M2 - Comparing teams

M2

The team I will be using as an example for this task is the school business group and my current media group. In my media group, there are four people including myself, George, Matt and Nat. We started our group work over a week ago and our progress has been successful so far. Our aim is to film a short scene following the description of shots on the brief.

The leader in this group would narrow down to Matt, since his idea for the short scene was the most effective one. We all assigned ourselves to different roles in the group so we could perform quickly and effectively. This meant having to do extra work in spare time to get things done. There were many ideas facing the short scene, and there was a brief conflict between two of the members over which idea gets chosen forward. The outcome of this was Matt being the leader, and it wasn’t forced upon him, he naturally just fell into the role.

Comparing this to the business group, the media group was a lot smaller, therefore making objectives a lot clearer on what we had to do. We also had a lot more time to get to a successful outcome, whereas the business group was rushed quite a lot. Additionally, our media group knows the strengths and weaknesses of all the characters in the group, therefore making it easier to assign tasks/roles, however we didn’t have that in the business group since we didn’t really know each other. 

To get to a successful outcome overall, I believe that the group has to have a good relationship with each other, otherwise there will be conflicts all the time and no objectives will be met. The problem we faced during the media group was the choosing of the scene ideas, since one person was really passionate about one idea, and another passionate about a different idea. That made everything a bit harder to choose in the group what our objectives were, also made everything more awkward. However, we decided to act upon these conflicts since time was running out.

In our business group, we had to quickly notice each member’s strengths and flaws, and share any idea, which was worthy of standards with the group. This made everything less complicated and away from conflicts/confrontations. Humour was a very important part during our media group, and was something the other group lacked. This improved our objectives and made it a lot easier to get things done, and our group was having a good time doing it. Although our business group didn’t appeal to the idea of humour, this was because we were under a lot of pressure and our only goal at the time was to actually achieve a successful idea.

Overall, each team had the strengths and flaws. However, personally I think my media team worked better together since we all knew each other and felt comfortable sharing any sort of ideas with the rest of the group. Although, the business group did get objectives done a lot faster without any hesitance.

M1 - Comparing roles of different team members

M1 – To compare the roles of different members of a team

 

For this task, we were told we needed to set up a fundraiser event to raise money for a charity. We organised ourselves into a group of six, which included myself, Chelsi, Jess, Eady, Jack and Jamie. Our plan was to host a ‘total wipe-out’ event, which would include a cake sale and fancy dress. This means our profit would average out to over £1,000, since we would charge £1 for fancy dress, 50p to play total wipe-out and cakes ranging from 50p-£1.50. Bearing in mind there are over 1,000 people in this school. Furthermore, whilst trying to arrange this event, we essentially gave roles to ourselves following Belbin’s ‘Team Role Summary Descriptions.

 

Meredith Belbin is a British researcher who is best known for his theories designated towards teamwork. Belbin created an idea which branched off into nine important team roles. He believes that a tea m has to have these roles to succeed. When doing this task, we naturally fell into certain roles:

 

§  Plant – Creative, imaginative and free-thinking – Everyone

§  Resource Investigator – Outgoing and enthusiastic – Chelsi

§  Co-ordinator – Mature, confident and communicative – Myself

§  Shaper – Challenging, dynamic and non-pressurised – Jess

§  Monitor Evaluator – Sober, strategic and discerning – Eady

§  Team worker – co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic – Jack

§  Implementer – Practical, reliable & efficient -  Myself, Chelsi

§  Completer Finisher – Painstaking, Conscientious, anxious – Chelsi

§  Specialist – Single-minded, self-starting & dedicated – Jamie

 

The plant would class as everyone during this task, since all members in the team put in a certain level of effort and shared creative and imaginative ideas with each other. The resource investigator would be Chelsi, because she is outgoing and enthusiastic and is good for developing new ideas. My role during the assignment would have been put towards the co-ordinator role, because I clarified the goals which were needed to be done and took charge. I tried to contribute a fair amount, since I could be seen as manipulative otherwise. The shaper was Jess since she was challenging and dynamic during the task and shared courage amongst the group. Monitor Evaluator would be Eady because she was strategic and judges everything accurately, so the group doesn’t make any mistakes. Jack would be the team worker in this circumstance since he works effectively with the group and bounces off everybody’s ideas, minimalizing conflicts. He also listens to the group which averts frictions because he is embracing everybody’s points of views.

