employers and supervisors that is situated with every business on a daily basis.
SALES & MARKETING
The sales of the showroom would consist of selling BMW car-parts, vehicles and offering after sales service with vehicles like guarantees. This is a reason to why private limited businesses exist. Meaning offering a variety of services to customers. Marketing research helps to increase sales as the company serves the public so it would be vital to endeavour in feedback. BMW consistently offer questionnaires for customers or any setbacks they may have with their vehicles. Marketing has changed dramatically for the company as they look to more sufficient ways to advertise as they sponsor FI and great rugby events. So marketing strategy is very vital as this would play in part to communicating with customers and also stakeholders who may want to invest inside the business. This is a key business activity, as they would rely on sales and marketing strategy to maximise profits. For any business gaining profits is a high priority as the businesses look to gain as much profit as possible so the amount of sales made will determine how much profit they are making. If BMW were failing to meet sales targets they may incur in financial debts whether that is paying bills or suppliers. A way that businesses prevent this by happening is by marketing strategy so sales and marketing come hand in hand for the business making it a key activity.
CUSTOMER SERVICES
Customers services have changed dramatically mostly because of great competition with rivals to offer their customers the best possible service. Business that want to become more successful will look at their customer's services and find ways to how they can improve them for the customers and keep them above rival services. All showrooms have located service point and also offer after sales support when ever need to customers. As from personally visiting the showroom they have much relevant information on all cars and even competitors vehicles as they said this would help the buyer have a much greater understanding of the BMW whole car itself. They offer many different types of guarantees to customers to all vehicles as they would be insured for a lengthy period where all damage costs are paid for.
FINANCE
Wages of the employees will not be a major issue on the business activity as the showroom will not have may people working their but would have to deal with wages on a weekly basis. But more importantly they would regularly look at their financial state with profit and loss and determine how well the showroom is doing and compared to other car showrooms. The m angers of the company would look in great detail to how they are doing and will come up with suggestions or ideas to the next meeting and see what can be done to be more successful. They may feel they have less staff and might want to employ more people during peak times or consequently sack un-productive employees.
TRANSPORT
Suppliers who may be situated nearby or quite far from the showroom will be involved in the business activity as it would be their duty to deliver all demanded goods on time to the showroom. The supplier would not have a direct involvement in business activity but would play a part in the showroom business. As goods arriving late will not only look bad for BMW but also the supplying company as BMW may want to find another more trustworthy company who will deliver goods on time.
MANUFACTURING
The BMW showrooms would rely on the manufacturing process to help them in their activity. The showroom would almost dictate on the manufacturer as the amounts of cars produced by the processing company would determine how many cars they would have for sale. By this I mean if the manufacturing sector cannot deliver processed cars on a certain date to the showroom this may decrease expenditure by customers so the manufacturing process is vital for the company. As the manufactures would be indirectly involved in the business activity it would up to them to produce the vehicles for the showroom to sell them.
EMPLOYMENT & STAFF MEETINGS
Employment would not be a major issue but staff meeting would be regularly be kept to have a better insight to what the employees think on how well the business is doing. As feedback would be vital from customers its just as important to gain information from inside the business. Their might be meeting from head managers from each showrooms where they would meet other showroom managers from across the UK where they might influence each other on different techniques and strategy's of vehicle selling. I personally think this is important as you cannot sell a product to which you are suited and you then find the public aren't. So gaining feedback would help the business come to a necessary compromise and help keep conflict at minimal.
SPONSORSHIP EVENTS
Sponsorship events are a common in business activity as this would help build up a better name for the company and make the business more known to the outside public. BMW has sponsored various events and become a trend for the company. They have sponsored rugby and F1 racing events and other events that have through time become involved in the business activity.
REFUSE COLLECTION
BMW has minimal amounts of re-cycling needs as it is a showroom but will be involved on a daily basis. These may be throwing away un-wanted boxes from parts that may have been delivered to the store or it could be throwing away fax's that have been sent to the showroom by other companies. Building a good reputation for the company is vital so if the business shows they are environmentally friendly this would increase reputation. This may result in more people interested to have a stake inside the business because how they are run or they are happy with the company reputations. So this becomes more and more important as the company would want to look better than rivals reputation wise so it really depends on what extent the business is going to go to build up a successful reputation that will have many positive attributes attached.
