Google's Business Environment: A PESTLE Analysis for BM461 Module

This report provides a PESTLE analysis of Google's business environment, focusing on its operations in the UK. The analysis examines the impact of political factors such as Brexit, economic factors including inflation rates, social factors related to data privacy, technological advancements like AI and machine learning, environmental regulations, and legal aspects such as GDPR. The report highlights how these external factors influence Google's operations, profitability, and strategic responses. It concludes that Google must comply with various policies and regulations to sustain its profitability and maintain a competitive edge in the market. The analysis uses credible sources to support its findings, offering a comprehensive overview of Google's challenges and opportunities within the global business environment.

Running Head: GOOGLE 0
Business Environment
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GOOGLE 1
Company Overview
Google is an America-based multinational company that operates in the industry of Internet,
Cloud computing, Computer software, Computer hardware, Artificial intelligence and
Advertising (Satariano, 2019). It offers its services in the UK based on which its operations
are affected by the external environment of the country.
PESTLE Analysis
Political: While managing its operations in the UK, Google is affected by the political
policies which are implemented by the government. A good example is Brexit which is a key
driver for change that affects the operations of Google since it creates challenges for the
company when it manages its operations in the UK and other countries in the European
Union (Wilson, 2019). The company will be subjected to different tax slabs, tariffs and
regulations after Brexit.
Economic: Changes in economic policies affected the operations of Google in the UK and it
also provides opportunities for the company. A key driver for change is declining rate of
inflation in the country which has fall to 1.7 per cent in 2019 that increases purchasing power
of people and it makes it easier for Google to charge its users for offering them services
(Partington, 2019).
Social: Social factors also affect operations of Google since people are becoming more aware
regarding their data privacy in the UK. A key driver for change is changing perception of
people since they did not prefer to share their private data with large organisations such as
Google which makes it difficult for the company to conduct its business operations and offer
new services to customers (Wilson, 2019).
Technological: Google relies on technologies advancements to improve its services which
enable the company to generate a competitive advantage in the market. For example, it uses
machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to make sure that it offers effective
recommendations to its users which improves their overall experience with its services
(Neubert and Montanez, 2020). It is a key driver for change since some of it services such as
YouTube, Google Now and Search engine relies on these technologies to make sure that
experience of its users is improved.

GOOGLE 2
Environmental: Environmental factors also affect the operations of Google since the
company is subject to laws which are implemented by the government of the UK relating to
protection of the environment. For example, the company has to comply with the provisions
given under the Environmental Protection Act which was introduced by the government in
1974 to for waste management and reducing overall emissions of companies and individuals
(Macintosh, Roberts and Constable, 2017). It is a key driver for change since as per this act,
Google has to make sure that it operations in the UK did not pollute the environment and it
focuses on reducing its overall carbon emission in the UK.
Legal: Google is subjected to a range of legal policies in the UK that affect its overall
operations and profitability of the company. A good example is GDPR (General Data
Protection Regulation) which provides different policies for protection of data of users. It is a
key driver for change because Google was fined $57 million which also negatively affected
the brand image of the company due to violation of these regulations (Satariano, 2019).
Conclusion
To conclude, changes in political policies, environmental laws and perception of users affect
operations of Google and it has to comply with a wide range of policies and regulations to
sustain its profitability.

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References
Macintosh, A., Roberts, H. and Constable, A. (2017) An empirical evaluation of
environmental citizen suits under the environment protection and biodiversity conservation
Act 1999 (Cth). Sydney L. Rev., 39, p.85.
Neubert, M.J. and Montañez, G.D. (2020) Virtue as a framework for the design and use of
artificial intelligence. Business Horizons, 63(2), pp.195-204.
Partington, R. (2019) Inflation falls to 1.7%, its lowest level for nearly three years. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/sep/18/inflation-falls-lowest-three-
years-brexit-prices-economists [Accessed: 17/03/2020].
Satariano, A. (2019) Google Is Fined $57 Million Under Europe’s Data Privacy Law.
[Online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/technology/google-europe-gdpr-
fine.html [Accessed: 17/03/2020].
Wilson, T.J. (2019) The impact of Brexit on the future of UK forensic science and
technology. Forensic science international, 302, p.109870.