 

Chelsi and I would be the Implementers because we worked practically and reliably, which made the task organized. We also made ideas into actions, which took a certain amount of responsibility. Chelsi was the completer finisher too, which means she searches out all of the errors and polishes/perfects the task. Jamie would be the specialist here, because she is single-minded and provides very helpful knowledge and skills in rare supply. The weakness with this is that a specialist will only contribute on a narrow front, dwelling on opening up ideas.

 

I believe that our team worked very well during this task, however could be improved. This expands on to opening up our knowledge and also averting conflicts and friction. This can be done by only having one leader, because if they were two then the team would be debating two sides.  

D1 - Stakeholders

D1 - Stakeholders

M1 Stakeholders

M1 Stakeholders Report

 

To: Mr Hirst

From: Eloise Preen

Assessment Criteria: M1

 

Business Aims & Objectives for Tesco and Cancer Research UK:

Tesco’s Aims and objectives include being wanted/needed all around the world. This means that people are interested to visiting the store; however also require purchasing products from the store. Another objective for Tesco is that they aspire to be a growing business, opening up new opportunities and ideas all the time; this could be directed to both customers and colleagues. Tesco aims to sell products and make the largest profit possible. To achieve this, they can advertise everywhere to entice customers and consumers, or giving off the best deals for certain products against competitors, like Sainsbury’s for instance. Cancer Research on the other hand, is trying to make the largest profit to help towards finding a cure for cancer, and also helping families/victims who have gone through hard times. This business is a non-profit business, since they are not aiming to earn the money for themselves.

 

Profit Business: Tesco

 

Non Profit Business: Cancer Research UK

 

Stakeholders:

Tesco’s Stakeholders:

§  Employees – Would like to see a clean, friendly environment in which they are able to thrive in when serving customers.

§  Customers – Want the store to be inviting and appealing, also to see a large range of products to choose from.

§  Local Communities – People who are surrounded by a Tesco in their area would want the store to give off more job opportunities.

§  Suppliers – A supplier would want Tesco to ask for larger orders so their supplying business prospers.

§  Owners – An owners ideal aim would to see Tesco’s profits and margins rising, therefore they are able to invest in more.

 

Cancer Research’s Stakeholders:

§  Government – The government would want to see that Cancer Research is using all of their resources efficiently, and to see a large profit being made so they can invest it into scientific research.

§  Employees - Would like to see a clean, friendly environment in which they are able to thrive in when serving customers.

§  Customers - Want the store to be inviting and appealing, also to see a large range of products to choose from.

§  Suppliers - A supplier would want Cancer Research to ask for larger orders so their supplying business prospers.

§  Owners - An owners ideal aim would to see Tesco’s profits and margins rising, therefore they are able to invest in more.

§  Local Communities - People who are surrounded by a Cancer Research in their area would want the store to give off more job opportunities.

 

Many conflicts are possible to happen between an organization and a stakeholder, therefore stakeholders have an aim for that business in order to achieve and thrive. Shareholders aim for share prices to rise; therefore they can keep a good and sustainable corporate image. Also, if the business the shareholder has invested in achieves high profits, it means that the shareholder will obtain a higher dividend. Employees aspire to have good security whilst working, and it is very important for a business to make an employee feel safe in their environment, otherwise they will not perform to the highest standard and then profits may lower. Good working conditions, high levels of pay, opportunities for promotions and job enrichments are also favoured highly by employees, because it will make the employee work to their best standard and also make customers more enticed and interested. Likewise, a customer expects to see very high quality products at a low price, excellent service by the employees and a wide range to choose from. This is important because it means that the customers are more likely to buy products, which increases the profit for a business and means that they will have more to spend on advertisement, making stores more appealing and buying better products. Prompt payment and steady growth tend to be wanted by suppliers. If this happens, it means that suppliers are more likely to give their products more quickly and efficiently to a business, which also connotes on to the fact that the business will be more likely to order a larger amount from the supplier in the future. Owners are often acknowledged to be the most important stakeholder since they tend to be the foundation of a business and also contribute the most of their life into setting up and starting that business. An owner would aim to see their profit and income rising throughout time, and also like to see that their business is of a high value. The people who would buy the products from a business and most likely to share the word around would be the general public, and local community. These people would want the business to provide employment opportunities, which would provide the training for the job too. The business should be generally friendly and inviting to local communities, as they are the ones who will make the business thrive. For some businesses, the government would want to see that they are using effective and efficient use of their resources, and also to comply with the legal standards which include consumer protection and health and safety hazards. Trade unions aim to see that the business are taking in the employee’s views and interests, and also securing higher wages and better working conditions for their members. Employer Associations possible aims include the same as trade unions, however also want the business to represent the interests of the employers in that specific industry.