CO-OP
INTERNAL-communication
This activity takes place on a daily basis as this will help inform colleagues on any changes, it may be orders a supervisor gives to his staff who may work in a particular area of the retail outlet like the bred department. So this could be anything from instructions to a telling off that would be communicated face to face. These activities would help increase productivity levels, as feedback is a good way of sorting out small or big problems that may occur with workers or managers. So this generally helps keep the working atmosphere inside the business at a high. As co-op would not like their workers complaining or going on strike for various reasons as this would have disastrous effects on the business.
EXTERNAL-communication
These activities are very important as this will help make or break a company. These activities may include advertising as Co-op do to some extent, offering Internet services like shopping on the web instead of visiting the store, sponsorship of local charities. External communication is vital to inform customers on new products & services to which they can buy. However, it may also be a telephone conversation with suppliers for ordering products or for an emergency if the shop were to run out of a certain selling product. This type of activity will help bring more customers into the shops, having all products delivered before opening times and keep the shop above rivals. This might not be done on a daily basis as the Co-op store is not very big in size but would be done to attract more customers in the Evington area.
SALES & MARKETING
As Co-op sells many different products from groceries to toiletries it could be a reason to why they are a co-operative company. As Co-op main objective is to help communities from selling products at relatively low price compared to other retail outlets in other nearby areas like the city-centre. Marketing strategy mainly done through feedback from customers on many different questions. It may be how well their shop is set out, product prices, customer services and also any ides for future developments. They may also gain feedback from their own staff to see if the managers have any good ideas or if they have any complaints on the way the shop is run. Again this is a key activity, as even any business would rely on sales and good marketing strategy to raise profits. This is a very important and key element for business success and to escape bankruptcy.
CUSTOMER SERVICES
The activities of the co-operative group range from food to finance and provide buying, marketing, distribution and services to other co-operative societies. At all Co-op stores they have a section for customer service point to help prevent angry customers or return any UN-wanted goods. They also have other ways to increase their revenue by offering home insurance, guarantee on much merchandise and the Internet banking system.
FINANCE
This may include wages of employees, waste, profit and even loses. It is very important for a business to regularly check all their financial information to see how well they are performing and to see if they financially stable. The Co-op waste will be controlled to how, much they lose in the business. The profit and loss is looked at on a daily basis outlook-involving supervisor to see how well the department is doing and to think of new ideas to increase profits. There could be an incident which a wine department is not to subsidised productivity levels because of too much staff so the supervisor would look into that try sort out the problem even if it means to make workers redundant.
TRANSPORT
Distribution and home delivery are too of the most common activities involved with Co-op. The distribution of the big articulate lorries that have the big Co-op log, home delivery that supermarkets have all become involved in and personal banking. These activities will help bring more customers to the shop on a weekly basis as they offer more than the usual service. So the customers might now decide to come more frequently because they may be involved in personal banking. So variety of services offered will yet again optimise profits.
AGRICULTURE
This is very important activity for the Co-operative because activities for any supermarket include selling products such as fruit and vegetables. So Co-op relies on their members that are the farmers. As shops try to offer more variety to customers it would not be a good image if the shop had limited types of vegetables. There many different laws and acts that play a part in business activity as consumer protection has great powers over traders.
* FISHING- there involvement here will be because it relies on other sources for fresh fish.
* FORESTRY- they may rely on farmers to give them plants and flowers
* MINING COAL- this may be coal that is sold in supermarkets.
This type of activity is indirectly involved with Co-op, as their activity is to sell products and services. But the products they sell do come from such agriculture firms so its important and the Co-op would rely on the business to bring certain needed products. So all three of these play a part in the Co-op activity. As the Co-op is quite small and if customers visit the store and see half the shelves empty it wont help customers from shopping there again. As variety would give the buyer more choice it would be important activity to include agricultur.
MANUFACTURING
This includes the equipment they use for products in store. As they will need shelf stack material, cleaning equipment. As the store is not very big it usually has everything delivered to store. So much manufacturing will take place out of the store.
EMPLOYMENT & STAFF MEETINGS
As in any retail business it's important to have human resources in this day and age. As running a business of this scale and ownership it would be easier to employ workers. Employment inside the shop will be tackled by a personnel manager and take care of this activity. Terms and conditions by law state workers must be trained so it would be the manager's job to look into this and give if needed training. This may also be the rights of the employee including your holiday dates, sick pay, over-time. This as any other type of agreement needs to be signed by the employee and even the employer. This agreement has to be signed as contract for ale it would be working pretences. A regular activity for different managers, individuals giving and gaining feed back. In a meeting they would discuss mission statement for each sector and also talk about new and up rising development. It would be the manager's job to structure and carry out meetings for each department, managers and employees.
