Political Factors example essay topic

Competitive Environment In this section we will examine the competitive environment where we will be implementing our strategic plan. It is essential to take into account the external environment as it will enable us to identify potential opportunities and threats which may arise from the changing environment. The macro-environment consists of a number of broader forces that affect not only the subject but also the other factors in the micro-environment. These can be grouped under economic, social, legal physical and technological forces. These shape the character of the opportunities and threats facing the subject yet are largely uncontrollable. (Jobber, 2001) The PEST analysis: In general, the abbreviation PEST, sometimes reordered as "STEP", is a description of a framework for the analysis of the macro-environmental factors.

Each letter of the world PEST stands for something as shown in the following graph: Political Factors: To many companies, domestic political considerations are likely to be of prime concern. Decisions made by government affect our every day lives and can come in the form of policy or legislation. However as Billie is a celebrity not a company political factors play a less important role although that is not to say that political factors should be ignored when considering Billie's competitive environment. Music and politics have always had an uneasy relationship with many music stars using their fame to voice their political opinions. At the moment in the aftermath of the war in Iraq there is a lot of anti-government sentiment among our target market particularly in the UK.

This could create an opportunity for Billie to exploit by being outspoken on political issues like this. It is an opportunity for her to become a figurehead for certain political issues much the same way as Bob Geldof and Bono are. Political factors can also have a negative effect - for example at this years MTV awards when Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in a provocative dance on stage it caused outrage among many American politicians. Some conservatives even went as far as to blame them for September 11th. They said that such antics could cause offense to Muslims who will retaliate by creating more terrorist atrocities. As you can imagine this created a lot of negative publicity for Madonna, Britney and Christina.

Therefore it is very important to take into account and exploit the current political climate when implementing our strategic plan. Economic Factors: All industries are affected by economical factors nationally and globally and the showbiz industry is no different. The climate of the economy dictates how consumers may behave within society. Whether an economy is in a boom, recession or recovery will also effect consumer confidence and behaviour. At this point in time our target market has more disposable income than any of their previous generations.

This means that they can afford to buy more cds, magazines, concert tickets and merchandise - it is up to us to convince them to buy Billie's items. Another positive factor is that the economy both nationally and internationally is staging a slow recovery. This will have a positive effect on consumer confidence and buyer behaviour. Social Factors: Within society forces such as family, friends, media affect our attitude, interest and opinions. These forces shape who we are as people and the way we behave and what we ultimately purchase.

The social issues which concern our target market include relationships, pregnancy, drugs, binge drinking, weight problems etc. Billie is ideally placed to become a role model for our target market because she has experienced many of these issues herself. She had many much publicised drinking binges, she collapsed in a nightclub supposedly because of a kidney problem, she had a string of relationships and got married to a much older man while still a teenager and had a well documented gain in weight. She has also lived in the media spotlight since she was just fifteen. Technological Factors: Changes in technology is changing the way business operates. The Internet is having a profound impact on the marketing mix.

The internet is hurting cd sales because of piracy so there is an opportunity there for artists to embrace new technology by allowing their music to be downloaded legally for a small fee from official websites. Our target market are the group who embraces new technology easily so it is important for Billie to be seen as a technophiles. At all times she should be seen with the latest gadgets and newest model of mobile phone. This will create the impression that Billie is in touch with the values of her target market. Overall Billie's competitive environment is a challenging one but she is in a strong position to exploit the opportunities that exist within it.