Exploring Business ActivityAssignment No 1 Part 1, 2 The
Manchester College
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
BTEC National Certificate in Business By Zolboo Lkhasuren
BTEC National Diploma in BusinessBy Zolboo Lkhasuren
Introduction to BusinessThis document was downloaded from
Coursework.Info - The UK's Coursework Database -
http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
IntroductionIve done a research on two worlds leading business
organisation which are UKs supermarket Tesco PLC, and the worlds
most well known broadcasting company BBC. Ive decided these
organisations because theyre the leader and providing/ doing the
efficient services to all of us.
1. Tesco is a Public Limited Company first found in 1919 by Jack
Cohan with the sales of only 4 pounds. But now Tesco is the one of
the biggest supermarket in the world with the sales of billions and
billions of pounds and has everything which their customer needs.
It has many types of stores such as Tesco Extra, Tesco Metro and
Tesco Express. It sells many things including food and non-food
items. These items include: toys, food, drinks, toiletry, CDs,
videos, DVDs, books, cosmetics, medicine, tobacco, alcohol, fruits,
vegetables, electrical goods, clothes, organic food etc. 2. Rice
Bar is a Private Limited Company, first opened in 2005 in
Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. They offer different selection of
world cuisine such as Jamaican Jerk Chicken to Indonesian Nasi
Goreng. Their entire dished are served with the RICE thats the
meaning of its name. Now they have four branches in total, two in
Manchester, one in London, one in Newcastle.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Task 1In this task Ill write about a) types of their businesses,
b) form of ownership and c) purpose of the organisation of two
organisations that is listed above.
a) Type of Businesses Industrial Sector- primary, secondary or
tertiary sector Tesco and Rice Bar they both are included in
Tertiary sector. This is a sector which provides goods and services
for the public/ companies. In other words they sell products which
are ready to be sold to people. For example: hotels, banks, and
supermarkets. Nowadays Tertiary sector is growing fast in the UK.
For this matter I would like to say two reasons of why theyre
growing fast.1. In the UK using electron, gas and fuel is so much
expensive
then abroad. Almost most of the clothes we wear and machinery is
MADE IN CHINA. Thats because its cost very lowThis document was
downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's Coursework Database -
http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
to manufacture these goods in China. That is the one of the main
reason for primary and secondary sector is declining in recent
years.2. Its easy to set up a corner shop and a restaurant if you
have
the money and if its successful its likely to grow fast.
Geographical Scale- local, national, international, global Local
businesses are the ones which are only serve their surrounding
areas such as corner shops, fish and chips shops etc. National
businesses have branches in different areas of one particular
country. Global businesses they operate in every glob in the
world.
For Tesco theyre an International Company that means they
operate their business in more than one country. For example Tesco
have stores in Japan, USA, China, Poland, and Malaysia etc theyre
well known in lots of different countries around world. Rice is a
National company as they have a branch in London and Newcastle. b)
The purpose of the organisation I believe that every businesses
main purpose is to make money if its there to make a profit, but if
its non-profit company their main purpose would be to work for the
benefit of the community. Tesco- their core purpose is to create
value for their customers and to have lifetime loyalty from their
customer (www.tesco.com). From this statement I think Tesco is
moreThis document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
concerned about their future relationship with their customers.
To gain this loyalty from its customer what is company doing is
that theyre trying to be the ahead of the competition like doing
the promotions to attract huge number of customers as well as
increasing sales. Offering them a loyalty card which enables them
to keep a hold of its customers information, also having 24 hours
stores, and online grocery service is the best way to achieve its
purpose. Rice Bar- if you ask anyone on the street the purpose
Traders, they would say to make profit and its true. making profit
they aim to provide good quality service, for money and fresh food
everyday for its customers, make them come back. of the Sole As
well as good value in order to
c) Form of ownership- Private, Public, Voluntary/ non-for-profit
sectors Public sector is run and funded by that particular countrys
government and provide their services to the public such as BBC.