COMMUNITY EVENTS & CHARITY SPONSORSHIP
Participating in this activity would give the company a good name around the area they are in if they sponsor or have raised money for local charities. One of the most common fundraisers taken part annually by the Evington road shop is Children In Need. As they raised much money for the good cause. Participation in activities would unable a monopoly for the company as people would recognise the good deeds the Co-op has done and there is a good chance of the public visiting there stores. So these activities would be common but it wouldn't be tackled on a daily or weekly basis but would be done depending on what cause it is for.
ENVIROMENTAL MANAGEMENT
As charities and fundraisers are a good way to boost company figures and name environmental issues have the same effects if tackled right. But this is not necessarily true as it may enhance image in short term but it may also increase profits long term so its important to be involved in this as it would have short and long term affects.
In this section I will analyse the key factors to why location managers choose to locate their business in a particular area. I have broken the location facts into different sub-headings, as this would give a better insight to why location is chosen.
BMW
For BMW I've chosen to look at a Leicester showroom, as it would help demonstrate and assess the reasons why BMW have situated them in that area.
INFRASTRUCTURE
As from observing the map it shows the showroom is located near busy motorway links reaching from Nottingham to south London. The area situated has much car drivers who will be consistently driving up and down the motorway and may spot the showroom. So the situated area is directly to the customers that it is trying to attract and by visiting the located area personally it is evident that the showroom is very big and can be seen for quite some distance. The location is easy accessible for customers who may want to visit the showroom and also being near the city centre it would not be very hard to find. It also allocated on the main road so passers-by would be able to see the showroom and cars on display. As it's the only BMW showroom in Leicester it would not be very hard to find as not only being very big, or near major motorway links it is located near the city centre so there would be easy to find the showroom location. So the infrastructure around the location has played a part on deciding whereabouts would be good to locate the showroom and has tackled many of the major difficulties on easy accessibility and customer range.
GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
As the location is near the city centre it would not be far reach from most communities who may live near the city centre district. It would be in reach of city centre so people may decide to go have a look at the showroom before they head home. The area around the showroom has mostly retail parks attracting more customers into that area. This would also give monopoly to BMW, as other showrooms are not situated near that particular area. So this would not bring much rivalry for BMW minimising cost for frequent advertising and anything else that would help them keep above rivals in that located area. This would keep costs at a minimal because the less need frequent advertising and cut prices to keep above rivals so financially it would help keep the capital high.
COST OF SITE
The cost of the site would be fairly high as the location is near city centre but would not be as high. This location here is more well suited to attract customers, easy accessible for all customers as this is the only BMW showroom in Leicester. So this may have been a factor of placing the showroom in this area. The actual running cost of the showroom including gas, water electricity will be less expensive than plotting the showroom in the city centre. That would help keep running cost low and help spend money in other areas like refurbishment. If BMW ever decide to extend the showroom the price would differ than in the city centre.
LABOUR
This would not be a very important factor, as not many people need to be employed so this would not play an important factor for location. But the few workers who may need to come to work would not find it to hard as the area is accessible by frequent buses who run by that route to city centre. So there many means of transport that passes and comes by the location.
PREMISIS
Planning permission would not be a problem for the BMW showroom as the location is away from big public societies and housing but more importantly from city centre. The location advisor may of thought of the location to their advantage as they would not have much problems to extend in the near future if needed. That is another reason to why businesses always think of the future as well as the present as this would help the company's success rate.
SUPPLIERS
The location advisor for BMW has also taken into the account the suppliers, as they would need to bring and take goods. As the links near by the accessibility for the suppliers would be good and also time keeping as there four to five different routes to reach the showroom area. Locally there would not be many problems as there is a time limit for vehicles to pass on a certain time would not bring many disturbances to BMW. As they would order vehicles, parts so it wouldn't make it difficult for the company for suppliers to know what day they would need the products. Also taking into account that some of the suppliers are companies in and around the city centre who are licensed to make BMW car/motorbike parts. Supplier's accessibility has been taken into account, as they would play a part in the BMW activity not much directly but to supply all wanted goods and help keep the BMW at its high. By this I am implementing that customers would not be very happy if they were told that their chosen vehicle would arrive on a certain date but has not because of being held up in traffic as this would show poor qualities the BMW offer. But more importantly they are a private limited company who offer services to the public and it would not be very professional not being able to supply demands on time.
