Autumn 2017 EBWO3001 Portfolio: Business Environment Analysis

This portfolio assignment, completed for the EBWO3001 course in Autumn 2017, explores various aspects of starting and managing a business, specifically an accounting service. The student analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of business ownership, emphasizing financial risks and time commitment, while also highlighting the benefits of autonomy and control. A PESTEL analysis is used to identify external factors impacting the business. The portfolio further examines the impact of globalization, including increased competition and technological adaptation, with a focus on accounting software. The target customer base is defined as small businesses, and the importance of understanding customer needs is emphasized, along with strategies to attract more customers, such as competitive pricing and social media advertising. Finally, the role of ethics in business is discussed, and the importance of ethical treatment of staff is highlighted, along with examples. The assignment demonstrates an understanding of key business concepts and their practical application within the context of a real-world business scenario.

Autumn 2017 First-sit Portfolio
Effectiveness in the Business World
(EBWO3001)
Student Name:
Student Number:
Lecturer Name:
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World1
Assessed Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of the organisation and the
environment in which it operates, including determining the competitive
advantage for an organisation.
2. Identify and analyse organisational operations, responsibilities
3. Discuss the needs of the consumer and people who work in a business.
4. Recognise a range of issues related to business and how they interlink.
5.

As a requirement for the completion of this portfolio, you should first decide
on a type of business you have or would potentially like to start up in the
future (e.g. restaurant, shop, service etc.). Your answers to the tasks below
will relate to this business.
Week Contents (350-400 words per task) Page
Learning
outcomes
Week 2-3 a. Briefly describe the nature of business you
have or might like to have in the future.
b. What are the advantages and disadvantages
of owning your own business?
c. In what ways could PESTEL be useful in
planning your start-up business?
3 LO1/4
Week 4-5 a. In what ways can ‘globalisation’ have an
impact on your business? Discuss two
examples. 4 LO1/2
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World2

b. What suitable technology wouldyour business
useand how would it improve the operations
of the business?
Week 6-7 a. Briefly identify who your ‘customer’ is likely to
be. Why is it important for a business to
understand its customers?
b. DescribeTWOways in which you might attract
more customers to your business.
5 LO1/3
Week 8-9 a. What is the role of ethics in business?
b. With examples from other businesses, describe
how your business can treat its staff ethically.
6 LO3/4
References 7
Total word limit: 1500 words(+/- 10%)
This portfolio is a working document that MUST be completed over the 10-week course.
By the end of the 10-week course, you should have completed 4 tasks. You will also be
required to work on your portfolio during your weekly tutorial sessions.
ASSESSMENT – PORTFOLIO
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World3

Week Task 1 Learning
Outcomes
Week
2-3
a. Briefly describe the nature of business you
have or might like to have in the future.
b. What are the advantages and disadvantages
of owning your own business?
c. In what ways could PESTEL be useful in
planning your start-up business?
LO1/4
Your answer should go in the box below.
If I get the opportunity to have my own business once in a lifetime, then I would like to start an
accounting service business. Every business, whether good or bad, needs accountant. The business owner is
conscious enough of his finance and he knows the value of accountant or a book keeper in his business.
Since it could be expensive for the small business owners to appoint an accountant for his business, it
opens up a great opportunity for all the accountants and the book keepers to open up their own accounting
businesses.
Owning a business opens up the opportunity of making more money than what he could make as
an employee of a company (Davenport, Dalle and Lucker 2014). A business opens up the possibility of
making truckloads full of money (Nahavandi and Chesteen 2017). However, there are few disadvantages
too. They include financial risk, time commitment and stress. Every business needs financial resources to
start and grow (Williams 2014). In order to do so, a person may need to commit most of his savings or even
go into debt. With the same, there will be a huge array of things to get worried about such as competition,
bills, employees customer problems etc. Mostly people start a business so that they could spend more time
with their families but the fact is running a business is immensely time consuming.
In addition to that, when a person owns his own business; he is the only one in control. He is his
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World4

own boss and there is no one who has a control over him. No one needs to tell him to do his work. Though,
there are government workers, customers and suppliers who needs to get satisfied by him but the good
news is that he still have the choices of whether to act according to them or not.
The PESTLE analysis discovers and records the different factors in the
Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors that may have an impact on
a business (Lolios and Read 2013). It helps the business owners in planning and strategizing their next
steps and that too with a clear view of the current as well as upcoming external factors that may affect their
business. The PESTLE analysis will help me to spot my business and personal opportunities and will assist
me with advanced warning of consequential threats. It shall reveal the way of changes within my business
environment. Furthermore, it will help in to opt out the projects that will probably fail for the reasons that
would be beyond my control. Pestle analysis will help me indentify the way by which each element of the
pestle is influencing my business and with the help of this, i shall focus more on finding out the solution of
the same. It will also evaluate the associated risks with the countries and states that i am interested in
introducing my business.
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World5

