Contemporary Developments in Business Management

This report discusses the analysis of external environment affecting business, the use of marketing communication mix, and a PESTLE analysis of Amtek Plastics UK Ltd.

Contemporary
Developments in
Business Management

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With the change in market conditions it is important that businesses make changes in
their management so that they can efficiently deal with the negative effects of the changing
conditions. It is also important that appropriate strategies are chosen by company so that
company can achieve its goals in an efficient manner. In this report an analysis of external
environment affecting business will be done along with the use of marketing communication mix
and its impact on management decisions and policies will be discussed. A PESTLE analysis will
be done so that the impact of external factors of business can be understood. Also how marketing
communication mix can help the company in building a brand image along with some
improvement that can be made with changing business environment will also be discussed.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................4
Background of Amtek Plastics UK Ltd..................................................................................4
Influence of external environmental factors and their importance.........................................4
TASK2...........................................................................................................................................10
Relevance and influence of marketing communication mix................................................10
Effectiveness of firm’s responses.........................................................................................13
Areas of improvements.........................................................................................................15
Recommendations................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
APPENDIX-1................................................................................................................................19

INTRODUCTION
With the businesses expanding in the global market and competition increasing it is
important that the businesses develop their management practices and policies so that the
changing market conditions can be dealt with in an efficient manner. In order to sustain in
market it is important that businesses analyse their external environment frequently so that the
factors that affect negatively and positively can be determined and can be used for advantage of
business (Zahari and Romli, 2019). Various tools like PESTLE analysis and Porter’s five forces
model can be used so that the external business environment affecting business can be analysed
and with the help of managerial policies they can be dealt with efficiently. In this report Amtek
Plastics UK Ltd is taken which was established in 2006 in England, UK. The company
manufactures bespoke plastic moulded products which are of high quality and are made by using
highly advanced technology that help in meeting the changing requirements of customers. The
company offers complete solution for high volume and technical plastic injection moulding
which includes designing, moulding, tooling, plastic manufacture, assembly and packaging along
with warehousing and distribution. In this report the external environment factors affecting the
business will be discussed along with the company’s response to them. Further the importance of
marketing communication mix for company and their influence on policies and decisions of
company will also be discussed.
TASK1
Background of Amtek Plastics UK Ltd
Amtek Ltd is a public company which was established in 2006 and has its headquarters in
England, UK. The company deals in high volume plastic injection moulding which also includes
designing, tooling, manufacture, assembly, warehousing and distribution. The company makes
plastic injection which is moulded as per the needs of its customers in agriculture, medical,
industry, security etc. so that highly accurate and efficient products can be delivered to them.
Various techniques are used so as to design the products like 3D CAD modelling and analysis,
product visualisation through prototyping etc. so that effective designs can be manufactured.
Influence of external environmental factors and their importance
Businesses while operating in the market are affected by various factors which are
uncontrollable and cannot be changed. These factors affect the business both positively and

negatively and must be analysed so that their impact can be evaluated and effective policies and
strategies can be made by the managers of company. The formed policies and decisions must be
able to take advantages of the positive affec5ts of the external factors and minimize the negative
impact on company so that the company can continue to run efficiently in market. PESTLE
analysis and Porter’s five forces model can be used in order to efficiently identify the external
environmental factors and their importance for organisation (Shenoy and Aithal, 2017).
PESTEL ANALYSIS
It is a strategic management tool which help the businesses in analysing the impact of
external factors on the functions and operations of business in the market so that the negative and
positive impact can be analysed. Through this analysis strategies of company can be formed that
can help in taking the advantages of positive impacts and minimising the negative impacts. The
PESTLE analysis of Amtek Plastics is given below:
Political Political factors may include the factors such as government policies,
political stability, corruption, foreign trade policy, labor law, trade restriction
and the like. In short political factors determine the degree of control of
government over industries. These are the rules and regulation which is set
by the government of that country. As the company is established in UK,
where they have political stability. Political stability into the country helps
the companies in bringing stability in their operations also. The company
need not have to change their policies regarding to the change rules brought
by the political system of the country. The company is very much benefited
from the laws and rules which is set by the government. But company did
faced some issue at the time of Brexit, where it face confusion and problem
regarding the operations and business activities which it needs to undertake
during Brexit period.
Economical The economical factor states about the economical conditions and situation
of the country. This factor may include economic growth, exchange rates,
interest rates, inflation rates, disposable income, unemployment rate and the
like. The country UK has a strong economic condition, it comes into the
category of a developed nation. The GDP of the nation is about $2.744
trillion with the employment percentage of 74. The country hardly faces the