ACTIVITIES
The main objective for the BMW showroom is to sell either the complete range of BMW cars & parts or the range of motorcycles. They also provide after sales services to their customers such as vehicle or motorcycle insurance, bodywork guarantees and also upgrades from old models. They also advertise on local radio stations, newspapers and even on the news. They're also activities that take part on a daily basis both external and internal that you will read about later on. As in America most businesses situate in retail parks this concept in the last 10 years has become very popular in UK. Trends indicate a slump from city centre shopping to retail parks. This could be because businesses find that theirs less major competition whereas in the city centre they would not only have to compete with high street names but also small traders. So competition would be limited meaning less reductions needed to be made ending in more profit annually. It would be easier to gain planning permissions rather than in the city centre but more importantly the actual start up and running cost will be minimal compared to city centre locations. Many businesses are acknowledging the positive points of placing a outlet near or in retail parks as many customers prefer to visit somewhere closer to home, less hassle for travelling to one shop to another and basically its not as time consuming for customers to visit retail parks. That is one of the numerous reasons of why BMW have placed their showroom near retail parks as this would not only help them gain customers who are travelling from and back from the city centre but also retail park customers.
CO-OP
I have chosen to look at one particular co-operative retail shop to investigate what reasons why Co-op have chosen to locate themselves in a particular area. I heave decided to look into the local Co-op retail shop near my house on Evington Road and to determine the what reasons the Co-operative location group have chosen this spot from many other locations.
INFRASTRUCTURE
When a company locates a shop in areas they take into account the customers and also workers. A regular bus service runs across Evington road so it would be easy for customers who live quite far to catch a bus home. This could be a reason that may have been taken into account and people on the bus will also see the Co-op signs also giving the shop a source of advertising. There is also a taxi firm nearby so it has other than I theme of transport for customers who live further down or up the road. Also Co-op managing director has thought about the future success of Co-op and does know about new flats being built on the road. This will help bring in, more customers on a daily basis. The customers in the area are families and university students. So both types of customers will spend much money in the shop and as the there is not any direct competition they would need to travel far to buy the same goods as in Co-op.
GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
Other factors that play apart in location will be the customers but Co-op has located the shop near population centres. As you can see from the map it has easy access for all people who live in both sides of Evington road and it is also situated near other important services as banks and post office. Services like these are very busy everyday and having Co-op in this area will help bring in more customers, as this is a very busy road day and late at night. This could have also been why it's situated in this area, as it will be busy all day. Competition is also low in the area so management and development team would have taken into judgement of competition level. This would be low with rivals because of the location and stops any direct competition. This gives Co-op direct 'monopoly' so they control the area base.
Figure 1
SOURCE: LABOUR FORCE SURVEY
It is vital to gain all vital statistics towards how well customers are doing in a particular area, as this would help the location advisor to know how well each area is doing.
COST OF SITE
The cost site would be less expensive than in the city centre and that would make Co-op into direct competition with rivals and that would mean more money being used to stay above rivals. Would not be as expensive as it is situated near community housing. The shop is not a very big shop so the prices would also be low but it would be expensive because of the area it is in. as this road is really busy has various different shops. The running cost of insurance will not be high because of the situated area like if it was in the city centre that would increase insurance and expansion costs.
LABOUR
The labour would not be hard to find as it is situated near the local community so finding employees would not be a hard problem. This could be a reason to which Co-op had taken into account so that punctuality would be no problem, as this could play apart in less stock being put onto shelves. So it would be easy for workers to travel to work everyday and would stop much hassle what retail companies would like to ignore. The productivity level will be high, no excuses for being late in traffic. As Co-op core objective for the community is to help them out the team have seen the employment rate in the area and are helping people for every ethnic background to earn a living e.g. help single mothers or students. So overall it helps the society.
