Unit 1: Exploring Business
The Effects of the Environment on a
Business
, Introduction
In this report, I will be discussing the effects the environment has on a global, established
business such as Cadbury. I will be defining the differences between the internal, external
and competitive environment and how market structure has significant impact on the
business.
Business Environments – Internal
Every business has its specific way of performing day to day operations; from completing
projects to the process of hiring potential employees, each business has implemented unique
systems which are catered to the organisation. This is also referred as corporate culture.
Corporate culture is the businesses implementation of their unique systems of shared values,
beliefs, attitudes and practices with all their employees. In the same way corporate culture is
specific for each business, it is shaped the way it is from a number of internal influences. For
instance, company values and employees influence an organisations corporate culture
similarly employees and particular market standards. Corporate culture has many benefits
for the business as it can increase employee productivity, brand reputation and it supports in
setting clear aims and goals which are in line with the organisation’s values. However, for a
global business-like Cadbury corporate culture is quite disregarded for the employees in the
cocoa farms as they are not provided with adequate pay which forces them to employ
children. This is evident in the channel 4 documentary highlighting the struggles farmers
have due to low pay and children as young as 10 are missing school to work on the farms as
families are unable to afford adult employees. Clearly, Cadburys corporate culture is negative
and one of the most important employees – cocoa farmers, are not provided with efficient
support both financial and non-financial. On the other hand, the corporate culture in the
Cadbury’s corporate environment is positive as corporate employees are adequately paid, the
work environment is friendly and fun. Overall, the chocolate manufacturer has an
inconsistent corporate culture, and their values are not demonstrated in all aspects of their
business.
Corporate social responsibility is when the business considers and acts in solving social and
environmental factors that are impacted by the organisations business activities. The overall
aim of the businesses CSR is to create a positive impact on society and communities.
Cadbury is consistently working on becoming more socially responsible as they are
committed to sustainable packaging. In March 2021, they had reduced the use of plastics in
their product packaging and utilised recycled materials to wrap their products which was
made of 30% recycled plastic. Their commitment of environmental friendliness is evident in
their “pack light and pack right” strategy and long-term vison of zero net waste packaging.
Furthermore, their commitment is evident in their 14% decrease of water usage in areas
where water supply is short plus the 25% reduction in carbon emissions across their
manufacturing operations. On the other hand, Cadbury’s ethical responsibility is quite poor
as they had not ruled out animal testing. They had reported they are unable to guarantee
their entire supply chain is free of animal testing. Furthermore, Cadburys ethical
responsibility in terms of employees is significantly poor as they ultimately ignore their
workforce in countries such as Ghana where their primary source of living is cocoa farming.
They provide cocoa farmers with insufficient pay therefore they can’t afford to employ adults,
so they are essentially forced to have their children to work on their farms. Event though
child labour is illegal in Ghana, local farmers who provide Cadbury with cocoa are unable to
afford the basic necessities such as rent, food, and water so, the farmers are not in a position
to stop doing business with Cadbury even with such low pay and poor conditions.
Nonetheless, the business has increased their child labour monitoring in 2022 from 61% to
74% in the cocoa farming communities as they are trying to tackle this important issue.
The Effects of the Environment on a
Business
, Introduction
In this report, I will be discussing the effects the environment has on a global, established
business such as Cadbury. I will be defining the differences between the internal, external
and competitive environment and how market structure has significant impact on the
business.
Business Environments – Internal
Every business has its specific way of performing day to day operations; from completing
projects to the process of hiring potential employees, each business has implemented unique
systems which are catered to the organisation. This is also referred as corporate culture.
Corporate culture is the businesses implementation of their unique systems of shared values,
beliefs, attitudes and practices with all their employees. In the same way corporate culture is
specific for each business, it is shaped the way it is from a number of internal influences. For
instance, company values and employees influence an organisations corporate culture
similarly employees and particular market standards. Corporate culture has many benefits
for the business as it can increase employee productivity, brand reputation and it supports in
setting clear aims and goals which are in line with the organisation’s values. However, for a
global business-like Cadbury corporate culture is quite disregarded for the employees in the
cocoa farms as they are not provided with adequate pay which forces them to employ
children. This is evident in the channel 4 documentary highlighting the struggles farmers
have due to low pay and children as young as 10 are missing school to work on the farms as
families are unable to afford adult employees. Clearly, Cadburys corporate culture is negative
and one of the most important employees – cocoa farmers, are not provided with efficient
support both financial and non-financial. On the other hand, the corporate culture in the
Cadbury’s corporate environment is positive as corporate employees are adequately paid, the
work environment is friendly and fun. Overall, the chocolate manufacturer has an
inconsistent corporate culture, and their values are not demonstrated in all aspects of their
business.
Corporate social responsibility is when the business considers and acts in solving social and
environmental factors that are impacted by the organisations business activities. The overall
aim of the businesses CSR is to create a positive impact on society and communities.
Cadbury is consistently working on becoming more socially responsible as they are
committed to sustainable packaging. In March 2021, they had reduced the use of plastics in
their product packaging and utilised recycled materials to wrap their products which was
made of 30% recycled plastic. Their commitment of environmental friendliness is evident in
their “pack light and pack right” strategy and long-term vison of zero net waste packaging.
Furthermore, their commitment is evident in their 14% decrease of water usage in areas
where water supply is short plus the 25% reduction in carbon emissions across their
manufacturing operations. On the other hand, Cadbury’s ethical responsibility is quite poor
as they had not ruled out animal testing. They had reported they are unable to guarantee
their entire supply chain is free of animal testing. Furthermore, Cadburys ethical
responsibility in terms of employees is significantly poor as they ultimately ignore their
workforce in countries such as Ghana where their primary source of living is cocoa farming.
They provide cocoa farmers with insufficient pay therefore they can’t afford to employ adults,
so they are essentially forced to have their children to work on their farms. Event though
child labour is illegal in Ghana, local farmers who provide Cadbury with cocoa are unable to
afford the basic necessities such as rent, food, and water so, the farmers are not in a position
to stop doing business with Cadbury even with such low pay and poor conditions.
Nonetheless, the business has increased their child labour monitoring in 2022 from 61% to
74% in the cocoa farming communities as they are trying to tackle this important issue.
