Impact of Global Business Environment on Zodiac Maritime Operations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Zodiac Maritime, a shipping management company, within the context of the fluctuating global business environment. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of understanding international regulations and external factors for business operations. A SWOT analysis is conducted to assess Zodiac Maritime's internal strengths and weaknesses in relation to external opportunities and threats, such as technological advancements and economic uncertainties. The report further examines the impact of these factors on the company's operational departments, particularly marketing and human resources, emphasizing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for adaptation. The conclusion stresses the importance of internal analysis and the synchronization of functional departments for achieving business objectives in a rapidly changing international landscape, supported by relevant references.

Global Business
Environment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
SWOT Analysis of Zodiac Maritime..........................................................................................3
Analysis of operational impact on company...............................................................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The Global business environment is fluctuating very much, it refers to the international
environment affecting the operating and subsidiaries countries. With increased globalisation the
international business has taken the speed. The business organisation in order to increase their
operations are extending there roots globally (Berger and Brem, 2016). The organisations needs
to be aware of all the international regulations and host country factors which can affect the
business operations. The proper understanding of external environment helps in smooth
functioning of the business. For gaining proper insight on this the company needs to take firstly
the internal analysis in comparison to know the opportunities lying in external environment. The
aim of this report is to highlight the factors which are affecting the shipping industry. The
company chosen for this report is Zodiac Maritime Agencies is an ship management company,
headquarter is in London with subsidiaries operating in Tokyo, India. To know the internal
picture, the SWOT analysis is used and its impact on functional department is highlighted in
order to know the growth opportunities for the Zodiac Maritime Agencies.
MAIN BODY
SWOT Analysis of Zodiac Maritime.
The SWOT analysis is a strategic tool which helps in analysing the internal position of
company (Cohen, 2018). This analysis helps in determining the strength and weakness internally
in relation the opportunities and threats existing in the external environment. The Swot analysis
of Zodiac maritime is as follows;
Strength
 Zodiac Maritime have the huge global
network with its headquarter in London
and subsidiaries operating in various
countries such as Tokyo, Mumbai.
 The company have specialised
technical and operational capability by
employing specialised carriers, ships
and tankers according to different
products.
Weakness
 The company is having the low
maintenance on its digital presence.
The Zodiac website is not effectively
designed and lacks to attract the clients.
 The availability of low cost airlines and
roadways facility Zodiac is presented
with great challenge in attracting the
clients. Which results in financial
burden and sustainability challenge in

 Zodiac own the strong core
competencies and synergy by
connecting with the different business
groups such as insurance company,
logistics and IT etc.
this industry.
 The competition from the existing big
players such as Maritime London,
Anglo Caribbean etc. puts emphasis on
company development.
Opportunity
 The social patterns of people are
changing as the online shopping craze
is increasing which is proven beneficial
for the company growth.
 The inclusion of advanced technology
developments such as Artificial
intelligence, data analytics is an option
for the company to use it in specialised
products to make operations more
efficient (Eberlein, 2019). The use of technology advancements in
processes will make the working of
Zodiac more easier contributing to the
reduced wastage in process and
operations. The company with this step
can contribute effectively towards the
environment sustainability.
Threat
 The uncertainty of economic
environment make the working of
Zodiac maritime complex. As the cost
of raw materials, increased labour
demands puts constrain on company
profitability.
 The political relations of the
governments with other countries affect
the existence largely. Such as UK exit
from EU, China unstable relation with
UK government and many trade
agreements is proving great challenge
for smooth operations of the company.
 The thefts, pirates hijack still posses the
great challenge to shipping industry
which affects directly to the growth of
company (Rejikumar, 2016).
Analysis of operational impact on company.
The operational departments make up the company performance. The understanding of
the internal operations on company performance gives an picture where the company can work
upon more to increase their efficiency. The whole shipping industry is being affected deeply by

the outbreak of COVID pandemic. The operational analysis of this on Zodiac Maritime is as
follows;
Marketing Department
The marketing department is responsible for increasing about the awareness of the
products and brand to attract the consumers. The operations of shipping industry is affected
majorly because of this pandemic. The Zodiac Maritime marketing department needs to
strengthen their activities, to increase the awareness of brand for the continued growth of
company. The existence of competitors already makes the challenge for Zodiac, it is need of
hour to develop the good brand presence on digital platform. The marketing departments needs
to revamp the company website look. With the digitalisation of all activities the marketing
department is also hold responsible for transforming the structure of company from paper to
digital connectivity. The pandemic resulted in drop of overall demand of cargo's therefore, the
marketing department is responsible to increase the networking resulting in the demand of
company functions (Yadav and Rangnekar, 2016).
Human Resource Department
The Human resource department is responsible for increased efficiency of operations.
The Technology so equipped needs the human resource to run it effectively. The Zodiac
Maritime Agencies needs to equip with special training and developments to make employees
friendly with the use of specialised technology so used by the company. After the pandemic,
special health and safety trainings needs to be given to the workforce. As the entire shipping
landscape has changed therefore, the need of updated workforce is required that can run the
business operations successfully (Zhao and Ferran, 2016). With the use of analytics and artificial
technology in the working of Zodiac needs to hire the trained staff that know the know how of
these technologies thus contributing to added proficiency of organisation. The company
workforce is its strength they needs to be provide the multilingual and culture training to
workforce as with global presence the workforce so composed should be diverse with extensive
knowledge of cultures and languages.

CONCLUSION
The international business is changing rapidly and with changing scenario there needs to
be the proper understanding of the company position. Therefore, for this the internal analysis of
organisation should be taken up which helps in knowing its strength and weakness. With the
internal analysis the company gets to know the idea of existing opportunists and threats in the
changing market. The synchronisation between the functional departments helps the organisation
in attaining its objectives efficiently.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Berger, A. and Brem, A., 2016. Innovation Hub How‐To: Lessons From Silicon Valley. Global
Business and Organizational Excellence, 35(5), pp.58-70.
Cohen, R.B., 2018. 12 The new international division of labor, multinational corporations and
urban hierarchy. Urbanization and urban planning in capitalist society, 7.
Eberlein, B., 2019. Who fills the global governance gap? Rethinking the roles of business and
government in global governance. Organization Studies,. 40.(8), pp.1125-1145.
Eberlein, B., 2019.. Corporate social responsibility and financial performance in SMEs: A
structural equation modelling approach. Global Business Review, .17.(3), pp.630-653.
Rejikumar, G., 2016. Antecedents of green purchase behaviour: An examination of moderating
role of green wash fear. Global Business Review, .17.(2), pp.332-350.
Yadav, M. and Rangnekar, S., 2016. Role clarity and organizational citizenship behaviour: Does
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pp.207S-224S.
Zhao, J. and Ferran, C., 2016. Business school accreditation in the changing global
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