Voluntary sector theyre neither seeking for profit nor making
profit from their services such as charities, trusts. They may be
funded from government or individuals/companies. Tesco is included
in Private sector these are sectors which are owned by the
individual/group of people who are make profit from their business.
holder is if the company youve invested in goes to bankrupt youll
lose only amount youve invested in the company, thats because youve
Limited Liability. Limited companies must show their financial
information to its owners and shareholders as well as to the public
each year. Anyone who is under 18 years old can invest in a share
for Tesco through the Stock Exchange. Tesco
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
is owned by thousands of people as because its Public Limited
Company (PLC). I think reason for Tescos been a PLC is because of
its huge size. In other words if it was owned by only one person it
would be extremely difficult to fund and raise money/afford to run
this monster company. Instead of this it would be much easier to
get fund from every individual/ group of people. So that means
everyone who is investing in the company will be shareholders.
Rice Bar is also in Private sector as its a sole trader, which
means its owned by an only one person. Rice Bar is a Sole trader.
The most common and easy to set up enterprise. Sole traders do not
offer their share like Tesco PLC. Advantage of being a sole trader
are owners control everything in their business, and they get the
all the profit the business made. However, if the company goes to
bankrupt owners will lose their money, in one word theyre risking
their money, but No risk, No gain as we like to say.
Task 2a) Describe the different stakeholders of who influences
the purpose of these contrasting organisations. Stakeholders are
the people who have an interest of that certain organisation. All
stakeholders have more or less influence throughout the
organisation. Some of them can even control its performance and
whether it will be on the market or not.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Tesco I strongly believe that employees have the most priority
within the company as they should keep them happy to keep the
business run smooth and profitable. Keeping the employees happy
means Tesco should provide them a good working condition,
reasonable salary and offer them a paid holiday as well as
promotions for the employees to make best possible organisation.
Also, they should have same working standard as other supermarkets.
Suppliers are the one of the important stakeholders of Tesco as
without the supply Tesco wont be able to sell the product to their
customers. Suppliers are more interested in Tescos regular orders
and payments and they have to work towards to deliver the products
on time then theyll have a good relationship with each other.
Customers in any organisation, they are the kings of all as
businesses depends on their customers as well as their demand,
because without them they wont even exist. However, I believe in
our current financial situation customers are affected by the
economic crisis which means people are most likely to not spend
money as they would have 2 years ago as everyone in the country is
struggling. I mean I used to shop at Tesco, because they give me
some points and everything but I cannot buy from Tesco as Ive got
to do my weekly shopping cheaper so Id choose Aldi or Lidl. So this
may lead to decreasing customers or losing them to other cheaper
stores will affect its businesses performance. So to be in the
competition they will have to lower their costs to attract its
customers or even do some promotions to attract new customers. Rice
Bar
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Customers- They has the main power of whether business will be
successful or it will collapse. They have to understand the
consumer needs and provide them with a good quality. So that theyll
spread mouth to mouth advertisement and this will bring more
customers. Owners- they have the most influence for the business as
Rice is a sole trader. He is the one who is going to be most
affected, because if the business do good he will be able to go
public or franchiser. If they do bad he is the one who will pay the
all debts and loans himself. Employees- if the economical situation
continues to bad, so the company might have to cut costs to
survive. So the owner has to do redundant or lower their supplies.
Central/ Local Government- Simple theyre the bosses, I mean they
can block or promote your business activity. Theyre more concerned
about its community and environment. They will close your business,
if youre not playing by the rules.
Task 3a) Explain the points of view of different stakeholders
seeking to
influence the stragetic aims and objectives of these two
organisation. From my understanding an aims are the something
company would like to achieve. For Private Sector Company like
Tesco they will aim to make profit to keep shareholders satisfied,
unlike Tesco Public Sector Company like BBC will work towards for
the public. First of all I should introduce my two chosen
organisations aims and objectives.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Tesco The aims of the company: 1. To maximise sale and increase
their profit 2. Reduce their prices to make them affordable 3.
Retain loyal customers and keep them satisfied 4. To please the
community 5. Have more healthy foods in stores as well as for their
online groceries Objectives are goals they must be measurable and
they must contribute to the business achieving its aims. Ill write
some objectives of Tesco in order to achieve these five aims.1.
