The Business Environment 4th Ed.

Ian Worthington, Chris Britton

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2003, 510 pages

ISBN: 0-273-67827-2

Keywords: Strategy

Last modified: Aug. 7, 2021, 8:20 p.m.

Synopsis

"The Business Environment" examines the external influences on business organisations. It is designed specifically for students taking a first module on a business or business-related degree, HND, MBA or professional course.

Table of Contents

  • Part One INTRODUCTION
    1. Business organisations: the external environment
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • The business organisation and its environment
      • The general or contextual environment
      • Mini case: Cars off the shelf
      • The immediate or operational environment
      • Analysing the business environment
      • Mini case: Levi Strauss: jean therapy?
      • Central themes
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: A shock to the system
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Further reading
    2. Business organisations: the internal environment
      Ian Worthington and Zena Cumberpatch
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Approaches to organisation and management
      • Organisation structures
      • Mini case: Change at Deutsche Bank?
      • Mini case: Royal Dutch Shell
      • The virtual organisation
      • Structural change
      • Aspects of functional management
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Structuring global companies
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
  • Part Two CONTEXTS
    1. The political environment
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Political systems
      • Government in democratic states
      • Mini case: Action on the environment
      • The three branches or functions of government
      • Mini case: Supranational lobbying
      • Checks and balances in democracies
      • A model of the policy process
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Appendix 3.1: A democratic political system in action: UK national government
      • Appendix 3.2: Subnational government: UK local authorities
      • Appendix 3.3: Supranational government: the European Union
      • Case study: Left out in the cold
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    2. The macroeconomic environment
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Economic systems
      • Eastern Europe: economics in transition
      • Politico-economic synthesis
      • The macro economy
      • Mini case: Global economic crises
      • Government and the macroeconomy: objectives
      • Mini case: Indicators of success
      • Government and the macroeconomy: polices
      • The role of financial institutions
      • International economic institutions and organisations
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Toyota UK
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    3. People, technology and natural resources
      Chris Britton
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • People
      • Mini case: The minimum wage
      • Technology
      • Mini case: Call centres
      • Natural resources
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: The effects of an ageing population
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    4. The legal environment
      Diane Belfitt
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Classification of law
      • Mini case: Banking on advice
      • Sources of law
      • The legal systrem: the courts
      • Mini case: Jean-Marc Bosman – a case of foul play?
      • Business organisations and the law
      • Contract law – the essentials
      • Agency
      • Law and the consumer
      • Codes of practice
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Legal aspects of banking
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
  • Part Three FIRMS
    1. Legal Structures
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Private sector organisations in the UK
      • Mini case: Daimler-Benz under pressure
      • Public sector business organisations in the UK
      • Business organisations in mainland Europe
      • The public sector in Europe
      • Legal structure: some implications
      • Mini case: Big Mac gets bigger
      • Franchising, licensing and joint ventures
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: The entrepreneurial spirit
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    2. Industrial structure
      Chris Britton
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • The structure of industry
      • Mini case: The life cycle model
      • De-industrialisation
      • Mini case: Productivity
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Spending on leisure services
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
      • Appendix 10.1: The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), 1992
    3. Government and business
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Government and business: an overview
      • Regional policy
      • Regional aid within the European Union
      • Mini case: Attracting foreign inward investment
      • UK urban policy
      • Recent urban policy instruments
      • Current developments in urban policy
      • Local government and business in the UK
      • The growth of corporate community involvement
      • Business as influence on government
      • Mini case: Oiling the wheels?
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Government and business – friend or foe?
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
  • Part Four MARKETS
    1. The market system
      Chris Britton
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • The market mechanism
      • Demand
      • Supply
      • Price determination
      • Mini case: House Prices
      • Price controls
      • Mini case: Pollution
      • Elasticity of demand
      • Elasticity of supply
      • The importance of the market to business
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    2. Market structure
      Chris Britton
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Market Structures – in theory and practice
      • Mini case: Price wars in the newspaper industry
      • Porter’s five-forces model
      • Measuring the degree of actual competition in the market
      • Mini case: Concentration
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Structure-Conduct-Performance analysis of the airline industry
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    3. International markets
      Chris Britton
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • International trade – why it takes place
      • Restrictions to international trade
      • Mini case: Trade wars in steel
      • The European Union (EU)
      • The balance of payments
      • The history of the balance of payments in the United Kingdom
      • Mini case: The current account of the balance of payments
      • Exchange rates
      • The single European currency
      • Exchange rates and business
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: European Union enlargement
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    4. Governments and markets
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Privatisation policy
      • Mini case: Privatising electricity in Poland and Portugal
      • Competition policy
      • Mini case: The ice cream war hots up
      • Government and the labour market
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: 'Wither the block exemption?'
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
  • Part Five ISSUES
    1. The technical environment: e-business
      Martyn Kendrick
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Business applications 1: business-to-business (B2B) commerce
      • Case study: Dell Computers
      • Business applications 2: business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Amazon.com
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    2. Corporate responsibilities and the environment
      Dean Patton
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • Stakeholder theory
      • Environmental management: an issue of corporate responsibility
      • Business response to environmental concerns
      • Mini case: Environmental performance in the small firms’ sector
      • The interaction of business and society
      • Methods of encouraging environmental concern within business
      • Mini case: Body Shop values report
      • The benefits to business from the implementation of environmental policies
      • Corporate responsibility without intervention?
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: The Braer oil tanker disaster
      • Review and discussion questions
      • Assignments
      • Notes and references
      • Further reading
    3. Monitoring change
      Ian Worthington
      • Objectives and key terms
      • Introduction
      • The need to monitor change
      • Analysing the business environment: broad approaches
      • Mini case: Multinational inward investment: a PESTLE analysis
      • Techniques
      • Mini case: Scenario forecasting at Shell
      • Limitations to environmental analysis
      • Information sources
      • Synopsis
      • Summary of key points
      • Case study: Scanning the environment: East Midlands Electricity Plc

Reviews

The Business Environment

Reviewed by Roland Buresund

Decent ****** (6 out of 10)

Last modified: Sept. 1, 2009, 5:27 p.m.

Opinion

This is a basic book about researching the business environment, and as such, it does a very decent work.

It doesn't claim to be complete or to offer any revolutionary new insights, but just to describe the area and give some insights about what it entails. It is easy to read and follow, and even manage to explain fairly advanced topics pretty easily.

If you study business at degree level, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one.

Comments

There are currently no comments

New Comment

required

required (not published)

optional

required

captcha

required