Contemporary Developments in Business and Management for Students

Overview of external influence over company

Land Rover is the one of the well-known names in the UK. It is the one of the largest car producers in the UK. In current time period it is operating in the multiple nations of the world and provide multiple range of cars. It is operating at international level and due to this reason business environment to great extent affect its business. PESTLE analysis of the Land Rover is explained below.

Political environment: It refers to the political environment where varied sort of political parties operates in the nation. These political parties have different ideologies and policies and accordingly they take decisions which directly affect business firm's business operations. In the UK there is political stability and every Government complete its tenure. Thus, on this front there is no problem (Hamilton and Webster, 2018). In the UK corruption cases are not on the political leaders which ensure that political parties are smoothly doing their work. In many nations it is observed that political leaders are involved in corruption and their names comes in media. In such kind of situation Government entire focus goes on such kind of cases and this affect its activities which lead to long wait for approval of files submitted by the firms to the Government for business purpose. In UK political environment is stable and regularly working on creating opportunity for the business firms. Hence, there is no threat for the Land Rover on this front.

Economic environment: Economic condition of the UK is not good after 2008 as it can be seen that in the current time period GDP growth rate is 1.1% which is very low and clearly reflect that domestic economy is in recession. Major global economies are also observing slowdown in their growth rate. UK GDP indicate that people are focusing on saving more and more money due to which less they spend on buying varied items from the market. Such kind of situation is not good for the firm because there less demand across the globe which lead to less revenue and profit in the business (Hillary., 2017). Ultimately, firm have to manage its cost because due to recession items of semi-finished goods also elevate which firm finally assemble at its work station to prepare cars. Sharp rise in the semi-finished goods forced company to elevate price of its cars which further lead to decline in demand and low profit. Thus, on this front risk is high.

Social factor: Social factor have a great importance for the business firms because if firm is not offering its products and services according to the preference of the people then in that case demand of the product decline. In many cases it is observed that firms like Mc Donald close their operations in the foreign nation. Social factor refers to the people belief, attitude, perception and value system. If product served by the firm is not according to people value system it become failed in the foreign market (Roberts, 2018). Many times, it is observed that firm get huge success in domestic market but failed in the foreign market because they do not provide product to the people according to their value system. EBAY is the one of the best examples which failed in China because people their do believe in direct interaction with shopkeeper, as they do not believe in rating that is available on ecommerce website. Land Rover face problem in Indian market where people prefer to buy car at low or mid-price. Mentioned firm sold cars at premium price due to which its demand is not so high in India.

Technological environment: In today era technological environment matter a lot for the company because in many industries technology development is happening at rapid pace. In such kind of industries those that who are not doing technology advancement or doing at very low level failed to survive (Lampadarios, 2016). Land Rover is doing technology advancement at rapid pace. It is planning to make investment in Ireland in its research centre on electric and driverless technology. Land Rover ramps up its CAPEX to highest level since its inception. Thus, on this front also Land Rover is not in any trouble as it is already making heavy investment in innovation of technology that it uses to produce cars with innovative features. This is one of the main reason due to which Land Rover maintain its leading position in the industry. In the upcoming time period further competition will increase and efforts made in the current time period will surely generate fruitful results for the firm. Hence, it can be said that on this front firm is in strong position.

Legal environment: Legal environment refers to the rules and regulations which firms have to follow in their business. Breach of rules lead to impose of penalty by the regulatory authority in any nation where company is operating in the current time period. There are no cases on Land Rover in respect to violation of rules related to patent or copy of other company models. Company is very ethical and doing genuine work (Slade and et.al., 2015). Land Rover file a case against Chinese car manufacturer company Jiangling which directly copy model of the Land Rover car. Land Rover file case in China and won that case on March 13. The Beijing Chaoyang District Court found Jiangling Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Jiangling”) liable for unfair competition in connection with the sale and manufacture of the LANDWIND X7. It can be said that on this front also firm is not facing any sort of problem.

Environment factor: Manufacturing operations directly affect natural environment and it is responsibility of the companies to take immediate action to handle situation. Land Rover is making every effort to reduce harm to the natural environment. In this regard now, it is following a specific approach under which cars are directly supplied to the dealers not through thirds party. This reduce travel time and carbon emission (Page and et.al., 2017). Company also have loop waste recovery and recycling system at Castle Bromwich production centre where aluminium is recycled. Hence, it can be said that Land Rover is taking every step to prevent harm to the natural environment. Order assignment help from our experts! 

