Business and Business Environment Analysis: Tesco, Natwest, and Oxfam

This report provides an analysis of the business environment, examining various types of organizations including public limited companies (Tesco), private companies (Natwest), and voluntary sectors (Oxfam). It explores the purpose and scope of different organizational structures, including sole traders, partnerships, and franchising. The report details the relationship between organizational functions, such as production and design, and the overall objectives and structure of a firm. It highlights the importance of financial management and the impact of the macro environment on business operations. The analysis covers the legal structures of public and private companies, as well as the role of government and the voluntary sector in the business landscape. The report also examines the scope and operations of Tesco, Natwest, and Oxfam, illustrating how each organization functions within its respective sector and how they cater to their customers.

Business and
business environment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Various type of organisations and its purpose............................................................................1
Different type of organisations and their scope..........................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Relationship among various function of an organisation and its link with structure and
objectives of firm........................................................................................................................4
TASK 3 & TASK 4..........................................................................................................................6
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Environment in which a business enterprise execute all its commercial operations is
known as business environment. This is a combination of various internal and external elements
which largely affect the activities of an enterprise (Chavis, Klapper and Love, 2011). Suppliers,
clients, competitors, technology, rules of government, trends exist in the market all are the main
elements of this. Basically this is an aggregate of all the conditions exist in the market.
Identification of these elements is very important for making an implementing an effective
strategy. Any variation and modification in these factors affect the business operations specially
to the firms who operate on an international level. All this help managers in managing all the
functions in an effective way. Public limited firm TESCO, and a private company NATWEST is
taken under this report for study. Basic and main type of enterprises and its purpose for doing
business is described under this report. How all the functions of a firm is directly linked with
each other and how they affect by its objectives and structure is also mentioned under this.
Further, main elements of macro environment and its impact on the business operations and how
the strengths and weakness of an organisation are kinked with the factors of external
environment is all detailed under this.
TASK 1
Various type of organisations and its purpose
Individuals undertake and execute number of business activities with the aim of earning
large amount of profits. Before starting any kind of business activity they first identify the needs
of various customers and than make the final product and service for satisfy them. Size and
nature of business entity largely affect its activities. Operations of large enterprises include more
complexity and required effective management as compared with the activities of business firm.
This can be understood by the points stated below:
Public limited company: If a business firm is controlled by the government either wholly
or partially than it is known as public limited firm. Main motive of these companies is to make
effective and innovative for satisfying the needs of customers (Commander and Svejnar, 2011).
For generating revenues these firms issues the shares and invite the public to buy the same.
These organisation keep the word PLC after the name of the company. Managers of these
companies are liable to held a meeting every year called annual general meeting. In this meeting
suggestions is taken from every stakeholder regarding the decisions of company further
1

discussion is take place on every issue. It is very necessary to held a meeting to get the approval
of stakeholders regarding the future actions of firm. TESCO is an example of a public limited
firm. Legal structure of this type of company differs from the private companies.
Legal structure of a public limited firm is stated below: General government: This is mainly divided into two parts:
Central government: Top body of government which control all the activities and actions
of a nation is known as central government. Both central and state government of United
Kingdom share the same powers (Eckardt, 2012)(Eisenberg and Miller, 2012). Print money and
collect taxes from various type of businesses is come under the responsibility of central
government.
State government: Activities of a particular state is control by this government. A big
role is played by this government for control the activities of eduction universities and this also
encourage the higher education of children. Local government: Control and regulation of activities of a very small city or town by
the local government. This type of government have the authority to solve the issues
related with particular area.
Private company: Firms which are operated and controlled by the private hands and not
by the government is known as private firms. These type of companies are started with the aim
of producing innovative products and serve to number of individuals for capturing a larger
market share. NATWEST is an example of a private company. Furthers private companies are
divide into the following: Sole trader: When s a business is carried by an individuals with the aim of earning profit
than this is known as sole trader business. Only that parson take all the important
decisions about the business and suffer all the losses and gains arise. Fast decision
making and large number of profits is one of the main advantage of this type of business. Partnership: When two or more two individuals start a business activity with the aim of
earning profit is known as partnership (Hamilton and Webster, 2015). Before starting the
business operations a written document called partnership deed is signed by all the
members. This include the name, age, address, share of profit of every partner and many
more. This help in eliminating the grounds of conflicts in future. Increase amount of
skills and knowledge is one of the main advantage of this type of business.
2

