...STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE DURING DIFFICULT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS For the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) John Kitching Robert Blackburn David Smallbone Small Business Research Centre, Kingston University Sarah Dixon School of Management, Bath University June 2009 URN 09/1031 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i 1. INTRODUCTION, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODS 1 2. RESEARCH CONTEXT 1 2.1 Defining Difficult Economic Conditions 1 2.2 The Current Crisis 1 3. ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 1 4. THE BUSINESS STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT LITERATURE 1 4.1 Business Strategy: General Considerations 1 4.2 Strategic Adaptation to Environmental Jolts, Turbulence and Radical Institutional Change 1 4.3 Strategic Adaptation to Recession 1 4.4 Retrenchment Strategies 1 4.5 Investment Strategies 1 4.6 ‘Ambidextrous’ Strategies 1 4.7 Business Size as an Influence on Strategic Adaptation to Difficult Economic Conditions 1 4.8 International Experience 1 5. CONTEMPORARY COMMENTARY ON THE CURRENT CRISIS 1 6. STRATEGIC RESPONSES IN THE RECESSION: DELIBERATIONS FROM A THINK-TANK 1 6.1 Introduction and Objectives 1 6.2 Business Responses in Recession 1 6.2.1 Knowledge Base 1 6.2.2 Unevenness of Recession 1 6.3 Modelling Strategic Change 1 6.3.1 Typologies of Strategic Change 1 6.3.2 Strategic Thinking and Strategic Actions 1 6.4 The Role of Innovation under Recession Conditions 1 6.5 Roles for Public Policy 1 6.5.1...
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...Unit 12: Public Health Contents No. | Title | Page no. | 1 | P1: Describe key aspects of public health | 3 | 2 | P2: Describe the origins of public health policy in the UK from the 19th century to the present day | 4-5 | 3 | P3: Describe current patterns of ill health and how they are monitored | 6 | 4 | P4: Explain the main factors affecting current patterns of health in the UK | 7-8 | 5 | P5: Explain health promotion and protection | 9 | 6 | P6: Explain appropriate methods of prevention/control for a named communicable and a named non-communicable disease | 10 | | Bibliography | 11 | P1: Describe key aspects of public health These are the key aspects of public health: 1) Monitoring health status – They do this by tracking changes in the health of the population and alerting people to potential problems, like the rising levels of obesity within the population....
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...Marketing environment of Tesco: political and economic environments. Economic environment: The economic environment implies level of demand in the current economy situation. Economic factors are very essential for the company (especially for such huge companies as Tesco), because these factors can influence on costumers’ demand, price’s setting and profit. Recession is main factor of the economy. That means decay of goods and services production and unemployment growth. Recession has affected Tesco sales massively: as UK is now under recession due to credit crunch, the average income level is now getting lower, so people are trying to save, not to buy. Tesco has had the worst UK sales performance level due to the heavy discounter strategy it employs. Tesco is experiencing the adverse effect of the recession as in order to make their products affordable for consumers they have to reduce their profit margins. These economic factors are largely outside the control of the company, but their effects on performance and the marketing mix can be profound. Although international business is still growing, and is expected to contribute greater amounts to Tesco’s profits over the next few years, the company is still highly dependent on the UK market. Hence, Tesco would be badly affected by any slowdown in the UK food market and are exposed to market concentration risks. Political environment: Political environment consists of two main aspects: first political parties, which make...
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...no. 10 Supply Chain Finance A Third Report from Demica Demica Report Series April 2009 Issue no.10 Summary Continuing tight credit conditions have made liquidity scarce. Corporations want to extend payment terms for their supply chain, but suppliers are finding it difficult or impossible to accommodate this requirement. Demica’s latest research report into Supply Chain Finance (SCF) compares the situation in the UK and Germany and reveals that 88% of UK firms and 55% of German companies have identified that key suppliers are unable to sustain further lengthening of payment periods. As a solution to this situation SCF is generating much enthusiasm amongst banks and their corporate customers as a means of substituting for lower credit availability. Supply Chain Finance structures not only allow large corporations to extend their credit terms with suppliers, but their suppliers can also use the credit quality of their receivables debtors to finance their receivables at favourable rates based on the individual debtor credit profile. Some 43% of German companies and 61% of British firms are planning to monetise their receivables/payables to provide liquidity within their supply chain. This report updates Demica’s first two Supply Chain Finance research projects from 2007 and 2008 and reveals that the majority of Germany and UK firms believe their banking relationships have irrevocably changed over the last 18months. Supply Chain Finance – a Growing Need Pressure is...