 

Conclusion:

Tesco’s stakeholders contrast against Cancer Research’s stakeholders since Tesco is a larger company. This means Tesco has larger prospers for making a profit, however Cancer Research is investing all their profit into scientific research to find a cure for the disease. These two businesses are very different from each other; however still maintain the basic principles, for instance: providing good and helpful service to customers. These businesses also aim to achieve a high profit so they can branch off even more. Therefore, Both Tesco and Cancer Research meet the aims and objectives that a stakeholder requires.

P6 - Social, Legal and Political Issues/Factors

Social, Legal and Political Issues/Factors 

Social issues have gone on for a long time in the business world, and even today some of us suffer not receiving a ‘promotion’ purely because we are slightly different in how we look, think or work. There is an on-going increase in the population too, which means that there is a greater increase and demand for goods and services. However, this does address the issue on finding more employees, considering that there are many people without jobs. There are more single families and households then there was 20 years ago in the UK. This could help businesses like Tesco since it means that they will want to buy quick and easy to make food. Many jobs now require an adequate level of education and ICT skills though, which can cancel out many people to employ since they might not have had the opportunity to earn a degree, or some sort of higher education. Not only this, women in the business industry receive far less than the average male. 50% of people who are working today are female, which is a lot higher than 10 years ago.  

Political issues and factors include political stability, meaning that businesses will know where they are for the next 5 years, therefore can divide out a plan. Government support in the private sector includes giving out support and different grants to certain businesses as guidance and help. This support also makes sure that businesses act in a correct way. In the Voluntary Sector, the government will provide grants of money to a business, and also provide tax relief for businesses such as charities. The Government will cover any loses made, health, education and welfare services to businesses in the Public Sector. Furthermore, the UK is a member of the European Union, which means that UK businesses are able to trade and transport goods easily with other members. The EU allows free movement of goods, money and people to help businesses work together more efficiently.  

 Legal issues include providing a framework for a business, known as the ‘Company Law’. The Company Act is a great way to find out information for a business, and means that you can find any criminal records or how much the business will be in debt by. Protecting customers and employees is also very important; it covers agreements in regard to loans, overdrafts and credit cards. Also, it includes laws on borrowing/credit offered by businesses. The Employment Law on the other hand, means that all employees are protected by certain laws. Some of these laws include working time directive, minimum wage limits, equal pay and laws against any discrimination. Ensuring fair and honest trading is vital for a business too, since the business could be faced with major consequences if it is not considered as equal.

Political Factors  

UK 

	Tesco	Cancer Research
Infrastructure	17 billion has been spent on infrastructure over the next parliament. This means that the global rate for infrastructure has to be improved. This will happen over a long period of time to ensure that every part is covered. Furthermore, 10 billion will be invested in transport, 20 billion in schools and an additional 10 billion into scientific research and resources.  Tesco needs to know this since they can have a clear understanding of the economy and the impacts of the government investing money into different sectors.	Other businesses, such as Cancer Research need to ensure that they are doing the same as Tesco, since Tesco have a firm plan of what will happen. This can be achieved by being organised with products, advertisement and enticing the audience on a whole.
Taxation	Tax in the UK is a lot more changeable than tax in China.  Minimum wage in 2000 was £3.10 for UK citizens; however this has gone up dramatically over the course of 12 years, and was £6.10 in 2012. The minimum wage in the UK currently for 21 and over is £6.70. The minimum wage was raised again by 60p during the course of 3 years. Tesco needs to know what the minimum wage is so that they can decide on the amount that they will pay their employees.	This means that other businesses have to pay each and every one of their staff at least the minimum wage. Unless it is a charity, which will mean there most likely will be cuts in tax.

