UNIT 1 AOS 3

• Operating environment:

  • Suppliers
  • Competitors
  • Customers
  • Special interest groups
• Macro Environment:

  • Corporate social responsibility considerations
  • Global issues
  • Economic conditions
  • Legal and government regulations
  • Societal attitudes and behaviour
  • Technological considerations
• key legal and government regulations:

  A business owner must consider a range of legal and government regulations when planning a business such as:

  • licenses and permits
  • taxes
  • OH&S
  • Trading laws
  • Environment protection laws
• licenses and permits: An official document that allows you permission to do something.
• Taxes:

  • company tax
  • capital gains tax
  • goods and services tax
  • payroll tax
• company tax: companies have to pay 30% tax annually
• capital gains tax : tax on the profit made from selling property or investment
• goods and services tax: national tax on all goods and services consumed in Australia
• payroll tax: a tax on wages that businesses pay to employees
• OH&S (occupational health and safety): Concerned with the safety and welfare of people engaged in work.
• OH&S is governed by a set of laws and regulations that outline the responsibilities that employers and workers must adhere to in order to ensure that safety is maintained

  Business owners need to consider:

  • Types of equipment
  • Types of training
  • Conditions of a workplace or building
• Trading laws: Put in place by the government to ensure the business is compliant and that consumers, suppliers and competitors are treated fairly.
• Trading laws include:

  • product safety and labelling
  • unfair market practices
  • price monitoring
  • industry regulation – airports, electricity, gas, telecommunications
• environment protection laws: All Australian businesses must adhere to laws and regulations thta are required in environmental management. Business owners need to take into consideration their impact on the following:

  • Landfill
  • Noise
  • Waste
  • Water
  • Fuel quality
• Macro factors : factors that impact on the business and are outside the control of any one business
• societal attitudes: an acquired tendency to evaluate social things in a specific way

  • can be characterised by positive or negative beliefs and feelings towards each other
• Factors such as shifting demographics, increased levels of education, different ideas and expectations, beliefs, trends and values have all affected the ways that society and the economy operate. It is important for a business to understand and take these factors into account while in the planning stage.
• Economic factors that affect business planning:

  • employment levels
  • tax rates
  • levels of consumer confidence
  • interest rates
• Employments levels: the rate or number of people who are in the workforce and working either part time or full time.
• low levels of employment -> easier to find someone to employ as there are not many job opportunities
• high levels of employment -> business cannot retain employees if there is high demand and a shortage of workers
• tax rates: compulsory money given to the government based on worker's income and business profits
• income tax applies to employees whereas company tax applies to businesses
• levels of consumer confidence: measures how optimistic customers feel about the state of the economy and their personal financial situation.
• interest rates: the amount charged by a lender for borrowing money
• Technology: Practical application of science to achieve commercial or industrial objectives.
• Technological development: the innovation and improvements in technology that can assist a business in carrying out work.
• Global considerations include:

  • overseas competitors
  • overseas marktes
  • offshoring of labour
  • exchange rates
  • patenting
  • copyrights
  • trademarks
  • online sales
• overseas competitors: businesses not based in Australia that compete with the Australian business

  • Countries have different laws, practices and regulations that may give other businesses a competitive advantage over Australian businesses.
• overseas markets: markets or customers in another country that buy a business’s products

  • Moving overseas, a business must ensure it has an understanding of regulations, laws and social aspects of societies.
• offshoring labour: when work is done in another country

  can be caused by changes in technology, relaxation of legislation and growth of offshore hubs
• exchange rates: the value of a currency against another one
• patenting: a right that is granted for any device, substance, method or process that is new, inventive and useful
• Advantages of patenting:

  • Protects his idea from others using or selling it.
  • Can license for others to sell it and then collect royalties.

  Disadvantages

  • Applying for a patent is time consuming. In that time, market and technology may change.
  • Expensive application process.
  • specific meaning competitiors can just change the dimensions of the product
  • expires
• copyright: protection of an original expression of ideas
• advanatges of copyright:

  • free
  • instant (not time consuming)
  • last a long time

  disadvantages:

  • Does not protect names, titles, or slogans, although there may be issues around trademarks.
• trademark: a protection that is granted for a shape, logo or picture
• disadvantages of trademark:

  • time consuming to apply
  • expires
• online sales: when a person purchases a product or service via the internet
• corporate social responsibility: The commitment by businesses to go above and beyond legal obligations to ensure they are acting in an ethical manner in relation to social, economic and environmental considerations.