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  • Essay / The Impact of Internal and External Factors on Business Success

    For a business to experience significant growth and success, many factors, both internal and external, must be considered. Not only are these factors internal or external, but they can also be micro or macroeconomic. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssaySome of the external factors that affect business performance can be measured using a pestle. Pestle is an analytical tool developed by Professor Francis Aguilar and involves examining the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that all affect a business. An external factor that is not included in the pestle is demand. Demand is the “quantity consumers are willing to purchase” (Eastin and Arbogast, 2020). This is important because it provides a business with revenue to survive and grow. Different companies use different levels of consumer orientation in their products due to the price elasticity of demand. Due to the nature of elastic products, which result in greater variation in demand due to a change in price, elastic products are more standardized than inelastic products. Companies producing inelastic goods are more likely to have tailored the product to appeal to their target market. The intersection of supply and demand is also of key importance to a company's success, as it helps a company "optimize its resources and achieve a balanced set of organizational objectives." If a firm is in equilibrium, it means that "the market is free of shortage and surplus", meaning that all goods produced are sold and therefore the firm does not incur costs related to the holding unnecessary inventory. The offering itself is another factor that affects the success of a business. If a company wants to outsource its inventory, whether raw materials or finished goods, it should evaluate the implications of the combination for that company. A UK-based clothing company known as Boohoo was recently found to be paying its factory workers "as little as £3.50 an hour" (Boohoo to investigate supplier who claimed he paid his workers £3.50 an hour, 2020) and had staff working. throughout this unprecedented time “without appropriate safety measures”. The implications of this for Boohoo led to a movement on social media using the hashtag BoycottBoohoo to raise awareness and encourage people to shop elsewhere. Supply and demand are not the only external factors that can affect the success of a business; environmental factors can also have an impact. There is a growing focus on the negative effect humans are having on the environment and how to reverse this trend. If a company chose to act accordingly and took actions "beyond its interests and what is required by law", then the company would be considered to have high corporate social responsibility, which could give it a unique selling point giving it an advantage over competitors. However, external factors can only influence a company's success to a certain extent. A company must have an effective internal structure to enable smooth operations and enable it to “adapt to a rapidly changing environment” (Stoyanova and Angelova, 2018) even before external influences.