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...East ASEAN. Although Indonesia is still a developing country, it has also known as the largest economy in Southeast Asia and also a member of the G-20 major economies. At World Economic Forum on East Asia, Indonesia president said Indonesia will be in the top ten countries with the strongest economy within the next decade. In fact, nowadays Indonesia proves a very good track record in its economy. Finally, it attracts many countries to build strong relationship with Indonesia. One of the countries that have a strong relationship with Indonesia is United Kingdom. In 2006 Tony Blair, the prime minister at that time, met with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), the president of Indonesia, and agreed upon “the establishment of a regular Indonesia-UK partnership forum”. The first Indonesia-UK forum was held in London on 31 January 2012. This forum results in stronger relationship between two countries as SBY made a state visit to the UK on October 30 to November 3, 2012. In this report, we will discuss the economic behavior of both countries. We will also examine the relationship of both countries’ economic condition. Research for this report included data of both Indonesia and England, such as the currency exchange rate between two countries, balance of payment of each country, interest rate in Indonesia and UK, inflation rates in both countries, and stock indices in both countries. Basically, we will analyze the data and make descriptive statistics analysis, balance of payment analysis...
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...Is the Contemporary UK Fashion Industry Sustainable? The sustainability of the fashion industry is one of the major concerns facing many stakeholders in the sector. The UK fashion industry is increasingly facing a wide range of sustainability issues ranging from wastes generation due to increased production of fashion products to the use of toxic materials in the production of fashion items. In addition, the industry has also been faced with the problem of the growing problem of widespread use of unsustainable materials such as non-biodegradable materials that are not usually easy to recycle as well as the current energy consumption to the release of millions of tons of greenhouse gasses released during the manufacture of fashion and textile products. It is widely believed that many of these sustainability challenges and issues are largely attributed to the recent increased flow of a diverse range of fashion products particularly clothing and textiles in the UK market. For example, recent statistics indicate that that up to 3.2 million tonnes of fashion related products like clothing and textiles currently flow through the country each year . Generally, the environmental impacts of the fashion sector mainly include its high contribution to the climate change in the form of the increasing requirement of fossil fuels required in the generation of energy used in the industry such as in the production and manufacture sectors. For example, the intense production of fashion items...
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...PESTLE is the acronym for the following categories of investigation: political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental (Cheverton, 2004; Partridge and Sinclair-Hunt, 2006). Discussing the political factors influencing operation of the banks in the national, local and regional levels and legislation, it should be mentioned that banks have always been to a certain degree regulated by the government (Benston, 2000). For example, government determines the fraction of reserves that a commercial bank should keep with the Central Bank. Taking into consideration the fact that Barclays Plc operates in more than 50 countries it will not be possible to study all the possible regulative frameworks within the current research. Various regulative bodies carry out controlling functions under various conditions such as Controller of the Currency (OCC) in the United States (Benston, 2000). Tax regulation the company submits to is one more important political aspect. Barclays obeys regional tax framework in all the countries of its operation. Besides, the company has to submit to double taxation in the cases where there are appropriate agreements between countries. It may be stated that tax risk is observed because regular changes in tax legislation and interpretation of taxation framework (Barclays 2008 Annual Report). The most important economic change in banks’ operation is the current unavailability of loans given by the banks. Today, banks cannot provide the volume...
