Understanding the Business and Economic Environment

• Identify one industry from the UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2007) and choose a UK public limited company (PLC) from the industry.

• One of the most important and influential elements of the business environment is the structure of the industry. Briefly discuss the structure of your chosen industry.

• Briefly discuss the business organisation and its nature of your chosen company (a UK PLC) in relation to the structure of the industry.

• Use the Social, Technological, Economical, Environmental, Political, Legal and Ethical (STEEPLE) analysis to analyse the external business environment of the chosen company over the last 5-10 years. Students are expected to discuss each factor separately, for example, consider in what ways technology (T) might influence the organisational structure of a business. Students must discuss the four bullet points listed as below for the microeconomic and macroeconomic factors, and are allowed to extend their discussions beyond the four bullet points:

Social factor analysis

Technological factor analysis

Environmental factor analysis

Political factor analysis

Legal factor analysis

Ethical factor analysis

Economical factor analysis (see the suggested marks from the bullet points below)

o Identify the microeconomic factors that affect the demand for goods and/or services of your chosen company and the factors for the market demand. Draw a demand curve diagram to illustrate your answer.

o List the determinants of the supply of the business and identify what would cause the supply of goods and/or services to fall/rise. Draw a supply curve diagram to illustrate your answer.
o Discuss the competitiveness of the UK market and its impacts on the future of the business.
o Give some examples of ‘random shocks` that could undermine the UK government`s fiscal policy and discuss if there is any fiscal policy could have an impact on the UK`s economy and the business of your chosen company.

• Research and discuss the business problems and challenges the chosen company faces and criticise on the external effects of a business decision on themselves/customers/employees/rivals and on the public at large.