Global Business System - Lab Report Example

Global Business Executive Summary The report will throw a light on the nature of modern newspaper industry’s business. It will discuss the differentials in the business environment of newspaper industry in the developed and developing economies. However, the report primarily concentrates on the business of newspaper industry in the developed economies. The PESTLE analysis of the project clearly explains the external environment of business faced by the newspaper industry in developed countries. Then the SWOT of The Guardian will help to analyze the internal working of a newspaper company in U.K. The force field analysis would help to implicitly analyze the possible business competition experienced by the newspaper industry due to the growing importance given on the internet media usage. The learnt from the report will help a reader to analyze the internal and external aspects of business of the newspaper industry in details. It has been analyzed in this report that the newspaper industry has grown more competitive and digital in nature down the years. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Findings 3 PEST Analysis and its Business Benefit 3 PEST Analysis of the Newspaper Industry in the Developed Economies 3 SWOT Analysis of ‘The Guardian’ 5 Lewin’s Field Force Analysis 7 Field Force Analysis of the Newspaper Industry in the Developed Economies 7 Conclusion 9 Introduction Over the time mankind has combated several wars to develop and enhance their personal skills. Literacy is considered as one of the key indicators for economic development in a nation. It has been proved infinite number of times that the contribution of education in the field of growth of welfare and well being is perilous. In the contemporary world, it can be stated that those nations that possesses high literacy level are able to perform better in the global market places. The worlds of economic, social, cultural and political life of human beings have series of unremitting incidences. The improvement of literacy and growing awareness of the individuals about the current situations in the world around them have augmented the austerity of popularity of newspapers. Even today, despite the different types of media like television, internet etc., the use of newspapers positions itself at the zenith in the global media industry. However, it would be interesting to note that the nature of the print media industry in the developed and developing economies is substantially different. This report will throw a light on the newspaper industry in details for especially the developed economies and would also compare the same for the developing countries in the globe (Westwood, 2005). Findings PEST Analysis and its Business Benefit PEST is actually an acronym for the four words political, economical, social and technological. It has been analyzed by the scholars that this technique of analysis helps to implicitly analyze the business environment of any industry. This helps the analysts in the industries to formulate efficient business strategies for their respective business segments. The future impending business difficulties and the risks can also be minimized with the help of a good PEST analysis for a company. It is also true that the opportunities in a business and resources can also be used in the most cost effective manner with the help of PEST analysis of a business firm. PEST Analysis of the Newspaper Industry in the Developed Economies Political In the developed economies, the impact of political changes on the newspaper industry is massive. A new legislative act or the occurrence of an election or the emergence of a new political turmoil brings about large changes in the nature of interests of the reporters in the newspaper industry. The political parties in the developed economies like U.S. influence the newspaper companies to create readership interests according to the requirements. Though the newspaper industry does not desire much of political regulations over its operations, political intervention does matter to its operations. However it should be considered that the government issued copyright to the newspaper companies is crucial for the respective organizations. Thus, even if the term ‘freedom of the press’ is a common jargon in the newspaper industry, the industry in reality demands for much political intervention (Robinson, 2010). Economical The economic factors largely influence the working of the newspaper industry in the developed economies. The commercial or financial power of a business firm can always influence the advertisements to be displayed in the newspapers. Moreover, the recessionary trails in the market affect the working of the newspapers. For many newspaper companies in the developed economies, the primary sources of revenue are the commercials of the different companies. The crises in the global market have reduced the aggregate spending of the companies for the purpose of advertising. This has been responsible for reducing the revenue of the newspaper companies in the developed economies. The infinite number of newspaper companies in the world also helps to generate much employment opportunities in the nations (Robinson, 2010). Social The social environment largely influences the workings of the newspaper industry. This industry involves accumulation of the news that is realistic, interesting and can affect the life of the individuals. Thus the type of news mobilized by the organizations or the importance which is given to the wide-ranging news largely depends on the occurrence of the events in the society. The changes in the social cultures and thought pattern of the individuals are primarily emphasized in the newspaper industry. Technological In the contemporary world, the newspaper companies in the developed economies adopt the changes in the ever-becoming state of technology in the economies related to their business operations. For instance, many newspaper companies in the developed counties have taken on the use of internet to circulate their newspapers to the viewers worldwide. With the improvement in the level of literacy in the global market, the proportion of the internet users have significantly increased. Thus the viewership ratings of the newspaper companies have increased significantly with the use of internet circulation. Thus a change in the technological state in the developed economies largely influences the functioning of the newspaper industry (Robinson, 2010). SWOT Analysis of ‘The Guardian’ Strengths The circulation of the newspapers of ‘The Guardian’ in U.K. is huge. Every day more than 3.5 million newspapers are distributed in different regions of the country. With its headquarters in Kings Place, London, ‘The Guardian’ sets its market all across the country. The company can often leverage the parent companies of other modes of media like radio, television, in order to set off with certain required campaigns. For instance, an anti-corruption campaign can account for one. The brand loyalty of the consumers and the brand value of the company in the industry are massive. The company has special editions for the major cities in U.K. It sponsors certain events like technical campaigns in the market that have helped to augment the brand value of the company. The company had been established back in U.K and it had started to regulate newspapers from about 1821 in the European continent. Since the company is established way back in the years, it has become successful in creating a brand worth and respect among many individuals in U.K (The Guardian, 2013). Weaknesses Some individuals comment that the company provides excessive importance to the current affairs of the entertainment and sports industry. According to these