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...Economics 2: The World Economy Unit Student Guide Scottish Qualifications Authority Contents 1 2 Introduction to the Scottish Qualifications Authority Introduction to the Unit 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 3 What is the Purpose of this Unit? What are the Outcomes of this Unit? What do I Need to be Able to do in Order to Achieve this Unit? Approximate Study Time for This Unit Equipment/Material Required for this Unit Symbols Used in this Unit 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 11 18 24 31 37 41 51 60 68 75 DE3H 35 Assessment Information for this Unit 3.1 What Do I Have to Do to Achieve This Unit? 4 5 Suggested Lesson Plan Learning Material 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 Setting the Scene Outcome 1 - Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Outcome 2 - Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 © Scottish Qualifications Authority 2004 Economics 2: The World Economy Unit Student Guide Scottish Qualifications Authority 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 6 7 8 9 Section 5 Section 6 Outcome 3 - Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 85 92 99 104 108 112 115 119 121 135 135 Additional Reading Material Solutions to Self Assessed Questions and Activities Copyright References Acknowledgements © Scottish Qualifications Authority 2004 DE3H 35 Economics 2: The World Economy Unit Student Guide Scottish Qualifications Authority 1 Introduction to the Scottish Qualifications Authority This Unit DE3H 35 Economics...
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...The Current Situation Facing the British Steel Industry Andreea-Adina Criclevit 03.04.2016 This report aims to critically analyse and evaluate the current situation facing the British Steel Industry using contemporary information and a combination of theories such as ‘The International Product Life Cycle’ and ‘Porter’s Diamond of National Advantage’. Background: Steel is a vital material in the process of economic expansion and it has been very important for the society, considering that the level of consumption of steel/ capita can be used as an index of the level of social wealth, political and economic stability. The steel industry is closely linked with numerous industrial sectors and it promotes the innovation, growth and employment of the European member states. Although the EU is the second largest producer of steel in the world after China its goal is to increase the market share of GDP by 20% in 2020. The British Steel industry is necessary tool, without which, the manufacturing success would not have happened. In 1972, the steel production level has reached an all-time peak of 28 Mt (million tonnes) per year and offered more than twice as many jobs as it does now. Referencing back to Michael Porter’s Book, ‘The Competitive Advantage of Nations ‘, in year 1945, there were 50 mills of steel all throughout UK and it has been reduced to 7 in 1970. Following this, the decision to privatise the British Steel Industry was taken by Margaret Thatcher in 1988, however...
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...conformance with legislative obligations can lead to sanctions such as fines, adverse publicity and imprisonment. Ineffective voluntary codes and practices will often lead to governments introducing legislation to regulate the activities covered by the codes and practices. Economical The second element of a PEST analysis involves a study of economic factors. All businesses are affected by national and global economic factors. National (and global) interest rates and fiscal policy is set around economic conditions. The climate of the economy dictates how consumers, suppliers and other organisational stakeholders such as suppliers and creditors behave within society. An economy undergoing recession will have high unemployment, low spending power and low stakeholder confidence. Conversely a “booming” or growing economy will have low unemployment, high spending power and high stakeholder confidence. A successful organisation will respond to economic conditions and stakeholder behaviour. Furthermore organisations will need to review the impact economic conditions are having on their competitors and respond accordingly. In the current business world, organisations are affected by economies throughout the world and not just the countries in which they...
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...Explain the term “credit crunch” and how it has developed. Discuss the implications for UK Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This essay will look at explaining the term credit crunch, as to what it means and how it has been applied to within the global economy. More so the essay will cover how the credit crunch of 2007 has developed over time, with the key aspect of the US housing market developing to then impact other countries, such as the UK economy. The essay will discuss the implications on UK small and medium enterprises. One of the key issues which will be discussed as to the implication of the credit crunch, is the availability of finance to SMEs. More so other non direct aspects which have which act as implications will too be discussed. The credit crunch has been defined as a shortage of money or loans as well as other types of credit given by banks. In short the BBC defined the credit crunch as “a severe shortage of money or credit” BBC: Timeline: Credit crunch to downturn (2009) It describes the economic condition of an economy. In most situations, when an economy has been in a credit crunch, the economic condition of a country is unstable or also known as a financial crisis. As the Guardian states, “the current global financial crisis is commonly known as the credit crunch.” Kollewe (2008) Credit crunch’s can occur mostly when an economy is in a recession, a time when the economy is declining during which the there is fall in gross domestic product (GDP). ...