issues of poverty and hunger. Therefore establishing the business in such
economy is a profitable task. The economy of UK is very strong, majority of
the business flourish there, and so Amtek Ltd. But at the time of Brexit, all
the industries did face problems and went to loss in their operation which
lead to decrease in the GDP and growth of the country as well. The
employment rate of the economy also decrease living more people
unemployed. The employees or workers working into Amtek Ltd. who were
migrated from out of Britian also lost their job due to ban on migration after
Brexit. The company did face some financial crisis also.
Social Social factor may include the factors which are related to the values, trends,
preferences, attitude, behavior and many more. By knowing the attitude and
behavior of people, company can evaluate the attitude of people about a
particular topic. From the social factor, the company gets to know about the
trends which are preferred by the clients so that they can provide them with
same. From social factor company can provide the customers with the
product which they are looking for. And the company can gain more profits
when they cater the needs and wants of their targeted market.
Technological Technological factor may include technology incentives, level of innovation,
automation, R&D activity, technological change and awareness and many
more. More the technology, more developed and advance the country would
be. The technological advancement brings the lost low and productivity high.
The company Amtek Ltd. uses the best and advance technology in their
production unit so that they can produce more products with less cost without
making any compromise in their quality offered. The company with the use
of advance technology meets both time and product utility. Time utility
refers to the availability of product at right time whereas product utility refers
to the availability of the product at the required place.
Environmental Environmental factor may include weather, climate, environmental policies,
climate change, pressure from NGO’s and the so forth. The company, Amtek
Ltd., uses the technology which is environmental friendly. They have
adapted the technology which creates minimum harm to the environment

(Bruhn and Schnebelen, 2017). Apart from this the company also have
hazard free manufacturing unit where the employees working there are free
from any kind of mishap or disaster happen into the unit. The company also
takes care of interest of labor and unions which benefits the company in
gaining the confidence of their people and society.
Legal Legal factors may includes the discrimination law, antitrust laws,
employment laws, consumer protection laws, copyright and patent laws,
health and safety laws and the so forth. Every company to operate into the
business environment has to follow these legal rules and regulation. When a
company completes or follows all its legal laws and regulation, it gains the
trust of both the workers and customers. The workers feel safe, secure and
satisfied from the job. On the other hand, the customer also builds trust as the
company follows all the legal laws properly. It is very much necessary for
the company to fulfill the entire legal obligation, and if not they have to face
a huge penalty and mistrust from people side.
Porter’s five force model:
The Porter five forces model was given by Michael E Porter in the year 1979 which helps
in analysing the five competitive forces which are present in an industry so that the attractiveness
of industry for a business can be evaluated. This helps the businesses in determining if they will
be able to survive in the market in the presence of competitive forces. The industry analysis for
Amtek Plastics Ltd in the plastic manufacturing industry is given as follows:

Source: Porter’s five forces model .2020
Threat of entrance The company power does affects by any kind of new company into the
industry. Threat of entrance refers to the threat which organization
company has from new entries of company. It also refers to the degree
of barrier which the industry has for entering into it. As the entrance into
plastic manufacturing industry is not as easy as others, it does require to
filling up many legal rules and regulations. These rules and regulation
would be related to the amount of plastic which the company will
produce in a day, the technology used into the manufacturing units,
disposal laws and much more which the company needs to get fulfill
before establishing of the unit (Rowley, 2016).The entry of in this
industry is no so hard as it is in arms or armor, or railways but the
companies really need to get some legal laws completed before starting

