Analysis of the Business Environment for Woolworths Supermarket

This report provides an analysis of the business environment of Woolworths Supermarket, an Australian grocery chain established in 1924. The report focuses on the macroeconomic factors influencing Woolworths' operations, including policy changes, government regulations, and economic indicators. The environmental scan highlights the importance of understanding external factors to make informed business decisions and mitigate risks. The discussion covers factors such as trading hours, labor flexibility, government interference, minimum wage increases, and new labeling strategies. The report also examines how political stability, economic growth, social factors (tourism and people), and technological advancements impact Woolworths. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of detailed knowledge of both internal and external business scenarios for effective decision-making and loss reduction in times of crisis. This report is contributed by a student and published on Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools and resources.

Running Head: BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
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1BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
Executive Summary
This report is going to analyse the business environment of Woolworths Supermarket which is
primarily an Australian grocery store established in 1924. In course of the discussion the report is
focusing on the macroeconomic factors that are responsible to influence the environment of the
Woolworths in Australia. Therefore, the company must have detailed knowledge about their
internal and external business scenarios so that in case of crisis they can reduce loss.

2BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Environmental scan.....................................................................................................................3
Factors in business environment..................................................................................................4
Policy changes.........................................................................................................................4
Changes in government...........................................................................................................4
Macroeconomic indicators.......................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference.........................................................................................................................................6

3BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
Introduction
Environment is business is as similar to the environment in which we live in. It can be
defined as an environment where a business can be developed and the change in that
environment will influence the course of the business can be referred as business environment.
Based on this understanding, this report is going to analyse the business environment of
Woolworths Supermarket which is primarily an Australian grocery store established in 1924
(About Us, 2018). In course of the discussion the report is focusing on the macroeconomic
factors that are responsible to influence the environment of the Woolworths in Australia.
Discussion
Environmental scan
Environment scanning in the context of business is highly important and significant in the
process of business. It can be argued that the business environment scan can help a corporate
organisation to understand the external factors that have positive and negative impacts on the
business process. Therefore, some importances of business are identified as:
 Scanning the operation of a business organisation helps to take decisions that are
beneficial for the company.
 Success and failures are part and parcel of a business process. Therefore, it is important
for the business houses to understand the strengths and figure out the failures to resolve
(Du Toit, 2016).
 Moreover, the scanning fosters a great deal of perception about the existed government
policies and regulation in relation to the specific organisation.

4BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
Factors in business environment
Policy changes
It can be argued that the Woolworths Company is putting emphasis on the business in
retain sector in Australia. In this context, the first policy that the Woolworths Company
demanded for was the proper trading hours across Australia. Besides this, there are issues of
labour flexibility that was also addressed by the Woolworths Company (Law changes for
business in 2018, 2018). Moreover, the intense interference of the government regulation in local
and state level was also identified as an issue in business operation of the company (Fernie,
Fernie & Moore, 2015).
Changes in government
The change in the government also puts a great impact on the business activities of
Woolworths Company across Australia. It can be stated that the government policies regarding
trade and business in Australia has been changed in a rapid pace. With the change in the
government policy recently the Australian government increases the minimum wage by 3.5 %.
This have a great impact on the Woolworths Company because with this increase in minimum
wages the company employees were started demanding for increasing their wages as well. As a
matter of fact, the government also imposes new labelling strategies for the for the retail stores in
Australia.
Macroeconomic indicators
The macroeconomic indicators have potential capability to influence the business
occupation of Woolworths Company. In this regard, the political environment of the country is
stable and thus helps to develop opportunities for the company to maximise its operations. After

5BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
that the economic factors are stipulates with the financial performances of Woolworths
Company. Therefore, it can be advocated that the stability and continuous booming trend of the
economy in Australia becomes an advantage for the Woolworths Company to develop its market
occupation. As far as the Social factors are concerned Australia is popular for tourist destination
and the amicable behaviour of the people make it easier for the Woolworths Company to proceed
further (McCrann, 2011). Besides this, the technologically Australia is identified as one of the
developed countries and as a result of that this facilitates a great deal of advantage to the
Woolworths Company in order to use modern and advanced technology in their production and
organisational framework.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be argued that the external environments are considered to be an
important aspect that Woolworths Company has to be kept in mind before taking any decision.
Moreover, the company must have detailed knowledge about their internal and external business
scenarios so that in case of crisis they can reduce loss.

6BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OF WOOLWORTHS, AUSTRALIA
Reference
About Us - Woolworths Group. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/page/about-us
Du Toit, A. S. (2016). Using environmental scanning to collect strategic information: A
South African survey. International Journal of Information Management, 36(1), 16-
24.
Fernie, J., Fernie, S., & Moore, C. (2015). Principles of retailing. Routledge.
Law changes for business in 2018. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.business.gov.au/news/law-changes-for-business-in-2018
McCrann, T. (2011). Woolworths targets government on policies to help ailing retail
industry. The Courier Mail. Retrieved from
https://www.couriermail.com.au/business/retailer-attacks-perceived-threats/news-
story/086b6a40d3393b8b7b32fb1308f6d698?
sv=8fd02ed489d4e894465c7e77610002e3