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...Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. The evolution of house price in the UK and the factors affecting 3 supply and demand 3. The price and income elasticity of housing demand 9 4. Literature 11 1. Introduction The aim of this study is to explain the changes in the prices of houses by shedding light on factors affecting the demand and supply of houses in the UK. Firstly, we will look at the evolution of house prices in the UK since 2006 and examine relations between house prices and output, employment and mortgage interest rate. Also, supply of houses will be discussed by noting changes in the number of new houses and factors such as land cost, building cost. Then, in the next section we will proceed to examine the factors affecting the sizes of different elasticity of demand 2. The evolution of house price in the UK and the factors affecting supply and demand Over the last four decades, the UK housing market has been subject to boom/bust cycles and Stephens (2011) indicates that UK has one of the most persistently volatile markets in the world. Especially, since 1997 there has been a record growth in UK house prices. The above chart indicates that there are significant fluctuations the in UK housing market. House prices experienced steady growth during both 2006 and 2007 and reached their peak in late 2007. As the end of the 2008, the average house prices...
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...The Factors that Affect Health Status and Patterns of Ill Health P3: Describe current patterns of health and how they are monitored – Patterns of ill health in the UK are monitored through the use of statistics. The UK National Statistic organisation is responsible for producing these statistics in order to illustrate and identify patterns of ill health within the UK. Government statistical departments play a vital role in identifying and monitoring patterns of ill health in the UK, of which include: • The Department of Health • Health and Safety Executive • NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care Statistics can be collected from records such as birth certificates, the death register and hospital admissions records. Records can be used for further analysis in order to gain more specific information, for example the weight of a new-born baby, or the reason an individual was admitted into hospital. The government has made the use of having these records available a legal requirement so that the statistics may be available when they are required. Statistics can be collected through the use of surveys, i.e. the national census of which is held every 10 years in the UK by the government. The national census survey has been in place since 1801 and takes into account each individual within a household. It is able to provide an outline of the UK which enables us to compare geographical areas. However statistics are not always accurate for what they represent...
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...developed by Esping Andersen (2002). This thesis has been a strong influence on UK government educational and child-related policy over the last decade. Some of the resulting current UK policies will be examined, and their success or failure so far will be explored. It is crucial to note that these policies involve the increasing integration of health, welfare and educational resources in the common purpose of increasing children’s social and cognitive capital. This survey will reveal the key trends and drivers that policy makers are currently responding to as they shape children’s lives. Given that steps taken today may well have effects lasting decades, the guiding social, technical and economic assumptions currently made about the future need to be identified and critically examined. Section Two will set these assumptions in the context of major global trends and signals including issues of demographic change in less and least developed world regions, climate change, energy and food security and financial conditions. The key question here will be whether the bases of current policies address the range of possible futures of yesterday or the range of possible futures of today. Section Three will draw on this material to compose a set of issues that are likely to become important to educational decision-making in the next decade. Keywords: demography, education, health, welfare, society Section 1: Current Knowledge, Policy and Assumptions Childhood and Mass Education Since the...
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...research, they can properly assess the feasibility of their vision and make an appropriate decision. Comprehensive Analysis The fast food industry is continuing to grow and expand throughout the world, and each company is contemplating their role and position within this competitive environment. Chick-fil-A is no exception to this movement and is currently the number one fast food chicken venue in the United States. Despite their regional popularity, they do not have a significant presence in the international market for fast food. As Europe specifically the UK continues to add more fast food chains, Chick-fil-A has set their sights upon this market to expand their global presence. Before they begin organizing and planning their new vision, a high level of market research is necessary including a crucial analysis involving regional, country, and product. Region Analysis Regional Alliances and Economic Integration The UK is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France. Sixty percent of food produce is by UK’s agriculture,...
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