Ecological environment
The ecological environment is based on the relationship that the organisation has with ecology. Ecology represents other human beings, and the air, water and soil in the natural environment that support their well-being (Louw and Venter, 2013). Global warming is an issue facing organisations and the rest of the world and it is important for organisations to evaluate their contribution towards the problem. The potential impact regarding damage to the environment can cause severe customer and stakeholder backlash resulting in a reduction in the valuation of the firm. Our eco-friendly athletic shoe does not face such threats as it attempts to create a product which does not harm the atmosphere and will therefore receive
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Modern companies are enjoying the lowered barriers of trade and decreased trade costs. This gives rise to new competition in the global market which was previously isolated due to the above mentioned factors. Local companies are finding ways to enhance their performance by innovating and adapting new processes and product improvements. This dynamic, domestic sector leads to higher productivity, which can create sustainable competitive advantages for companies, as well as drive job creation and per-capita income growth for an economy (Baily, 2005). In order for our organization to grow outside of South Africa and develop as an international brand, it will have to compete on a global scale by targeting unfulfilled foreign …show more content…
Our business idea however, will pose an opportunity given the fact that more and more people are becoming conscious of sustainable living. It is important to acknowledge that many cultures exist within South Africa as well as immigrants currently residing in South Africa.
Culture has a direct influence on the marketing strategies used by companies to promote their products. Examples of products that failed in markets around the globe include Johnson’s floor wax in Japan, which made wooden floors slippery. The company failed to take into account that it is customary not to wear shoes at home in Japan. Coca-Cola in China, pronounced “Kooke Koule” by the Chinese, translates to “A thirsty mouthful of candle wax” (Doole, 2005). Customs, language barriers, target audience, technology and politics thus directly impact the geographical areas businesses wish to operate
In a time of global commerce, new business ventures can take on many forms. What used to be local or even national companies have become world-wide. International growth of a business can be extremely beneficial but is not without its challenges. Different countries have different peoples and different cultures - different ways of doing business altogether. If a venture is to be successful, these differences must be well understood.
Conditions have changed. Global trade has rapidly increased in both volume and value, reaching nowadays more than $4 trillion in 1997 (Daniels J.D., Radebaugh, 1998, pg. 529). Competition is fierce from all corners of the world. Failure at the global level can backfire and may consume existing brands and business relationships. At the same time, global opportunities have emerged that offer possibilities for growth, profit, and an improvement in worldwide standards of living.
The process is just as important as the materials used in the production. Alongside production technology innovations, brands such as Adidas and Nike have begun to use recycled materials in their shoes. The way to ‘do more with less’ will involve innovations in the types of materials used in products. Adidas has prototyped Primeknit shoes made from recovered ocean fishing nets while Nike is using recycled polyester, diverting plastic bottles from landfills. Furthermore Nike has begun to implement sustainability metrics into their material choice and product design. This helps to ensure that there is greater transparency to the trade-off’s that designers are making between functional performance and environmental impact. To ensure continuous superior product performance a business must drive product innovation as well as
The sustainable businesses are the trusted and the transparent business that appeal to the wider stakeholders and the investors. On the other hand, the environmental sustainability has a correlation with the esteem of the brand. The talent pool plays the crucial role in the success of the project, and the company needs the employees with the personal vision in addition to the soft skills. So the formula of the Earth Care Project can look as follows (‘Phase 2' = ‘talent pool and coach'+ ‘new sustainable goals'+ ‘continuous improvement'). Phase 3: (‘Phase 3' = ‘CBO, CIO’ + ‘sustainable building materials, labor, and appliances '+‘brand management'+ ‘the investors' website'+ ‘fundraising') →(‘preparation to acquisition by the larger chain of
Environmental issues influence all human activities and even more influent the business, especially true in marketing. As society becomes more concerned with the natural environment, businesses have begun to modify their behavior in an attempt to address society 's new concerns, which is the global warming. Some businesses have been quick to accept concepts like environmental management systems and waste minimization, and have integrated environmental issues into all organizational activities. We also
Robert Swan once said “the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” Two companies that understand this concept are Patagonia and Nike. How they address these issues regarding sustainable business practice vary, however. Both have made it their mission to deliver excellence and make the best quality products within their industries, Patagonia focussing more on outdoor active wear, while Nike is more sports oriented. Part of this process has been developing products from sustainable sources. Patagonia, for example, actively took a stand against chemical intensive cotton in 1994, and has since switched to less harmful means of organic cotton within all their cotton-based products. They are even going the extra
Technological advancement has made globalization an inevitable factor that businesses of the future will need to consider in order to be successful. Increasingly, companies that have been solely domestic are branching out internationally for a wide variety of reasons, but in the end, it’s all about making profits from previously inaccessible market segments. The scaling is vast: international businesses can be as small as a stay at home mother that just created a Limited Liability Corporation to sell a unique product to the world, to an already established international businesses conglomerate with offices across the globe.
