Business organisation and environment

Table of Contents

1. Topic pack - introduction
2. 1.1 Nature of business activity - notes
3. 1.1 Nature of business activity - questions
4. 1.2 Types of organisation - notes
5. 1.2 Types of organisation - questions
6. 1.3 Organisational objectives - notes
7. 1.3 Organisational objectives - questions
8. 1.4 Stakeholders - notes
9. 1.4 Stakeholders - questions
10. 1.5 External environment - notes
    1. External environment
    2. Introduction - PEST/STEP analysis
    3. The legal and political environment - introduction
    4. The legal environment
    5. Political stability and instability
    6. The social and cultural environment - introduction
    7. Social responsibility
    8. Demographic trends
    9. The technological environment - introduction
    10. The Internet and the World Wide Web (www).
    11. E-commerce
    12. Technological change
    13. The ecological environment
    14. The economic environment - introduction
    15. Economic growth
    16. The Business Cycle
    17. Inflation
    18. Exchange rates
    19. Unemployment
    20. Interest rates
    21. Government fiscal policy
11. 1.5 External environment - questions
12. 1.5 External environment - simulations and activities
13. 1.6 Organisational planning tools - notes
14. 1.6 Growth and evolution - notes
15. 1.7 Growth and evolution - questions
16. 1.7 Growth and evolution - simulations and activities
17. 1.6 Change (HL only) - notes
18. 1.9 Globalisation - notes
19. 1.9 Globalisation - questions
20. Print View

The social and cultural environment - introduction

Businesses affect the societies in which they operate and are, in turn, affected by social and cultural change in those societies. In this section we look at both these areas. Social change may affect businesses through many aspects of their activity. These may include:

• Human resources - expectations within society about patterns of employment and working conditions will affect the firm's organisation. Increasingly, trends towards home working, more flexible employment patterns and a portfolio approach to a career are influencing firms and the way they operate. Social change impacts on firms in different ways, but all businesses would be wise to plan for change.
• Marketing - firms need to ensure that their product portfolios reflect the pattern of demand in society. Changes in society lead to changes in the pattern of demand and firms need to be aware of changes taking place in their market. Market research will be an important element of judging the significance of trends and changing consumer purchasing behaviour.
• Production - with the growth in multinational enterprises, production has become increasingly globalised and ready to shift anywhere. However, firms are also under increasing pressure to ensure that their production does not impact negatively on the countries and societies where they operate.