Report on Business Practices: Company Types, Structures, and PESTLE

This report provides a comprehensive overview of business practices, starting with an explanation of different company types, including micro, small, medium, and large businesses, and then delves into various organizational structures such as hierarchical, functional, horizontal, divisional, and team-based structures, highlighting their impact on business operations and employee roles. It further explores different types of business ownerships, including sole traders, partnerships, limited liability companies, public limited liability companies and cooperative businesses. The report also includes a PESTLE analysis, examining political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that affect businesses in the marketplace, emphasizing the importance of adapting to these external influences for sustainable growth and competitive advantage. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of implementing best business practices and choosing appropriate organizational structures to enhance organizational growth and employee satisfaction.

Business practices

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
SECTION 1......................................................................................................................................3
Understanding different types of companies...................................................................................3
Explanation of micro businesses............................................................................................3
A brief overview of small businesses.....................................................................................3
Definition of medium sized businesses..................................................................................3
A overview of large size businesses.......................................................................................4
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................4
Sole trader business and its definition....................................................................................4
Explanation of partnership.....................................................................................................4
Limited liability business explanation....................................................................................4
Understanding Public limited liability....................................................................................5
Cooperative businesses explanation.......................................................................................5
SECTION 3......................................................................................................................................5
Various types of organisational structures with explanation..................................................5
Impact of organisational structures on business.....................................................................6
PESTLE analysis of business organisation competing at the marketplace............................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Business practices are one of the most crucial steps taken by a business to manage day to
day tasks and major operations. It is compulsory for a company to consider the best and suitable
practices for the business in order to survive at the marketplace (Allas, 2018). It is the major
responsibility of human resource management to apply best business practices to gain
competitive advantage at the marketplace. In the below mentioned report different types of
companies are explained in a precise manner along with their characteristics. In this report
various types of organisational structures are mentioned in a crucial manner along with their
impact on a particular business.
SECTION 1
Understanding different types of companies
Explanation of micro businesses
The micro businesses are very tiny business organisations which are generally filled with
1 to 9 employees. These business entities are generally considered as business start ups with less
investment and the risk associated with these business is low in nature. It is major responsibility
of a business organisation to manage micro businesses in a precise manner to develop a safe
approach at the marketplace.
A brief overview of small businesses
The small business organisations comprise of 10 to 49 employees as a whole to consider
major operations. There is involvement of moderate amount of risk the small business
organisations which play a crucial role in business development. In small business organisations
the owner play an important role in growth of a business and manages a specific number of
employees with the help of different rules and regulations (Akbar, 2019). In a country small
business organisations are present in a large number to generally facilitate overall development
of a country in a precise manner.
Definition of medium sized businesses
In the functioning of a business organisation there is a major role played by medium sized
business organisations. The medium sized business organisations generally include 50 to 249

employees. It is not easy to manage a medium sized business as it contains a specific level of
responsibilities. The profit making and amount of investment in the business is also very
moderate in medium sized business.
A overview of large size businesses
Large scale business organisation generally comprise of more than 250 employees in
business operations. It is the major responsibility of top level management to manage lower and
medium level employees for better performing business activities. The companies with large
scale business mainly includes severe amount of risk and higher investment level.
SECTION 2
Sole trader business and its definition
In this type of business there is a single owner who performs specific type of business in
order to develop a precise business at the marketplace. The owner is generally responsible for
doing a business with particular amount of investment and is also responsible for business
growth and development. Risk associated with the business is also handled by a single person
and there is no profit sharing.
Explanation of partnership
Partnership is considered as a type of business in which there is an involvement of two or
more person. In the partnership type of business, owners are responsible for profit sharing and
risk attached with the business. In today's competitive world it is compulsory to perform
partnership with large number of partners with risk management (Ashton, 2017). The major
companies in today's world are running their business with the help of partnership in order to
achieve organisational goals.
Limited liability business explanation
In the business world a limited liability company is a type of unique business structure
for private companies. It is one of the most common legal entities to form a business to conduct
specific type of business and earn profit. In this type of business all partners in a general
partnership are responsible for the business and are subject to unlimited liability for business
debts.

Understanding Public limited liability
In this type of business, company offers shares to general public and the purchasers of the
shares have limited liability on the shares. These type of companies are present in large number
in a nation and are major contributor to the national income of a country. The companies are also
responsible for providing profit to the general public.
Cooperative businesses explanation
In this type of business people form a group or association in order to particularly
produce in demand goods. The consumption of different goods and services is also done on the
basis of demand and self use (Assaker, 2020). It is the major responsibility of a business to
develop a precise approach at the marketplace to perform cooperative business at the
marketplace. The development of cooperative business depends on the mutual decisions that are
taken by a business.
SECTION 3
Various types of organisational structures with explanation
 Hierarchical structure- This system is most widely used in major global and national
companies which divides the top level management from medium and lower level
management. In this system of hierarchy each employee is generally awarded with a
supervisor. In most of the cases this approach is beneficial in performing different plans
and policies which are essential for development and growth.
 Functional structure- In this type of organisational structure it is important to perform
and analyse different positions according to level of organisation. In this system of
organisational structure it is important to have specific skills which are important for
recognition of employees (LeBlanc, 2017). The Departments which are present in a
business entity are managed in a independent manner.
 Horizontal or flat structure- In this type of organisational structure the there are very
few levels in between the upper management and staff level employees. In this system
each employee is given a crucial responsibility to manage different operations of a
business. The communication is also very good in this business structure between
employees in order to increase productivity.

