Hmv Group Plc’s Environmental and Strategic Position.

This is for an organisation to look at the environment around them, competitors around and any social or environment issues.

a. A description of the social, economic and cultural factors- giving at least one example of each category.

Social and cultural development helps to determine a lot within the stages of life. It determines how we build relationships and attach ourselves to certain individuals. This development helps us to determine who we marry and how we communicate with others. Our economic status and background plays a big role in who hang out with and some of the choices we make in life.

To stay tuned to the recent situation in order not to miss perspective opportunities, an organization should go on with continuous scanning of its environment. According to Jobber, environmental scanning is “the process of monitoring and analyzing the marketing environment of a company” (Jobber, 2010, p.93). Aguilar states (Aguilar, 1967, cited in Costa, 1995, pp.4-5) that environmental scanning serves the purpose of gathering information about the facts and events happening around the company in order to let the management lead the organization in the right direction. Most of the authors agree on the same main function of environmental scanning.

The research paper is divided into four tasks that individually evaluate the current business strategies that the management of Arcadia utilise to conduct their business operations. In addition, it further aims to evaluate business environmental analysis by means of PESTLE analysis and Porter’s five forces to understand the factors that affect the business of the company. Furthermore, it discusses the key aspects of Arcadia’s supply and value chain and areas to amend its working so is to increase their effectiveness of business. The last task assesses Arcadia’s management accounting system and change management models that would help the organisation to increase their work efficiency and reduces the issues that they are facing currently in

Social factors often look at the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age

Moving ahead,in order to get the idea about company’s internal environment and its capacity to survive and prosper in the market(Strategic capability), I analysed the resources and competencies(Appendix 3) ,the value chain (Appendix 3),the Cultural Web(Appendix 5). To find out the influence of stakeholders on the company I applied Power/Interest to the company and finally analysis of strengths,weaknesses ,opportunities and threats to the company(SWOT Analysis-Appendix 7) provide with clear idea about the strategic position of M&S.

Environmental scanning is an overarching term encompassing the monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination of information relevant to the organizational development of a strategy (Wheelen, Hunger, & Hoffman, Bamford, 2015,). The use of an environmental scan can analyze the competitive advantage of a company, evaluate the strategies a company uses to gain an advantage over their competitors and create value and examine the measurement guidelines and the effectiveness of those guidelines to authenticate strategic effectiveness. Researchers have found a definite connection between profits and environmental scanning.

Porter’s five forces analysis is a tool is useful for us to analyse the threat of competition in an industry. Porter believed that the industries were influenced by five forces; competitive rivalry, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and the threat of substitutes. Analysing these areas can allow you to see attractiveness of the market and find a competitive advantage.

Article: - Business Strategy and Firm Reorganization: Role of Changing Environmental Standards, Sustainable Business Initiatives and Global Market Conditions

“The future depends on what we do in the present ~Mahatma Ghandi”, states Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever. In 2010 Unilever unveiled its very ambitious Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in an effort to “create a blueprint for sustainable growth” (Unilever.com). Looking forward to an achievable long range plan for growth, Unilever is approaching the plan with hopes of doubling sales through the increased efforts in sustainability. Paul Polman has been quoted stating in 2014, that in three years the company will experience a simultaneous increase in sustainability and profit growth. Profiting off of sustainability could be seen as a controversial issue. Unilever has been accused of profiting off of those less fortunate in an effort to improve the bottom line. Can Unilever’s approach to environmental improvements be seen as a strategic plan for increased sales, corporate social responsibility or both?

• Limited growth and any downturn in the UK economy would lead to declining sales

THE EFFECT OF AUDIT ON CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT By J. R. A. Adefiranye

The evolution of environmental auditing has lead to new approaches and tools. More recent certificate programs, such as ISO 14000, stress EMS’s in addition to compliance with regulations. Some companies use audits to examine energy efficiency, while others use environmental audits to help in pollution control, improved production, health, safety and the conservation of natural resources. Although environment and energy audits perform functions similar to other types of audits, they have several distinguishing factors that are unique to the field of environmental and energy policy. Throughout our presentation we will be focusing on comparing and contrasting environmental audits and energy audits.

When it comes to economic and demographic forces within Unilever, we are well aware of worldwide population growth, changing mixes of age, ethnic composition, educational levels, the rise of nontradional families, and the large geographic shifts in population around the world. This is why at Unilever, we are learning how sustainability can generate growth, control costs, and help us to manage business risk. Through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, we have committed ourselves to cutting our environmental impact by improving health and well being for billions of people around the world. We have set tough goals to making sure we accomplish our commitments. We also work with organizations through partnerships that have the potential to change things on a global scale.