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Unit 1 exploring business assignment 1
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The businesses I chose were Oxfam and Sainsburys. I was marked a distinction and there are 5 pages of my assignment with all linked websites and terms.
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Unit 1 Exploring Businesses-Assignment 1This report will show two very contrasting businesses and it will also explore their features, while analysing what makes them so successful
in today’s society. This report focuses on both Sainsburys and Oxfam, as they are two very unrelated businesses. One big way that they are
different is that Sainsburys is a for profit business, but Oxfam is a not for profit organisation, so as long as Oxfam manage to breakeven and
cover costs, they are satisfied. Oxfam is the third largest non-profit organisation in the world, they want to remove all poverty, fight
homelessness, and help areas hit by natural disasters, whereas Sainsburys works towards satisfying customers, maximising profits, and
boost brand awareness.
Local, National, Global
First of all, Sainsburys is a national business and so it operates within the UKs borders, because of this Sainsburys can really understand
what it takes to satisfy their target market as they can focus on one particular country rather than have many different tastes and cultures
to market for at one time. Sainsburys has gained around 16.3% of the total food retail market as it has over 440 stores across the country
and more than 23000 own brand products. A huge benefit for Sainsburys is the fact that it is a national business so it can advertise to
customers all over the UK and surrounding areas whereas if it was a local shop then they could only communicate with customers in one
particular area and so its brand awareness would be poor, this is what helps Sainsburys be a booming success.
On the other hand, Oxfam is an international charity that regularly focuses on people in need, they address poverty by working with
businesses big and small all over the world. International charities defend human rights, provide relief, and gives help whoever it can.
Oxfam works internationally so it has a bigger impact across hundreds of countries, last year they helped over 12.8 million people alone
fight poverty. Since the internet became accessible to people, Oxfam have used this to its advantage by making people aware all over the
world of what they could do to help people that are not as fortunate. An advantage of Oxfam being an international business is also that
the charity can access many more underprivileged people whereas if they were a national organisation like Sainsburys then they would
only be able to help people that are mostly in the United Kingdom. In my research I have discovered that Oxfam work in over 90 countries
trying to save and protect lives in emergencies and help victims rebuild their lives and make lasting changes, this is what makes them such
a successful charity because they’re always helping people and so the public see this and so are willing to donate what they can to help
this not for profit business.
The Sector of the business
There are four sectors of business, the primary sector which supplies raw materials, it involves mining, agriculture, forestry, and mineral
extraction. The secondary sector is the manufacturing of raw materials from the primary sector so they can be sold. The quaternary sector
is an industry that provides information services, ICT, and computing and finally the tertiary sector is Sainsburys and Oxfam here’s some
more information about it.
Sainsburys is in the tertiary sector as this is for the retailers to distribute its goods to customers. This sector also provides Sainsbury’s
customers with the service they need to enjoy their experience at their local Sainsburys stores, as staff can uphold the retailer’s reputation
and provide a helping hand to the customers by providing a face to face service in the store. The tertiary sector also helps to train
customer service staff and shop floor staff as they are working on the job and meeting new customers every day. One of Sainsburys main
aims is to satisfy their customers with a good service and to provide good quality products, by being in the tertiary sector Sainsburys can
really prove to their customers that they are a high quality supermarket, this is also why Sainsbury’s is so successful as it is continuously
working to satisfy customer experiences and so customers will return. However, being in this sector can have disadvantages for example if
staff are not friendly or are not providing a sufficient service then Sainsburys could gain a bad reputation this would lead to the loss of
customers and money, so it’s important that Sainsburys staff keep up a good standard of work.
Oxfam is a tertiary sector organisation just like Sainsburys, however they both operate in different ways, as Oxfam aims to provide a
service to people in need by giving them food, water and other essentials whereas Sainsburys provides a service to sell its product and
have as much profit maximisation as possible. Oxfam achieve what they do as they ask for donations and organise events to raise money,
on the other hand Sainsburys aim to make a profit for themselves without aiming to really help anyone as they are doing it for their own
business expansion and to cover costs. Oxfam is successful as it has got over 27,000 employees and volunteers to spread awareness and to
put into action their plans to save countries. By Oxfam being in the tertiary sector they can really show the public what they do by
advertising and also by opening shops and fundraising they can spread the awareness while showing the importance of charity but also
show how grateful they are for donations. Oxfam are so successful because they have so many volunteers and staff behind them helping
to help others.
Aims Objectives and Scope Activities
An aim is an ultimate goal which will be achieved in the long term and an objective is something that someone seeks to achieve in a short
space of time. Both businesses have slightly different SMART targets, this stands for specific, ,measurable,achievable,realistic and time
bound, Sainsbury’s have more SMART targets like profit maximisation and to make a realistic amount of aims and to complete them within
a specific time frame, whereas Oxfam want to specifically save as many lives in a certain time period and achieve as much as they can.
Sainsbury’s aims are mostly to make profit and break even whereas Oxfam tend to want customer satisfaction. A short-term aim for both
businesses may be that they want their businesses to survive and a long-term aim may be business expansion. All of these aims, and
objectives also feed into the scope of the business’s activities
One of Sainsbury’s main aims is to be competitive on their prices, yet they also want to provide the highest quality products to all of their
customers. This aim draws customers to their stores because whilst getting an affordable price customers are also getting a good quality
, shop and so Sainsbury’s could target this at any segment of their target market as the majority of shoppers in the country wants both
good quality and a good price. When Sainsbury’s achieve this, it will help them with their businesses survival because they are receiving a
good profit from customers.