 Franchising: When owner of a big and positive brand image give right to an individual
to use his brand for selling the products and services than this process is knowns as
franchising. Individual who give right is knows as franchisor whether the person who
take the right is knowns as franchisee. This is very effective strategy as this provide an
opportunity to the individual to capture a larger market share.
Voluntary sector: Firms which are formed by some individuals with the motive of social
development is known as voluntary organisation. Various efforts are done by these type of firms
for doing social development of the people (Jayeoba, 2012). OXFAM is a example of this who
do various efforts for removing poverty all around the worlds For this firm provide them basic
facilities such as food, shelter and cloth.
Different type of organisations and their scope
Public Sector Enterprise: TESCO, which is UK's largest retailer of grocery and
merchandise products is an example of public limited company. When it is analysed on the basis
of profits, it stands on the third position. They have expanded their market all over all the world
and today they have gained success in opening almost 6653 stores all across the globe. From
these stores they generate approx. 55 millions per year. To make sure that all the things are done
in certain time period with effectiveness they have employed more than 456400 staff. Such big
numbers help TESCO in achieving their goals and objectives easily without any hurdle. All the
tasks and operations are performed in effectively and efficient manner thus bringing more
productivity and profitability to the organisation. They have always believed in delivering
quality products to the customer as stated in their vision statement. On the other hand their
mission statement says that they are liable to assist their potential consumers to make better
purchasing decision.
Private Sector Enterprise: NATWEST which is also referred to as National
Westminster Bank is considered as one of the biggest commercial bank in UK. From years they
are successfully providing financial services to the citizens of UK and they are constantly
evolving as one of the most trusted bank. Currently, they are delivering their services through
more than 850 branch and 3000 cash machines in whole Britain. They offer their services
through online banking also and that's also 24*7. To make sure that customers does not face any
difficulty they have workforce of 33000 staff members who are involved in resolving the queries
or problems of the customers. The number is big because they have to give their services to
3

approx. 7 billion clients. On timely period they also brings add on services to attract more
customers. Natwest operates “mobile branches” using converted vans to serve rural areas around
St Austell, Swansea, Carlisle, Devon and North Wales. With this bank gives freedom to people
who belongs to rural are3as to carry out transactions.
Voluntary Organisation: Oxfam which is a charitable organisation provides their
humanitarian services in almost all countries and carry out certain various programs to eradicate
poverty from various parts of world. These social causes are carried out in big manner and they
raise certain issues concerned to injustice and poverty. To try to fulfil the basic needs of the of
the people so that they can have a day meal. To make sure that their efforts does not affects and
goes on with a proper pace they get donations from the big corporates and government bodies.
This is the only way they get the financial help because they are non profitable organisation who
does not have any profit making aim. Other than poverty eradication programs they are also
indulged in programs related to disaster relief, advocacy, policy research and pro migration.
There aim is to work with the local organisations and work in the areas where most of the people
are below the poverty line and are not able to live a better life. They make sure that their rights
are protected and they get the full dignity in the society as a common man has. Oxfam has an
online store in which they sell the donated toys and other goods. Whatever money they get from
the online stores are utilised in their work for the humanity.
TASK 2
Relationship among various function of an organisation and its link with structure and objectives
of firm
NATWEST bank has build a trust among their customers because of their friendly
services and today it is one the most popular bank in UK. They give various category of services
and products to their clients so that they can attain desired goals and objectives. To deliver and
provide quality services to the clients it is necessary that whatever functions they carry out
should be done with a proper planning. There should be a coordination with the other
departments of the company with their functions. This way they can satisfy their customers in
more effective manner and could understand what a consumer desire from them.
 Production and Design: To design the products which can set new bench mark in the
banking sector of UK they have totally focus on the requirements of the general public.
They should carry out the surveys to know what are the services which customer want
4

from the bank. This is the only way to satisfy them and builds more clients in less period
of time. They have to be unique which will automatically attract new people towards
them because they have created a desire to take their services. But at the same time they
also need to ensure the efficiency in their business operations so for that they have
design and develop different strategies which will support the production system of the
bank. Various operations can be performed well if there is sufficient number of
workforce, capital and raw material.
 Finance: To carry out the business operations funds is necessary as without it no strategy
can be implemented. If NatWest bank will not have sufficient amount of funds they will
face certain hurdles in their journey and will not able to cater such number of employees
at a time. Without the funds they will also face delays in the commercial activities they
carry out. To achieve better results they need to have enough funds. But who is the
person who takes carte of the finance in the bank. It is the responsibility of the finance
manager to estimate the requirements of the funds in the organisation and after that they
sketch a plan that certain activities require certain amount. According to it, they allocate
budget and make sure that whatever money the bank has is controlled in a way that no
waste is done. They get to know that if they will be investing in that particular
department they will get certain results. Priorities should be decided according to the
future goals as long term vision is set by the bank. Human Resource Function: Almost every organisation has Human Resource
department and in this century this has become one of the most important areas of the
business enterprise. They are responsible for handling and managing the human resource.
NatWest should understand the importance of the employees because they act as assets
for them. To attain the goals which they have set manpower is necessary to accomplish
those targets. This is the responsibility of the HR manager to carry out the organisational
audit and identify the prone areas which can impact the growth of the bank in negative
way. He also looks at the operations carried out by the bank and then design the job
description which contain certain skills which is required to complete those tasks.
According to it they recruit employees examining whether those people have certain
skills or not.
5

