Report: Business Unit 1 – Exploring Business Milan Patel
Business: Features contributing
to the success of contrasting
businesses
Milan Patel
11-15-2019
http://logok.org/oxfam-logo/oxfam-logo-new/
focus-speed
, Milan Patel
Introduction to task – I have been tasked by the economic development unit at the city of
Wolverhampton’s council. As part of my task, I have researched information on two contrasting
businesses. The two businesses I have chosen are McDonalds and Oxfam. Following my research, I
have produced a report exploring multiple aspects of the two businesses. Some of these include:
Features, organisational structures, stakeholders, missions and more.
Introduction of McDonalds –
McDonalds is a fast food franchise business that specialises in the American cuisine, in foods such as:
Fries and Burgers. Founded in 1955, the business has grown to become one of the biggest fast food
restaurants in the world. With over 36,000 restaurants in over 100 nations, they average 68 million
customers a day.
Introduction of Oxfam –
Oxfam are a non-profit organisation, founded in 1942, they aim to solve key issues in the world with
the money of people who donate. They have over 650 shops and work in over 90 countries. They
work in countries that are dealing with tough issues such as: Poverty, starvation, disease, war, and
more.
The Features of McDonalds –
The ownership of McDonalds is a franchisee, which classifies them as a public limited company (plc).
Being a limited company means that McDonalds has limited liability. This means that McDonald’s
shareholders are not legally responsible for the debts of the business, only the debts to the value of
their shares in the business. This means that there is much less consequence for the owners of
McDonalds in the event of debt. Without limited liability, if they were to have debt, the owner’s
assets such as houses, and cars would be at risk of being taken the settle the debt. If the personal
assets are at risk of being taken to settle debt, it’s a limited liability business.
The purpose of McDonalds is to provide a restaurant service, which is fast and of suitable quality,
they sell goods in the form of food and drink to satisfy consumer needs. All of this is for the main
purpose of being successful and making as much profit as they can. So, their ultimate purpose is to
fulfil the needs of customers, and in the process maintain a healthy profit to expand the business
and develop for the future.
McDonald’s is in the secondary and tertiary sector. They are in the secondary sector because they
manufacture and turn meat into products that they cook, for example McDonalds source their
chicken breast from suppliers and convert this into chicken nuggets on a food production line. They
are also in the quaternary sector because they are heavily focused on the research and development
into new products and potential ideas. However, the main sector that McDonalds operates within is
the tertiary sector. This involves the selling of a product, which is food and drink in McDonald’s case.
The primary sector is the sourcing of raw materials, for example a business may source wood from
trees. The secondary sector refers to the transition of raw materials into products. For example,
wood (the raw material) may be turned into a chair, which is the product. The tertiary sector is
involved in the selling of a product or service, in this case it would be the selling of the chair. Finally,
the quaternary sector is involved in the research and development. For example, this may be the
research into new materials to improve the quality of the chair.
The scope of activities for McDonalds is on a global scale, as they are present in over 100 countries,
with around 35,000 restaurants worldwide. The most recent country they opened in was Kazakhstan
in 2016. McDonalds would be classified as a ‘large’ business because they have over 250 employees.
1
, Milan Patel
They exceed this with over 210,000 employees. In conclusion, this all means that they are a very
large business that operates on a global level.
Features of Oxfam –
The ownership of Oxfam is a non-profit. This means that they aim to make enough money to cover
their costs. Any extra profits go towards helping the causes that Oxfam support. Oxfam is a limited
liability business, meaning that the owners are not completely liable for any losses that they may
make, so their personal assets are protected from being seized.
The purpose of Oxfam is to help the less fortunate in the world, and to be part of the global
movement of change. Oxfam work on many key issues in the world now including: Poverty, human
rights, free education for all, and war struck areas and starvation.
