P4)
For this criteria I shall be looking at how the organisation structure helps the business to achieve its aims and purpose. I will then explain how strategic planning helps the business to achieve their purpose and aims.
Metro
Metros organisational structure helps the business to achieve its purpose and aims set by making roles for employees to work in. The roles will differ in order of importance and this will help the business to categorise activities that are more likely to give the business different successful opportunities in the future.
Metros strategic planning helps the business to achieve its aims and purposes by providing a direct plan for staff to focus on objectives. A strategic plan overall produces a work plan for staff to follow so goals and achievements can be successful for opportunities in the future.
Wood Green Library
An organisational structure will helps the business to achieve its purpose and aims by providing job roles for the employees to work in and this will provide the customers with a service to use.
Strategic planning helps the library to achieve its aims and purposes because it allows the business to produce a work plan for the employees to follow so they can meet their plans for the future.
P5)
For this unit I shall be researching how the different economic business environments affect Sainsbury’s and Chrysler
Sainsbury’s is one of the world leading supermarket industries that sell everyday needs, Sainsbury’s head office is located in England in Holborn
Recession
Recession is a general slowdown in economic activity over a period of time longer than a few months.
The United Kingdom was affected by the recession. Recession hit the United Kingdom in January 2009. Many people decreased their shopping and decided to only buy necessitates and no luxuries as they could not afford it. As Britain got hit by the recession many thought Sainsbury’s would struggle but surprisingly they fought back against the recession, unveiling full-year profits, up more than 11% at £543m.
Sainsbury’s customers bought more of their own branded products instead of
The other branded products. Sainsbury’s say “Our own label is as good as, if not better than, the leading brand, and 20% cheaper. So our tomato ketchup has 40% more tomatoes, 60% less salt, 30% less sugar and is nearly half the price of the leading brand . . .”
Sainsbury’s ketchup sales have gone up by 140%.
Sainsbury’s believe that this is why they were not affected by the recession, because although their customers did not buy branded products their own branded sales increased massively. Sainsbury’s think that their customers trust their own labels more than others.
Competition
This is when there is a contest with two or more organisations. Sainsbury’s main competitors are Tesco, ASDA, Morrison and Waitrose. In the past five years it has been lowered in ranking against other competitors in the supermarket industry and then raised again.
Sainsbury’s got complaints that their bakery section is not as good as their competitors; Sainsbury took this in to consideration and improved their recipes to the customer’s standards.
Competitors affect Sainsbury’s sales, for example their competitors can persuade the customers that their prices are cheaper than Sainsbury’s and this will lead to the customers moving on to their business.
Chrysler
Chrysler is a U.S.-based automobile manufacturer their headquartered is in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Recession
The recession hit Chrysler hard as they had a $207 million second-quarter loss. The recession was said to have started in December 2007 in the United Sates.
Chrysler was affected by the recession and many workers lost their job. One of the workers said ‘people are scared’ the workers did not have job security and could lose their job at any minute. Almost 700 workers lost their job.
Chrysler reduced its net loss in the third quarter to a net loss of $84 million. Chrysler’s profits have risen again after predicting a negative cash flow. Chrysler found that consumer’s demands are slow to recover.
Chrysler could not pay off their debts no more and joined General motors. Both General Motors and Chrysler became bankrupt and had to sell the business.
Chrysler has the longest road to recover from last year’s bankruptcy for Chrysler and General Motors.
Competition
Chrysler has many competitors their main competitors are Ford, Vauxhall, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mazda, and Toyota.
These businesses are continuously improving their cars. Chrysler’s sales would be much higher if they had no competition.
Their main competition is VW as they are cheaper and their cars are advertised more also their cars are more eco-friendly as it uses less petrol with a bigger sized engine even though it has all the factors of a smaller engine.
Both Sainsbury’s and Chrysler were affected by the recession even though it was in different countries. Chrysler is in the United Stated and Sainsbury’s in the U.K. they were both affected in different ways Sainsbury’s was affected positively as sales have increased and their profit however Chrysler was affected negatively as the company went bankrupt and made millions of pounds of loss.
Chryslers sales decreased took them long to recover as they were hit hard by the recession. Sainsbury’s were really excited as they increased their sales rapidly. They are more than confident especially that their main competition Tesco’s sales fell by 1.8%.
Chrysler was not prepared for a recession but then again this was the first recession since 1991. Neither was Sainsbury’s but as they already sold their own branded products they were already prepared, by selling a cheaper alternative that also was really good quality some things even better
Mercedes which are one of Chryslers main competitors were prepared for the recession, they said that you should not lower the price but instead throw in a few free things that would make the consumer think that they are getting more for their money.