Background: Every ecological system provides multiple services for the organisms that live in that specific ecosystem. Some more than others, depending on the biome and health of the environment. One of its roles serve to act as a resource base, available to all nearby organisms for survival purposes. This "resource base" is finite, however. When not used wisely, resources will most often deplete dangerously quickly, resulting in irreversible reduction of something we call "carrying capacity" of a population(s) (Arrow, 92). Carrying capacity, denoted as “K” is not limited to animals in a forest, or sea creatures in an ocean; it exists for microscopic cells, as well. The factors involved in affecting the carrying capacity of an animal population are very similar to the factors for cells, and the curve on a graph showing values of K behaves identically, for the most part, to cell populations as well.
What are we doing to our environment? This is a question many people have asked but never quite been able to answer in the fullest way. How do we find out the answer then you ask? By multiple sources. There’s the ‘scare’ tactic, saying what could happen in the future if we don’t change our ways. There’s the ‘inspirational’ tactic which spreads the word of all good that we can, should, or maybe even have done to our environment. And last but not least, the ‘fiction transformation’ tactic which turns something that we would read ourselves or maybe to our children to open up our eyes of what’s going on. Why is this important to even know? Many different ‘eco enthusiasts’ express their research on the environment, this general tactic is called ecocriticism. Ecocriticism is where authors analyze texts that embellish environmental concerns and study the various
My decision to pursue graduate study and research in the field of ecology comes from my aspiration to become a leading researcher. I feel that the knowledge what I have gained in this field is little. Therefore, to help me acquire a better understanding of this multi-faceted field of ecology, I would like to pursue my doctoral degree major in ecology.
There are many opportunities available for companies willing to venture into new, international markets. Reaching more customers and therefore, turning a larger profit are two fairly obvious reasons for companies to consider global expansion. However, the potential benefits do no end there. Expanding to international markets can hold less obvious, yet extremely beneficial appeals such as access to new and different talent pools, grander output requires great advances in efficiency, and international expansion can, in some cases, aid in “future proofing” the company.
The world offers significant business opportunities for every company, however, opportunities are accompanied by significant challenges for managers. Managing global operations across diverse cultures and markets represents a big challenge and opportunity for companies. To compete in the global market and be successful, companies must learn the strategies, policies, norms and technology necessary to conduct international business. The opportunities for global expansion are numerous, and attaining success is a matter of developing the right strategy to win local markets and its consumers.
Some companies are more successful than others in the global market, some of the drivers that determine the potential of the companies in the globalization markets are the following; cost drivers, customer drivers, competitive drivers and government drivers. The cost drivers are the global scales economies, sourcing efficiencies, high product development costs and the rapid change in the technology. The customers’ drivers are the market drives that determine the global channels, the marketing of the products, and the customer needs. The competitive drivers determine the global competitors, interdependence among countries, trade. The government drivers determine the trade policies, technical standards, and the regulations of the country.
There is a myriad of varying definitions for the word ‘culture.’ Instead of defining culture in general terms, it is often defined by how it is related to the environment; and consequently, how it is affected. Culture provides direction, and reason. Throughout history, people have remained stalwart and true to their roots and traditions. However, it has become evident that, with the changing environment, many traditional practices have had to adapt. Climate change is a key component causing this adaptation. Through reflecting upon environmental relativism, and cultural aspects, such as subsistence patterns, economic systems, and religion and world view, it can be concluded that the natural environment influences culture by causing environment-based traditions to mould to external factors.