What is macro environment?

What is macro environment? Macro environment includes major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organizations decision making, and affect its performance and strategies. These factors include the economic, demographics, legal, political, and social conditions, technological changes, and natural forces. The above stated factors cant be controlled by the organization itself. To help analyse these factors managers can categorise them using the PESTEL model. What PESTLE stands for? P -political E -economic S -social T -technological L -legal E -environmental Political factors Ø What goods and services does a government want to provide? Ø To what extent does it believe in subsidising firms? Ø What are its priorities in terms of business support? Political decisions can impact on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the road and rail system. Economic factors Ø These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. Ø Higher interest rates may deter investment because it costs more to borrow. Ø A strong currency may make exporting more difficult because it may raise the price in terms of foreign currency. Ø Inflation may provoke higher wage demands from employees and raise costs. Ø Higher national income growth may boost demand for a firms products. Social factors. Ø Changes in social trends can impact on the demand for a firms products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. Ø The ageing population also has impact on demand. Technological factors. Ø New technologies create new products and new processes. Ø Technology can reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. Ø These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organizations providing the products. Environmental factors. Ø Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Ø Changes in temperature can impact on many industries including farming, tourism and insurance. Ø With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. Legal factors. Ø These are related to the legal environment in which firms operate. Ø The introduction of age discrimination and disability discrimination legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and greater requirements for firms to recycle are examples of relatively recent laws that affect an organizations actions. Ø Legal changes can affect a firms costs (e.g. if new systems and procedures have to be developed) and demand (e.g. if the law affects the likelihood of customers buying the good or using the service). Different categories of law include: consumer laws: these are designed to protect customers against unfair practices such as misleading descriptions of the product competition laws: these are aimed at protecting small firms against bullying by larger firms and ensuring customers are not exploited by firms with monopoly power Employment law: these cover areas such as redundancy, dismissal, working hours and minimum wages. They aim to protect employees against the abuse of power by managers Health and safety legislation: these laws are aimed at ensuring the workplace is as safe as is reasonably practical. They cover issues such as training, reporting accidents and the appropriate provision of safety equipment . INDIAN EDUCATION Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality. Education is equally key to enhance Indias Historical Background: The education system of India is very old. It has started from the ancient times. The Vedas, puranas, ayurveda, yoga represent some forms of education. There are evidences of imparting formal education in ancient India under the Gurukul system. Under the Gurukul system, young boys who were passing through the Brahmacharya stage of life had to stay at the Guru or the teachers home and complete their education. Earlier women and people of lower castes didnt have a right to educate themselves. But Jainism, Buddhism and Sufi movements had some liberating effects. The Britishers can be credited for bringing a revolution in the Indian education system because it is the English language and the reformation movements of the 19th century that had the most liberating effect in pre-independent India. India Education Present Condition: After independence, making education available to all had become a priority for the government. As discrimination on the basis of caste and gender has been a major impediment in the healthy development of the Indian society, they have been made unlawful by the Indian constitution. The 86th constitutional amendment has also made elementary education a fundamental right for the children between the age group- 6 to 14. According to the 2001 census, Total literacy rate 65.38%. The female literacy rate 54.16%. Only 59.4% of rural population is literate as against 80.3% urban population according to the 2001 census. In order to develop the higher education system, the government had established the University Grants Commission in 1953. The primary role of UGC has been to regulate the standard and spread of higher education in India. The higher education system in India comprises of more than17000 colleges, 20 central universities, 217 State Universities, 106 Deemed to Universities and 13 institutes of Natioanl importance. This number will soon inflate as the setting up of 30 more central universities, 8 new IITs, 7 IIMs and 5 new Indian Institutes of Science are now proposed. Education System in India: The present education system in India mainly comprises of primary education, secondary education, senior secondary education and higher education. Elementary education consists of eight years of education. Each of secondary and senior secondary education consists of two years of education. Higher education in India starts after passing the higher secondary education or the 12th standard. Depending on the stream, doing graduation in India can take three to five years. Post graduate courses are generally of two to three years of duration. After completing post graduation, scope for doing research in various educational institutes also remains open. political * Schools being privatised (like the NHS) * A government initiative creates the risk that the school may fail to deliver the policy or be diverted away from local priorities etc. * Changes to the skills required to be a teacher/ tutor * Changes to curriculum with short lead times * Requirement to be self managing * Requirement to be self financing Economic * Central or local government funding decisions may affect school/ establishment finances * Closure of a local industry may affect fund raising plans etc. * Ability of parents to raise funds for optional activities * The need to run breakfast/ after schools clubs * Ability to invest savings/ surpluses * Cost of providing resources: o Staff teaching support o Basics books/ paper o Technology solutions laptops etc * Interest rates * Shortages of materials on national/ international markets * Over provision of school places in the area resulting in competition from neighbouring schools * The risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more ‘up and coming schools/ academies Social * Decline in birth rate, reflecting national trends * Local population changes (increasing/ decreasing numbers) * Demographic changes may affect likely pupil rolls or the nature of pupils needse.g. pupils with English as a second language etc. * Closure of local firms providing employment * Inability to attract staff * Social networking blogs, facebook, twitter * Changes to qualifications expected * Integration with local community * Integration of students with special needs * parental preference an increase in ‘parent power has allowed parents more freedom of choice over their childs school * the risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more up-and-coming establishments * Information is accessible to staff anywhere in the world via the Internet * Staff were not given enough training or access to effectively change their habits and how they expected information to be made available