Maximising sale means theyll be able maximise their profit at
the same time. In order to do that they could do some promotions
and cut back on their prices to bring customers. 2. Low price is
always the winner for the supermarket as who doesnt like cheap
product with good quality. To keep the price low Tesco would buy
their stock from the manufacturers instead of the wholesaler who
are selling the good a bit more than the manufacturers. 3. I think
theyre doing that with their loyalty card (point card), with this
card people will try to shop at Tesco as they earn points and can
use on goods without paying any money. 4. Give money to charities
is the best way to please the community in other words their
customers and its a one way of earning loyalty from its customers.
It shows that Tesco is a
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
caring company look afters everyone in their surrounding area.
5. Nowadays people starting to worry about what they put in their
mouth and people trying to healthy foods if possible. Providing
healthy food is Tesco is attracting those people to the company
means money! We all know Tesco opened a new store in China. I think
it will have a huge impact on the companys performance as well as
Chinas economy as opening a new store is providing a lots of
vacancy for Chinese people. Also, considering China has a super
huge amount of population I believe Tesco will make great money and
new customers. So every little activity that organisation do is
affecting their surrounding people or even a environment.
Rice Bar Aims of the company: 1. 2. 3. 4. Earn customers loyalty
and make them come back Expand their business and open a new branch
Maximize the profit and sales Keep the staffs happy
Objectives of the company to achieve these aims:1. Theyre
spreading the loyalty card to the customers and itll
give them a free food after 5 purchase. So they are earning
its
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
customers trust who are important stakeholders to hold on to
achieve their aims and objectives. 2. Making a profit and offer a
promotion on the dishes which sales the best. To achieve this they
will have to have a good employees who can persuade the customers
to buy the dishes and also who have knowledge of the food and
service they provide to introduce and to be the face of the company
to introduce the brand to a new customers very well. 3. As I said
maximizing profit is connected to its sale so theyre offering their
staffs a promotional card to give it to their families and friends.
Behind the hundreds of staffs theyll have a person who has never
tried their food before which means new customer. 4. By offering a
staff discount and a free meal if they bring a new customer. Its a
good way of bringing the customer and theyve got a competition
between the staff, person who brought the certain amount of
customer will have wage increase. Rice Bar is opening new branch in
Newcastle. To open new branch owner has to tighten the companys
budget to save some money for the new branch. To do that he is
firing some of their staffs, for the owner it will save some money
for him, on the other hand for remaining staff it will be difficult
to run the restaurant with shortage of staff. For its customer itll
take long time for them to be served. For managers they may have to
deal with the complain about the waiting time and quality of
service. As the owner did not pay the loan which he has to pay
bank/ building society will not lend him any more money. Only one
thing is making so many trouble for his business, thats what we
call sacrificing everything.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
b) influence that different stakeholders exert in one of the
organisation Rice Bar Owner- he is the one who is most exerting
to his company as it will affect him right away how the business is
doing. It will sometimes depend on the owners to achieve the best
possible performance. For example he has the sole authority to make
decision towards the business. Staff- they will have to make an
effort in the business as they are the face of the business as they
are communicating with the customers face to face every single days
of trading. Community/Society- as they have opened a new branch in
Deansgate and they are opening till 2am in the morning on Fridays
and Saturdays means they will have a huge increase in sale because
in Deansgate area there will still be customers at this hour as
people celebrate uncle Friday and Saturdays birthday every night.
Environment- they use paper bag and paper noodle cups which are
recyclable so it is good for the environment and it may even
attract a new customers because nowadays people are caring so much
about our environment. Overall in my opinion every single
stakeholders play an important role for a business to run
successfuly. However for sole traders like Rice Bar, owners have to
make the right decision to
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
not to disappoint the stakeholders. For example if he is not
offering same offer or match his competitors offer he might lose
the customers and lose money, or possibly will not be able to pay
his rent or bills so it might lead him to serious damage.
