EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON BUSINESS LOCATION

(A CASE STUDY OF CADBURY NIGERIA PLC)

CHAPER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Individuals have needs and business organizations exist to satisfy the needs andwants of the society. An appropriate method toward understanding form of businessownership will require the provision of conceptual frame work for the word BUSINESS.

BUSINESS in a capitalist economy can be described as the sum of all the activitiesinvolve in the production and distribution of goods and services for profit. Thisdefinition implies that business assume responsibilities for two of the basic humanactivities; Production i.e. Fabrication of physical objects through the use of men,machine, and material and distribution of these product/service as the consumers. Thesecond implication of the definition is that all business organizations should strive tomake profit. They are not charitable organizations, they must make profit in order tosurvive and continue to provide employment for workers and good returns to theowners.

Functionally, Business means those human activities which involve production orpurchase of goods with the object of selling them at a PROFIT. In the work of Uricand Hunt , a ‘Business is any enterprise which makes, distributes or provides anyarticles or service which other member of the community need and are able and willingto pay for.

1.2      OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The objectives of this research are as follow;

i.        To provide a basic understanding on the concept of business environment.

ii.      To determine the problem impose by the influence of business environment in anOrganization.

iii.    To recommend solution on environmental problems  as they affect business

iv.   To recommend measure in order to make the environment more conducive for business

1.3      STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The major focus of this study is to find out the extent at which business activity is influence by its environment.To this end, the study will address itself for a number of specific problems which include the following;

·        The impact of environment on business

·        The extent to which business activity are independent of someof the forces of the environments.

·        How the business react to the change in business environment

·        How the  business  activity  in any way influenced the environment

1.4      SCOPE OF STUDY

The study will look at the effect and impact of business environment on Cadbury Nigeria plc.

It will also look at the general view of business as applicable in Food & beverages companies in Nigeria with emphasis on the type of internal and external environment.

1.5      SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

The study will help the public and the private organizations realize the importance of the business environment ifthe higher profits are to be obtained. It will also help in solving managerial problem between management and workers. This study will also x-ray the problem oflosses experienced by firms using wrong statistics in establishing a business in an undearly environment, this usually lead to the folding of such companies. The recommendations will help to minimize the frequency occurrence of company liquidation and smoothen operations of the organization increase in production and yield  more profits.

1.6      LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher could not get the necessary information required for the project writing as the respondents were unnecessarily secretive.

Time constrain was another limitation of the study.

1.7      DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Business is an inevitable activity in an economy. The factors that affect the business location differ, base on the environment in which the target audience or markets are situated. Precise or generalize environmental factors affecting business location cannot be conclusive.

The student who is making the research project must be friendly with the management of the organization in order to carry out the research successfully. Limiting  factors like the lack of cooperation from organization to assist the researcher with information/data and also the financial capacity has led to the restrict of the researcher.

1.8      RESEACH QUESTION

The major question of the research ishighlighted below:

·        What types of businessesdo organizations pursue?

·        How many lines of products do they manufacture?

·        Is there any change in the state of equipment used?

·        Has the religion of the people has an impact on business location?

·        Is there after sale services to customers?

·        Is the location of business affected by the customer?

·        Do you think the relationship between the trade union and management is cordial?

·        Does the nation’s state of economy have any serious effect on job security?

·        Does the foreign exchange rate has impact and affect sales volume?

1.9      DEFINITION OF TERMS

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:- It is the totality of forces and entities that surround andpotentially affect the growth and development of an organization. Environmental forces can be divided into two; Macro and Micro environments

MICRO ENVIRONMENT:-These are the immediate environmental factors of the business organizations e.g. the employee, shareholder, customer, etc.

MACRO ENVIRONMENT:-These are the forces that the organization cannot control or influence or manipulate, e.g. demography, national or physical forces, etc.

ENVIRONMENT LOCATION:-This is geographical area where the business organizationis being influenced by the micro and macro environment factors.

INFLATION:-This is defined as continuous and persistent rise in  general price level resulting in reduced purchasing power for the consumer. During this period, money is devaluated in terms of what it can buy or purchase.

FISCAL POLICY:- It is concerned with deliberate action which the government ofa country takes in the area of spending money and or levying taxes with the objective of influencing macro-economic variables such as the level of national income or output, the aggregate demand level, the general level of prices etc. in a desired direction.

MANAGEMENT:- It is a process of designing and maintaining an environment inwhich individuals working together in groups can accomplish  pre-selected missions and objectives effectively and efficiently.