c c c c c
TEACHING MANUAL CHAPTER ONE
c c c c
THE CONCEPT OF BUSINESS IN CONTEXT
c c c c c
Thiscchaptercexplainscthec‘BusinesscincContext’cmodelcthatciscusedcthroughoutcthecboo
k.cAllcfourccontextscarecidentified;cenvironmental,corganizational,cstrategiccandcfunctio
nal,creferredctocasc‘activitiesclevel’ccontext.c Incaddition,ctwoctheoreticalcframeworkcou
tlinescarecoffered;csystemscandccontingency.c Bothcframeworkschavecbeenc usedctocdev
elopcthec‘BusinesscincContext’cmodel.
Thecmodelccancbecusedctocanalyzecindividualcfirmscandcentirecindustrialcorcbusinesscsec
tors.c Acusefulcexercisecforcstudentscisctocnominatecacparticularcsector,cfirmcorcorganiza
tioncknownctocthemc(itccouldcbectheirccollege,cuniversitycorctheirc department)candcgetcth
emctocdevelopcancanalysiscusingcthec‘BusinesscincContext’c model.
Discussion questions and answers
c c c
Belowcyoucwillcfindcsuggestedcanswersctocthecdiscussioncquestionscsetcatcthecendcofcev
erycchapter.c Itcmustcbecstressedcthatcthesecanswerscoffercguidanceconlycandcarec notcinte
ndedcasc‘model’canswers.c Itciscimportantcthatcstudentscthinkcforcthemselvesc andcmany
cofcthecquestionscrequirecthemctocapplycthecknowledgectheychavecgainedc fromcthecboo
kctocacspecificccontext.c Wecrecognizecthatcsuchccontextscmaycvarycforc differentcgroupsco
fcstudents.c Itciscmorecimportantcthatcstudentscthinkcofcthecissuescincthecindustry,cbusin
esscorcevencnationalccontextcthatciscmostcrelevantctocthem.c Inc someccases,cacspecificca
nswerccannotcbecgivencbut,cwherecthischappens,csuggestionsc arecofferedcforctacklingct
hecquestion.
For use with Needle/Burns, Business in Context 8th edition (9781473786707)
© 2023 Cengage Learning EMEA
,1. Thecfivecenvironmentalcvariables,cfivecorganizationalcvariablescandcfivecbusi
c
nesscactivitieschavecbeencidentifiedcincthecmodel.c Bycnecessity,cthesecreprese
ntcbroadccategories.c Whatcarecthecpossiblecelementscthatcmightcbecconsider
edcundercthecvariouscheadingscusedcincourcmodelcofcbusiness?
Environmentalccontextc
Economy
(Thecnaturalcenvironmentcandcitscimpactconcthececonomyccouldcbecconsideredc
herecorcundercacseparatecheading,cincadditionctocthecfivecelementscidentifiedcinc
thecbook.cThisccouldcbecacusefulcstartingcpointctocgetc studentsctocthinkcaboutcth
ecutilitycofcthecmodel.)
Levelcofcactivity
Economiccstructure
Economiccchange
Internationalcfinancecandccurrencycexchange
Naturecofclabourcmarkets
Competitivecstructures
Globalization
Multinationals
Thecstate
Politicalcideology
Politicalcchange
Governmentceconomiccpolicy
Legislation
Levelcofcinterventioncandctypescofcintervention
Naturecandcrolecofcbureaucracy
Interestcgroups
Supranationalcorganizationscandcglobalization
Technology
Productcandcprocessctechnology
Changingcusecofctechnologycincorganizations
Informationctechnology
Digitalcandcsocialcmediactechnology
Scalecandcnaturecofctechnologicalcchange
Technologycandcthecglobalceconomy
E-Commerce
Impactconcorganizationcstructure
Impactconclabourcmarketscandcjobs
Labour
Behaviourcofclabourcmarkets
Compositioncofctheclabourcforce
For use with Needle/Burns, Business in Context 8th edition (9781473786707)
© 2023 Cengage Learning EMEA
, Changingcnaturecofcjobscandctheclabourcforce
Rolecofctradecunions
Alternativecformscofcemployeecrepresentation
Culturecandcinstitutions
Nationalcdifferences
Sub-nationalcandcsub-culturalcdifferences
Globalization,cconvergencecandcculture
Businesscpracticescandcmanagementcstylescincdifferentccultures
Impactcofccultureconcbusinesscsuccess
Transfercofcideascandcpracticescacrossccultures
Non-
culturalcbasescofcnationalcdifferences,csuchcascthecnaturecofcgovern
ment,clegislation,ceducationcsystem,cfinancialcsystems,cstockcmarket
s,cetc.
Organizationalccontext
c Goals
Typescofcgoals
Missioncstatements
Goalscandcstrategy,cgoalscandcoperations
Goalcconflict
Goalscandcperformance
Businesscethics
Ownership
Ownershipcandccontrol
Thecnotioncofcagency
Typescofcownership
Ownershipcandcperformance
Publiccversuscprivatecownership
Structure
Typescofcstructure
Influencesconcstructure
Theclinkcbetweencstrategycandcstructure
Structurecandcperformance
Thecflexiblecfirm
Size
Issuescrelatedctoclargecversuscsmallcfirms
Sizecandcstructure
Sizecandcbusinesscperformance
Thecsmallcfirmscsectorcandcitscrolecincthececonomy
For use with Needle/Burns, Business in Context 8th edition (9781473786707)
© 2023 Cengage Learning EMEA
, Organizationalcculture
Influencesconcculture
Typescofcculture
Influencesconcperformance
Issuescofcculturalcchange
Limitationscascacmanagementccontrolcdevice
Businesscactivities
Innovation
c
Invention
Researchcandcdevelopment
Design
Entrepreneurship
Operations
Convertingcinputsc(information,cmaterials,cfinance,ctechnology,cpeople,c
etc.)cintocproductscandcservices
Production
Delivery
Supplycchaincmanagement
Marketing
Marketcresearch
Productcdesign
Creatingcdifferentcproductscforcspecificcmarkets
Promotioncandcadvertising
Pricing
Distributioncandcmethodscofcreachingctheccustomer
Thectransformationcincmarketingcresultingcfromcdigitalcandcsocialcmediact
echnologies
Humancresourcecmanagement
Creatingcacstaffcprofilectocmeetcthecstrategiccneedscofcthecfirm
Recruiting,cselecting,ctrainingcandcrewardingcstaff
Retainingcstaff
Howcpeoplecarecrewardedcandcmotivated
Employmentcrelations
Thecrolecofchumancrelationscincachievingcstrategiccgoals
Financecandcaccounting
Raisingcfundsc(Financialcaccounting)
Managingcincomecandcexpenditurec(Managementcaccounting)
Financialcreporting
For use with Needle/Burns, Business in Context 8th edition (9781473786707)
© 2023 Cengage Learning EMEA