Business Environment — Question Paper

Operations is a primary activity; HR, technology, and procurement are support activities.

Fiscal policy involves taxation and public expenditure decisions by the government.

SWOT summarizes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a 2×2 matrix.

Without being organized, the firm cannot fully exploit valuable/rare resources, so advantage may remain temporary or underutilized.

Value chain breaks activities to find opportunities for cost leadership and differentiation.

Labour laws and safety standards are legal requirements businesses must comply with.

The environment is dynamic because factors like policy, technology, and competition change continuously.

A young age structure increases demand for education, smartphones, fashion and entertainment.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors of the firm; opportunities and threats are external.

VRIO stands for Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Organized.

Customers are close to the firm and directly affect sales, so they are part of the micro environment.

Globalization increases competition, which can pressure small/local firms on price and quality.

Brand reputation is an intangible resource; it cannot be physically touched but creates value.

Trademarks protect brand identity such as names, logos and symbols.

Resources are what the firm has; capabilities are what the firm can do with those resources.

When suppliers are few or inputs are unique, suppliers have more bargaining power.

Five Forces assesses industry structure and competitive pressure affecting profit potential.

Technological environment includes new inventions, digital tools, production technology and the pace of change that impacts business.

Multinational corporations operate across countries through subsidiaries/branches and global networks.