Business and Business Environment

Learning out come will see students being able to : Identify the positive and negative impacts the macro environment has upon business operation, supported by specific examples

Macro environment Macro environment factors refer to all external uncontrollable forces that affect the decision-making, strategies and performance of any organization. Macro environment factors are often categorized using the acronym "PESTLE." PESTLE stands for political, economic, social, technological and legal factors.  The external environment in which business operate is constantly changing. This process of change has a great impact on what businesses can and cannot do. Lets look at a few of these influencers.

Influencers

Macro Environment - Influencers Social Changes- are concerned with changes in society and patterns of behavior- i.e changes in lifestyles such as people spending more time on leisure, increasing numbers of women at work changes in fashion. Economic Changes- are concerned with changes in the national economy, such as periods of growth or recession, as well as changes in interest and exchange rates. Legal Changes- are concerned with the ways in which government changes laws and the impact that this has on business- i.e new laws about health and safety or about the hours people are allowed to work Political Changes- are the changes that occur with changes in government. i.e changes in policies that affect taxes or transportation

Macro Environment Environmental changes- are changes that result from businesses having to change the way that they treat the environment. In recent years we have seen increasing pressure on business to respect the environment. Which includes how they treat and dispose of waste.

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis  In its broadest sense, quantitative analysis is the use of numerical information to make sense of a small part of the world. In other words, Quantitative Analysis investigates and uncovers quantifiable data in a specific area and then uses that data to interpret a situation, a certain behavior, or even an entire cultural or political movement. Quantitative Analysis measures the outputs of a given situation and then seeks to understand exactly what those outputs mean. Once an analyst reaches a reasonable understanding, he or she then usually tries to find a pattern in order to predict what happens next. Qualitative Analysis Examination of non-measurable data such as a firm's reputation, a brand' image, or a customer's feelings about a product.

Reading Material * smallbusiness.chron.com/(2016)- Definition -Quantitative Analysis {online} Available at : http://smallbusiness.chron.com/- accesses January 8,2017 * Wizznotes.com (2011)- Macro environment and Business Activities Available at: http://wizznotes.com/- accessed January 2016 LIBRARY RESOURCES Business Studies For You 2nd edition - David Needham and Robert Dransfield (Nelson Thornes) Pages 310-314 Cambridge- Advanced Economics, Economics for AS {Colin Bamford, 2000}