The United Kingdom Technology Strongly Affected the Current UK Economy - Research Paper Example

Business Environment Part I There different business environmental changes in the United Kingdom. The research uses PEST analysis. The research centers on the importance of laptops in the change environment. Laptop technology aptly fills the change needs of the new environment. Political. United Kingdom Politics enacts environment-friendly laws, with emphasis on global warming reduction. The United Kingdom political system can be defined as democratic. Julian Knight (2010) theorises the politicians are freely elected by the residents. The people elect the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to lead the United Kingdom Parliament. Six votes from Dunfermline elected Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. The people of Sedgefield elected Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Lastly, the people of Huntingdon elected Prime Minister John Major to lead the United Kingdom parliament. John Oakland (Oakland 2011) insists current political system is composed of members from the political Whigs party. Another party is the Liberal Party. The labour party is a strong advocate for the government’s green lamps to protect the environment. Political situation entails the use of laptops to increase communication. The laptops are used to increase the communication environment among the politicians of the United Kingdom. Likewise, people input the data from the politicians, statutes, laws, and other important documents from their laptops, while in flight 2000 miles above the United Kingdom or any busy transportation unit. Economic. The economy of the United Kingdom is environment friendly, including greenhouse gases. People use laptops to hasten their jobs in the business environment. The United Kingdom economy is profitably higher than the revenues of each individual nation within the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is one of the environment-friendly feasible members of the European Union. The current United Kingdom economy advantageously rose from the recent 2008-2009 recession. The recession included increasing public and private debt. In addition, the United Kingdom depression is tainted with high unemployment. The depression precipitated from the hidden significant imbalances. The country’s overreliance on debt cash inflows and the financial sector significantly triggered the imbalances. The current leadership of the nation, United Kingdom, must resolve the high wall of imbalances to unfold a sustainable and balanced economic recovery program (www.oecd.org). In response, the government is currently putting into action a wide range of economic enhance programs that comply with environment laws. The programs include fiscal consolidation and structural rehabilitations aimed at generating higher economic growth and enhanced balancing of the economy over time. Statistics show that the unemployment rate rose from 6.2 percent in 2008 to 7.8 percent in 2010. Likewise, the United Kingdom financial balance drastically declined from 2008’s 1 percent to 2010’s -6 percent. As of 2011, the United Kingdom government’s fiscal plans and economic reform programs significantly contributed to the marked reduction of fiscal risks, the government must inject further necessary improvements to the 2011 fiscal framework and reforms to make the financial sector more robust. Rick Szostak (Szostak 1995;101) reiterated “This view, that technological change is the primary cause of rising incomes in the modern world, is widely held. Gomulka (1990: 19) has summarized the results of empirical studies of the sources of economic growth. While there is some dissent, he asserts that the primacy of technology is clear. It emerges as the main determinant of differences in growth across countries and over time. Its importance is even greater if it is recognized that technological change often induces investment. It is not a huge leap of faith, then, to suspect that the course of innovation may somehow be connected with the worst period of economic decline in the modern era.” The above quote clearly shows that the economic situation can be remedied with the timely intervention of information technology, including the busy and constantly travelling person’s laptop. Social. There are many social aspects that influence the environment. The in our modern age, the rapid urbanization during our current societal journey has triggered climate change. Likewise, Beniamino Murgante (2011) theorised society has been festered by the increase in the United Kingdom pollution scene. Globally, more than 50 percent of the world’s population is living within the confines of the world’s cities, including the United Kingdom. By the year 2050, more than 80 percent of the world’s population will reside within the world’s cities. The United Kingdom requires the public to comply with environmental laws. Jeremy Colls (2002) announced as we neared the end of the twentieth century, however, we realised that we were entering an era in which our releases to atmosphere have the potential to change the whole environment of the planet. Although we have coped with air quality problems such as combustion smogs, photochemical smogs and depletion of the ozone layer by putting preventive measures in place when the symptoms got bad enough, climate change is in a different league. If you are young enough while you are reading this book to expect to live well into the second half of the twenty-first century, then you will probably experience the greatest level of environmental change, and the greatest efforts by humans to deal with it, that we have ever experienced. In this chapter and the one that follows, we will look at the physical causes, and at some of the possible consequences, of these changes. Further, Jeremy Colls (2002) explains “people have been making impacts on the natural environment of the Earth on a steadily increasing scale for thousands of years. For most of that period, those impacts have been localised or temporary”. Further, OECD (2011) insists mast of the residents of the United Kingdom travel from ne location to another. Normally, the workers travel from their homes to their work. The daily travel extends many miles. In terms of statistics, 50.6 percent rural workers and 54.8 percent of the urban residents travel from to their work places. In addition, 8.7 percent of the rural residents and 2.8 percent of their urban residents walk from home to work or school. In addition, 16.7 percent of the United Kingdom residents work from their homes. Further, 19.1 percent of