Sainsburys also aims to be net zero by 2040, Sainsburys believe that this aim will make value for future generations by minimising the
environmental impacts of plastics and toxins, by working with farmers and suppliers they will become net zero by 2040. Sainsburys are
also willing to invest £1 billion over the next 20 years into this project. This goal is continuously making them successful as they are
improving their brand image by showing that they care about the world and they also have a competitive advantage over rival
competitors, due to them helping the environment, groups of people like environmentalists, vegans and people who care about the planet
will take notice of this and so they will want to buy Sainsbury’s products to help keep the project going, this will lead to more sales and
higher profits as more customers will want to buy Sainsbury’s products, by doing this customers may also feel good about themselves as
they are also doing their bit for the environment by shopping at Sainsburys. Being net zero is part of Sainsburys unique selling point. Due
to Sainsburys providing ethical considerations to their company they will be more successful as they are providing a different kind of
service to customers as they are saving the planet and so this will attract more customers.
An objective for Sainsbury’s is that they want to make their employees work environment a place of ‘love and happiness’, this will make
Sainsbury’s successful in the long run because their employees who genuinely enjoy working their will become a lot more productive and
much happier, this will boost their employees self-confidence and so staff will be providing a greater service to customers. By doing this
customers will enjoy their shopping experience at Sainsbury’s and they will benefit from the helpful service they have been provided with,
due to this customers will be encouraged to go back repeatedly and become a loyal customers which will increase Sainsbury’s profits and
boost their brand awareness.
Sainsburys vision and mission is to be the countries most trusted retailer. They want their stores to be a place where their staff love to
work but also where customers love to shop. To achieve this, they hire the most talented, creative, and friendly employees to make sure
that their customers receive a great service in all Sainsbury’s stores. Due to all staff being satisfied customers will enjoy this and return to
Sainsbury’s stores to spend money, this will help Sainsbury’s expand and open more stores as they have a stable number of loyal
customers so Sainsbury’s can expand.
However, Oxfam’s missions and visions are to provide an education, fair trade, aid, conflict relief, helping in natural disaster, fighting for
human rights, fair trade and providing food. They also want to be able to support all children by giving them food and a decent education.
Whereas Sainsburys aims are mostly to look after their customers and staff, maximise profits, boost their brand loyalty and awareness
rather than help the community. Sainsburys also focuses a lot on its stores and products whereas Oxfam likes to focus more on providing a
service all over the world to third world countries for charitable reasons.
Oxfam aim to help all poor countries; they work in over 90 countries around the world. Natural disasters are happening all the time and so
is war, Oxfam aims to help these countries and to save peoples lives by helping rebuild the deviation, provide food and fresh water and
essentials. In the next few years Oxfam are really focusing on this and have been putting in as much time and effort as possible, with the
hope that fewer children, women, and men will die from the devastation of disasters. Oxfam continuously satisfy the needs of the less
fortunate and still continue to do so. People all over the world will also want to help Oxfam out and so people’s donations benefit Oxfam
with achieving these aims and being successful. Donations can also lead to business expansion to help more people across the world.
Another objective for Oxfam is that they want to increase their funding, they are aiming for a lot more capital to be raised for them to help
victims. Right now, Oxfam always need to be receiving funds, so they need as many donations as possible to provide, education and
equipment for everyone. Oxfam say this plan sets a hard agenda for them to fulfil, as achieving a world with no poverty will never be easy.
This is an objective and not an aim as it has got to be done in the short term as its vital that Oxfam receive funding as soon as they possibly
can.
Oxfam aims to fight for women’s rights, they believe that women should live without discrimination and should enjoy a nice lifestyle
within a good physical state. They are also aiming to make sure that women are educated and that they can buy land and houses but
above all to earn an equal wage, over the next few years Oxfam plan to make these imaginations come true for women, to prove were all
equal. This aim will attract hundreds of girls and women to their charity which means Oxfam have gained more support which leads to
more donations and therefore more aims will be achieved which makes them successful.
The size of the business
There are four business sizes, a micro business which has up to 9 staff, a small business which has 10-49 employees, a medium business
that has 50-249 employees and a large business that has more than 250 employees.
Sainsbury’s has over 116,400! Making it a large business. Sainsbury’s employees are provided with benefits such as annual bonuses,
colleague discount cards, pensions and season ticket loans, while enjoying these benefits employees will feel special and appreciated and
so they’re performance will be improved, this makes Sainsbury’s successful as customers will be receiving a good customer service and
their staff are happy , because staff feel more appreciated they are more likely to want to be in work so they will miss less working days
therefore Sainsbury’s won’t be losing money for staff sick days and they won’t have to pay for staff cover.
Oxfam is a large business but does not have as many employees as Sainsburys as it has 5,300 people working for them, however Oxfam
contrasts with Sainsburys as Oxfam have over 22,000 volunteers willing to help them with their goals. Last year Oxfam had an income of
over £367.9 million. They offer many roles to their volunteers as they can work in their local shops, they can volunteer in the local
community and they can also have office roles and work in Oxfam’s online hub. Both employees and volunteers at Oxfam are cared for
deeply, they also care about their volunteers just as much as they care about the victims they help as without their work force they
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