University of Birmingham: Yoghurtology Frozen Yogurt Shop Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of 'Yoghurtology,' a frozen yogurt shop established by Frank Jones and Peter Jackson, operating in a busy Birmingham shopping center. The report begins by examining the business's partnership structure, classifying it as a general partnership, and discussing the advantages of this type of business organization. The core of the analysis applies Porter's Five Forces framework to assess the competitive landscape of the frozen yogurt industry, evaluating the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers and customers, the threat of rivalry, and the threat of substitute products. The report then identifies and discusses three key macro-environmental factors—economic, social, and technological—that influence the business's performance and growth potential. The economic factors include taxation, interest rates, inflation, exchange rates, and economic growth; the social factors include the increasing demand for healthier food options; and technological factors include the emergence of new technologies. The report concludes by summarizing the findings and highlighting the strategic implications for 'Yoghurtology' to achieve competitive advantage and business improvement.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Case Study
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Question 1: Partnership as Type of Business Organization.............................................................2
Question 2: Porter’s Five Forces.....................................................................................................4
Question 3: Three Macro Environmental Factors that Improves Business.....................................6
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................7
References:......................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
The report provides an insight into the various aspects of management of frozen yogurt
shop, ‘Yoghurtology, introduced by Frank Jones along with business partner Peter Jackson. It is
parlor style ice cream shop located in one of the busy and prominent Shopping Centre at
Birmingham. The report evaluates partnership as a kind of business organization in reference to
Peter’s and Frank yogurt shop. The report also puts forward an analysis of the frozen yogurt
business through use of the Porter’s five forces framework thereby providing necessary advice
on how the partners can attain competitive advantage through managing relationships. Further,
the report also puts forward discussion on three macro environment factor that would contribute
towards improving the business.
Question 1: Partnership as Type of Business Organization
Partnership is a kind of business process amongst two or more people sharing the
management and profits (Siurdyban 2014). ‘Yoghurtology, the Frozen Yogurt Shop, is a
partnership business introduced by Frank Jones and Peter Jackson. There are various kinds of
partnerships. Amongst them, the two of which that requires a mention includes general and
limited partnerships. A general partnership comprises of partners participating in daily operations
of the business and holds the liability as owners against the lawsuits and debts (Bubb 2014).
Limited partnership on the other hand has only one general partner managing the business
(Mandell 2015). Here the other partners neither participate in operations nor has any kind of
liability. In this regard, it can be said that Frank Jones and Peter Jackson held a general kind of
partnership. They put up the shop with the aid of their redundancy money that acted as the
required startup capital. Each of them contributed close to £30,000 that helped them in securing
3 year lease and enough working capital for paying suppliers.

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A partnership business must have a registration with the states in which it operates. Each
state allows the formation of different types of partnerships that can be formed and hence it is
vital to know all the possibilities. In fact, a partnership represents different kind of corporation
and hence is not a separate entity from individual owners. It holds similarity to the independent
contractor or the sole proprietor business since in both, the business is not considered separate
from the owners for the purpose of liability.
In Partnership, both the partners, Frank Jones and Peter Jackson are the owners and hence
they does not receive a pay check (Wadham and Warren 2013). Each of the partners receives
distributive share of profits and loss derived from the business on a yearly basis. Payments are
usually made based on agreements of partnership where the partners are individually taxed on
payments. Some of the partners receive guaranteed payment that is not tied to the share of the
partnership. This payment in most cases is for services like the management duty. Partnership as
a type of business has various benefits. Some of them are mentioned as follows (Bendell 2017).
 Such a type of business is not only inexpensive but also easier to set up. Formation of
partnership does not require a legal or formal step like the formation of corporation.
 Partnership as a type of business ensures easy filing of income tax. In
general partnership however, the partners are individually taxed. In
other words, partners are found to pay the taxes on individual share of
the partnership income.
 Partnership as a business type helps in attracting the prospective
employees. Businesses are found to reach greater heights when
necessary complementary skills are assembled under partnership. A
partnership also serves as incentive for attracting newer employees

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provided that realize that they might become business partner at some
point or the other.
Question 2: Porter’s Five Forces
Porter’s five forces framework represents a tool for the analysis of competition of
business (E. Dobbs 2014). It derives from the industrial organization the economics for deriving
the five forces for determining competitive intensity and the attractiveness of the industry based
on the profitability. In other words, it represents a powerful tool for the understanding of
competitiveness of the business environment along with identification of the potential of a
strategy.
Potential of the new entrants into Industry: As the start-up cost of the frozen yogurt
shop is lower along with lower barriers to entry there is a higher threat of the new entrants into
market. Besides, the required training along with the tools necessary for opening the shop are
available in the market thereby making it easier for the new entrants to get established.
Frank Jones and Peter Jackson have remained conscious towards healthy eating and
hence there has been a growing demand of the product introduced by them. However, there is
every chance that the entry of the newer entrants might lead to lesser demand for the product.
Hence, to gain a competitive advantage they must diversify the product range for providing
better options to the customers.
Power of the Suppliers: There are large number of suppliers within the market for this
particular industry (Hussein and Muchemi 2019). The bargaining power of supplier remains
lower due to the presence of large number of distributors. Price will adjust according to desired
product quality. As the various suppliers puts across similar type of products the ability of having