Week Task 2 Learning
Outcomes
Week
4-5
a. In what ways can ‘globalisation’ have an impact
on your business? Discuss two examples.
b. What suitable technology would your business
use and how would it improve the operations of
the business?
LO1/2
Your answer should go in the box below.
Globalization has become a major factor in the business life throughout the last few decades
(Glatzer 2012). It has affected almost all the corporations including economy and society as well. It has
lead to increased competition, information transfer and rapid change in technology. The increased
competition has a great influence on the target market, product and service cost, quick response and
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World6

production, technological adaptation any many more. In case of accounting service business, the increase in
competition will open up multitude of choices for the business owners (Hiebeler, Kelly and Ketteman
2012). For example, globalisation will help my business to get merge with the other new international
businesses and will to develop my business’s value. Will the same, this will help promote my business to
the other countries as well.
I would make use of accounting software in my business in order to track my business’s financial
condition and supervise the money movement. It will be creating invoices, tracking expenses and would be
generating various reports, which will help me examine and measure my business’s performance from
different angles. Furthermore, It will track the expenses, sales and recurring invoices of my customers. It
will have in built advanced reporting abilities and purchase reporting. Through this software, I shall take
advantage of a daily developing suite of the organisational technologies and software in order to decrease
the pain of receipt, invoices and bills management. This software is accessible progressively as the cloud
oriented and majority of the small businesses and entrepreneur would move their current accounting work
progress to cloud.
It is true that the American economies are still improving and not many business man can afford
owning an accountant. However, if one manages to hire an accountant then his motivation process,
insurance and motoring club, all will sum up together and will increase the average running cost of the
accountant. It is something that many people will fail to deal with. My accounting service business will not
need these additional charges. Just get registered with my business and enjoy the service without any
inconvenience and interruptions. This will attract more and more customer demands.
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World7

Week Task 3 Word
Count
Learning
Outcomes
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World8

Week
6-7
a. Briefly identify who your ‘customer’ is likely
to be. Why is it important for a business to
understand its customers?
b. Describe TWO ways in which you might
attract more customers to your business.
5 LO1/3
Your answer should go in the box below.
The target customers of my bus service will be the very small business group. I shall generally
emphasise on the small scale business owners who feels it costly to hire an account for their company.
Every successful company have one thing in common. They know who their target audience are. It is very
important for an executive to understand the needs, wants and behaviour of his customers. The more he
concentrates on knowing his customer, the more likely he is to continue his success (Christensen, Raynor
and McDonald 2015). The most important thing to know about the customers includes their name, age,
address, gender, marital status, children, education, profession and hobbies. In addition to these, it is also
good to make a clear note on their expectations from your business, why they would like to choose you and
what they think about your business (Onetti et al. 2012). It is also very important to keep up with the latest
trends that might influence your customers. The more you get to know your customers, the better scheme
and strategy you will able to put for your business efforts. Hence, it can be said that understanding the
customers in depth is the key to highly successful business (Verhoef and Lemon 2013).
I shall confidently advice the audit and boards committees on the accounting issues comprise of
effects on the existing processes and systems. I shall implement streamline financial procedures in order to
refine efficiencies that will include reviews on financial functions and the ERP implementations.
Furthermore, I shall understand how the forthcoming changes on financial reporting will influence the
reportings to my stakeholders and other important investors. In addition, I shall also understand the
possible material weaknesses in order to reduce the risk of my customers by implementing important
controls and shall improve the financial reportings to the investors and stakeholders following acquisitions.
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World9

For the promotion of my business, I shall opt for advertising it on social media so that more and more
people will get aware of it. I will decrease the cost value of my business, which in return will also decrease
the service price. Since people today are more price conscious, lowering the service cost will attract more
customers towards my service.
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World10

Week Task 4 Learning
Outcomes
Week
8-9
a. What is the role of ethics in business?
b. With examples from other businesses, describe
how your business can treat its staff ethically.
LO3/4
Your answer should go in the box below.
EBWO3001 | Effectiveness in Business World11