The focus of this paper is to analyze various aspects of the business environment, especially the major factors that influence the economy. The analysis includes the role of business in the economy, the roles of for-profit and non-profit organizations in the economy, and the impact of current fiscal and monetary policy on the economy. The other elements included in the evaluation are the strategy for accessing global markets for McDonalds' vegetable burgers and the impact of McDonalds' social responsibility on the society.
Business environment is mainly characterized by various human economic activities including the production, sale, and purchase of goods and services that are carried out with the main objective of earning profits. Generally, the business environment can be described as a set of conditions that facilitate and promote the human economic activities. This environment is basically comprised of the internal business environment and the external business environment. The internal business environment includes the factors that are within the control of business while the external business environment refers to factors that are beyond the control of the business enterprise. One of the most common aspects of the business environment and human economic activities is the economy, which is generally influenced by various factors.
Role of Business in the Economy:
Business is defined as the management and coordination of individuals and resources in order to achieve specific production objectives, with the main goal of making profit. Together with commerce and markets, business generates many benefits for consumers since it's the basis with which these consumers experience an enhanced standard of living. This is mainly because business enterprises obtain resources like labor and equipment that helps them to specialize in the manufacture of specific products and services. Therefore, the role of business in the economy is to improve the variety, quantity, and quality of products and services available to consumers while the prices of these products and services decreases ("The Role of Business in the Economy," n.d.). Therefore, business plays an important role in the economy in impacting the consumers' standard of living. Through the presence of business in the economy, consumers are able to obtain more products and services that enhance their living standards in ways that could be nearly impossible without the existence of business in the economy.
Roles of For-profit and Non-profit Organizations in the Economy:
The for-profit and non-profit organizations play an integral role in the economy because of their significance in the business environment and operations. The for-profit organizations are involved in the production of goods and services as well as the provision of employment in order to generate financial gains or profits. Similarly, the non-profit organizations are involved the manufacturing of products and services as well as the provision of employment. However, these non-profit organizations are not in the businesses with the aim of financial gain or profits. The non-profit organizations generate revenue, employ individuals, and manufacture products and services with the main goal of serving environmental and humanitarian needs. On the contrary, the for-profit organizations assist in improving the living standards of people through taxes that the government uses in providing facilities to individuals and for societal well-being.
Impact of Current Fiscal and Monetary Policy on the Economy:
In nearly every major trend in the market, there are always some underlying economic factors such as GDP growth rates. The underlying economic trends are significant determines of the event that take place to organizations and their stock prices. The economy is usually impacted by two major types of economic policy i.e. current fiscal policy and monetary policy. The fiscal policy is an economic policy that is initiated by the President or Congress through taxation law and government spending. Since taxation is one of the essential tools in fiscal policy, the government can efficiently transform the amount of disposal income that is available to taxpayers through changing tax laws. Through such measures, the disposable income would go the government rather than consumers and then pass on to companies or business enterprises. Secondly, the government can choose to increase spending through direct purchase of products and services from private firms ("Introduction to the Economy," n.d.). This would in turn increase the flow of money through the economy and enhance the disposable income available to consumers.
The second type of economic policy with which the government can impact the economy is through monetary policy that is initiated by the central bank of a country like the Federal Reserve in the United States. Monetary policy is initiated by this financial institution in order to control the supply of money within the economy. Through its impact on the effective cost of money, the Federal Reserve can influence the amount of money that is spent on businesses and consumers.
The major impact of the current monetary policy is that it has contributed to the steady growth of the economy during the period of economic recovery. However, the rate of unemployment is expected to remain high regardless of the growth rate of economic activity. Secondly, inflation is expected to continue below the predicted levels of consistency over the long-term since the current monetary policy seeks to strengthen maximum employment and price stability. As a result, the Federal Reserve would normally ease monetary policy through the reduction of its target for the rate of federal funds. In contrast, the current fiscal policy is becoming a major aspect of increased consideration because the country's fiscal position has worsened since the beginning of the financial crisis and recession (Bernanke, 2011). The main impact of the current fiscal policy is that they help in addressing the long-term fiscal challenges in light of the growing challenges.
Accessing Global Markets:
An example of a product that can be used to develop a strategy for accessing global markets is McDonalds' vegetable burgers. McDonalds is one of the leading firms in the global fast food industry that has continued to thrive across international markets through vital strategies. While the firm has experienced numerous challenges across its operations from time to time, it has been able to deal with these challenges effectively and generated huge profits in all its businesses. In light of the increased health and wellness concerns, the firm's vegetable burgers are some of the products that could be offered in global markets because they incorporate the health and wellness elements. The vegetable burgers have been produced in consideration of customer needs and wants across international borders for nutrition and healthy products. The appropriate strategy for accessing global markets for this product is includes incorporating product differentiation. The vegetable burgers should be manufactured differently in every country in order to appeal to local consumers without affecting the health and nutrition elements. The second aspect is to use demographic segmentation strategy in which all the main target segments are effectively considered. The demographic segmentation strategy will be critical in developing suitable promotional strategies for every group in the target market.
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