influences on business activity

• Business ethics involves ideas about what is morally correct in a business situation
• Business ethics involves ideas about what is morally correct in a business situation
• Nike makes their employees work in sweatshops and pay them low wages which gives the employees poor living conditions which is unethical
• businesses can act ethically by using fairtrade products, treating employees fairly, pay employees a fair wage
• the trade off between ethics and profit is that being ethical will cause higher costs which leads to lower profits
• being unethical can lead to loss of customers to competitors and a negative brand image
• advantages of being ethical are that the business will get a USP, good brand image, less negative attention from pressure groups and can charge higher prices (higher revenue)
• disadvantages of being ethical are that it can increase costs, difficult to find ethical suppliers and do customers care
• environment refers to the natural world
• sustainability means that businesses are under pressure to act in a responsible manner to ensure our environment and resources are available for future generations
• businesses negatively impact the environment by noise pollution, air pollution and litter
• businesses can act sustainably by reducing packaging, reducing carbon footprint and switching to sustainable suppliers
• benefits of environmental policies are that businesses will get a USP, reduced wastage which cuts costs, and customers may be willing to pay higher prices for products
• disadvantages of environmental policies are that costs will increase, customers need to pay higher prices which risk a fall in sales, and consumers may not care
• legislation is a set of rules that governs the way society operates
• discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people
• employee legislation acts include the Age Discrimination Act, sex discrimination act, Race Discrimination Act, disability discrimination act, Equal Pay Act, National Minimum Wage Act
• consumer protection help protect consumers against unfair selling practises
• consumer protection is required as some businesses put revenue over customer welfare, false advertising, sell products of inferior quality, and use high pressure sales techniques
• The Consumers Rights Act 2015 states that when you buy a good or service you are entering into a contract with the retailer and goods must be fit for purpose and match their description. If they are found faulty, consumer entitled for a full refund
• intellectual property includes the protection of the name, logo, inventions and designs of a business
• businesses seek to protect intellectual property so others wont benefit from their ideas
• patent is an official document granting the holder the right to be the only producer of a newly invented product or process
• copyright is the legal protection against copying for authors, composers or artists
• trademark protects brands and symbols from being used by others without permission
• if company registered for trademark will have a ® symbol but if unregistered will have a ™ symbol
• patent is an official document granting the holder the right to be the only producer of a newly invented product or process
• copyright is the legal protection against copying for authors, composers or artists
• trademark protects brands and symbols from being used by others without permission
• the computer packages spreadsheets, excel and databases can store customer details
• the computer packages PowerPoint and google slides can present market research findings
• the computer packages google meet, zoom and teams can have meetings with suppliers in other countries
• the computer packages spreadsheets, excel and databases can store customer details
• the computer packages PowerPoint and google slides can present market research findings
• the computer packages google meet, zoom and teams can have meetings with suppliers in other countries
• e-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet
• the advantages of e-commerce are that:

  there's a low start up cost which reduces risks,

  large amount of potential customers,

  and its open 24/7
• the disadvantages of e-commerce are that:

  there are a high level of competitors,

  and customers have to wait for their products
• m-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services online through a mobile phone
• the advantages of m-commerce are that its:

  convenient for busy customers,

  integrates well with traditional retail,

  and it offers direct communication