BA30591E - Introduction to Business: Partnership and Strategy Report

This report analyzes the business structure of "Little Dessert Shop," focusing on its partnership type, which is identified as a general partnership. The report delves into the application of Porter's Five Forces model to assess the competitive landscape, emphasizing industry rivalry, supplier and buyer power, the threat of substitutes, and the threat of new entrants. Furthermore, it examines the impact of macro environmental factors, including political, economic, and environmental considerations, on the business's performance. The analysis highlights the importance of adapting to market changes, utilizing differentiation strategies, and considering external factors for business success. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the significance of understanding both internal and external influences for effective business planning and strategic decision-making. The report includes references to academic sources to support the analysis.

Introduction to Business
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..............................................................................................................................................3
Determine the partnership as the type of business organization in context of Mary and Sue’s “Little
Dessert Shop”..........................................................................................................................................3
Evaluate the Porter’s five forces model in order to accomplish the benefit over the competitors............4
Explain the impact of macro environmental factors in order to improve the business performance........5
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
Business is refer as the process of exchange where products and services are been
exchanged between two different parties with the objective of earning profits (Black, 2019).
Earlier before introduction on money system the products are exchange for products and this
process is termed as barter system. With the advancement in technology and implementation of
modernization the methods and techniques of doing business has changed and developed. The
development in the business has lead motivation in people to earn more profits. Basically it is
termed as the organized and systematic activities performed by the people where exchange of
products and services is been involved. The topics covered in the report are driving forces in
order to gain competitive advantage, the external factors affecting the business activities and
operations. The study is been conducted on the case study of “Little Dessert Shop”.
MAIN BODY
Determine the partnership as the type of business organization in context of Mary and Sue’s
“Little Dessert Shop”.
Partnership is been termed as the type of business in which two or more people come
together to run a business with mutual understanding and contribution under a contact (Doh,
Luthans and Slocum, 2016). Basically under this type of contact the ownership and
responsibilities of operating a business unite(company) is been shared by the interested
businessman. The profit and expense are been handled by them on the bases of the fixed ratio
which is mentioned in the legal contact. In context of “Little Dessert Shop” the business is run by
two individuals (Mary and Sue) under the term partnership. According to contact they are
equally responsible and liable for all type of actions within the business.
Type of partnership
Broadly partnership has been categories into three type which is describe below-
 General partnership- It is a type of partnership in which the work pressure, profits, legal
actions and all related activities are equally shared among the partners. Hence all are
equally liable for the actions and operations so has active involvement in the decisions of
business.
 Limited partnership- In this type of partnership the investors from outside the business
are invited to invest in the business. According to their investment percentage they are
liable to bear the expenses and acquire the profits.
 Joint Venture- This is a type of partnership which take place for short duration of time
that is for completion of specific project. With the completion of project the partnership
also come to end that is dissolved.
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In context of ‘Little Dessert Shop” the partnership contact lies in the category of general
partnership where partners get various benefits (Bougie and Sekaran, 2016).
 Organizational structure- The formation of this business structure is quite simple where
just a contact is been formulated and no legal formalities need to be fulfill.
 Diverse background- The partners are different in terms of nature, skills, abilities,
thinking process and many other factors. These diverse background of partners help in
formulating better strategies and effective decisions are been taken. In context of the
Little Desert Shop the partners belong to different backgrounds that is Mary was
perversely working as chef in the restaurant chain whereas Sue was working in
hospitality industry as a manager.
 Risk sharing- The risk taking abilities provide benefit to the business that is by taking
such chances the company is taking step ahead towards success.
Evaluate the Porter’s five forces model in order to accomplish the benefit over the competitors.
Porter’s five force model functions on various five elements in order to help organization
to identify its strengths and weaknesses in order to develop making strategies and business plans
(Lambert, 2015). Moreover it helps in analyzing and evaluating the strategies of competitors
which helps in determining the long term objective of the company. In context of Little Desert
Shop the implementation of Porter’s five force model is explained below-
 Industry rivalry- It refers to the number of potential competitor in their industry and their
strategies and techniques in order to capture the market share. The level of difficulty
brings when there are large number of competitors in the same industry which are
providing effective services and quality products to its customers. The company will face
problem in retaining its customers as there is wide range of choice been available with
the customers. In context of Little Desert Shop, they are facing tough competition in
marketplace due to large number of competitors. In order to retain its customers they
should adopt the differentiation strategy in its business operations in order to provide
innovate and unique products to its customers. This will help in attracting the potential
customers and enhance the company reputation in marketplace.
