Business Environment and Ethics: Analysis of Contemporary Research, Aldi's Business Model, and HR's Role in Business Management

This report discusses the importance of analysing the external and internal environment in business, the impact of Covid-19 on food shortages, Aldi's business model, the role of ethics in business, and the role of HR in business management.

Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Contemporary research...............................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Aldi..............................................................................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
Business Ethics............................................................................................................................5
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................6
Class discussion..........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES:...............................................................................................................................8
Books and Journals.....................................................................................................................8
Online..........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Business environment is dynamic and there are certain changes that take place in the
market. It is necessary to check the external environment and use the same for the success of
business organisation (Ritter and Pedersen, 2020). This report is based on portfolio that has
discussion related to different situations.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Contemporary research
Food shortages hitting Britons more than many in EU, poll finds
There were challenge related shortage of food seen in Britons. This shortage was due to
global supply chain problems that were being prompted due to pandemic. The lock down
situation around the world made it difficult to supply the products and services to the customers.
The problem was faced worldwide and causes issues for the customers. The situation was worse
in UK. There was scarcity of food products being observed in and the personal issues also raised.
The major cause of this shortage is Covid-19 pandemic. The article was published in newspaper
named as The Guardian. There were issues in supply chain management due to Covid-19. The
trade barriers were being examined and the business organisation and even the big supermarkets
were unable to get the basic food products (Food shortages hitting Britons more than many in
EU, poll finds, 2021). In such situations the business organisations must analyse the external
environment. There is need to take precautionary actions in the starting. They must not provide
the option of stock piling to the customers. By taking effective measures the supply chain can be
managed.
Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns
Covid-19 pandemic has direct impact on the food and its shortage. It caused the situation
of crisis for the people. The employees were not ready to work at the time of pandemic as they
were worried about their health. The measures taken by government were also there to restrict
the flow of products. The cases were rising and the focus of government was to keep the people
safe and healthy. This caused issues for the grocery stores as they were not able to fulfil the
demand of customers. The major cause of the problem was the situation of pandemic
(Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns, 2020). The measures that

can be taken are regarding supply chain management. There must be proper safety actions taken
by the organisation. First of all, employees were not ready to work in such situation. So, the
employees must be provided safe working environment and the situation that they can make
them trust the organisation. If the employees will be able to carry on the work properly the
process of production can be managed. The use of proper sanitising facility and making the mask
compulsory can help to deal with the situations. All the employees must be vaccinated so that the
products manufactured by them are also safe. By taking right measures and actions, the business
organisation is able to manage the problem and overcome the situation. The customers must also
understand the situation and use the products wisely.
TASK 2
Aldi
The use of business model used by Aldi and similar stores will work for other industries?
The business organisations work on selling their own exclusive products at their stores. It
makes the company to enhance the brand image in the market and satisfy the customers. The
advantage is related to loyal customers being part of the company (Geissdoerfer and et.al., 2020).
The customers start relying on the exclusive products that are offered by the company and it
helps them to serve the requirement of customers. This is instance of retail sector and they are
able to operate effectively by using this model.
In regard to hospitality industry, the hotels also take the products from local vendors. All
the products that are provided to the customers are not the sole products being manufactured by
the hotel. The food and beverages provided are in some scenarios provided by other retailers.
The business model can be used by hospitality industry as well. They will be able to retain the
customers better by maintain the quality of products that are provided. It will help them to
enhance customer experience and they will not rely on others for the products. It is examined
that by managing all the products and service hospitality industry would be able to carry on the
work in effective manner (Kumar and et.al., 2020). The use of this model can be done by other
industries as they will become self reliant and able to manage the work properly.
List the sacrifices customers make in order to have access to this shopping experience?
The customers are important stakeholders of a company. The stores such as Aldi, provide
their own products and provide the same to the customers. This is beneficial for the company as

