Bucks University: BM461 Global Business Environment Portfolio Paper

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the global business environment, focusing on the fashion retail company Primark. The report begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an analysis of Primark's business environment, considering political, economic, social, technological, and environmental factors. It assesses the impact of government regulations and policies on Primark's operations, including the Employment Act of 1996 and the Equality Act of 2010. The report also examines the influence of global changes in the retail industry, utilizing the PESTEL framework to evaluate political, economic, technological, cost, market, and competitive drivers affecting Primark. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, highlighting Primark's responses to various globalization drivers and the importance of adapting to the dynamic business environment. References are provided at the end of the report to support the analysis.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
CW1: Global Business Environment Portfolio Paper
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Executive Summary:
The report aims at providing an insight into the global business environment of fashion retail
Primark. The company is a clothing retailer of Ireland with stores located in the United
Kingdom. The report commences with the interpretation of information relevant to the business
environment of the firm. The report also accesses the impact of the government on the operation
and structure of the business organization. There report also describes the impacts of the changes
in the global business environment on the activity and organizations of the business.

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Table of Contents
1. Analysis of the Business Environment of the Firm.....................................................................3
2. Assess the Impact of Government on Structure and Operation of Business Organization.........3
3. Understanding the Impact of Changes in the Global Business Environment in the Retail
Industry............................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................6

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1. Analysis of the Business Environment of the Firm
It has been found that the business operations of fashion retail Primark remains subjected
to the government regulations and policies as far as the political aspects are concerned. The
economic factors are determined by the regional stability that contributes positively to the
business condition of Primark (primark.com 2019). Primark also remains involved in the
promotion of social awareness and equality to consider the cultural and social behaviors of the
consumers. The technological factors lead to the generation of the newer trends that promotes
the growth and development of Primark. The environmental factors refer to the weather
conditions that have impacts the business of Primark. The Employment Act of 1996 and the
Equality Act of 2010 plays a key role in determining the business of Primark (Poynter 2013).
The strengths of the business operation of Primark lie in the systematic, simple and its
organized business structure. The weakness of the company lies in its management of people
while the autocratic and the rigid structures act as threat to the company. On the other hand, the
opportunity lies in providing quality products for the fashion conscious people.
2. Assess the Impact of Government on Structure and Operation of Business Organization
The business environment of Primark should conform to set of regulations and policies
enforced and stipulated by the government and the policy making bodies while meeting the
requirements of its own policies and regulations (MacCarthy and Jayarathne 2013). At the same
time, the firm should also assume the responsibility as demanded by global consciousness.

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3. Understanding the Impact of Changes in Global Business Environment in Retail
Industry
The global factor that influences the business includes the political, social, technological
and economic. Thus, business environment of Primark is determined by undertaking a PESTEL
framework (Rothaermel 2015).
Political Drivers: The drivers here primarily include the government and the government
policies which directly impacts the operation of the retail fashion industry. For example, Primark
in order to cope with this particular situation have adopted regulations and directives for ensuring
stability of operation.
Economic drivers: The drivers involve a rise in the living standards of the people that
leads to an increase in the demand in retail industry thus providing opportunities for making
profit. For example to cope with this, Primark develops strategies considering the fluctuations
that include the wage rate, interest rate and rate of inflation.
Technological Drivers: The drivers include the new inventions and innovations that
determine opportunities for the fashion retail business. For example, in order to cope with this,
Primark have designed business strategies considering the usage of the technology that allows
the firm in manufacturing services and products at lower cost.
Cost Drivers: This represented the unit of the activity that causes changes in the cost of
the activity. Some of the most common examples of cost drivers include the directly worked
labor hours. For instance, the fashion retail industry Primark cope with the driver through
activity based on cost analysis for minimizing the overhead cost.

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Market Drivers: They represent the underlying forces that compel the consumers in
purchasing products and paying for the services. Some of the common market drivers includes
government policy and consumer demand. Fashion retail industry copes with this driver in
gaining sustainable advantage and longer term performance of wider range of the industries.
Competitive Drivers: These represent the actions of the competing firms. For instance
the extent at which the competitors from the different continent not only enters fray but also
globalizes the corporate capabilities and the strategies for creating interdependence between the
geographical markets. For example, to cope with the driver, adopts strategies of either lowering
their prices or spending more amount of time with the training staff or providing niche goods.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, one can find the analysis of a business environment of a retail
fashion industry taking into consideration political, economic, social, technological,
environmental factors. It also provides an insight into the impact of the government on the
structure and operation of the fashion retail. The report also shows how the fashion retail reacts
positively to the various drivers of globalization.

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References:
MacCarthy, B.L. and Jayarathne, P.G.S.A., 2013. Supply network structures in the international
clothing industry: differences across retailer types. International Journal of Operations &
Production Management, 33(7), pp.858-886.
Poynter, T.A., 2013. Multinational Enterprises and Government Intervention (RLE International
Business). Routledge.
primark.com 2019. [online]. Assessed at https://www.primark.com/en/about-us/about-
primarkaher
Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.