External Influences. New Technology: – New business opportunities – Creation of substitutes –...
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Transcript of External Influences. New Technology: – New business opportunities – Creation of substitutes –...
External Influences
External Influences
• New Technology:– New business opportunities– Creation of substitutes– Opening up of new markets– Technical progress in foreign countries– Productivity– Ways of working– Communication– Cost of investment versus return
External Influences
• New business opportunities:– Within the same industry?
(Core business)– Totally new markets/opportunities– Amount of investment needed– Market research – do consumers need the
product?
External Influences
• e.g. Canon – core business, optical technologies: – cameras, photocopiers, scanners, projectors, calculators,
binoculars, digital cameras, printers, projectors
• New markets – Discmans? DVD players? Flat Screen TVs? Plasma TVs?
• Risk versus gain
External Influences
• Threats:– Cheaper alternatives from abroad – CFC
technology, bio-technology, computer and micro-processor technology (especially China?)
– Rivals producing substitutes – PS2, X-Box and Game Cube
• How to react?
External Influences
• Working practices:– Technology and productivity –
impact on workers, morale, motivation?– Implications for ‘old’ plants (e.g. Longbridge versus
Sunderland?– Flexible working – working from home,
hot desking, mobile computing (wireless networks) video-conferencing
External Influences
• Communication:– Faster?– More efficient? – if so why have some firms
banned the use of e-mail at work for any purpose?
– Impact on motivation, morale and worker attitudes
– To what extent does the message get through?
External Influences
• Changing Social Attitudes:– Social ‘class’ – changing socio–economic groupings– Links with behaviour and demand (e.g. growing number of
pensioners; those who smoke or drink certain types of alcohol)– Changing tastes – concern for ‘green’ production, attitudes to fur,
wine versus beer, vegetarians (long term or short term?)
– Changing lifestyles – convenience and fast foods, use of freezers, use of cars, amount of leisure time and how it is used, etc.
External Influences
• Changing income structures– Distribution of income– Regional distribution of income– Impact of government taxation
on disposable incomes– Relative income elasticity of demand for different
goods and services