 Marketing – This unit of business organisations plays a vital role in promoting products
and services in target market. It is the main responsibility of marketing department is to
attain and retain large number of customers towards company so as to gain high market
growth and share. In modern time, marketing is become tedious task for managers which
is emerged with production process of the company (Klapper, Lewin and Delgado, 2011).
Apart from this marketing department also liable in generating new ideas and innovations
through which managers can gain high market growth and success. In other other words,
merchandising is an instrument which gives scope to managers then they can better
understand demand pattern of customers by fulfilling their needs and wants in a pervasive
manner. In addition, marketing department also improve financial position of business
entity through which it can easily achieve goals and objectives from target market.
 Research and development department – It is an ethical responsibility of research and
development to know needs and wants of potential customers. Managers of this
department conduct various investigation so as to take proper feedbacks and reviews
from customers in order to make essential improvements. This can increases a company's
wealth in a certain time period. Apart from this, by regulating an effective market
research managers can also know rivals strength and their power so as to develop more
attractive strategies and policies. Market research also helps in ensuring that whether new
products are able to meet market trends and customers demand in an adequate manner
(Macdonald, 2012). It focuses on evolving goods with regulatory requirements and
specifies quality levels.
TASK 3 & TASK 4
Covered in PPT
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that by analysing the factors exist in the
business environment NATWEST can make better policies and strategies for its business
operations. In this sway set objective and targets can be easily attained by the company. By
understanding the link among the various functions of business NATWEST can make and offer
effective services to its customers. For getting more knowledge about the strengths and weakness
of the firm internal analysis can be execute by the manager of it. For making better and effective
business plans for future PESTLE can be used by the bank. In this company can better satisfy
6

the needs and wants of its customers. By using the tool PESTLE managers can evaluate the
effect of external factors on the firm's operations. Further by doing this analysis firm can identify
the opportunities exist in the business environment for overcoming with its threats.
7

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Chavis, L.W., Klapper, L.F. and Love, I., 2011. The impact of the business environment on
young firm financing. The world bank economic review. 25(3). pp.486-507.
Commander, S. and Svejnar, J., 2011. Business environment, exports, ownership, and firm
performance. The Review of Economics and Statistics. 93(1). pp.309-337.
Eckardt, M., 2012. The European Private Company: Do we need another 28th private company
law form in the EU? On regulatory competition of corporate law.
Eisenberg, T. and Miller, G.P., 2012. The English versus the American rule on attorney fees: an
empirical study of public company contracts. Cornell L. Rev.. 98. p.327.
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2015. The international business environment. Oxford University
Press, USA.
Jayeoba, F.I., 2012. NEED-GOAL INTEGRATION AND ORGANISATIONAL TYPES;
IMPLICATION FOR INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. European Scientific Journal. 8(19).
Klapper, L., Lewin, A. and Delgado, J.M.Q., 2011. The impact of the business environment on
the business creation process. In Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (pp.
108-123). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Klapper, L., Lewin, A. and Delgado, J.M.Q., 2011. The impact of the business environment on
the business creation process. In Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (pp.
108-123). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Krishnan, A., 2013. Culture As a Successor of Quality Initiatives: A Review. International
Journal of Social Science. 2(1). p.53.
Love, V.J., 2011. Private company accounting: A concept whose time has come. The CPA
Journal. 81(2). p.16.
Macdonald, R., 2012. Unilever. A Strategic Analysis.
Madsen, D.Ø., 2016. SWOT Analysis: A Management Fashion Perspective.
McDonald, M. and Wilson, H., 2011. Marketing plans: How to prepare them, how to use them.
John Wiley & Sons.
Mojaveri, H.S. and Fazlollahtabar, H., 2012. Designing an integrated AHP based fuzzy expert
system and SWOT Analysis to prioritize development strategies of Iran agriculture.
Revista de Management Comparat International. 13(1). p.117.
Myers, M. and Korsmo, C., 2014. Appraisal Arbitrage and the Future of Public Company M&A.
Rankin, M., Windsor, C. and Wahyuni, D., 2011. An investigation of voluntary corporate
greenhouse gas emissions reporting in a market governance system: Australian
evidence. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. 24(8). pp.1037-1070.
Welford, R., 2013. Hijacking environmentalism: Corporate responses to sustainable
development. Routledge.
Online
business environment. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.investorwords.com/19252/business_environment.html>. [Accessed on
14th September 2017].
MARKETING THEORIES – PESTEL ANALYSIS. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.professionalacademy.com/blogs-and-advice/marketing-theories---pestel-
analysis>. [Accessed on 14th September 2017].
8