 

China 

	Tesco	Other Businesses (Cancer Research)
Infrastructure	Infrastructure is one of the most prioritised topics amongst the Chinese Government. If China made the roads and rail works better, it would mean transporting goods would be easier and the economy would boom. This would also happen to work for telecommunications and electricity. Stakeholders who would be affected by this would be employees, since they would have made the store even more appealing. Also, the local community would be affected since if the roads and rail works are made better, it means that they will be able to commute further.	Other businesses would need to make sure that they would be keeping up with the standards set by businesses such as Tesco. This is because if they don’t, then they will go into a recession.  Stakeholders who would be affected by this would be employees, because they would have to make sure that the standards of their service are just as good as larger businesses, such as Tesco.
Taxation	From 2008 to 2012, tax did not change in China at all. Minimum wage in China was only just set in 2012, meaning that businesses could pay the employee what they thought was right. Local Governments amongst China all set a minimum wage for that area, which can have is disadvantages since not all areas are fair paying.	Other businesses will have to ensure that they do not pay as much for their employees/workers. This is because they are a non-profit organisation.

 

Legal Factors 

UK

	Tesco	Other Businesses
Consumer Protection	To protect current and future consumers, the product the business Is selling must be of high standard. This means the product cannot be damaged in any way.  Suppliers would have to make sure that their products they are supplying Tesco with are of a high standard and quality, if not, they could face the consequence of Tesco finding another supplier.	Since this is a non-profit organisation (charity), it should make sure the item is sellable and not broken, however since most of the products a charity shop stocks are second hand, it would be hard to ensure this.
Competition Law	This law protects Tesco and employees at Tesco from any disruptive/incorporative behaviour amongst the customer’s buying/browsing products. This also means that the competition law will benefit Tesco when they sell products for cheaper than everyone else. Since this will mean that the customers will be more interested in getting the best deal, and therefore go to Tesco.	This will benefit other businesses and charities since it will protect them from any kind of upsetting behaviour taken place by a customer. All businesses must comply with this law; otherwise they face serious legal consequences.

 

China 

	Tesco	Other Businesses
Consumer Protection	This would benefit Tesco since if a dominant position were to be abused in any way, they would receive full care and time off. However, this does not cover the issue of minimum wages changing across all areas in China.	Other Businesses, like Cancer Research would have to do the same as Tesco, and report reviews of employees and staff to ensure nothing is going wrong.
Competition Law	There is no price fixing in China, therefore Tesco could charge more/less for products and could benefit highly from this. Furthermore, they would also be able to use local suppliers in the area.	No cartels are allowed within regulations from the competition law, and there also includes laws on monopoly power. However, suppliers do get treatment for their long and tedious hours.

 

Social Factors

UK 

	Tesco	Other Businesses
Environment	The government is working on protecting the environment we live in today by reducing pollution. This will come about by finding a new method of making energy and fuel, or more simple objectives like planting more trees in the area. Helping out the environment will reduce landfill sites though, and this means that Tesco can have more options when it comes to packaging their products. The local community would be affected by changes in the environment by Tesco, since it will most likely be changes in the area they live in.	Other businesses, such as charities tend to be very mindful when it comes to the topic of the environment. They tend to use biodegradable plastic bags so they don’t harm the environment and wildlife.
Population	When the population booms, there are more people living in that certain area. This means more customers spending money on products and more people to employ. However this also does mean that there will be more deaths, and as Tesco is a very large scaled company, it could set up funeral services.	Population increase can benefit other businesses since there will be more people, and more children. This can escalate on to the idea that there will be more of a need for children’s items, such as clothing/uniform and toys.

 

China

	Tesco	Other Businesses
Environment	China is one of the most populace nations on the whole Earth. This can come with perks however many downfalls too. China has to provide resources for each citizen who wants to buy from Tesco too, making suppliers and producers highly in demand.  China has a very high pollution rate, and this means the local community will suffer unless positive impacts are made.	Environmental factors for other businesses and charities may include air pollution, water pollution, and desertification and habitat loss. All of this can massively affect the economy in China since it can move citizens out and around areas.
Population	Chinas population rank rates first in the whole world. It has roughly a 20% average of the world’s population. This means that Tesco will have many opportunities to high new/more employees.	Other businesses will have to follow the same plan as Tesco, and try to employ as many people when the economy reaches its boom stage. Otherwise, it may fall rapidly and leave these other businesses and charities with nothing.

The Economic Environment

The Economic Environment

Economic

Importance of stability; impact on business of changes in the economic environment (growth, recession, ripple effect); levels of inflation; availability and cost of credit; labour; changes in government policy (legal, fiscal, monetary).

