Newman, Rick. “Stocks to Watch When the Markets Reopen.” US News 2012. Web.
Among the external environmental factors that can have a possible effect on business companies, all sorts of outside influences are taken into account, as a rule, with one major exception. Weirdly enough, the influence of the environment itself does not seem to factor in the range of the things that can have a possible influence on a company’s market position, which the recent events in the USA have proven completely wrong. Because of the dreadful results of the Hurricane Sandy recent activity, the position of one of the world’s greatest leaders in the sphere of information technology has appeared to be quite a peril. As a result, the stocks of the company sank to a certain degree: “Easterners have been obsessed with Hurricane Sandy over the last few days, with many knocked off the grid and the financial markets closed for two days” (Newman para.1)
Although the article makes it obvious that the company is still alive and kicking, it is clear that the Apple Corporation is yet to suffer certain losses due to the drastic effects that Hurricane Sandy has had on the state. The above-mentioned shows that, apart from the financial and economical factors, which are still essential for any company operating within the global market, the environmental factors must be taken into consideration as well. While the losses or the profits that the outside factors induced by people can be very influential, these factors can be controlled by people, which means that there is a chance to change the situation for the better. With the forces of nature, the situation can get completely out of hand, which makes the environmental factors all the more significant.
“Microsoft and the Launch of Windows 8: Tablets from on High. Microsoft Makes Its Pitch for the Mobile Age.” Economist 2012. Web.
In a departure from the issues which cannot be controlled by people, such important factors as the economical changes within the state are to be taken into consideration. A graphic example of the way the economical factors can change the course of affairs within a certain company, the recent situation which the Microsoft Corporation has been trapped in is well worth consideration. According to the report on the problem offered in a recent issue of Economist, the Microsoft company has been relying on such target customers as PC-makers, offering them Microsoft products “for installation on the news desk- and laptops” (“Microsoft and the Launch of Windows 8: Tablets from on High. Microsoft Makes Its Pitch for the Mobile Age,” para.3). However, it seems that the ranks of the given target audience have become much scantier over the past few years. As “Microsoft and the Launch of Windows 8: Tablets from on High. Microsoft Makes Its Pitch for the Mobile Age” claims, the target market “has slowed” (para.3), which means that such an important part of the economic processes within the Microsoft trade as the demand has decreased.
Hence, the factor of demand is currently shaping the Microsoft Company, making it change its strategy accordingly. The above-mentioned shows that the economic factors are to be considered the key issues when developing the new market strategy. It seems that the main problem of the Microsoft Corporation is that the company is not adjust its company policy to fit in the changing global market. Hence, the negative consequences followed immediately, making Microsoft lose.
Jargon, Julie. “McDonald’s Is Feeling Fried.” Wall Street Journal. 2012.
Surprisingly enough, when developing a business, one has to consider not only economic and financial issues but also the cultural factors which can possibly affect the revenues in a certain region The above-mentioned is especially significant when running a business in a foreign country, which can be the case for a company which has a number of affiliates all over the world. It seems that the time has come for McDonald’s to check the veracity of the given statement. As Jargon, the company is currently experiencing certain difficulties in most Asian countries. On the one hand, the aspect of unemployment within the realm of Asian countries should be referred to as the political or economic one. However, the problem which McDonald’s encountered in China concerned mostly the Asian countries (Jargon para.9), which gives reasons to suspect that there is a cultural pattern in the given situations.
Analyzing the given problem, one must mention that the key reason why the McDonald’s company fails in establishing its business in Asian countries concerns the cultural specifics of the countries in question. However, one must give McDonald’s credit for using the existing situation in the Asian countries to make their affiliates more stable and competitive: “Investors had expected the declines in Europe and Asia” (para.12). Nevertheless, it is still clear that McDonald’s needs a better campaign for representation in the Asian market. Even though the company uses the economical factors efficiently, the cultural ones still slip its radar.
UK Politicians Put Starbucks through the Grinder.” 2012. Web.
Finally, one must mention that the outside political factors have a huge effect on the development of various companies as well. Although the change of the political situation of a certain country does not seem to have any points of contact with the course of affairs within a certain enterprise, the changes in the political environment can possibly trigger economical changes in the country, which, in its turn, can cause certain complexities within a company. The case in point is the Starbucks Company, which has recently experienced complexity when facing a range of specific political factors. According to the recent news, the Starbucks company, whose base is located in the Netherlands, has encountered certain issues in the United Kingdom due to the changes in the state politics: “Starbucks has told a UK parliamentary committee that it has confidential tax arrangement with the Dutch authorities which it cannot disclose in public to British politicians” (“UK Politicians Put Starbucks Through the Grinder” para.1).
The above-mentioned situation makes one reconsider the effects of the political changes on the way certain types of enterprises are run. While a company w3hich is located in a foreign country can be run according to the laws of its “native” land, it still must take into account the laws of the state where it is located; otherwise, certain legal complexities can be expected. As the news says, the UK lawyers are going to consider Starbucks’ policy illegal; moreover, the losses which the company is going to take give one enough food for thoughts: “The company’s global chief financial officer Troy Alstead said it had lost money in the UK for 14 years, although it made a small profit in 2006” (“UK Politicians Put Starbucks Through the Grinder” para.6). Hence, the political factor seems the essential one among the range of business environmental factors.