P1) Explain the effects, of changes in the economic environment on a selected business In this criterion I will explain the effects, of changes in the economic environment on a selected business. The selected business which I have chosen is British Airways, which is well known airline in the United Kingdom and internationally. https://www.google.co.uk/images [Accessed 2nd February 2014]. The graph above shows the business cycle showing slump, recession, recovery and boom. Slump is when business activities begin to slow down, and the economy slowly goes into recession.
Specifically, the home improvement industry has contracted by 1.2% in 2009. Companies have responded by increasing sales promotions and discounting in order to grow their share of the declining market. This has increased competition and deferred new entrants. However, as the economy recovers, the industry is expected to grow at a forecasted compounded annual growth rate of 3% until 2014. The Canadian general merchandise retailing industry is highly competitive.
(Davis) Relevant Factual Information about the Problem or Decision the Organization Faced The collapse in industry profitability in 2007–2009 and the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler were not simply consequences of the financial crisis. They also reflected the massive structural problems of the industry—most notably, too many firms with too much capacity chasing too little demand. The catastrophic decline in industry revenues and profits in 2008 promised a major industry restructuring. (Grant) Explanation of Relevant Concepts, Theories and Applications Derived from Course Materials A SWOT analysis can work to generate effective solution for Ford and the auto industry: Strengths Strong position in US market. Ford is the second largest automaker in US, the second largest vehicle market in the world.
* These samples were sent to Rondot’s quality control department for testing and the results seemed encouraging. * Current situation: * Rondot Automotive was facing considerable global competition and significant pressures from its customers for price reductions. * Total sales and employment at the Jackson plant had steadily declined over the past five years. * The number of employees at the plant had dropped from 1450 to 600 and plant management was under pressure to lower costs and regain market share. * Glenn has the option to do outsourcing on cleaning and painting work to Greven E-Coating.
In the U.S., consumer expenditures on homes and other large purchases tend to slow down during a recession because 3. The Soccer World Cup is promoted aggressively to both companies and fans. This is an example of marketing a(n) 4. One of the most critical steps in the defining process of market research is 5. Which of the following industries is most likely to use database marketing?
Global Executive MBA – FGV (2015) * COURSE 201: CORPORATE FINANCE IN A GLOBAL ENVIROMENT PROFESSOR: Richard Saito * Session #3: July 19, 2014 Victoria Chemicals Local Team 4: Yasmin Pastore Abdalla Claudio Lorenzetti Mark Hollenstein Fabio Maiello Glasson Antonio Fonseca Junior July 17, 2014 | * | * | * | * | * | History Background Victoria Chemicals, a major competitor in the worldwide chemical industry, was leader in polypropylene production and sales. They had two production plants one located in Mereyside, Liverpool and the other in Rotterdam, Netherlands. By 2008 they were facing a big dilemma, and a huge pressure of their investors to improve its financial performance. Their plant was very old, and the operation had lot to improve and Frank Greystock the controller was taking care of a project of modernization of the entire plant. Capital Renovation Proposal As soon as Lucy Morris assumed the management of the Merseyside plant in 2007 she easily discovered several that needed efficiency improvements in polypropylene production.
Additionally, even if a good potential target was identified, the change in federal regulations had made obtaining the necessary leverage a challenging task, forcing LBO firms to put up over 30% of the buyout in equity, thereby reducing the possible returns. Although the banking market had tightened regulation and made debt harder to come by, equity from investors was pouring in. 2004 had been a record-breaking year in terms of dollars invested as well as transactions completed, and 2005 was on track to continue increasing those figures. Purchase price for companies were hovering at about 7x EBITDA, the highest since 1999. Some of the reasons for this increase in deal size include: • Firms were able to raise a lot of money and felt the need to put that money to work • Firms were becoming industry-focused, developing operational expertise to help their targets after the buyout process • Firms were diversifying into other markets such as Europe, Asia and India, where LBOs still presented attractive returns such as the ones seen in the US circa 1980’s • U.S. private equity firms were establishing international offices to deploy this excess of funds, sometimes “bidding up” or overpaying just to ensure capital deployment 2.
How difficult a challenge did Welch face in 1981. How effectively did he take charge? According to the Harvard business case “GE's Two Decade Transformation Case Analysis”, Jack Welch assumed as CEO of General Electric year of 1981, he had the task of stimulating the competiveness and prolific capability of the corporation. The United States economy was in a time of recession due to the high interest rates and a strong dollar exacerbated the problem, so it results in the highest unemployment rates since the time of the United States depression. CEO Welch comprehend that GE needed to make some changes in restructuration of the company and this involved the modernization and reorganization of operations, reducing the organization, and decrease of payrolls and strict efficiency measures.
General Environment Analysis The US Airlines Industry was going through a tough time during the period of 2004 - 2006. Major Airlines, such as United and Continental were trying to consolidate in order to survive. US net losses include $6.1 billion restructuring costs in 2006 [Exhibit 2, Source]. With several major airlines filing for bankruptcy, it was even more difficult for the regional airlines, which were primarily dependent on the major players for their existence. A more detailed environmental analysis is provided below: Economic Trends:  Net profit trend - Although the forecasts of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) seemed to be promising for 2007(collective profit of about $2.5 Billion), the situation till December 2006, seemed to be pretty bleak (Threat)  Seasonal Fluctuations - Another problem was the seasonal fluctuations in demand.
With the rising tuition education is going to be very hard to acquire. So it is time for America to change and find a way to lower these ridiculous prices. A College Board report found that about 66% of students who earned a bachelor's degree in 2008 graduated with a substantial amount of debt. This proves that the cost of tuition is rising and in another report, it determined that the average debt of the class of 2008 owed $23,200. This was determined by the Project on student debt, a non profit organization.