 

Demand

Influenced by affordability; competition; availability of substitutes; needs and aspirations of consumers

 

Supply

Influenced by availability of raw materials and labour; logistics; ability to produce profitably; competition for raw materials; government support.

 

The economic environment is made up of millions of individual decision makes who buys and sells goods (public, businesses & suppliers), borrowing and lending money (banks), raising taxes (government) and changing interest rates (Monetary Policy Committee.)

 

The Importance of stability:

Stability exists when business people can make forecasts for the short and medium term about likely demand. Like when you supply goods to someone on credit and they pay you back. You can also borrow money and you expect the repayments to be the agreed amount.

 

Impact of changes in the economic environment:

 

Growth

This is the opposite of an economic recession. This occurs when goods are being produced and consumed, and incomes are rising

 

Recession

This occurs when people involved in a business become more cautious, customers cut back on spending (save more) & fewer goods are produced.

 

Ripple Effect

§  Customers spend less

§  Businesses cut back on stock

§  Producers cut back on production

§  Producers cut back costs (workers)

§  Unemployment + less income = cut

§  Back more on consumer spending

 

Levels of inflation:

Inflation means there is an increase in the cost of living. Furthermore, consumer price index measures the change in the cost of a fixed basket of products and services, including housing, electricity, food and transport.

 

Availability and cost of credit:

Interest rates are set by the Monetary Policy Committee for the Bank of England. When interest rates raise it costs more to borrow money.

 

Labour:

For most businesses, the wage bill makes up for 70% of all costs. During a recession, it is much easier for employers to obtain labour with the required skills. During a growth period, a labour shortage can occur and wages are rising.

 

Changes in Government Policy:

This manages stability and growth, low inflation, available credit, low interest rates and also high access to suitable supplies of labour. Monetary Policy decides on how much money is available and the Fiscal Policy reduces/increases taxes.

 

Demand and Supply:

Demand

This is the quantity of goods or services that consumers will buy at a particular price.

 

Supply

This is the quantity of goods that a supplier is willing to provide at different prices.

 

Factors that influence demand:

§  Affordability

§  Competitions

§  Availability of substitutes

§  Level of income

§  Needs and aspirations of customers

 

Factors that influence supply:

§  Availability of raw materials

§  Logistics

§  Competition for raw materials

§  Government support

 

Elasticity of demand:

This is a measure of how much the quantity demanded of a product responds to change in price.

 

Elastic:

When demand is very responsive to price changes

 

Inelastic:

When demand is unresponsive to price changes

 

Price Sensitivity:

This tells a business how sensitive demand is to changes in price

 

Influence of branding on price sensitivity:

The aim of branding a product is to create a relatively inelastic demand for the product

 

Global interaction:

§  Supply chain – made up of a series of links starting with the raw materials through to the finished product

 

§  Ownership of business – the overseas business that is part or fully owned is called a subsidiary

 

§  Reducing ability of government to regulate global business – foreign multinational companies bring jobs, investment & pay business taxes but they are hard to regulate as the change production and location quickly

 

Procurement (Buying):

Recession

§  Cut back on buying stock

§  Scaling back operations which could lead to unemployment

§  Finding cheaper methods

§  Reusing old machinery

§  Stocking cheaper brands

 

Growth

§  Buying more stock

§  Expanding – buying more shops

§  Feeling confident to experiment with more methods

§  Explores more transport links

§  More employment

§  Buying more machinery

§  Stocking more products/more expensive products

 

Transportation of Goods:

Recession

§  Finding cheaper ways to transport

§  Lower wages for those in transport delivery

§  Reduce staff

§  Reduce purchasing of goods which means less delivery is needed

 

Growth

§  Investing in more transport links due to needing to have more stock

§  Higher wages

§  Can transport further

§  Can afford further afield

§  Larger carbon footprint

 

Promotion:

Recession

§  Lack of cheaper/alternative methods

§  Reduce advertising

§  Reduce wages

§  Increase unemployment

 

 

Growth

§  More confidence – enables them to explore with more methods of media to communicate with their buyers – increases demand

§  More staff

§  Can afford to advertise more

§  Buying more advertisement spaces

 

Recruitment:

Recession

§  Reduce staff number

§  Cut back on employing

§  Only employ highly skilled people

 

Growth

§  Employ more staff

§  This will increase profit

§  Better wages