 Bargaining power of suppliers- In context of Little Desert Shop, they are facing high
competition in marketplace so there are large number of suppliers available in the
marketplace. The company has the wide range of option in selecting its suppliers and if
any issue take place they can easily shift to any other supplier. Hence they are not facing
any type of problems from suppliers side.
 Bargaining power of buyers- This is defined as the approach in which buyer has power to
formulate the changes in the prices of goods and services according to their preferences.
In context of Little Desert Shop, they have established there business at small level and in
this case the customers has more power. In this case company need to clear fully study
the market trends and the strategies used by the competitors in order to develop an
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effective business strategy which provide desire results. They should focus on
competitive strategy in order to reduce the bargaining power of customers.
 Threat of substitutes- Substitute goods refers to type of goods which is similar with the
goods of the other competitors that is if customer find high prices of the original product
then they can easily shift to substitute goods. In context of Little Desert Shop, if they
want to come over the threat of substitute then they should focus on introducing new
unique and innovate products which do not have close substitute.
 Threat of new entry- The performance of the company is also effected by the entry of
new businesses in the marketplace. In context of Little Desert Shop, they should focus on
new ways in which they can attract the customers and should be updated according to
market changes. These small steps help the company in satisfying the needs and wants of
customers and help in retaining employees for long duration of time (Janiesch and et,al.,
2017).
Explain the impact of macro environmental factors in order to improve the business
performance.
Macro environmental factors are the external factors which take place outside the
business and has the ability to effect the business activities and operations (Tura and et.al.,
2019). In context of Little Desert Shop, the following factors contributes in effecting the business
operations-
 Political factors- These are those factors which take place due to government and the
political situation of the country. These factors includes political stability, taxation
policies and many more. In context of the Little Desert Shop, they are experiencing the
stable political environment as they are operating in UK. Moreover a great opportunity is
available with the them as they can expand its business in near by regions as the country
is politically stable. They political factors have positive impact on the company as they
can grow and develop their business. UK has good trade relations with other countries so
if company want to acquire inventory from different countries they can consider it.
 Economic factor- This factors shows the economic state of the country that is at what
position it stand in terms of economic growth and development. The factors which are
included in economic factor are inflation rate, interest rate, disposable income of people
and many other. In context of Little Desert Shop, the economic factors have positive
impact on the business of company as the market segment in which they are dealing has
growth opportunities in coming future. The customers prefer to spend money on foods
and this factor will help the company to grow and develop.
 Environmental factor- There are various factors which provide damage to the
environment and to natural resources. In context of Little Desert Shop, environmental
factor has positive impact on the company as they are using various tools for promotions
with the motive to communicate the sustainable and effective use of natural resources.
Moreover they are using eco-friendly products in its business operations and focus on
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recycling its products in order to minimize the wastage. These methods has helped in
formulating the good image of the brand in the marketplace (Ritter and Lettl, 2018).
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been concluded that there are so many methods available to
start a business. The adoption of method depends on the needs and desires of the business
unities. There are various factors within the organization and outside the organization which
effect the operations of business. Its important for the success of company to identify and
analyses these factors in order to develop business plan and strategies in order to achieve
effective results.
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REFERENCES
Books &Journal
Black, K., 2019. Business statistics: for contemporary decision making. John Wiley & Sons.
Doh, J.P., Luthans, F. and Slocum, J., 2016. The world of global business 1965–2015:
Perspectives on the 50th anniversary issue of the Journal of World Business: Introduction
to the special issue.
Lambert, S., 2015. The importance of classification to business model research. Journal of
Business Models. 3(1).
Bougie, R. and Sekaran, U., 2016. Research Methods For Business: A Skill Building 7 ed. Wily.
Tura, N. and et.al., 2019. Unlocking circular business: A framework of barriers and
drivers. Journal of cleaner production, 212, pp.90-98.
Janiesch, C. and et,al., 2017. The internet-of-things meets business process management: mutual
benefits and challenges. arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.03628.
Ritter, T. and Lettl, C., 2018. The wider implications of business-model research. Long Range
Planning. 51(1). pp.1-8.
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