they are able to get all the profits and do not need to share the same. They sell own products at
their stores so that the total sales is beneficial for the company. In relation to customers, they are
unable to compare the prices of the product and the quality. The customers enter the store of
Aldi, and start making purchase. There is no other option available as there are no chances of
comparison (Sheth, 2020). The customers have to go to another store in case they want to
compare the prices. There is busy lifestyle being analysed nowadays, so the customers have to
sacrifice and purchase the products from the Aldi store. Along with that, in case they need some
other product that is not available at the store they have to step out of the place. It reduces the
options for the customers and they have to spend more time in shopping.
TASK 3
Business Ethics
It is the study of appropriate business policies that govern the organisation. These are the
guidelines that must be followed by a company. There is key role of following these principles as
they show the way in which the company must work. It helps to satisfy all the stakeholders and
provide effective working condition to all the employees. It is essential to follow the ethics and
keep the employees motivated (Pedersen, Ritter and Di Benedetto, 2020). Unilever is a British
multinational consumer goods organisation. The company is operating since 1929 and has its
headquarters in UK. They have established effective brand image in the market by following
ethics in proper manner.
Unilever follow all the values and principle in order to operate smoothly. The value of
Unilever includes “Integrity, Respect, Responsibility.” They company takes care that all the
employees provided respect and value to the employees. This keeps them motivated and they are
able to carry on the activity effectively. There is need of carrying the work properly and that can
be done by valuing the employees of the company. The production is in the hand of the
employees so it is necessary for a company to value the work done by the employees. The aim of
company is to earn profitability in the market and at the same time motivate the employees for
the good work done by them.
It is analysed that all these principles are followed by the company in relation to the
customers. The company works to know about the needs and wants of the customers by carrying
research properly (Sivarajah and et.al., 2020). Afterwards, the company maintains quality of

their products that keeps their customers healthy. All the laws regarding food retailing
commission so that the customers are able to work effectively. The use of right tools and
techniques is necessary for the success of company. It helps the company to establish effective
brand image for the company. There is need of managing the overall work in such a manner that
ethical value is not compromised (Fairlie 2020). The use of all the ethical practices is done by
Unilever as it helps them to attain successful position in the market. The assure that all the
human rights are being followed and they work in such a manner that keep the environment safe
and healthy.
TASK 4
Class discussion

Reflection
There is need of team work that helps to complete the group project. In the starting, I was not
confident that our team will be able to carry on the group project effectively. But after
conducting first team meeting we were able to know each other. I was leading the team and
completing the project effectively was my responsibility. I assigned the work to the team
member and that caused conflicts. No one was ready to work in team as there was lack of team
work. Afterwards, another meeting was conducted so that all the work can be managed properly.
By having proper coordination, the team member can work properly. I have analysed that by
explaining them what they have to do, the team members were able to carry on the activities
properly (Amankwah-Amoah, Khan and Wood, 2021). We have not discussed about the
business. There is key role of understanding the functioning of business first of all. Afterwards,
the next step is to write about the area being selected from the business. The HR of the company
plays a major role in managing the employees and hiring the talented one. The problems that are
faced by the company in case they have no human resource manager also mentioned. The role of
HR is mentioned in the report. There are certain challenges that are being faced by the HR of the
company (Dwivedi and et.al., 2021). We all conducted researched on the topic and checked real
time examples. Afterwards, we discussed the topics and divided the work. It is important to for
the presentation in effective manner by using bullet points.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is concluded that there are different instances that take place in
business. There is need of analysing the external and internal environment in order to carry on
the activities effectively. There are different cases related to business situations and complexities
being mentioned in the report. The importance of ethics is also discussed. In the end, there is
evaluation related to role of HR in business management.

REFERENCES:
Books and Journals
Amankwah-Amoah, J., Khan, Z. and Wood, G., 2021. COVID-19 and business failures: The
paradoxes of experience, scale, and scope for theory and practice. European
Management Journal, 39(2), pp.179-184.
Dwivedi and et.al., 2021. Social media adoption, usage and impact in business-to-business (B2B)
context: A state-of-the-art literature review. Information Systems Frontiers, pp.1-23.
Fairlie, R., 2020. The impact of COVID‐19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first
three months after widespread social‐distancing restrictions. Journal of economics &
management strategy, 29(4), pp.727-740.
Geissdoerfer and et.al., 2020. Circular business models: A review. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 277, p.123741.
Kumar and et.al., 2020. Digital mediation in business-to-business marketing: A bibliometric
analysis. Industrial Marketing Management, 85, pp.126-140.
Pedersen, C.L., Ritter, T. and Di Benedetto, C.A., 2020. Managing through a crisis: Managerial
implications for business-to-business firms. Industrial Marketing Management, 88,
p.314.
Ritter, T. and Pedersen, C.L., 2020. Digitization capability and the digitalization of business
models in business-to-business firms: Past, present, and future. Industrial Marketing
Management, 86, pp.180-190.
Sheth, J., 2020. Business of business is more than business: Managing during the Covid crisis.
Industrial Marketing Management, 88, pp.261-264.
Sivarajah, U and et.al., 2020. Role of big data and social media analytics for business to business
sustainability: A participatory web context. Industrial Marketing Management, 86,
pp.163-179.
Online
Food shortages hitting Britons more than many in EU, poll finds, 2021. [Online] Available
through: <https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/22/food-shortages-hitting-britons-
more-than-many-in-eu-poll-finds>
Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns, 2020. [Online] Available
through: <https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/26/coronavirus-
measures-could-cause-global-food-shortage-un-warns#maincontent>