Land Rover can create campaigns on the protection of the natural environment. Under this it can motivate people to grow plants and water it every day so that greenery can be promoted in the areas where there is scarcity of the plant (Charter, 2017). Moreover, company can also work on educating more and more people on protecting natural environment because by doing so it in better way can protect nature. In today time period not only, companies are harming nature but people are also doing same thing. Hence, steps taken by the business firms are not sufficient, they also need to take steps to make people more educated then before. Land rover can initiate water conservation programs and under this it can prepare new wells and renovate old ones so that more and more water can be saved or conserve in these reservoirs. In current time period many nations of the world are facing water problem. Few nations prepare dam on their own area and restrict its flow to other nations. Such kind of things are creating lots of problems and people need to be made aware about such kind of things (Dadhich and et.al., 2015). Under this, reservoirs can be prepared and people can be made aware about its cleanness and maintenance. By doing so in better way water can be conserved and company can contribute a lot to the society development.

The corporate social responsibility is being chosen as the theme of discussion. The corporate social responsibility is being chosen for the discussion majorly because this is the current issue which almost all the companies need to take into consideration for success. This is pertaining to the fact that if the companies do not maintain good CSR policies then the company might face some issues. Thus, the current report will outline the relevance of CSR and sustainability for the betterment of the company.

Analysis of CSR and sustainability

Relevance of CSR and sustainability for Land Rover

Corporate social responsibility is defined as the self- regulating activity which every company need to follow and which help the company in becoming socially accountable for the society and all other stakeholders (Freudenreich, Lüdeke-Freund and Schaltegger, 2019). Under this concept the companies need to be responsible for managing and minimizing the negative impact if any over the social, economic, environmental or any of the factor pertaining to external environment. On the other hand, sustainability is defined as the process which is maintained at a particular level for a longer period of time so that the company can gain maximum use of those resources.

This is a concept wherein the company try to meet the needs of the present without disturbing the ability to meet the future requirements. For Land Rover to be successful it is very necessary and relevant for the company to maintain both the CSR and the sustainability. It is majorly because of the fact that the resources which the company uses are very limited and scarce and for being successful it is very necessary for the company to use these resources in optimum way. This use is made in the optimum way because of the fact that this will help the company in maintaining the optimum level of resources so that they are sued effectively (Corporate social responsibility, 2013).

Maintenance of sustainability and CSR is relevant for the company because if Land Rover maintains both the things in good manner then the company will earn high profits. This is pertaining to the fact that when Land Rover takes into consideration the requirements of society and environment then this will increase the interest of consumers in the purchasing of vehicles of Land Rover (Schaltegger, Hörisch and Freeman, 2019).

Also, when the company uses the resources effectively and optimally then good sustainability is maintained by the company then this will reduce the cost of the company and this in turn will add to the profits of the company. This is because of the reason that if the resources are not used in effective manner then its cost would have increased and if not then the company will use the resources in the effective manner and this will add on to the profitability of the company. Also, another reason for which sustainability is a relevant issue for Land Rover because the competition is very high and intense in the market and the resources are very scarce and limited. Thus, it is very essential for Land Rover to manage the resources in proper manner so that it can be managed in proper manner. Hence, if Land Rover will optimally use all the resources than the company will get a competitive advantage and will add on to the profits of the company,

Influence of CSR and sustainability over policies and decision making of company

Both the CSR and sustainability influences Land Rover in managing and maintaining their policies and the decision- making process of the company. This is majorly because of the fact that if at time of making the policies the CSR and sustainability issues are not considered then this might reduce the efficiency and the goodwill of the company to a great extent. This is majorly because of the reason that if the company do not focus on the safeguarding and protecting the environment and taking care of the resources and the society then more of the consumers will get attracted towards the company.

Thus, for this the company has to take decisions that which type of resources will be used by the company for effectively making the working of the company. Also, the company has to decide that in which form the sustainability will be maintained whether be it sustainability relating to environment, business practices, sustainable employment or any other form of sustainability (Ulas and Vural, 2019). In addition to sustainability, Land Rover needs to take into consideration forming of policies relating to the maintenance of corporate social responsibility in better terms.

Thus, for this Land Rover needs to decide that from which sources the materials and resources will be taken, anti- corruption policies, policies relating to protection of environment, complying with labour standards and other laws, maintaining equality and human rights within the company and many other different policies. Also, for the maintenance of the CSR and sustainability it is necessary for Land Rover to decide that they have enough sources and fund to manage the issues of CSR and sustainability or not. If not then Land Rover has to decide from which sources to get the money and how to allocate those funds so that they are appropriately used so that it is managed in a sustainable manner.