PREMISES
Permission for the chosen site would not be hard to gain, as the area has not got an efficient supermarket so permission would not be difficult. But also taking into account the huge publicity that Co-op attracts in communities would not cause problems for the group as they help rural communities. As the shop is not very big I would not cause many problems with deliveries as all deliveries are done in the morning when traffic is at a minimal. But they had terms and conditions set by the permission consultant to what times they can receive deliveries. But this would not be important as the shop is not very big and many daily needs as bread and milk will be serviced by near by businesses.
SUPPLIERS
Suppliers would have easy access to the shop, as they would have nearby suppliers for everyday needed products as bread and milk. So it would not be a problem for local suppliers to have easy access e.g. Walkers crisp, Warburtons. So basically it would be for easy reach for deliveries. So it would not really be a problem for Co-op for needing much stock each day, as it is not that big and everyday needed material will be from nearby sectors. It would be easy accessible for near by suppliers (deliveries) this will enable stock to arrive on time so that the customer has a variety of stock to choose from. This will also allow deliveries to be made on time without any hassle of the city centre traffic.
ACTIVITIES
The activities for Co-op are to sell products and services to the public. The products differ from vegetables to washing powder. They offer essential goods for everyone and for the home. They offer an Internet shopping service to customers of the elderly or people who are very busy and not have much time to go shopping. They also have an in store customer service point to help customers with unwanted goods and any faults. I am not sure on the estimated length of time that the outlet has been located where it is years ago. But from asking many individuals I have been told it has been they're for quite some time. This has over the years helped Co-op become part of the community and in the early days customers would use local stores as only option available. Many people many years ago never owned a car so it would not have been easy for them so travel to other shopping locations such as in city centre.
Stakeholders would have a keen interest on how well a business performs. This maybe when a customer has brought a product or service. This is much different from a shareholder, as they would have a share in the business instead of buying a good or service. The term stake in business terms implements his inters in the business. It is also important to know that stakeholders may also influence the business, as they might not like on how a business is being ran.
BMW
INSIDE THE BUSINESS
Their many different types of influence that change and influences that change business activity. As you may know stakeholders influence business activity but they are influenced in different ways. Employees in the business would change some ways to how business is run. This is why PLC would have group meetings with superiors to management and employees. This would gain necessary feedback for how the business is ran on a daily activity. They might want to help change the layout of the showroom or even have a say in any new showroom ideas. The BMW management might want to gain some feedback on any new ideas they might want to put into place for instance new advertising methods. There have been many current interests because of changes that occur in the business. As different trends have helped the business to increase profits annually this has brought more expectations for the business to do better. So it would be necessary for the business to gain feedback from all stakeholders inside the business. As time progresses expectations would rise but also interests as more and more people may want to have a stake inside the business. So it would be vital to keep expectations high as this would keep employees to management happy.
OUTSIDE THE BUSINESS
One of the most important stakeholders who are not directly involved in the business is the customer because they would determine the success of the company. As PLC would offers products and services to the customers so it would be vital for them to buy the vehicles. As competition rises between rivals customers would have more interests on how companies are adapting to changes with trends and through time. Many customers who have already brought a product from the company may have an interest on how they are looked after whether that being after sales support or exchange to other BMW models. Suppliers who would deliver models to the showroom would be interested on how many models they sell, as this would put the suppliers in some financial situation if they rely on BMW showroom sales. So they may have keen interests and obviously keen expectations for the business to progress in a positive way, as this would help the suppliers and more importantly the car-manufacturing sector. They to will have an interest in the business but not just one showrooms but overall the amount of sales produced by the BMW showroom. The Government will have interest and expectations for the whole sector as set guide line are set to which they need to follow. This would be the memorandum they have to abide by. So expectations would be high from the government as the British economy relies on how well business do in the UK so they might want to step in if any problems occur like what happened with Railtrack. The Railtrack was under-invested so the government have been trying to sort the company out by giving loans and grants. So if any problems like this were to occur with car-manufacturing sector the government may want to help the business from bankruptcy.
CO-OP
INSIDE THE BUSINESS
Many people inside the business would have a keen interest on how the business may be ran or are unhappy with any business operations. Employees might not be happy or may have an idea to help the business operation, as they are part of the business activity. In many retailers outlets they would complaint box where employees can stress their problems and also by meetings. As Co-op being co-operative this would be very important, as everyone would work together to reach agreements. The management community will be interested on how the shop is ran and may want to change some areas for the better. The management will be interested in how the shop is doing financially as they may want to change the business activity so that they can have maximum profit in sales. They might want to sack workers if they feel this is weakness for the company. Franchises will be interested on how their products are doing in the shop, as they would receive a profit from overall sales for the product. So they might come to check their products are doing so this activity from franchises will have a stake in the business. So everyone involved in running the business will have a interest on the business as this may help conflict kept minimum whether that being with employees or even managers. Consultation is another widely used methods that involve asking groups for opinions and advice on the business activity.