Oxfam is in the tertiary sector for several reasons. One being because they offer a service, in the
form of help and support for all the people in need. Another reason is because they sell products in
the form of second-hand goods that people donate. They sell these good to customers at reasonable
prices, and always make a profit, because the goods cost nothing.
The size of Oxfam is also classified as a large business because they employ over 5300 people which
is well above 250. As well as employing people, Oxfam also has around 22,000 volunteers that help
them in their global efforts both overseas and locally. The scope of activities for Oxfam stretches
across the globe, they work in over 90 countries, some including: Yemen, Afghanistan, Rwanda,
Somalia, Thailand and Brazil. By working in all these countries, Oxfam ensures they can help as many
people as possible, in order to fulfil their purpose. The size of Oxfam is classified as “Large”, this is
because on the scale of the sizes of businesses, they are above the specified number of employees.
The other sizes include:
Size Number of employees
Micro Up to 9
Small 10-49
Medium 50-249
Large Over 250
What is a Stakeholder –?
A stakeholder is anyone who has an influence on/interest in the business or is affected by the
business’s decisions. Stakeholders can be internal or external. Internal stakeholders are most likely
people who work for the business and are involved inside the business. External stakeholders are
people who don’t work within the business and people who aren’t involved in the day to day
running of the business. Business often communicate with stakeholders in a variety of ways. Some
may include:
Managers: Employees who have a higher role within the business, communicate by: Email/phone
call
Suppliers: Businesses that supply resources to other Businesses, communicate by: Email (invoice)
Customers: People who buy products or services from a business, Communicate by: Advertising and
marketing
Owners: Meetings (Face to Face)
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, Milan Patel
Competitors: Other businesses competing for market share and customers in the same market,
communicate by: Price changes or innovation
Other stakeholders include:
Lenders: People who lend money or services to the business
Debtors: People that owe the business money
Creditors: People who the business owe money to
(These stakeholders will all communicate via: email, invoices, and phone calls)
How businesses communicate with their stakeholders:
Stakeholder How the business may communicate with the stakeholder
Customers A business may communicate with its customers by advertising or marketing. For example, a TV
advert, would communicate information to customers and also make them aware of the brand
and what they are offering. Another example could be social media advertising. This is effective
because the social media is widely used, and more people will see the advert.
Employees A business may communicate with by email to their employees. This is cheap and easy to do, as
well as being able to spread a message to everyone at once. Another way they may communicate
is by face to face communication. This will typically take place in a meeting, where employees
can communicate their ideas better, as they are talking and not typing. Face to face also prevents
miscommunication in messages, such as someone reading the message wrong and taking
offence.
Suppliers A business could communicate with its supplier through an invoice. An invoice is a bill that lists
the items and the cost of them. This is a good way to communicate because it clearly shows
orders and costs, meaning businesses can keep track of them. It also helps to spot errors, for
example, if the cost is unusually high, there may be a mistake on the invoice that can be
investigated.
Franchisee members Face to face meetings are the typical way for franchisee members to communicate. This will
often happen periodically. This is useful as it allows franchisee members as well as board
members, to talk. It also allows them to do things that you can’t do by communicating by email.
For example, they can’t taste a new product McDonalds is testing by email.
Competitors A competitor could change their prices to be lower. This would be a form of communication
because it’s communicating that the competitor wants to take more business and win more
customers to produce higher profits. For example, if McDonalds offered a 15% discount, people
are more likely to eat their rather than any other competitors of McDonalds. This would
communicate to the competitors that McDonalds is trying to take business away from them.
Therefore, they may have to react and also lower their prices or offer something else to
compete, so they don’t lose business.
Environmental groups If environmental groups want to be heard by businesses, they may protest. This could be a
protest in front of a business’s store. This would be effective communication as it would make
customers less likely to visit the store, losing the business potential customers. This would force
the business to listen otherwise they would keep losing money due to less customers. Another
form of communication could include a letter; however, this may not be as effective because
business can easily ignore them or reply with a meaningless response.