up their capital and establishment work.
Competition in the
industry
Competition into the industry refers to the present number of companies
operating their businesses into this industry. Although Amtek Ltd is a
huge company which has also spread its work internationally also, but
the company does faces competition from various company. The
competitive company always tries their best to come up with innovative
and creative product and gains the competitive advantage, it creates
burden upon Amtek Ltd. to regularly come up with new product for
their clients and customers so that they can differentiate them from the
other competitive companies.
Power of suppliers The power of suppliers refers to the terms and conditions of suppliers
and the degree of them to hold upon it. As in this industry the suppliers
are very few, they gain the strong hold upon the terms and conditions
over company. The company negotiates with them till they can and then
they have to get agree upon the agreed terms and conditions with the
suppliers. More the power of suppliers, more will be the cost for the
product. But less the bargaining power of these suppliers, less could be
the cost for the product as the company can saves money by bargaining
through the suppliers.
Power of customers Here the power of customers refers to the ability of customer to bargain
the power of the product. The customers has the ability to manage the
prices of the product as if they feel that the prices for the product is very
high or not up to the quality they will get then they would shift their
purchasing to some other company which are offering the same product
at lesser price. This also applies in Amtek Ltd. the company has to
maintain its price and quality such that the customer should remain
happy and they do not shift to any other brand or company.
Threat of substitute Threat of the substitute refers to other companies or brand providing the
same product with same feature, creating a threat and burden upon the
shoulder of Amtek Ltd. when the customer comes to know that there is
a product which offers same feature but with lesser prices then they

automatically would shift themselves to some other company creating
problem to the company. so the company also has to undertake this
problem and need to come up with measures.
TASK2
Marketing communication mix
Relevance and influence of marketing communication mix
Marketing communication mix is a mixture of several tools which are used by businesses
in order to communicate with their customers, prospects and shareholders. This help in
increasing the awareness of the company’s product in market so that sales of company can
increase by persuading the customers by using marketing communication mix. It is important
that companies use the most appropriate tool to communicate about their products and services
so that the right people can be reached at right time who can be persuaded to purchase the
company’s products. Amtek Plastics UK Ltd can use the marketing communication mix so as to
reach their prospect customers and persuade them to buy their products so that their demands
related to plastics can be efficiently fulfilled. Following are the elements of this mix that can be
used by the company in achieving its objectives:
 Advertising: It is the most prominently used method of communication mix and is widely
used by companies so as to reach to a large number of customers effectively at a single
point of time. This is a paid method in which the company deliver their messages through
a media so that the targeted customers can be reached. The messages can be controlled by
the companies and usually they spare a large amount of funds for the expenses of
advertising. The various media for advertising are television, print media, social media
etc. Amtek Plastics can use this method by using e-mails and other media so as to reach
to their clients which can help in increasing company sales (de Andres and et. al., 2017).
 Personal selling: It is a part of direct selling where the salespeople of company reach
directly to the customers and tell them about the company’s products by the way of face
to face conversion. The salespeople also carry some items of company with them so that
they can sell sample items to customers and satisfy them about the quality of products so
that they can be persuaded to purchase more. Amtek can use this method so that new

customers can be added to the customers by reaching to them through salespeople so that
they can purchase the sample products and be convinced by the quality of its products so
that it can receive more orders (Helmold, Terry and Hummel, 2020).
 Discount and promotions: In this the companies try to attract the customers by giving
them offers and discounts on the purchase of company’s products and services. This help
in increasing the sales of customers and attracting a large number of customers to the
company. This tool also helps in increasing revenue and cash flow of company along
with clearance of extra inventory. Amtek can use this method so that the loyalty of
customers towards the company can be increased and also new customers can be added.
 Public relations: In this method the customers are reached by the way of mass media and
this is not a paid medium for reaching customers. When the messages reach to the
customers about the brand image of company through television or newspaper feature
story mentioning about the business can help in gaining the trust of its customers and also
help in making new customers. This can be done by building strong relations with the
stakeholders so that a brand image can be created in the market and the customers are
attracted towards the company due to the high value it is able to generate for its
stakeholders. Amtek needs to be ethical in its function and follow the CSR strategies so
that high interest can be created for all its stakeholders that can help it in building positive
brand image of company in market (Igliński and et. al., 2016).
 Direct marketing: In this type of communication tool the customers are directly reached
through the way of brochures, pamphlets, e-mails, coupons, calls etc. This method is
being increasingly used by companies as it allows them to know the reaction of
customers and gain knowledge about the needs and wants of customers so that they can
such products and services can be created that help in fulfilling their needs. Amtek can
use this method so as to create a close relation with its customers and know about their
needs and wants.
 Event sponsorship: This is a marketing strategy wherein the company sponsor some
events where a large number of people and potential customers are gathering.
Sponsorship can help in gaining attention of these people by giving financial assistance,
products and services for organising the event. Through this method a brand image of
company can be built that can help in increasing the sales of company. Amtek can

