Business Review Report: Woolworths, Ace Radio, and Commonwealth Bank

This report analyzes three prominent Australian businesses: Woolworths, Ace Radio, and Commonwealth Bank. Woolworths' section discusses its focus on sustainability and wellness through organic products and recycled materials, highlighting its commitment to ecological balance and consumer health. Ace Radio's review covers its collaboration with Charles Sturt University to promote regional commercial radio and provide students with industry experience. The Commonwealth Bank analysis focuses on its blockchain project with Telstra, aimed at enhancing security for high-value transactions, and its initiatives in regulatory technology and geo-location services. The report examines each company's strategies, innovations, and responses to industry trends and challenges, providing insights into the Australian business landscape. The report also mentions the sustainability moves by Woolworths, the collaboration of Ace Radio with Charles Stuart University and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's blockchain project with Telstra.

Running head: AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS REVIEWS
AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS REVIEWS
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Woolworths Group, Australia
Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian company which has been extensively
functioning in the world of retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. After
Wesfarmers, Woolworths is considered to be the second largest company of Australia in terms of
revenue with 69 functional shopping centers all over Australia and New Zealand. The
Woolworths Group Limited has been undertaking a step towards sustainability and wellness by
introducing wellness and organic products at their outlets. The new outlet which had been
opened by Woolworths, named “The Kitchen”, according to the officials, would only focus on
wellness and organic products to maintain sustainability and ecological balance
(News.com.au.2018). They are following the modern hymn for sustainable development, which
is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The shopping trolleys that are being kept in the outlets have been
made of specially recycled remains of milk cartons. Glutton free products is being found all
around the retail store and the entire sections of the retail store is completely devoted and
dedicated to hemp food which is a harmless high-protein vegetarian substitute of animal protein
products that are harmful for people who are diagnosed with diabetes, high blood sugar and
cholesterol. As the majority of Australian population are suffering from lifestyle diseases such as
obesity and cardiovascular diseases due to excessive intake of animal proteins such as milk
products and meat, the mentioned store of Woolworths has been working relentlessly to bring
back healthy snacking and food habits among the Australians with the help of low-calorie and
dietary food products. Apart from selling dietary food products, it also sells readymade low-
calorie meals to one of the popular food chains of Australia, “health food chain about life”. The
products of the store, including the fruits, vegetables and milk that they sell are organic which
have been cultivated and reared through organic farming to promote ecological balance. As far

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as sustainability in food products are concerned, according to statistical data of Australian
Organic, the Australian organic food industry and market has been valued to be approximately
worth $2.4 billion which has tremendously and unprecedentedly grown to 88% since the year
2012. In such situation, Woolworths is paying a lot of attention towards sustainability as one of
their main corporate social responsibility as well as policy. Apart from the plastic ban which the
Woolworths team had formulated in the middle of the year 2018 where they have introduced
recycled bags instead of pure paper bags, the mentioned move by the Woolworths team in
engaging themselves and their products and services to sustainability has been received by the
world with positive reviews and feedback (News.com.au.2018). Being one of the most prolific
retail giant of Australia, such moves and schemes for the benefit of the environment and
sustainability has provided the company with respect and exclusivity. As Woolworths is the
second largest company of Australia in terms of revenue generation and reputation as well, such
sustainability moves have not only given the nation an example of modern environmentalism,
but has also instilled awareness in the mind of the fellow Australians about the importance of
sustainability, health and wellness, environmental protection and ecological balance.

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Ace Radio, Australia
In the middle of the year 2018, CSU (Charles Stuart University) and Ace Radio, Australia
had come into a Memorandum of Understanding with an agreement to work together in order to
build a platform for the future talents through the medium of regional commercial radio. To
promote the utility and significance of communication through radios in the era of smart phones
among the students of Charles Stuart University, Ace Radio of Australia has collaborated with
the University to implement Regional Radio Endorsement Programs for the interested and
enrolled students. The courses that the programs offer are Bachelor of Communication (Radio)
under the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst. According to the
Deputy Dean of the Charles Stuart University, the university faculties as well as the students
have been eager to work with Ace Radio, one of the popular and leading entertainment and
communication medium of Australia. According to the Dean of the University, the endorsement
programs of the collaboration would enable the students acquire workplace learning placements
which will lead in building capacity in them and enhance their talents in the context of regional
communities. The faculties of Ace Radio, Australia has been looking forward to train and assess
the students not only theoretically but also pragmatically by providing them with a live hand-on
experience combined with industry-efficient educational programs in the course where the
students would be having a practical experience of utilizing and working with Ace Radio
network facilities. To meet the needs, requirements and preferences of the radio industry of
Australia, the collaboration has taken place which is significant in promoting the endangered
entertainment medium which is losing its ground in the highly digitally advanced and optimized
world. The course offered according to the Memorandum is flexible enough and student friendly
as the students are provided provisions for pursuing and finishing the course either online, or in