the United Kingdom residents travel short distances from their home to school or workplace. London plays a significant part in rural to urban travel. The residents around London have the furthest average disaster statistics. Technological. There are many changes in the United Kingdom environment. In terms of laptop technology revenues, Jack Plunkett emphasized the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) offers public control services for the aircraft industry in the United Kingdom (Plunkett 2010). The company is responsible for monitoring and maintaining order and safety of all flights within the United Kingdom, flights going to countries outside the United Kingdom, as well as all flights going in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom airline industry ferries an average of 219 million air passengers during an average year. The National Air Traffic Services trains air traffic controllers. The software allows airline users to file flight their flight plans from their laptop both within and outside the United Kingdom. In computer stores, Abraham Pizam (2010) insists the sales person offers the prospective laptop customers a carrying case and an extended warrant to increase laptop sales. In addition, 34 percent of United Kingdom schools required the use of laptops by using wireless technologies. The online environment forces teachers to use the laptops for curriculum specification, correction, grading, and commenting. Mehdi Kosrowpour (2011) insists the laptops are used to record the student attendances, discipline remarks, and class lessons. In turn, the students bring the laptops to school to perform school assignments. In 2011, Michael Garbade (2011) emphasized the current increasing entrepreneurial spirit of United Kingdom community precipitates to the need for information technology. The entrepreneurial spirit focuses on increasing demand for services and products. The entrepreneur enhances one’s business strategy by implementing information technology. The technology includes the use of laptops. In addition, The OECD (2011) reports the 2011 specialized services in the United Kingdom use recently enhanced information technology for continuous learning and consultation with experts. Information technology, computerization, has increased by leaps and bounds. Information technology, using laptops, has closed the communication gap in terms of distance, and transportation (laptops can be easily carried from one place to another compared to desktop computers). In addition Christopher Pollitt (2012) reiterated the continuing changes in the transportation industry environment require the need for laptop technology. The travelling United Kingdom individual maximizes the use of one’s laptops during the train rides, airplane travels, or when taking lunch at the corner restaurant to send emails, research online data, and file tax returns, apply for a driver’s license, renew passports, and apply for a United States visa. With the advent of computer technology, the United Kingdom Family Records Centre in Sadler’s Wells and other United Kingdom physical establishments were closed. Based on the above discussion, there are many environmental changes in the United Kingdom. PEST analysis shows the importance of laptops in the change environment. Information technology environment’s laptops enhance the people’s job in the new change environment. Indeed, laptop technology comfortably fills the change needs of the new United Kingdom environment. Part II Technology and population are important factors in the United Kingdom economy. The research focuses on the effects of technology on the United Kingdom economy. The research includes focus on effects of population size on the United Kingdom economy. Both technology and population contribute to the current economic condition of the United Kingdom economy. Stephan Kudyba (Kudyba 2002) theorises the availability, accessibility, and communication of information of all sorts has been vastly augmented. Some forms of information technology was implemented to displace labor and other factors of production, while other forms have been utilized to reduce the uncertainty of conducting business by facilitating the availability of pertinent information. Because of the vast change from the older styles of buying and selling, marketing, pricing, producing, and distributing goods and services, many analysts have questioned whether accepted economic principles are valid in this new era. Fred Pearce (2011) emphasized that the world’s population reached seven billion last October 2011. The increase in the population will trigger an economic decline. The United Kingdom is entering the world where Japan treaded during the 1990s. The United Kingdom economy will greatly suffer from the lack of decline in its adult population. Economic stagnation will occur. The main reason for Japan’s economic stagnation is the shortage of adults who will run the Japanese economy. In fact, statistics shows that Japan has the record for the most number of people belonging to the old generation. In addition, Japan has average of 1.2 children per woman. Consequently, the mean age of the Japanese population is 40 years. In addition, 25 percent of the Japanese people are over 65 years of age. During the boom years, the Japanese adults were too busy working. Consequently, they had little time to produce babies. As the adults grew old, there were fewer adults to take their place. Consequently, the land of the rising land has been demoted to the land of the setting sun. Today, global statistics show that the average woman has a 50 percent child population decline compared to the population of the same women’s mother during the mother’s time. The global economic binge of the 20th century was described as population boom years. However, due to the decline in children’s population, the boom benefits will die when the boom children die, as they reach their current old age. The earth can no longer retain the current boom which precipitated from the large population of 20 years ago. Thus, the decline in United Kingdom population negatively affected the United Kingdom economy during the last ten years. In addition, the United Kingdom population generates the biggest increase in 50 years (UK Population Sees Biggest Increase in Half a Century 2011). The 2011 United Kingdom 62,262,000 population had reached a significant increase of 470,000 from the prior year’s population. The United Kingdom population rate increase 8 percent. The percent is the highest within the last 50 years. In addition, the United Kingdom 2011 birth rate had favourably increased. The