3
Business: Features contributing
to the success of contrasting
businesses
Milan Patel
11-15-2019
http://logok.org/oxfam-logo/oxfam-logo-new/
focus-speed
, Milan Patel
Introduction to task – I have been tasked by the economic development unit at the city of
Wolverhampton’s council. As part of my task, I have researched information on two contrasting
businesses. The two businesses I have chosen are McDonalds and Oxfam. Following my research, I
have produced a report exploring multiple aspects of the two businesses. Some of these include:
Features, organisational structures, stakeholders, missions and more.
Introduction of McDonalds –
McDonalds is a fast food franchise business that specialises in the American cuisine, in foods such as:
Fries and Burgers. Founded in 1955, the business has grown to become one of the biggest fast food
restaurants in the world. With over 36,000 restaurants in over 100 nations, they average 68 million
customers a day.
Introduction of Oxfam –
Oxfam are a non-profit organisation, founded in 1942, they aim to solve key issues in the world with
the money of people who donate. They have over 650 shops and work in over 90 countries. They
work in countries that are dealing with tough issues such as: Poverty, starvation, disease, war, and
more.
The Features of McDonalds –
The ownership of McDonalds is a franchisee, which classifies them as a public limited company (plc).
Being a limited company means that McDonalds has limited liability. This means that McDonald’s
shareholders are not legally responsible for the debts of the business, only the debts to the value of
their shares in the business. This means that there is much less consequence for the owners of
McDonalds in the event of debt. Without limited liability, if they were to have debt, the owner’s
assets such as houses, and cars would be at risk of being taken the settle the debt. If the personal
assets are at risk of being taken to settle debt, it’s a limited liability business.
The purpose of McDonalds is to provide a restaurant service, which is fast and of suitable quality,
they sell goods in the form of food and drink to satisfy consumer needs. All of this is for the main
purpose of being successful and making as much profit as they can. So, their ultimate purpose is to
fulfil the needs of customers, and in the process maintain a healthy profit to expand the business
and develop for the future.
McDonald’s is in the secondary and tertiary sector. They are in the secondary sector because they
manufacture and turn meat into products that they cook, for example McDonalds source their
chicken breast from suppliers and convert this into chicken nuggets on a food production line. They
are also in the quaternary sector because they are heavily focused on the research and development
into new products and potential ideas. However, the main sector that McDonalds operates within is
the tertiary sector. This involves the selling of a product, which is food and drink in McDonald’s case.
The primary sector is the sourcing of raw materials, for example a business may source wood from
trees. The secondary sector refers to the transition of raw materials into products. For example,
wood (the raw material) may be turned into a chair, which is the product. The tertiary sector is
involved in the selling of a product or service, in this case it would be the selling of the chair. Finally,
the quaternary sector is involved in the research and development. For example, this may be the
research into new materials to improve the quality of the chair.
The scope of activities for McDonalds is on a global scale, as they are present in over 100 countries,
with around 35,000 restaurants worldwide. The most recent country they opened in was Kazakhstan
in 2016. McDonalds would be classified as a ‘large’ business because they have over 250 employees.
1
, Milan Patel
They exceed this with over 210,000 employees. In conclusion, this all means that they are a very
large business that operates on a global level.
Features of Oxfam –
The ownership of Oxfam is a non-profit. This means that they aim to make enough money to cover
their costs. Any extra profits go towards helping the causes that Oxfam support. Oxfam is a limited
liability business, meaning that the owners are not completely liable for any losses that they may
make, so their personal assets are protected from being seized.
The purpose of Oxfam is to help the less fortunate in the world, and to be part of the global
movement of change. Oxfam work on many key issues in the world now including: Poverty, human
rights, free education for all, and war struck areas and starvation.