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the campus or both. The student friendly feature of the course offered by the collaboration is an
important factor which had been assumed to be attracting a reasonable crowd of students towards
pursuing the course. The course had been acclaimed to be an important and significant course for
the students who seek to build their career in communication and entertainment industry of
Australia.
Commonwealth bank, Australia
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Telstra are in recent news as they have
collaborated for a block chain project that is considered to be implementing and ensuring new
levels and mazes of security for high-value and premium transactions that are being taken place
online with the help of internet (AustralianFinancialReview.com.au.2019). There has been news
about the collaboration of Commonwealth bank of Australia with Telco while Telstra has been
providing them with premium and top coders and programmers for the project. The project has
been given a disguised name of “electronic escrow” to maintain its secrecy and integrity. The
project has been known to be using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to provide with their
customers’ authenticity, security and assurance that their financial assets, capital and savings are
safe enough while making important, premium and high-value transactions that are worth more
than thousands of dollars. Distributed Ledger Technology is a mechanism of shared, replicated
and synchronized digital and computed data that does not have any central administrator, which
is spread geographically different countries, websites and institutions. The members of the team
for the secret project are hired from different background and genres such as emerging
technology specialists, eminent software engineers and other technologically informed and

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skilled people. A plethora of businesses and enterprises are adopting the mechanism and
technology of DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) to solve the troubles and problems they
face while carrying out their business problems because of its innovative and authentic
infrastructure (Natarajan, Krause and Gradstein 2017). For instance, Australian Securities
Exchange has been observed to be implementing Distributed Ledger Technology for their
operations. On the very day of their agreement that happened in February 25, Telstra declared
that the mentioned project with Ericson and Commonwealth Bank Australia might lead in
enhancing the technological skills and capabilities by the identification as well as development
of new and enhanced applications including artificial intelligence. Telstra said that such projects
should always be encouraged since it will lead fuel the growth and development of the
technologies of the nation. According to the latest news sources, it is noticed that that
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has revealed the fact that the bank has been experimenting
with the latest “geo-location” technology that is expected to provide with alerts and alarming
signs about charges and insurances when a customer visits the departure lounges of the
international airports. Such surveillance is considered to ensure safety, integrity and authenticity
of the monetary and financial transactions of the customers. The cause and reason behind
Commonwealth Bank of Australia to take up such project is the most catastrophic and
devastating failure of the bank in 2018. Commonwealth Bank of Australia was reported to be
getting a single coding error which contributed to the fatal failure of the bank to send 53,700
threshold transaction reports to financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC in 2018 which
resulted in a breach of deposits of $10,000 caps when the bank came to a settlement of $700
million dollars. Commonwealth Bank has also been observed to be making portals and platforms
for regulatory technology by making associations such as RegTech Association which has been

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planning and preparing a blueprint of numerous upcoming projects related to information and
communication technology for the business operations as well as the organizational operations.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia is the fourth bank across the globe which has signed as a
member of RegTech association. It is assumed that such initiatives, though secretive in nature,
might prove to be a very important tool or device to maintain transparency and authenticity of
the important monetary transactions which would enhance the reputation of the company in
future (AustralianFinancialReview.com.au.2019).

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References:
AustralianFinancialReview.com.au.2019. Available at: https://www.afr.com/business/banking-
and-finance/cba-telstra-work-top-secret-blockchain-project-20190405-p51bdj
CSUEducation.au.2018. Available at:https://news.csu.edu.au/latest-news/media-and-
communication/csu-ace-radio-mou-to-boost-regional-commercial-radio-talent
Natarajan, H., Krause, S. and Gradstein, H., 2017. Distributed Ledger Technology and
Blockchain.
News.com.au.2018. Available at:https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/woolies-
opens-the-kitchen-by-woolworths-focused-on-wellness-and-organic-products/news-story/
937a36956eca6c2139e61afb32d4b6e6
News.com.au.2018.Available at:https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/ditch-
problematic-singleuse-items-but-dont-demonise-plastic-sustainability-experts-say/news-story/
caf10228bf275e334a545221742062cb