OUTSIDE THE BUSINESS
There is a wide range of interest outside the business that varies from customers to the government. Customers would keep a key interest ion the business as they might be a daily customer so they might want to know about the business operation latest offers on products. Market research is vital to gain more confidence for consumer spending as you might questions they most buy and then what they least buy. This would be to extent compared to other stakeholders as competitors, creditors like banks and suppliers. Competitors will like to know how the Co-op is doing, as they might want to match the prices on most products so that more people visit their shop rather than Co-op. Competitors stake in the business is very different to customers as they have only got a interest on the structure of the business and pricing of the products but would not be stakeholders in the business. Suppliers who would be delivering products to the store on a daily basis would have a interest in the business becaus4e if Co-op don't sell much products this would mean less supplies need so that would cause much problems for suppliers. If Co-op all of a sudden didn't need many supplies this might mean financial problems for suppliers depending on how well they are doping as a business. The local community would be interested on how well the business is tasking case of pollution matters including rubbish, as they would be living in the area. So the company would try to keep conflict minimum by becoming more environmentally friendly by recycling and re-using shelves or boxes for storage. This would help limit the amount of complaints by the local community, as this would be bad for business to have a bad reputation. Ass deliveries are all done in morning town this would help decrease complaints as commuters would not like to be held up by Co-op suppliers. Government would be interested in business operation as the UK economy relies on how well each sector does so the government would be interested on any changes and may even offer grants. As from the collapse of the rail track their government has taken over by changing the ownership and giv9ing more money into the company. So this shows on how the government would get involved in business activity as they would want many problems occurring.
STAKEHOLDERS OVERALL CONCLUSION
The shareholders will remain the same for many organisations as they would have the same interests on how well the company is doing financially and what steps the are taking to become more successful. With my two examples there is a slight difference in customer expectations. The main difference is that of the interest of the products they are buying. BMW stakeholders concerning the customers would want to buy a product that is worth the amount of money they are spending. They would have more concerns in the vehicle itself they are about to buy or have brought. This contrast to the Co-op stakeholders as they would care more on variety of different products and price they are paying as the shop is located for the local community so the pricing of products and variety would be the most common interest. The BMW on the other hand would have much more interest as they are paying a larger sum of money for a vehicle so they might want to change the internal layout of the car like having leather seats put in. So the interests of customers would be dissimilar for both my examples. The suppliers would have same interests, as they would want them to use the supplying service regularly. But their would be some differences on how the suppliers influence the business activity as the BMW suppliers would tell the company what to supply and when whereas the Co-op suppliers would offer them more products to sell. So conclusively the customers would have different interest for both my examples for the stakeholders and would be the most important.
The term P.E.S.T has major influences on business activity as this shows influences that affect a business. The pest term is broken up of four areas:
* P- government use taxation and legislation to influence business activities
* E- our economic environment is influenced by domestic economic policies & dependant on world trade
* S- social factors such as behaviour of society, demographic changes like population & age
* T- technological factors as developments in manufacturing techniques and business process
BMW
POLITICAL INFLUENCES
The most common influence by the government would be the use of taxation and legislation. These activities disturb the financial accounts of the business, as they would need to give a certain amount back into the community where the money would be spent on public transport or on the NHS. There are also laws and acts that influences BMW activity as there are legal requirements a business has to abide by as that being consumer protection laws such as false advertisement as this would mean more money to be spent to abide by the set law rules. Also trained professionals who have good understanding of all BMW models and also on after support services. So any employee in the showroom will be fully trained so that they can deal with all customers. So this would influence business activity, as they would need to spend time on training their staff so that they can be equipped to deal with customers. All political influences like these makes BMW spend more money on abiding by these rules including the productivity rate on a whole. So this would influence the business as the they are legally bound and if they were not carry out these it may lead to the loss of license. Other taxation they would incur would be the local council tax so this would also influence the business activity.