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higher bargaining power is next to impossible. Peter and Frank remains in a dilemma in regard to
the yogurt supply. The bulk purchase from Cash & Carry enables them to get a discount and
keep their prices lower. However, their plans of using fresher and organic ingredients along with
premium products will enable them to keep their prices lower and gain a competitive advantage
provided they are able to find a huge number of suppliers.
Power of the Customers
In this case, customers have a higher level of bargaining power as they have other
alternatives available (Partonezhad, Safaee and Moosivand 2016). There are increasing number
of customers who prefers frozen yogurt over ice cream thinking it to be a healthier option.
Nevertheless, the two has a price differentiation. A survey suggested that 79 percent of the
customers preferred frozen yogurt over the ice cream. Thus, customers not only possess higher
bargaining power but they finally choose the most delicious option.
Yoghurtology tends to appeal to a mixed customers be it on the weekends or a weekdays.
They attract shoppers, children, young adults and teenagers. Given the scenario, that there are no
shops in the vicinity serving frozen yogurt, Frank and Peter’s ice-cream parlour can gain
competitive advantage by hiking the young prices only for the short term. In the long term they
can gain competitive advantage by lowering price.
Threat of Rivalry:
There is a higher degree of rivalry within the industry serving the frozen yogurt. This is
because there are lot of competitors possessing lower cost of switching (Alsharji and Ahmad
2013) customization instead of price since it will be selling a commodity product. Price should
not be determined through application of differentiation tactic as there can be organizations that

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might use ‘pay by weight’ structure. There are others who attempts to gain repetitive customers
by offering various customization and toppings along with a relaxed ambience. The frozen
yogurt shop by Peter and Frank is able to gain the competitive advantage by offering a
combination of good quality, friendly service and healthier product at a lower price.
Threat of the Substitute Products
The threat of substitute products remains higher due to the availability of alternatives to
customer. Chances are that the customer has the option for opting for a cheaper variety of ice
cream at the local grocer. Hence, the frozen yogurt shop can overcome this and gain competitive
advantage by not only lowering price but also by incorporating organic and fresh ingredient. In
other words, the products offered by the frozen yogurt shop needed to be unique amongst the
other available options.
Question 3: Three Macro Environmental Factors that Improves Business
These includes:
1. Economic factors: This mainly comprise of the taxation charge, interest rate, inflation,
exchange rate and the economic growth (Castaño, Méndez and Galindo 2015). The higher rate of
interest would deter the business from making further investments since borrowing seems to be a
costlier affair. Inflation would also help the frozen yogurt business to understand as to how it
would raise the cost due to higher demand for wages. On the other hand, it also helps the
business to understand as to how the growth in the disposable income will boost the demand for
the products.

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2. Social Factors: Change in the social trend impacts the demand for the products of a
firm. Increasing section of the population are opting for healthier food varieties. This is causing
an inclination towards frozen yogurt over ice cream. This also points towards increasing sales
revenue for the firm. Diversification to be implemented by the Frozen Yogurt business in terms
of the product range will allow the firm to remain in touch with the customers even when there is
a change of preference during the winter months.
3. Technological Factors: The emergence of new technology leads to the creation of
newer process as well as newer products (Dunning 2013). Technology can bring in
improvements in the frozen yogurt business by helping it to provide online service, reduce cost
and bring in improvements in quality and further innovation. Such developments is beneficial for
both the organizations and consumer.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, it can be said that the Frozen Yogurt Shop by Frank Jones and
Peter Jackson has been a partnership type business. The report also shows by adopting strategies
similar to Porter’s Five Forces the frozen yogurt business is able to gaining competitive
advantage. The report also shows how the economic, social and the technological improvement
contributes towards business improvement.

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References:
Alsharji, A. and Ahmad, S.Z., 2013. Yogen Früz: it's all about ü. Emerald Emerging Markets
Case Studies, 3(7), pp.1-9.
Bendell, J., 2017. Terms for endearment: Business, NGOs and sustainable development.
Routledge.
Bubb, R., 2014. Choosing the partnership: English business organization law during the
industrial revolution. Seattle UL Rev., 38, p.337.
Castaño, M.S., Méndez, M.T. and Galindo, M.Á., 2015. The effect of social, cultural, and
economic factors on entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Research, 68(7), pp.1496-1500.
Dunning, J.H., 2013. Multinationals, Technology & Competitiveness (RLE International
Business). Routledge.
E. Dobbs, M., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry
analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), pp.32-45.
Hussein, S.S. and Muchemi, A., 2019. Michael Porters five forces on performance of savings
and credit cooperative societies in Nairobi City County, Kenya. International Academic Journal
of Human Resource and Business Administration, 3(7), pp.14-35.
Mandell, A., 2015. Equity Valuation Consequences of the New Wave of Master Limited
Partnership Formations. Available at SSRN 2658373.
Partonezhad, N., Safaee, S.A. and Moosivand, M., 2016. Ranking The Competitive Factor
According To Their Importance By Using Michael Porters Five Forces Model.

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Siurdyban, A., 2014. Understanding the IT/business partnership: A business process
perspective. Information Systems Frontiers, 16(5), pp.909-922.
Wadham, H. and Warren, R., 2013. Inspiring action, building understanding: how cross‐sector
partnership engages business in addressing global challenges. Business Ethics: A European
Review, 22(1), pp.47-63.