increase is biggest, since 1962. The United Kingdom generated 797,000 births during 2011 alone. Further, Angus Cameron (2002) states “The 'social economy’ constitutes a broad range of activities which have the potential to provide opportunities for local people and communities to engage in all stages of the process of local economic regeneration and job creation, from the identification of basic needs to the operationalisation of initiatives. The sector covers the economic potential and activities of the self-help and co-operative movements, i.e. initiatives which aim to satisfy social and economic needs of local communities and their members. This sector includes co-operatives; self-help projects; credit unions; housing associations; partnerships; community enterprises and businesses. The social economy is the fastest growing sector in Europe and this context is fertile ground for the creation of many new enterprises locally”. The above quote clearly shows that the population affects the current economy. More adult population translates to more workers who are willing to manufacture goods, offer services, sell products, and create new products or innovations. On the other hand, a reduction in the United Kingdom adult population translates to the decline in the number of people willing to work. Hugh Matthews (2000) reiterated “The 'Social Economy' constitutes a broad range of activities which have the potential to provide opportunities for local people and communities to engage in all stages of the process of local economic regeneration and job creation, from the identification of basic needs to the operationalisation of initiatives. The sector covers the economic potential and activities of the self-help and co-operative movements, i.e. initiatives which aim to satisfy social and economic needs of local communities and their members.” The above quote clearly shows that people contribute their own small share to make the big keep the big wheel of the economy continuously growing. As the population grows, more people contribute their own share to the economy. On the other hand, as the economy declines, the people’s contribution to the economy declines. In a worst case scenario, if there is no population, there is no economy to speak of. For example, the cooperative movement is a strong as the number of persons offering similar sentiments or activities of the cooperative. The social economy is a new term that indicates the people are the major players in the global economic picture. The people create companies. The companies hire people. The people have the money purchasing power to buy goods and services. More employees translate to more people having purchasing power. More people having purchasing power precipitate to more people buying the goods from United Kingdom stores. As the store sales increase, the stores can hire more people or set up a new branch. Normally, the economy runs faster if there are more people engaging in the United Kingdom economic activity. As the United Kingdom economy is filled with more retired persons, the economic activity called gross domestic production reduces to a slower economic activity. Normally, the old people find it difficult to find jobs. Most people are sick and slow moving. In another report, Oxford economics (2012) emphasized during past ten years, the United Kingdom continues to generate a decline in its global economic share or revenues. The decline acceleration started during the 2008 to 2010 economic period. The United Kingdom goods exports generated a below par economic performance. The worsening economic advantages of the United Kingdom continued to decline in the United Kingdom economic market share. The United Kingdom has to improve its current market technologies to regain its former economic glory. The same nation must increase its exports to its former high gross domestic production levels. The increase will pave the way for the United Kingdom’s economic recovery. A one percent increase in the United Kingdom gross domestic production is equivalent to £ 15 million. In addition, the lackluster market technology of many United Kingdom industries contributed to United Kingdom economic slowdown. Specifically, statistical data projection shows that the output gap is -3.2 percent for the 2011 accounting period alone. The ratio is economically lower than the 2009 accounting period output gap of -6.1 percent. The large output gap translates stronger growth in actual gross domestic production. It is very clear; technology plays an important part of the nation’s economy. Asbjorn Rodseth (2000) proposed “As other prices, the price of foreign exchange is determined in a market. We can divide the participants in the foreign exchange market in two groups: the central authorities (central bank and central government) in our country on the one hand, and the general public at home and abroad on the other. (We come to the foreign central authorities later.) Normally we assume that the general public is a price taker in the foreign exchange market. The trade of each is too small to have a significant influence on the price. It is different with the central authorities. Their actions in the foreign exchange market are coordinated through the central bank, and they may be large enough to influence exchange prices”. The above quote clearly shows that the United Kingdom must increase its gross domestic production. The nation’s gross domestic products are sold to the current and future clients. An increase in revenues macroeconomic revenues translate to higher United Kingdom macroeconomic performance. The United Kingdom technology includes many types of technology. The United Kingdom government leaders must improve its information technology infrastructure. The United Kingdom must enhance its marketing technology to attract more clients. The United Kingdom companies must replace their outmoded production equipments with more modern ones. The modern production equipments produce higher quality finished products. The modern production equipments generate lower variable and fixed production costs. The modern equipments can produce the finished goods using lesser time periods, unlike the current old-fashioned manufacturing facility equipments. Based on the above discussion, technology and population are significant factors in the United Kingdom economy. The United Kingdom technology strongly affected the current United Kingdom economy. Indeed, technology and population supply to the required ingredients for the current economic condition of the United Kingdom economy. 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