ECONOMIC FACTORS
The UK economic environment is influenced by domestic economic policies and is dependant on world economic trends. These trends may be the decline of the manufacturing sector as more companies are coming part of the tertiary sector this would influence the business activity for the company. As the BMW relies on the manufacturing of its products and if that is in decline it may result in longer waiting times for a specialised BMW models. Other factors as the rate of growth, inflation, car registration patterns and income distribution will determine the nature of car vehicles and services required by the public. As mentioned before the British economy shows to be going downhill but many sectors show have had a boost to public expenditure so trends may bring a positive knock on effect but it could also been seen to have brought a some misfortune for some industry and companies. As there is less people in the manufacturing sector this has lead into the decline of metal works for vehicle manufacturing a trend that causes great influences in the BMW activity. If rates of inflation were to rise this would lead to a decline income distribution will be low, this would cause a decline in vehicle expenditure. All these factors more commonly known as trends may have brutal knock effects because of decline some industries or even industry. But in some cases it may be high expenditure but it really depends on how hard an industry is hit or how well some companies are doing.
SOCIAL FACTORS
The behaviour of society would influence a business as demographic changes such as population growth, movements and age district ions may differ the business activity. As the main objective of the BMW is to sell BMW vehicles and if there is a radical change in cultural values, social trends such as family size and social behaviour will all influence a business activity. But theses social factors will not bring much problems for BMW as they are the only BMW showroom in Leicester so people have no choice than having to go the shop to buy one there models or car parts.
TECHNOLOGY FACTORS
Technology plays a good and part in business activity. As technology has taken off to great lengths in the last ten years it has helped BMW bring their success into new heights. It has helped develop new ways and techniques of car manufacturing, brought great competition in the sector. The more use of technology has help bring the manufacturing into decline. There are numerous reasons towards this as computers have replaced labour and now companies have look to abroad to manufacture products. Technology has had a knock on effect on the sector as once what an employee would have to do is now replaced by a machine. The decline of the manufacturing sector has brought the productivity of vehicles slow as car buyers may need to wait longer for certain models. But it has also helped BMW build up brand image and many other factor of business activity on a daily basis. Technology has ease communications, facilities, service and ultimately improved customer services. So in many ways it influence the business but it may bring good or bad effects but I personally think I has helped BMW come to new lengths on the whole car manufacture and brings the designing of cars to new lengths and heights. Technology has help decrease the use of expensive materials so that they can be produced for cheaper, less workers needed so lees money is being spent on labour. So these are the main factors of how technology has affected BMW directly and the sectors that it works with in the whole CAR manufacturing service.
CO-OP
POLITICAL INFLUENCES
The influences here are much the same to the BMW as Co-op are also influenced by planning Permission, consumer protection Acts, council and taxation. Other legal conditions that influence the business activity as by Law employees are allowed a 15 minute break every 4 hours as this would effect the productivity rate if workers are constantly going for a break constantly in different departments depending on how many people are working. This would affect the business activity, as they would not like workers having to go on a break on certain times where they might be very busy and may need all the workers they need so this might bring negative effects for the business. The staff have be trained before they are allowed to work in a certain sectors as a worker who is working in a fresh food department he must have a hygiene certificate that would unable to work in that sector. So laws of parliament and acts would stop traders from the daily business so this would influences the business activity. If Co-op were to extend their shop anymore they would need receive planning permission then they would need to show a mapping of the new designed area and then it will be decided if it will go ahead or not. Consumer protection plays a good part in Co-ops services, as they would need to abide my certain rules of selling products. These would influence the business, as they would have certain requirement they would need to abide by. Some example could be that they would need to have trained professional to deal with customers and any queries they may have to inquire.
ECONMICAL FACTORS
As the economical environment is influenced by economic patterns and world trends, this will determine the nature of products or service required by customers. As the latest problems occurred with the foot & mouth this had brought beef consumption at his low because of the mass scare of contraction. This had played a part in influences on expenditure in supermarkets and has had a knock on effect. This would influence business activity as this a product that Co-op sell and has decreased the sale for that certain product. The decline of mining, fishing and forestry has also influenced the business activity as all British raw materials are sold in UK supermarkets so this would also disturb business operation as before these declines it was being brought but now after the decline it has changed the business activity. As the September 11th has influenced the whole of the British economy it has influenced the tertiary sector to its advantage as public spending has risen because of what happens. The economical factors may play a positive and negative effect on business activity depending on how directly the business is involved in different activities.