 Divisional structures (market-based, product-based, geographic)- This structure is
mainly responsible for segmenting different market-based groups. The business
organisations are also divided on the basis of different geographical locations in different
cities.
 Team-based structure- Under this organisational structure it is important to divide team
on the basis of different teams. In this approach major purpose of a company is to deeply
analyse group goals and divide teams on the basis of different works and tasks.
Impact of organisational structures on business
The organisational structures are helpful in mainly deciding the functioning of a business
to develop a critical approach at the marketplace. These structures are also helpful in
determination of different factors that are essential in providing organisational opportunity to
different employees. It is important for the top level management to chose best organisational
structure for a business to develop a precise business strategy. The job roles to different
employees are also provided with the help of organisational structure (Muhmad, 2020). Risk
handling and capacity handling are also developed with the help of different organisational
structures that are present in the organisation. It is the main duty of human resource management
in an organisation to develop a critical approach which is important in determination of right
organisational structure. In the era of different competition it is important for a company to
decide a precise organisational structure on the basis of different multiple roles played by
employees.
PESTLE analysis of business organisation competing at the marketplace
It is very much essential for a company to perform PESTLE analysis with the help of
professional management experts in order to deeply analyse external factors. The PESTLE
analysis is very much essential in order to develop a strategy for future in order to face different
consequences. The PESTLE analysis is given below:
 Political factors- The government policies are major factors which contributes to
organisational failures and success. The stability of government is very much essential
for a business in order to survive at the marketplace. It is the major responsibility of
government to deeply analyse all the necessary factors in order to compete at the
marketplace (Pepis,, 2019). It is also compulsory for different companies to follow
government policies in order to survive at the marketplace.

 Economic factors- In the functioning of a business the economic factors play a major
role and also decides growth of a business. The economic factors include monetary policy
and national income of a country which majorly decide development of a business.
Condition of recession and inflation in a country also decides the survival of a business in
long run. Positive monetary policy is very much essential for a business to develop a
specific approach at the marketplace in order to survive at the marketplace. The gross
domestic product of a country is also a major economic factor which is responsible for
business development.
 Social factors- The social factors mainly includes the culture and attitude of society
towards a business. In the functioning of a business at the marketplace it is important for
human resource management to determine the culture of a business. Major companies at
the marketplace pre analyse different social factors in order to gain competitive
advantage. In recent times consumers are running towards different businesses to gain
heavy discounts. It is the major responsibility of marketing department to analyses all the
necessary social factors in order to gain a different edge over several competitors.
 Technological factors- The technological factors are related to use of advance computer
systems and software in business organisation. A business in recent times also performs
specific tasks that are only achievable with the help of different computer systems. It is
necessary for a business organisation to consider major information and technology
related factors for development of business. The consumer data should be stored on safe
servers in order to analyse the market in a brief manner. Major companies at national and
international level are using high end technology to compete at the marketplace.
 Legal factors- It is important for a business to follow all the rules and regulations which
are formulated by government to conduct ethical business at the marketplace. In the era
of stiff competition between different companies it is compulsory for a business to
comply with the law and follow all guidelines (Retamal, 2017). The local authorities and
local bodies also design different rules and regulations which are important for
development of whole business. In United Kingdom also there are various social and
legal policies which are related to development of business. It is important for a business
to develop a precise business strategy for overall business development in a short span of
time.

 Environmental factors- The major companies follow all the necessary rules and
regulations related to environment policies in order to conduct ethical business. It is
important for a business to follow major rules and regulations which are formulated by
government to conduct a sustainable business. There are major companies at the
marketplace which are involved in performing different environment related practices. It
is important for a business to develop a professional strategy for conducting ethical
business at the marketplace. In the era of stiff competition between different business
organisations it is important to follow government guidelines for environmental change.

CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it can be concluded that it is the major responsibility of top
level management to deploy best business practices for increasing organisational growth. This
report includes the choices which are available to an entrepreneur in starting a business. This
report concludes that there is a brief influence of organisational structure on the business and
employees. In order to increase job satisfaction of different employees it is compulsory for a
business to formulate effective organisational structure. This report mainly concludes that it is
essential for an organisation to perform PESTLE analysis in order to analyse external
environment.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Akbar, S. and Hallak, R., 2019. Identifying business practices promoting sustainability in
aboriginal tourism enterprises in remote Australia.Sustainability,11(17), p.4589.
Allas, T. and Hunt, V., 2018. Accelerating the diffusion of technology-enabled business
practices.The McKinsey Quarterly.
Ashton, W., Russell, S. and Futch, E., 2017. The adoption of green business practices among
small US Midwestern manufacturing enterprises.Journal of environmental planning and
management,60(12), pp.2133-2149.
Assaker, G., 2020. The effects of hotel green business practices on consumers’ loyalty
intentions: an expanded multidimensional service model in the upscale segment. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Chakraborti, C. and Mishra, D., 2018. Responsible business practices and some Indian
SMEs.Asian Journal of Business Ethics,7(2), pp.177-203.
LeBlanc, M., 2017. ‘I can’t get no satisfaction!’Should we blame translation technologies or
shifting business practices?. In Human issues in translation technology(pp. 63-80). Routledge.
Muhmad, S.N. and Muhamad, R., 2020. Sustainable business practices and financial
performance during pre-and post-SDG adoption periods: a systematic review.Journal of
Sustainable Finance & Investment, pp.1-19.
Pepis, S. and de Jong, P., 2019. Effects of Shariah-compliant business practices on long-term
financial performance.Pacific-Basin Finance Journal,53, pp.254-267.
Retamal, M., 2017. Product-service systems in Southeast Asia: Business practices and factors
influencing environmental sustainability.Journal of Cleaner Production,143, pp.894-903.