Assignment Part 2
Task 1a) Describe each organisational structure using an
organisational
chart. All businesses have to be well organised to be ready for
anything at anytime. Organisational structure is a map of that
certain organisations structure, showing the staffs positions and
their levels within the company and who they should respond to and
what they should be responsible for. Theres a five way to structure
a business: by its functions/departments, by products, by area, by
customers, and by the process.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Tesco Supermarkets Organisational Structure Chart
Chart from www.teachmebusiness.co.uk
From the chart above I would say Tesco has a tall structure,
which means there is a lot of different levels and people.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Businesses like Tesco, they employ a lot of staff, and they
broke them into so many functional areas like Finance,
Administration, and HR etc. All employees in the company are
controlled by the people above them. Problem they have in tall
structure is information will move very slowly, it will go through
all the way from the bottom to the top which means they have a very
long chain of command. As they have lot of managers there will be a
short span of control. Another problem they have is communication,
they usually communicate in writing as if they communicate verbally
by the time it gets to where it supposed to be the information will
change along the way and there could be misunderstanding. Rice Bar
Organiastional Chart
OwnerGeneral Manager
SupervisorWaitress/Waiter
Head ChefSenior chef
Kitchen StaffsUnlike Tesco there is only one person who is
responsible for all the staffs. This means there is short chain of
command and wide span of control. Advantage of having a wide span
of control there will be
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
less levels/layers people to pass the communication will be fast
and efficient.
information
so
that
Span of control- is the number of people who report to one
manager. If there is a more people under the control of one manager
span of control of this certain organization will be wider. There
is a lot of people in one managers control the narrower will be the
span of control. Chain of command- is the line of people from the
top to bottom the hierarchy.
b) Explain how the style of the helps each on to fulfil their
purpose Functional areas within a business include Production,
Human Resources, Finance, Administration, Sales and Marketing and
Customer Services. All functional areas are designed to help,
support each other to help business run smooth and effective. All
departments have to communicate to work as a whole to make a great
success. Sales- this departments aim is to increase the companys
sales to make profit and work with the marketing department to make
sure theyre promoting the right product at the right time and know
the product which are selling or not. I mean there is no point to
sell some product if its not bringing any reward to the
company.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
Finance- this department has the companys heart as theyre doing
the very important job for the company as because theyll handle all
the money within the company. They keep all financial records of
all of their payments and also the money paid to the company. They
must work with the Production Department as they should inform the
finance department how many units/product they have to purchase
each month/week to have the right stock amount at right time. As
well as production they should work close with the marketing
department as theyll have to get money from the finance too promote
the product. Customer service- this is a service for customers,
they use the service after they purchase a product from the company
(refund, exchange) or before they purchase any product. This is
very important service for the company as it will provide the
information about the product and information about its staffs.
Simply they could be the face of the company. I think they work
with the Administration Department who are responsible for companys
paperwork such as letter from customers/suppliers and deal with any
enquiries customer/ external people may have. The reasons I think
these two departments should work together as they make sure
business dont make any faults.
Task 2
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
a) Describe the influence of two contrasting economic
environments within a selected organisation. Economic Factor is
there to provide information about the global economy. If peoples
living standard arises, it will give the business opportunity to
make a profit for its owners. But now we having a difficulties with
our economy as because its crashing, because of that organisations
doing the redundant for its employees as they cannot afford them.
This means there will be more unemployed people in the country and
peoples spending money is getting or it already is very low for
some people. For Tesco this factor has an impact on Tescos sales as
were having a credit crunch at the moment. The reason why I think
is people are saving their money for in case of something such as
redundant or an emergency need. So that people are not really
spending their money, also lots of people changing their
supermarkets where they were used to shop. For example I used to
collect my weekly shopping at Tesco or Sainsbury, but now I do not
work I shop at ASDA or ALDI where the products are cheap. For Rice
Bar it might risen a great opportunity do well for themselves as
economy is going down people are eventually cutting their luxuries
and considering Rice Bar provides fast fresh food and most
importantly cheap and healthy option for their customers it is
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
most likely for them to win over the lunch time hours. I mean
you can get a decent Jamaican Jerk Chicken for 5.99 which might be
same cost as M&S sandwich and a water. However someone like who
cant afford to buy food from restaurants I might buy some sandwich
bread and a lettuce to make my own from Tesco. Also, if the
business is doing successfully owner might want to expand his
business. In order to expand his business he might have to get a
loan from bank. As the economical difficulties he might have to go
through 2 times harder things to get a money from the bank whereas
it might have been easier 2 years ago. b) Compare the challenges to
selected business activities within a selected organisation in two
different economical environments. I think every business facing a
new challenge every day, but economic challenge is the most
dangerous and high risked challenge as because it could have a huge
impact on business activities and very scarily you cannot control
these sort of things as it is one of these external factors that
businesses face. In the UK economy goes from growth to recession.