Oxfam is in the tertiary sector for several reasons. One being because they offer a service, in the
form of help and support for all the people in need. Another reason is because they sell products in
the form of second-hand goods that people donate. They sell these good to customers at reasonable
prices, and always make a profit, because the goods cost nothing.
The size of Oxfam is also classified as a large business because they employ over 5300 people which
is well above 250. As well as employing people, Oxfam also has around 22,000 volunteers that help
them in their global efforts both overseas and locally. The scope of activities for Oxfam stretches
across the globe, they work in over 90 countries, some including: Yemen, Afghanistan, Rwanda,
Somalia, Thailand and Brazil. By working in all these countries, Oxfam ensures they can help as many
people as possible, in order to fulfil their purpose. The size of Oxfam is classified as “Large”, this is
because on the scale of the sizes of businesses, they are above the specified number of employees.
The other sizes include:
Size Number of employees
Micro Up to 9
Small 10-49
Medium 50-249
Large Over 250
What is a Stakeholder –?
A stakeholder is anyone who has an influence on/interest in the business or is affected by the
business’s decisions. Stakeholders can be internal or external. Internal stakeholders are most likely
people who work for the business and are involved inside the business. External stakeholders are
people who don’t work within the business and people who aren’t involved in the day to day
running of the business. Business often communicate with stakeholders in a variety of ways. Some
may include:
Managers: Employees who have a higher role within the business, communicate by: Email/phone
call
Suppliers: Businesses that supply resources to other Businesses, communicate by: Email (invoice)
Customers: People who buy products or services from a business, Communicate by: Advertising and
marketing
Owners: Meetings (Face to Face)
2
, Milan Patel
Competitors: Other businesses competing for market share and customers in the same market,
communicate by: Price changes or innovation
Other stakeholders include:
Lenders: People who lend money or services to the business
Debtors: People that owe the business money
Creditors: People who the business owe money to
(These stakeholders will all communicate via: email, invoices, and phone calls)
How businesses communicate with their stakeholders:
Stakeholder How the business may communicate with the stakeholder
Customers A business may communicate with its customers by advertising or marketing. For example, a TV
advert, would communicate information to customers and also make them aware of the brand
and what they are offering. Another example could be social media advertising. This is effective
because the social media is widely used, and more people will see the advert.
Employees A business may communicate with by email to their employees. This is cheap and easy to do, as
well as being able to spread a message to everyone at once. Another way they may communicate
is by face to face communication. This will typically take place in a meeting, where employees
can communicate their ideas better, as they are talking and not typing. Face to face also prevents
miscommunication in messages, such as someone reading the message wrong and taking
offence.
Suppliers A business could communicate with its supplier through an invoice. An invoice is a bill that lists
the items and the cost of them. This is a good way to communicate because it clearly shows
orders and costs, meaning businesses can keep track of them. It also helps to spot errors, for
example, if the cost is unusually high, there may be a mistake on the invoice that can be
investigated.
Franchisee members Face to face meetings are the typical way for franchisee members to communicate. This will
often happen periodically. This is useful as it allows franchisee members as well as board
members, to talk. It also allows them to do things that you can’t do by communicating by email.
For example, they can’t taste a new product McDonalds is testing by email.
Competitors A competitor could change their prices to be lower. This would be a form of communication
because it’s communicating that the competitor wants to take more business and win more
customers to produce higher profits. For example, if McDonalds offered a 15% discount, people
are more likely to eat their rather than any other competitors of McDonalds. This would
communicate to the competitors that McDonalds is trying to take business away from them.
Therefore, they may have to react and also lower their prices or offer something else to
compete, so they don’t lose business.
Environmental groups If environmental groups want to be heard by businesses, they may protest. This could be a
protest in front of a business’s store. This would be effective communication as it would make
customers less likely to visit the store, losing the business potential customers. This would force
the business to listen otherwise they would keep losing money due to less customers. Another
form of communication could include a letter; however, this may not be as effective because
business can easily ignore them or reply with a meaningless response.
3
