types of influences(external)

• SOCIAL INFLUENCES:Societal Attitudes → ideas values and beliefs held by people in a particular society 
• Behaviour → the actions that express these ideas, values and beliefs
• the three social issues affecting a business are:

  • a growing awareness of our vulnerable environment
  • a growing desire for businesses to provide family friendly workplaces
  • a growing belief that businesses must cater for workplace diversity
• Awareness of the business:

  • This awareness has affected business practice by pushing them to change their methods by consumers (eg: reducing/minimising waste and recycling and reducing carbon footprint)
• Environmental Sustainability: business operations should be shaped around practices that consume resources today without affecting access for future generations 

  CASE STUDY: ZARA (2019)

  → Zara announced their goals for a more sustainable company by achieving these by 2025

  → All clothes made by 100% sustainable fabrics 

  → 80% of all energy used will come from renewable resources 

  → Facilities will produce zero landfill waste 

  → 20% of garments qualify for Zara’s more sustainable brand, the Join Life label (initiative)
• Family friendly workplaces:

  • a business can benefit by providing a family friendly workplace as women typically leave work for family causing a high turnover which is costly for a business 

  → Some countries have adapted to this mindset by implementing new procedures into their workplace such as Japan introducing ‘Shining Monday’

  → Shining Monday is the governments initiative to improve work-life balance by allowing employees to sleep in to ease into the week
• Factors that can make a workplace diverse

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Language
  • Religion
• A business can benefit from being diverse as businesses that are known as being fair and equitable have a better chance of attracting/retaining staff
• Johnson and Johnson's 'Global Diversity and Inclusion' vision

  To maximise global power of diversity and inclusion to drive business results and competitive advantages
• How Johnson and Johnson achieves their diversity and inclusion vision

  1. Employee research groups

  2. Mentoring programs

  3. Diversity University
• Johnson and Johnson's vision is 'to maximise the global power of diversity and inclusion, to drive superior business results and sustainable competitive advantage'
• Technological influences:

  • Technology has influenced business activity through the  Advances in IT has reduced communications delays and allows suppliers and consumers to interact over great distances of space

  → New communications technologises allow information to be rapidly transmitted instantaneously 

  → Being face to face replaced with ‘virtual meeting time’

  → Smart devices allow instant communication between producers, employers, (etc), eliminating distance issues
• Despite these influences problems of new technology in businesses include:  Advances in IT has reduced communications delays and allows suppliers and consumers to interact over great distances of space

  → New communications technologises allow information to be rapidly transmitted instantaneously 

  → Being face to face replaced with ‘virtual meeting time’

  → Smart devices allow instant communication between producers, employers, (etc), eliminating distance issues
• CASE STUDY:WOOLWORTHS

  • Around 700 jobs will be lost as Woolworths automates key logistics facilities in Syd and Melb

  → Woolworths is investing $780 million for technology for new distributions centres aiming for faster restocking in order to improve efficiency and time

  → It will include:

  → Automated warehouse systems

  → Automated storage/retrieval 

  → Supply chain optimisations software 

  → Cobots (collaborative robot)