sponsor various events which are related to the plastic industries so that the company can
gain attention of customers and also build a reputation of company.
Influence of marketing communication mix on company decisions and policies:
Marketing communication mix plays an important role in the company as it help in gaining
the attention of its customers so that they can be persuaded to purchase the goods and services of
company. It is important that the communication mix selected by the company can help it in
reaching to its potential customers at the right time and at right place so that prospects can be
converted into actual customers of company. The marketing communication mix chosen by the
company determines the position of company in market, its brand image and the number of
customers it is able to attract. Thus the decisions and policies that are formed by company
depend on the marketing communication mix so that the company sales can increase and it can
deal effectively with the changing external environment. Following are the affects of this on the
decision and policies of Amtek Plastics UK Ltd:
 Advertising is an expensive method of spreading awareness of the company in market
apart from being the most easy method of reaching to a large number of customers at
once so that they can be persuaded by the way of effective message delivery to purchase
company’s product. In order to be able to effectively advertise about the products of
Amtek it is important that the management set aside sufficient amount of funds so that
they can be utilised in paying for the advertisements. This affects the decisions of
managers as they have to allocate appropriate amount of funds to advertising by reducing
the amount of funds in other departments so that effective advertisement can be done.
This thus affects the financial decisions of company so that enough amount of funds can
be arranged for advertisement (Sroufe, 2018).
 For personal selling it is important that the company has talented and skilled workers
with good communication skills so that they can persuade their clients in making
purchases of company’s products. In order to make personal selling successful it is
essential that the employees of company are recruited and selected based on certain skills
that can help in increasing the sales of company. Thus the recruitment and training and
development decisions of company are affected by this tool. It is important that
employees who have high convincing power and communication skills are selected and

also they can be trained so that they can learn on how to deal with their customers and
communicate with them so that they can buy company products.
 The company can use discounts and promotions in order to reach to its customers and
increase its sales which can lead to losses to the company if discounts more than its
profits are given. It is thus important that the company use technology that can help in
decreasing its manufacturing costs so that products can be manufactured at low prices
which can then be delivered to its customers at discounted rates so that loss can be
minimised and sales can be increased. Thus this strategy affects the decisions of company
related to its manufacturing cost and the technology that needs to be used (Zhao and et.
al., 2016).
 In order to maintain positive relations with the stakeholders of company so that strong
public relations can be built it is important that the company follows CSR policies so that
high interest can be ensured for all its stakeholders. It is important that the management
of company follows CSR policies so that ethical decisions can be taken which will be
helpful in building a strong brand image of company. Thus public relations affect the
decisions and policies of company so that high value can be created for all the
stakeholders and minimum damage is caused to the environment.
 In order to market directly to the customers it is important that market research is done so
that the target customers can be found out which can help in making direct contacts to
them so that sales of company can be increased. Thus for direct marketing such policies
and decisions needs to be made that can help in knowing about the needs and wants of
customers so that they can be reached and the company products can be directly marketed
(Prasad and Warrier, 2016).
 In order to use event sponsorship it is important that the company has sufficient amount
of funds that can help it in giving financial assistance, products or services of company to
the event organiser. Thus event sponsorship influences the decisions and policies
regarding company finances so that sufficient amount of funds can be arranged in order
to sponsor the event.
Effectiveness of firm’s responses
It is important that the policies and decisions which are made by Amtek in order to use
various tools of marketing communication mix are effective which can help in achieving its