SOCIAL FACTORS
The behaviour of society effects the business operation in different ways depending on the social changes at the time. The changes of population growth will play a part in how much the store will earn because more people in the area would mean more profit for Co-op. The movement and district ion in areas would also be play a part in the activity. Depending on what age groups are situated in the located area and the movement of people, as people would past away and new people would move into the area. As Co-op are aiming to serve families and if the area were populated with mostly young couple it would not bring much profit depending on if they have children. As parents with no kids would not need to visit the shop on a regularly basis than with kids. So the age district ion in the area may affect the business activity depending on their status. The changes of different culture's in a area may affect the business activity because of the different type of food they eat and as many cultures have their restrictions on what not to and what to eat. Family size as mentioned before would affect the business but really depends if they have a large family, as these customers would need to visit the shop more regularly. Social behaviour like crime rate might decrease the amount of people to move into the area, as they might fear for their safety. This would influence the business intensely as this would mean more tight security around the premises so that customers feel safer shopping there. This would effect the activist as they would need bring methods of dealing with these social whether that being CCTV'S or security guard to protect the shop from intruders. Other social changes as more younger people moving into the area might affect the business as they might need to refurbish the shop to attract the right customers who have moved into the area so this would also influence the business activity.
TECHNOLOGY FACTORS
Technology in supermarkets has helped the service to be much faster and swifter either that being for faster service when customers buying good or when they are checking stock it can all be done on the computer. As Co-op is not very big the technology has been to its advantage as they have more time to serve customers as what jobs were once doing it can now be done by computer or scanners at the till. It has also helped the productivity level at a high rate as now much of the financial figure are all stored on computers, earnings, profits can all be stored into computers again helping the productivity level. So the technological equipment is very cost effective for the business activity as it not increases performance it speeds up productivity.
This part covers the comparisons between both business and the different point of views of the customers, shareholders and suppliers.
BMW is involved in selling and the manufacturing of their own vehicles, parts and motorcycles. Whereas the Co-op is still involved in selling products/goods but also sell food/drink products such as bread, butter, liquor, milk and tinned food. The ownership is different so they would have different ways to run the business and the activity would vary. BMW relies on all profits made from selling their vehicles, servicing, parts and finance of the purchase whereas Co-op counts on all profits made by the whole group. The group includes banking, funeral services, farming and other services so the comparison here is that Co-op would not only rely on profits made my each service but also turnover profits overall by the group that is shared between members. The most effective comparison here is that BMW is profit motivated unlike Co-op which are a business who sell reasonable priced products for communities in low-income areas.
Customer's points of view will be counted very important for the business, so their views would count vastly because they are the people who would buy goods/products from both businesses. Both businesses would try their best to offer the best possible goods and services to keep them happy. This would disclose conflict between the business and the customers as conflict could damage company reputation and amount of goods sold hence affecting the turnover profit. BMW customers would want their vehicles to be of high quality and would want great service including insurance, free services like body repairs and free MOT. While Co-op consumers would want their food products to be of good hygiene and the prices to be affordable. The customer's views would vary because of the type of products and services they both offer. Customers of the Co-op would care more about the daily activity and how the Co-op keeps to reasonable prices, as the main objective is to serve the local communities. On the other hand the views differ even more as BMW customers would care more about the long-time commitment from the business as vehicles is not something u eat so their would be more depth of a view on after-sales services.
The shareholders of the BMW would have great interests on how much vehicles are sold throughout the UK. They would also care on how well the business is doing in each area and what is going to be done to make it profitable which leads to increased expenditure of customers. The shareholders might have a big stake in their local BMW showroom, so they might have many ideas and views they would want to put forward these contrasts from the Co-op, as they have no shareholders. The reason they differ is because of the ownership. A PLC company allows the shareholders to have a less great say than with Co-op, as the business is co-operative and run by its members that have no shareholders. The members of the Co-op would have equal say to anyone else involved inside the business.
The suppliers for both companies would share the same interests in the sense they would want regular goods ordered from both businesses. The BMW suppliers would bring BMW products from their own manufacturing firms. This is different from the Co-op suppliers, as the business would buy a variety of products from different companies. So suppliers would still want both businesses to order goods regularly but differ according to the company. But Co-op do tend to sell their own branded products so there is not much liability so the different brand suppliers and contrasts with BMW showroom.
