Features contributing to the success of contrasting businesses Learning aim A
Features contributing to the success of contrasting businesses
Learning aim A: Explore the features of different businesses and analyse what makes them successful
Learning aim B: Investigate how businesses are organised
Explain the features of two contrasting businesses – A.P1:
The first business is GAME; they are a For Profit business that specialises in selling games and electronics.
Game aka. GAME retail limited, is a LTD, which is a Private Limited Company meaning its shareholders liability is limited to the capital they originally invested. Advantages for a Ltd. (Private Limited Company) are that the shareholders are not liable for the businesses debt so face less pressure when organising deals as they will not face any backlash personally. Disadvantages of a Ltd. are that it will usually cost more to set up, there are certain restrictions concerning the name, withdrawal of money can be difficult etc.
GAME accept no liability for indirect any loss which is not reasonably foreseeable; They accept liability for death or injury caused by their negligence and responsibility for fraudulent misrepresentation Nothing in their terms and conditions of liability section or anywhere else in the business affects people’s legal rights.
The purpose of GAME is to be a source of all gaming interests and provide a place for people to buy games and other electronics. They supply products to customers and provide a service of delivering to people’s homes and depot pickup stations.
They operate in the tertiary sector as they sell goods to customers and provide a service in store by fixing customers broken products and providing the service of delivering products to customers.
The scope of the business is National as they only operate in the United Kingdom with over 300 stores nationwide, when starting out they operated as a local store in London but as they’ve grown over the years and gained bigger investments they’ve been able to expand and reach all over the U.K.
The size of the business is Large as it is reported to have more than 1000 employees all over the United Kingdom all in different roles, positions and levels of power, starting at the basic Sales assistant in stores with the least power in the business to the CEO with the most power in the business.
The second business is Oxfam they are a Not-for-Profit organisation that specialises in helping those in need in the U.K and many more countries. Oxfam are a Not-for-Profit organisation that operates with permanent staff and mostly volunteers that help out all over the world.
Oxfam have limited liability as they don’t have any owners of the business so no one can be held directly responsible for the debt of the business. Advantages of limited liability are; member’s liabilities for the debts and obligations of the organisation are limited to their own investment, if Oxfam gets sued, members (Board members, Outreach centre supervisors etc.) personal assets, like bank accounts and real estate, are protected. The worst that could happen to them is that will lose the money they put into the business. Disadvantages of Limited Liability organisations are that they are required to submit annual returns and accounts to Companies House and keep the registrar up to date with any changes to the business. Running a limited company is generally more tax efficient, meaning they have lower tax rates than any other form of business, means there are stricter rules around Accounting.
The purpose of Oxfam is to help create some lifetime solutions to poverty all around the world, they are part of a global movement driven by change and wanting to make the world equal and free from poverty. They supply food, water, medical aid, skills etc. they have volunteer Doctors who work around the globe in many different countries to provide medical aid to those in need, they teach members of the villages key medical skills to be able to help the people in their villages and towns, this way they can teach others and this continues for generations.
Oxfam operate in the tertiary sector as they provide a service to many countries all over the world, they also sell goods to people through their online shopping market which sells most of the clothes and accessories donated to the stores by the public, all the money earned from sales goes back into the business to help pay for the aid to other countries.
The scope of Oxfam is Global as they operate in 90 different countries all year round.
Oxfam is a large business in terms of staff size as they have over 2500 staff members and over 30,000 volunteers working all over the world.
Explain how two contrasting businesses are influenced by stakeholders – A.P2:
GAME:
CEO (Internal) – They are the head person in charge of the business. Make key decisions e.g. Trade deals, Staff wages, motivations of staff, having a clear vision to give objectives to the business. The CEO will have meetings with the people underneath them in the business to make sure their aims get put across to everyone in the business. They have an extremely close relationship with the business, are directly involved in the success and how the business operates. They have the most power and makes key decisions in the business, whatever the CEO says if approved by the directors the business have to follow their vision, only the owner will have more power.
Suppliers (External) – They supply resources to the business e.g. Products to sell to the customers. They allow the business to sell products. To communicate they send emails to the store manager or owner directly if anything changes to sort out issues. They have a tight relationship as they need the relationship to be able to make deals and benefit both businesses. They hold high power in the success of the business as they supply all the resources for the business so without them the business will not be able to function properly.
Oxfam:
Managers (Internal) – They are in charge of the staff at that particular store. Managers are decision makers and bosses of the volunteers to ensure they are happy with the work and to delegate tasks to all of them. As there are not many job roles in each store, as most of the people in the store are volunteers, the manager has a tough role as they are not going to be able to create bonds with everyone in the store as people who volunteer are not there at all times and often don’t do it for long so there will always be new volunteers coming and going in stores making the manager’s job harder as they will need to keep getting to know people and learn new people’s names, work ethic and timetable etc.
Donators (External) – They Supply resources to the organisation e.g. Clothes to sell online, food and . Allow the business to give products to those in need
Explore the organisation structures, aims and objectives of two contrasting businesses – B.P3:
GAME has a flat structure business as it only has a few managers in each store and doesn’t provide many progression routes as there is only a limited number of roles, but this means the staff members have more responsibility within their role as they will be doing more tasks in the business. GAME has a flat structure because there can be a closer relationship between the staff and each member will have clear ideas of their roles in the business as they will have lots of responsibility and they can serve the customer as efficiently as possible. This helps GAME achieve their aims and objectives as they will know how each member of staff is doing in their own role and they are completing the number of tasks they need to and shows them whether the staff member needs more responsibility in their role without having to promote them.
GAME’s efforts are focused on developing customer relationships, building on their position in the UK and focusing the business on selling products, services and experiences. The sudden growth in Esports, live streaming and gaming allows GAME to branch more into gaming festivals, providing a way for people to come together to watch, play and compete both online and in physical venues. Continuing to develop and grow their digital enterprise services remains a key strategic pillar for GAME. GAME’s main aim is to be the best business at this point in the U.K and one day in the world, they achieve this by having the best deals with games companies allowing them to sell their products at a discounted price compared to anywhere else that also sells games.
Assess the relationship and communication with stakeholders of two contrasting businesses using independent research – A.M1:
The CEO will have meetings with the people underneath them in the business to make sure their aims get put across to everyone in the business, they have the highest power in the business and are responsible for its success. The CEO has an extremely close relationship with the business, they are directly involved in the success and how the business operates. The CEO communicates with the business by having meetings with staff to ensure everyone is clear of the objectives set and can relay that information back to the staff in their individual stores.
Analyse how the structure of two contrasting businesses allow each to achieve its aims and objectives – B.M2:
GAME has a Flat Structure business model. This means they only have a people employed for the main roles, most businesses have the sales staff, lower mangers, higher managers etc. With a Flat Structure the business only needs to employ the sales staff, one overall manager, one regional manager etc. this lowers costs as they will save money hiring and supporting different levels of staff for the same role. Having a Flat Structure allows for better communication in the business as there is less people for the message to go to, Hierarchical structure businesses get majorly affected by communication issues as there are many more people in different power positions so the message has to be passed through many more channels before it gets to everyone, this problem is eliminated in Flat Structure businesses.
GAME is a business that is close to its customers in order to give them the best experience, this means that by having a Flat Structure in the business it allows customers to feel more catered for as they know the managers and superior staff members are directly involved in the businesses operation e.g. By having one main manager in a store, if a customer has a problem they will feel better to speak to the one person in charge who knows all of their staff well rather than two or three different managers all with different responsibilities, roles and power, it allows the task of sorting out disputes much easier.
Bibliography
https://www.oxfam.org/en/our-purpose-and-beliefs