goals and objectives of using the tools. Following are the effectiveness of Amtek’s responses to
using marketing communication mix:
 Increase in customers: With the help of marketing communication mix the company has
been able to seek the attention of a large number of customers due to which the company
sales have increased. This means that the decisions that are made by the company in
using these tools have helped the company in a positive manner and has helped in
increasing company sales. Also through the way of marketing the company can also build
a new customer base so that the number of customers of company can increase.
 Strong brand image: With the help of effective responses to using marketing
communication mix a strong image can be built for company that can help it in gaining
the trust of its stakeholders and increasing the value for them. Amtek can gain trust of its
customers by manufacturing plastics which creates high value for them and also help in
protecting the environment (Thursby and Berbari, 2016).
 Loyal customers: By the use of discounts and offer, event sponsorship etc. the company
can build a loyal customer base as they frequently buy their products from the company.
It is important that ethical decisions are made by company so that high value can be
created for them which can help in increasing the loyalty of customers towards the
company. By following CSR policies the company can increase the brand image of
company by creating high value for all its stakeholders that can help in increasing the
loyalty of customers towards company.
 Greener technology: The company can use greener technology so that it can increase its
customer base along with enhancing their loyalty. The greener technology that is used by
company can be advertised so that the customers can know about the high quality of
plastic which is developed by using green technology.
 Working with suppliers: The company can also get more number of suppliers who are
ready to deliver the raw material that are required to manufacture final products. This will
help the company in gaining raw materials at bargain able prices which will help in
reducing the manufacturing cost of the company.
 Employee betterment; As the sales of company increase the employees of company can
be remunerated as per the profits of company so that employee betterment can be

achieved. This help in increasing their performance which is beneficial for company’s
productivity.
Areas of improvements
Though Amtek Plastics Ltd is efficiently able to use marketing communication mix which
has resulted in increase in its customer base, decrease in manufacturing cost, increase in
employee betterment, improvement in brand image of company etc. there are some areas where
improvements can be made. It can help the company in making efficient use of this mix and take
greater advantage. Following are some improvements that can be made in Amtek: Following advertisement law: It is important that while using advertisement in order to
market about the company goods the advertising laws are followed by the company like
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, 2008 and Business Protection
from Misleading Marketing Regulations, 2008. These laws can help the company in
following ethical practices so that only the information which is correct can be provided
to the customers. Increase the use of feedbacks: The company can take feedbacks from its customers
which can help it in making necessary improvements in its products so that high quality
products can be delivered to the. This will help in making the products of company better
and also help in increasing the satisfaction of customers (Armstrong and et. al., 2018). Using high quality plastic: The company must ensure usage of high quality plastic in
manufacturing its products so that the harm caused due to plastic on environment can be
reduced and can also help in increasing the trust of its stakeholders. Increase market research: With the help of increased market research the company can
find more potential customers and their needs and wants that can help in proving them
with their desired products thereby increasing its sales.
Recommendations
The company can thus use the marketing communication mix so as to reach to a large base of
customers so that they can know about the products offered by company which can help in
increasing the sales of company. Some recommendations for company:
 Company must focus on ethical use of various tools of the marketing communication mix
so that only true and fair information of company can be circulated so that it can be saved
from any legal allegations on behalf of misconduct.

 The managers of company must arrange for funds from trustworthy and legal sources and
also must be able to separate certain amount of funds from revenue that can be further
used in applying various tools of communication mix.
 The stakeholders must be consulted before taking any decisions so that their trust and
support can be gained which will help in the success of company.
CONCLUSION
From this report it can be concluded that the company needs to analyse its external
environment so that the factors affecting its business can be analyse and appropriate steps can be
taken in reducing the negative impact of these factors. It is also important that appropriate
strategies are used by company so as to achieve its goals and also it should make decisions that
help in increasing its sustainability in market. Use of marketing communication mix through
effective decisions and policies can help in increasing their effectiveness for company.

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APPENDIX-1
Background of company
Amtek Plastics Ltd is a public company registered in England, UK and was established in
2006. The company help in providing highly designed and technical plastic moulding solutions
for its clients based on their specifications so that they can use the products in satisfying their
needs and wants. The company products are used in agriculture, medical, industry, security etc.
so that highly accurate and efficient products can be delivered to them. Various techniques are
used in designing the products like 3D CAD modelling and analysis, product visualisation
through prototyping etc. so that effective designs can be manufactured.