This helped Mercedes and Chrysler could have done with this advice they might have not been hit so hard by the recession if they knew this.
Sainsbury’s secret is still unknown because although they have their own branded products they were unaffected however Tesco have their own brand products they were still affected by the recession negatively.
The difference between Sainsbury and Chrysler is that Sainsbury sell things that are a necessity whereas Chrysler sell things that are a luxury some people may think that a car is a necessity for example if there is no public transport next to you. Even if this is the case then there are many cheaper options.
P6)
P6: describe how political, legal and social factors are impacting upon the business activities of the selected organisations
Sainsbury’s (UK)
Legal factors influencing Sainsbury’s
Employment law
Sainsbury’s has to treat their employees equally male or female if they have the same knowledge. Sainsbury’s has to be able to provide employees with safe working conditions. Employees should be able to receive a written contract of employment within two months of starting work. Their employees also have to be paid a fair wage or salary in return for being ready and willing to work regardless whether a male or female. They also have to be able to provide employees with information concerning their rights and in some cases to be provided with work.
Their employees also have to have any grievances properly dealt with. Sainsbury’s employees cannot be discriminated against on grounds of race, sex or disability. Their employees also have to be able to choose whether or not to join a trade union.
Their employees also have to be consulted over matters that will significantly affect their terms and conditions of employment.
They also have to be treated responsibly; here are the responsibilities as an employee (the rights of the employer):
- To be ready and willing to work
- To give a personal service
Political factors influencing Sainsbury’s
Taxation
A political factor that affects Sainsbury’s is taxation. On the 1st January 2010 the VAT rate in the UK rose up to 17.5% from 15%. This rise may not seem huge but every penny counts. On the 1st January 2011 VAT rates are going to rise up to 20%. VAT increasing would mean that Sainsbury’s prices would also increase by 2.5%. This could mean that their customers would go elsewhere to look for a substitute much cheaper.
Social factors influencing Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s is affected by social factors such as religion, population and demography.
Religion
Sainsbury’s is located in the U.K which means they would have workers from a wide range of religions. This means that Sainsbury would have to give their employees religious holidays, such as Eid, Christmas, and Diwali. Sainsbury’s would have to have back-up employees that could take over if there is a religious holiday. Muslims, Hindus and Jews cannot eat all types of meat. Sainsbury has to either offer them meals that they can eat or allow them to bring in their own food for lunch.
Population
An increase in population would influence Sainsbury as it will lead to an increase in demand for goods and services as there are more people to supply. An increase in population would mean that they Sainsbury’s would have to open up more stores, or increase their shop floor so there are enough products for their customers. They will also need to increase employees to make sure there are enough staffs on the till and around the shop floor.
Legal factors influencing Chrysler
One legal factor that has an influence on Chrysler is sales of good act this is when the business meets the average product quality and does as they state in their product description. for example if the business state the product that they are selling is extra spicy chilli crisps and the customer buys it and try’s it but the crisps is mild and not spicy they have a right to return the product because it is not meeting its customers’ expectations. Chrysler has to make sure that their customers are getting exactly what they have been promised.
Social factors influencing Chrysler
Education
Chrysler’s employees have to be educated, Chrysler requires good educational qualifications, most jobs ask for a minimum of English GCSE’s. Their employees have to be able to know what they are doing; if they do want an employee that is not educated they may train the employee so that they can meet their requirements.
Population
If the population in the U.S.A was to decrease this would make an influence in Chrysler because there would not be so many people looking for jobs. This means that they might not have enough workers to do the jobs that need to be done on a day-to-day basis. The job would also take longer to get done as there are less people working on one thing at a time. Their sales would also decrease as they would not have as many people buying their cars as the population has decreased.
Changes in structure
The population of older people in America is increasing really fast. ‘The United States has seen a rapid growth in its elderly population during the 20th century. The number of Americans aged 65 and older climbed to 35 million in 2000, compared with 3.1 million in 1900.’ People now tend to work when they are younger and spend their savings when they are older. They also have a different spending pattern to younger people for example instead of buying the latest car they may decide to buy stair lifts and anti-aging cream.
Political factors influencing Chrysler
Providing infrastructure
The government provides the central infrastructure of the economy. They build motorways and other major road links. The local government is responsible for all the local roads. If there is a problem on the roads Chrysler would struggle to bring in their cars to the factory, their suppliers would also struggle to take them the raw material that they would need. Chrysler needs the roads to be open and working to make sure that they can take customers their cars and so they can receive their raw materials from suppliers.