Coles Supermarket: Micro Environment Analysis, Challenges & Solutions

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the micro-environment factors affecting Coles Supermarket's business performance in Australia. It examines social factors, social changes, and social responsibilities, highlighting challenges related to consumer preferences, competition, and societal expectations. The report proposes reformative actions to address these challenges, including managerial strategies to adapt to changing consumer tastes, operational tactics to navigate competitive pricing, and social initiatives to enhance corporate reputation. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of financial planning to accommodate policy changes and environmental awareness to meet societal demands, ultimately recommending that Coles continuously evaluate its internal and external environments to ensure sustainable business development. Desklib provides access to similar reports and solved assignments for students.

The Business Environment
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Micro Environment Analysis of Coles Supermarket and its business performance.......................4
Measures for developing reformative actions for challenges..........................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
The report provides with further in-depth analysis of the micro-environment factors that operate
in the business environment. The micro environment factors include for social factors, social
changes, social responsibility, and social preferences etc. The micro factor operates in the orbit
of the business organisation and can be controlled by the business organisation to certain extend.
The report will monitor these micro factors in context to the business organisation Coles, a
supermarket chain in Australia. The report will develop reformative solution for the challenges
faced by the organisation due to the micro and macro business factors.
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Micro Environment Analysis of Coles Supermarket and its business performance
The micro factors refers to the internal factors that can be controlled and monitored by the
businessorganisation in order to evaluate the impact caused by these factors on the business
organisations. The micro factors affecting the performance at Coles and challenges possessed by
these factors are discussed as below:
 Social Factors:The social factors include for the societies, communicates, consumers,
suppliers and other ancillary market intermediaries operating the business environment of
the organisation. The performance at Coles is impacted by the social factors in terms of
profitability and revenue generating trade operations. The norms and conditions set forth
by the societies and communities the business organisation operates in forms for the basis
of trade policies and procedures. The inclination towards traditional procedures and
processes has restricted the trade at Coles (Akhtar, et. al., 2018). Further the consumer
and suppliers majorly impacts on the business trade and operations through the
preferences and choices of the products and services.The social factors also include for
competitors and employees of the organisation. The competitorsprovide with a challenge
of cut throat competition and competitive pricing strategies which often lowers the profit
margins and revenues for Coles.
 Social Changes: The social changes are various alterations and changes taking place in
the society and the business environment.One of the major social changesimpacting on
the business performance is the consumer preferences and inclinations. The changes in
consumer preferences and choices possess as a challenge for Coles. Consumer
preferences deploys for major portion of the business attention and strategies. These
changes create the requirements for altering the advertising and promotional policies,
development of new product and services etc. (Gao& Wang, 2014) This gives birth to the
challenge of increased costs and financesfor the business of Coles. Social changes also
impacts on the relations between the business organisations with the outside partners of
the business. The social preferences alter the relationship with the suppliers, business
representatives, employees, and the market intermediaries etc.
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 Social Responsibility:The concepts of social responsibility are referred to as the duties
and responsibilities to be delegated and executed by the business organisation towards the
society. The contemporarybusiness environment has developed the concepts of social
responsibility as corporate social responsibility. This aspect of the business requires for
executing trade and operations in manner that provides with suitable growth and
development for the business organisation and the society (Kolk, 2016).The social
responsibility provides opportunities for the developing the business image and
reputation in the national and international markets. The concepts of social responsibility
provides with challenges to comply with the social norms, terms and conditions.It
requires altering for the organisational structure and policies which disturbs the status-
quo and balances in the organisation.
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Measures for developing reformative actions for challenges
It is essential in the contemporary business environment to develop strategic and conceptual
solution for the challenges developed by the micro and macro business environment. The micro
and macro business environment possess for various challenges and issues. The reforms for
eradicating and overcoming these challenges are discussed as below:
 Managerial Challenges:For coping up with the changing consumer preferences and
choices, Coles is required to develop new services and add new products into its business
opportunities to captivatenew consumers in the market. Theorganisation also deploys for
providing with innovative and creative services in order to retain the consumers and hold
the market position for the organisation. Coles has developed various products under the
home brand to develop loyal and traditional consumer base in the market.
 Operational Challenges:The Australian supermarket and grocery industry is a highly
competitive and dynamic sector of the Australian economy. The forms depict a cut throat
competition in order to sustain in the business and market (Goyal, et. al., 2018). In order
to cope up with this micro factor challenge Coles is indulged in developing strategic and
competitive prices with keeping in mind the profitability and revenue aims of the
organisation.
 Social Challenges:Another factor represents the social factor and the responsibilities to
be depicted by the organisation. The social responsibilities develop a pressure over the
organisation to fulfil the societal aims and objectives. To depict greater understandingof
the social responsibilityColes has set up a segregated cell to develop and strategies the
programs to execute the social responsibilities (Nieuwenhuis, 2018). Coles has aimed to
provide education to around 20,000 girls in the Australian backward communities. The
aim for this initiative is to develop effective market reputation and image in the national
and international markets.
 Financial Challenges:The social factor of micro environment also depicts the challenge
of changes in the policies and procedures.These changes in the policies and procedures
initiated by the government authorities or the various business associations reflect on the
financial management and organising of the business trade at Coles. The financial
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predictions and pre-definedbudgets are disturbed and impacts on the financial
management of the business. The organisations are to develop new budgets and financial
sheets according to the changes regulations and rules. The uncertainty element in the
micro and macro environment of the business impacts on the performance and
management of the organisation. Thus it is recommended for Coles to analyse and
evaluate the internal and external business environment to develop measures and
strategies for coping up with the issues and challenges.
 Environmental Challenges:The micro and macro business environment also develops
several environmental challenges for the business organisation such as Coles. It has been
observed that the Australianeconomy and industries has developed rapid awareness
towards the social challenges and demeritsgenerated by the business processes and the
procedures(Gao& Wang, 2014). The society has built up a pressure to develop such
business operations and activities that provide with maximum satisfaction for the
consumer desires and objectives. Coles is required to develop innovative and strategic
product and services to fulfil the dual objective of society and the business organisation.
It can be observed that the micro and macro business environment of an organisation provides
with opportunities and threat for developing and advancing the business operations as per the
requirements and specifications of the dynamic natureof the business.
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Conclusion
Form the above discussions and studies in context to Coles, it can be stated that the micro and
macro business environmentimpacts on the business performance and operations in an evidence
based manner. The report has depicted an understanding of the micro and macro business
environment and the challenges possessed by the environment for the business organisation. The
report has developed several recommendations in order to develop strategic reforms for the
overcoming these challenges. The challenges are identified as managerial challenges, operational
challenges, financial challenges and the societal challenges.
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References
 Akhtar, P., Khan, Z., Frynas, J. G., Tse, Y. K., &Rao‐Nicholson, R. (2018). Essential
micro‐foundations for contemporary business operations: Top management tangible
competencies, relationship‐based business networks and environmental
sustainability. British Journal of Management, 29(1), 43-62.
 Gao, W., & Wang, J. (2014). The environmental impact of micro/nanomachines: a
review. Acs Nano, 8(4), 3170-3180.
 Goyal, S., Sergi, B. S., & Esposito, M. (2018). Business development services for micro,
small and medium enterprises–literature review of past trends and future
directions. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable
Development, 14(3), 312-332.
 Kolk, A. (2016). The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the
environment to CSR and sustainable development. Journal of World Business, 51(1), 23-
34.
 Nieuwenhuis, P. (2018). Micro factory retailing: an alternative, more sustainable
automotive business model. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 46(1), 39-46.
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