individuals, such events are less important and should not be given much insight as they affect the daily lives of the individuals the least. The competition in the newspaper industry is extremely high in U.K. This reduces the market share of the company in the country. Opportunities Apart from the ‘The Observer’ and the ‘The Guardian Weekly’, the company should issue more types of publications that would help to encompass more potential viewers for the company. It should launch more versions of newspapers in different regional languages throughout the European continent. Moreover, since the online users are increasing in the contemporary world, the company should try to tap more potential readers by devising a better circulatory path for its daily newspapers on the online sites. Moreover, it has been empirically found that the overall literacy rate of the countries in the European continent have increased over time. The Guardian should take advantage of this situation and should try to tap more consumers for its newspapers (Slack and Nigel, 2005). Threats The Telegraph, Financial Times etc are the other famous newspaper companies in U.K. that have sufficient popularity in the market. The increased initiatives of these companies to boost their brand value have threatened the position of The Guardian in U.K. Moreover in the modern era, individuals use different websites on the internet, to gather information about the current affairs. Therefore, the overall use of newspaper has reduced at present. The awareness of the individuals to protect the environment has increased over time. This is a reason for which individuals are seen to discourage the use of paper, as they are made at the expense of the nature in form of trees. Since newspapers are made of paper, many individuals also discourage the use of newspapers as they involve excessive wastages of paper. Lewin’s Field Force Analysis Lewin’s Field Force Analysis is a significant development in the field of social science. It includes the forces that help to reach a goal and also concentrates on those which discourage to reach a particular goal. This analysis states that the field in business for a company or economy changes with time and experience and thus it is dynamic in nature. Lewin’s Field Force analysis for an industry helps to determine the net impact of forces on an organization due to the different external factors affecting the business operations. These factors would include the ones that would help the industry formulate strategies of growth and would also include the factors that hamper the progress of a business sector (Holland, 2007). Field Force Analysis of the Newspaper Industry in the Developed Economies Arguments in favour The quality of services of internet has improved over time in the developed economies which have helped to draw greater usages of internet media in these economies. The rapid growth of usage of smart phones in the developed economies has facilitated the usage of internet. Companies like, Microsoft hold business pacts with the famous mobile companies like, Nokia to improve the service of internet in the modern cell phones. This has augmented the use of web media. Individuals in the modern world are busy in their daily activities due to which they hardly have time to read the newspapers. They prefer internet as it has a better version, in terms of portability, in order to read about current affairs than traditional newspapers. Using internet to gather information is more environment friendly that newspapers. This is because the disposal or renewals of newspapers are a matter of concern (Webster, 1995). Arguments Against All the newspaper companies in the developed economies have their own official websites. The internet friendly individuals can often utilize the internet sites of the newspapers to read the daily publications. Newspapers are still now the primary mode of information media for the individuals belonging to old generations. The cost of subscription of newspapers is much lower than that of any other source of media like internet (Everett, 2011). Thus after analyzing the Field Force analysis, it can be stated that the growing use of internet have set a strong competition for the newspaper industry in the contemporary world. However, the negative factors seem to be stronger because steady enhancement in the quality of periodicals and the use of internet as a source of circulation can help the newspaper companies reduce the competition in the market (Koivisto, 2012). Indian Newspaper Industry The gross literacy rate in India is 62.8% while considering any developed economy like U.K. the literacy rate is 99% (CIA, 2013). This is the reason for the comparatively lower usage of internet in India compared to the other developed economies in the world. Many regions of India are not yet developed enough to incorporate sources of other media like television. So, newspaper is the still existing sole mode of media that helps to convey information to a substantial share of Indian population that exists in the remote locations. The large population in the Indian economy is much higher than many developed economies in the world. This is the reason for which the strength of consumers for the newspaper industry in India is much more than that of many developed economies’ newspaper industry. Economic powers in the hands of a large section of individuals living in India are less, so the only mode to gather information about the global economy for them is newspapers, since it is the cheapest mode. Thus, the newspaper industry in a developing nations like India faces a better business in the current era than the newspaper industry in a developed economy. Conclusion The awareness of the individuals in the current world has triggered the business of newspaper industries in the global marketplaces. However, at this epoch, the organizations which engage in the printing business of newspapers have to set efficient strategies to lead the industry. It is true that the increased use of internet media in the current era (especially the developed economies) have heightened the competition for the newspaper industries worldwide. However, it should be considered that the constant improvement in the quality of publications and the use of internet as a source of circulation can help the newspaper companies reduce the competition in the market (Arnold, 2008). Reference List Arnold, R. A., 2008. Macroeconomics. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. CIA, 2013. The World Fact Book. [online] Available at< https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html> [Assessed 30 October]. Everett, C. E., 2011. Transformation of Newspapers in the Technology Era. [pdf] The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications. Available at< https://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/academics/communications/research/vol2no2/09EverettEJFall11.pdf> [Assessed 30 October]. Holland, J., 2007. Tools for institutional, political, and social analysis of policy reform: a sourcebook for development practitioners. Washington: World Bank Publications. Koivisto, J., 2012. Chronic crisis:A landscape analysis of newspapers. [online] Available at< http://www.academia.edu/1620913/Chronic_crisis_-_A_landscape_analysis_of_newspapers> [Assessed 30 October]. Robinson, T., 2010. The evolution of news reporting. Minneapolis: ABDO. Slack, N. and Nigel, S., 2005. Operations strategy. New Jersey: Pearson Education. The Guardian, 2013. The Guardian. [online] Available at < http://www.theguardian.com/uk> Assessed 30 October]. Webster, F. E., 1995. Industrial marketing strategy. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Westwood, J., 2005. The marketing plan workbook. Delhi: Kogan Page Publishers. Read More