Technological * Changes to standards/ equipment required * Risk of selecting the wrong technology at times of change (i.e. windows -v- open source) * New computer viruses may affect school/ college operations, * Disturbing/ illegal images on the internet may affect ICT security measures etc. * Move from paper based books to e-book readers * Computer hardware being out of date * Computer software being out of date * Time to manage IT systems Legislative * new legislation may create risks of non-compliance with the law, create new administrative burdens etc * Changes to child protection legislation * Raise the age of school leaving age * Raise/ lower the age of starting school. Nursery/ kindergarten * Change to school opening hours * Changes to funding of charity based organisations * Health safety legislation Environmental * A new highway layout near the school may create new dangers for pupils etc * Waste disposal * Reduction of green space available for activities * Changes to local bus routes * Using a significant amounts of paper and photocopier toner to produce printed information. What has Prosperity Ever Done to Me? What has Prosperity Ever Done to Me? Different kinds of energy like the renewable and non-renewable sources of energy have a great role in the human life as without it there is no way of living. The most important source of energy is the fossil fuel, although it is very dangerous as it affects the ozone layer which may create drastic environmental changes as the changes in the weather that we are witnessing right now, or the melt-down of the ice which may create an international flood that will drown every country on the face of the earth, yet the high places of the earth will stay non-drowned.   Yet, there must be an international head to the usage of renewable sources of energy like the usage of solar energy, wind, or the usage of the power of the tides. These sources of energy are non-ending, but the usage of them is so expensive because the preparation to use these sources of energy is as hard as it needs a lot of place and time to start using it and their outcome cannot be viewed in instance as it needs many year s unlike non-renewable energy. Therefore, the writer in his essay views that the continuing in the usage of fossil fuels as a type of energy can help in the increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Many scientists assumed that the usage of fossil fuels in the industrial purposes can lead to its accumulation for ages. Furthermore, there is no other way to use different sources of energy other than carbon dioxide and even the types of modern technology that is used right now cannot make us eliminate the whole amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Thus, the writer mentions the problem in his essay that the next generation from the children and our grandchildren to get the best of the world and the best of energy there must be an international head for the usage of renewable sources of energy, although it is so expensive but it is the safest source of energy ever in comparison with the non-renewable source of energy as a result there must be a solution for this dilemma for the younger generation. Furthermore, to discuss the thesis and the main dilemma of the context some of the scientists and Prime Ministers view that there is no any sense of commitment towards the new generations like what have been said the Senator Henry while he was discussing the rights the new generation has on us to live the same life that we lived. The writer also have a different point of view as he shows that they would be lucky if they breathe the air that we breathe right now because the air they will have would be more polluted than the air, and also the water would be lesser and more polluted. Moreover, if the upcoming generations have the opportunity to live in a less polluted environment that would be a greater chance that the present generation did not have. Yet, if that did not happen the next generations must not complain at all. Thus, this perspective creates a sense of debate between many writers. Firstly, the writer Brian Barry views that the current generations and the one that follows pays for the faults of the upcoming generations as a result the future generation would not have the same privilege that we have right now. The critic also views that we are the persons to blame and to be put on trial for the amount of pollution that we have done for the environment and also for the consumption of the sources of energy that are needed to be used right now and for the future generations. The writer also shows the benefits that will come to us from preserving power and using it well   as it will return with benefit to all of the human beings and will return by such a benefit like the satisfaction and self-pleasure that is reached from the living in a non-polluted environment. Thus, by the way we are moving right   now there is no truce can be reached   and the world peace and standing against the global warming by   making every person stand by his own and act by his own means to satisfy what he wants in   his own ways and to react socially to create their own rules and laws . Barry also adds that each one of the upcoming generations will stay in his own island, viewing his own problems. The resources of the generation will be confined and every person must show what he will do and what he will use whether a renewable or non-renewable source of energy. They will also have to exchange their sources of energy as nobody can live with a source of energy only. Barry also asks a question that what will happen if the justice is applied, the result there will be no monopolizing in the usage of powers and sources of energy, powers will be used worldwide. He explains why he is against the point of view of saving the energy for the upcoming generations as the upcoming generations can figure out the way they can get out and extract the source of energy as they also have their own part in preserving the cleanliness of the environment and to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide used. According to my point of view, the pollution and the consumption of the resources of energy is done throughout the beginning of history especially through the First World War and the amount of pollution   that has been produced because of the usage of the nuclear weapon and the building of factories all around the world as these types of factories produce large amounts of carbon dioxide which helped in the creation of the Ozone hole which lead to   the allowance of the entry of harmful sun rays that as a result lead to the melt down of the northern and southern poles which will   create a tremendous flood. Also, the result of the ozone hole there has been drastic climate changes that created devastating hurricanes and earthquakes not simple ones like that used to happen in the past. Thus, we must take good care of our planet earth for the upcoming generations so that needs a safe place to live in and we must corporate together to discover new sources of energy and preserve and widen the old ones. Besides, the ways that can be used to reduce pollution and preserve energy is choosing the transportation means wisely as walking or riding a bike whenever it is possible as the person must stop using the car for short trips like going to work or to the park as this usage would be like a sport and it will reduce the carbon dioxide in the air, also it can be used to generate electricity. Another way is using the means of transportation like the metro, train and bus that will reduce carbon dioxide releases. Make less trips as when the person makes less trips a day it will lead to consuming around 20% of the fuel and   that will reduce the emissions of the carbon dioxide and will help preserve the fuel   that is used for more important matters. Therefore, we are responsible for the upcoming generations and the environment that they will live in and its our duty to prevent the judgment that the next generation will put upon us.