Critical evaluation of effectiveness of response of Land Rover over CSR and sustainability

In the words of Asmussen, and Fosfuri (2019) it is very crucial for the companies to respond to the CSR and sustainability is positive from the side of company. The response is positive because of the fact that the maintenance of both the issues will result in increase in the popularity and goodwill of the company. Thus, this will increase the working efficiency of the employees within the company. Moreover, Barnett, (2019) articulates that this will also increase the sales for the company as the consumers will like the fact that company is taking more care for the environment and this will build more trust for the company. Hence, for this the company is responding in better way as the company is directing its working in way of protecting and safeguarding the environment and limiting the unnecessary wastage of the resources.

In against of this Aguinis and Glavas, (2019) states that the other response of company towards the CSR and sustainability is that they are integrating the principles of CSR with the operations of the business. This is done in form of bringing CSR and sustainability within the business operations. For this the company is trying to develop measures for protecting the environment from the pollution coming out from the vehicles and for this the company is trying to operate in form of battery operated vehicles.

Also, Albuquerque, Koskinen and Zhang, (2019) states that CSR does not mean just taking care of the environment but also taking care of the other stakeholders and their needs and working in ethical manner. Thus, for this the company also has clear policies that is without any fraud or wrong practices. Also, the company responds to ethical working by providing equal opportunities to each and every employee of company irrespective of their gender, age, income status, background, culture, religion or any other discriminatory factor.

But in contrast to this Crane, Matten and Spence, eds., (2019) argues that the major response of companies relating to the CSR and sustainability is the motivation of the employees to work in more effective and efficient manner. This is majorly because of the reason that if the company respond positively towards the maintenance of both the issues then this motivates the employees to work in more effective manner. This is majorly pertaining to this fact that when the working of company is directed towards the betterment of society then the employees automatically give their best and work up to their fullest potential. This will automatically motivate and encourage the employees to work in ethical and proper manner without any malpractice or fraudulent activities. Thus, this response of motivating the employees through implementing the CSR and sustainability within the company will increase the profitability of the company as a whole and will provide a competitive edge over other competitors.

Demonstrating the ways of improvement in the selected areas.

Companies are required to become very active in the field of corporate social responsibilities. It has become a burning issue that every organisation is concerned with, no organisation can ignore the CSR practice seeing its importance in the financial growth and success of the organisation. They should along with their existing approaches find areas where the improvements are required by the organisation. CSR practices gained importance seeing the verge at which environment was destroyed by the organisations. It is essential for the business enterprise to ensure that they are complying with these practices. Society have become vigilant and aware about the issues that are raised due to the damage of environment by these manufacturing companies (Ali, Frynas and Mahmood, 2017). Nature solely do not belong to the manufactures it is equal for all. Organisations are using the resources for generating profits for their personal benefits. It is the duty of organisation to give back the society in other form that they are taking.

Organisation should identify the areas where the improvements are required by the organisation. They cannot adopt for the strategies that are part of their commercial activities. These activities are disregarded as commercial activities and organisations are required to adopt policies that are solely for the benefit of society. There is practice being followed by the organisations for social welfare but these are parallel to their business objectives. Company is investing its funds to research for the technologies that are more fuel efficient with least carbon releasing engines. It is investing huge funds for this developments and enhancement but these are a part of their commercial activities that will be benefiting the organisation. Order Finance Homework Help from our experts! 

Land Rover should apart from development of fuel efficient engines should take steps for social welfare. It should conduct board meetings for implementing the CSR policies effectively within the organisation. They should focus over new innovations rather than repetition of policies adopted by other competitors. Organisations should develop capacities of funding the NGO's. These organisations are run for the welfare of society, they are run not with the motive of earning profits only but to benefit the people associated with the earnings (Rahman, Rodríguez-Serrano and Lambkin, 2017). It should also deploy funds in other social welfare campaigns that are essential for the development of society. Company should make investments for the education of the children. It should educate society through social development programs and seminars about the importance of the environmental resources and the rate at which they are depleting. They should be given education regarding the ways in which environment should be protected and how the depletion rate could be slowed down. CSR practices will not not only benefit the society but also the company ultimately. Society tends to focus over companies that are taking steps for the social welfare and not only towards earning the profits. Therefore, the above improvements will help Land Rover in developing reputation in the market.

CONCLUSION

From the above study it can be inferred and concluded that the CSR and sustainability are the major issues which needs to be taken care by the companies. This is majorly because of the fact that the company exist in the environment and takes all the resources from the environment only. Thus, it is the responsibility of the companies to keep that environment safe and secure and use the limited resources in a sustainable manner. The present report started by providing the overview of all the external factors which are important for company and which can affect its working to a great extent.

For this the model of PESTLE analysis was used which outlined the influence and impact of various external factors such as political, social, economic and many other factors. Further in the second task the issue of CSR and sustainability over the company was discussed. Here the relevance of this factor over the company and its influence over the policies and decision making of the company was discussed. In the end some measures for improvement for the company in maintenance of CSR and sustainability was discussed.

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