Simply growth in economy means people/consumers have more money to
spend and businesses will have to produce more goods/services to
meet their customers demand. In recession that is when everything
might go downhill, if everything falls continuously 6 months that
is when
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
recession starts, because customers will start to cut costs and
they will start to save money rather than spend it. So it will have
a huge impact on businesses and its activities. Ive chosen two
important peoples group whom will involve in business activity the
most.
Rice Bar Growth Supplier- in this term suppliers will have a
very good chance to succeed, because they will have more orders in
to produce as their consumers demand is rising. So suppliers will
have to hire more staff to meet their customers needThat means
people have a more spending power.
Recession
1. Social Factor- this factor provide customers lifestyle,
what
they like, their views and beliefs. This influences the
customers buying habit. For example people are trying to eat
healthy food as possible and this will be the one of the habit
people will have. What I mean by that is people will buy healthy
food more than the junk food. As people life changing so is our
buying habit.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity 2.Technology Factor- this
helps the business to reduce costs
and develop new products. I think with technology businesses
will save a lot of money and it will make the communication easier
for the company (e-mail, telephone ). Organisations need to have
the latest technologies for their business to stay competitive. For
example businesses can store a huge amount of paperwork without the
cost of papers. c) Examine how some of the external factors you
have outlined have had a effect on the two organisations. Have they
caused problems, or created opportunities? . Social Factor- I think
more people are coming to the UK from Western Europe and other
countries. So Tesco and other supermarkets are providing Polish,
Jamaican, Arabic food for their customers as the demand of it has
increased. At some point having a new product is good thing for the
company and Tescos understanding the consumer needs and providing
the good possible services for them. Technological Factor-
technology is opening a wide door for Tesco. A good example of this
is a www.tesco.com nowadays people buy their groceries online as
well as other products clothes, furniture. I use Tescos website to
order bulky things like mineralThis document was downloaded from
Coursework.Info - The UK's Coursework Database -
http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
water, my babys pampers as because theyre so heavy and we dont
have a car. Since Im a student I get my groceries for free
sometimes if I search the internet well, this is the one way of
using technology effectively as well. Rice Bar Politic Factor- in
2007 government banned smoking in public places this includes
restaurants. I think this has opened opportunity for restaurant
owners as therell be no smoking means families will come to the
restaurants often to spend a weekend at least my family. I mean I
would never have a meal with my child in an environment when there
is a smell of cigarette. d) Evaluate how the external factors, over
a specified period, may affect the specified business activities,
their strategy, internal structures, functional activities and
stakeholders. External factors affect businesses as well as their
stakeholders in many different ways for example employees can
protect themselves from treated unfairly by from their employees,
customers/public have the right to know certain organisations data,
so that they can expect better products and service from the
organisation. Online businesses Nowadays young children are likely
to have obesity because of their eating habit. Obesity can be
turned into some serious illness as the child gets older. So I
think parents shouldThis document was downloaded from
Coursework.Info - The UK's Coursework Database -
http://www.coursework.info/
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/ Intro duction to
BusinessExplorin g Business Activity
provide their children with the healthy diet and more vegetables
and dairy products. From this point supermarkets have offer on
vegetables and some healthy foods. Itll help the children as well
as that business organisation.
This document was downloaded from Coursework.Info - The UK's
Coursework Database - http://www.coursework.info/