STELA PICICUROV
Assessment activity 1.1 In this assessment, I have chosen to write about Oxfam which is a world known registered charity and Marks and Spencer (M&S) which is a major British multinational retailer. P1. Describe the type of business, purpose and ownership of two contrasting organisations. The name Oxfam comes from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942 due to relieve famine in Greece caused by NazilGermany military occupation and Allied naval blockades, and registered in accordance with UK law in 1943. Oxfam International was formed in 1995 by a group of independent non-governmental organizations. Their aim was to work together for greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and injustice. Oxfam International is registered as a non-profit foundation at The Hague, Netherlands. So Oxfam does not have ownership, it is run by Board of Directors and if the business does close down it will give it charity stuff to another charity. This business is not set up to make profit for it personally need it is set up to make profit for people in need. Oxfam gets its money from many different sources: * like the shops that people can go to * people donate their old and unwanted clothes and items and Oxfam sells it to us, the consumers * they also get private donations given to them by people who want to help Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organisations working in approximately 94 countries worldwide to find solutions to poverty and what it considers injustice around the world.
Oxfam's core business activities are: * workings with poor people * influence powerful people * stick together hands with all people Firstly on working with a poor people, Oxfam seeks out to assist people in order to gain better admission to chances they need to improve their livelihoods as well as govern their own lives. They also work with people in danger by humanitarian disasters, to help put in place preventive measures, better attentiveness, as well as working to provide emergency relief and reconstruction in the aftermath of disaster. Secondly in influence powerful people, due to Oxfam's experience of the real issue confronting with poor people, combined with high-level research enables us to lobby for change in international policies and practices that should ensure that poor people have the rights, opportunities and resources they need to improve and control their lives. And lastly joining hands with all people, Oxfam uses campaign media work and building up of groups allows them to raise awareness among the public of the real solutions to global poverty, this enables and motivate people to play an active role in the progress for change, and to foster a sense of global citizenship, as well as to advance senses of global citizenship. So if we looking at Oxfam’s purposes it is in the tertiary sectors because Oxfam provide a service, as Oxfam providing people in need with help such as clean water and food etc by selling stuff like clothing etc and also by collecting donations. Marks and Spencer (also known as M&S) was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks in Leeds. He started the business as a sole trader, he opened a stall in Leeds Kirkgate Market, called Penny Bazaar. Then in 1894, Michael formed a partnership with Tom Spencer, a former wholesale company IJ Dewhirst, from the partnership the company started to expand. Tom Spencer died on 25 July 1905 and after 2 years Michael Marks died on 31 December 1907. It was then time for the owners today at that time to advance the success of the two founders. Today M&S is one of the UK's leading retailers, with over 1,330 stores worldwide. They are committed to delivering sustainable value for their shareholders and enhancing lives every day through the high quality, own brand food, clothing and home products they offer in their stores and online both in the UK and internationally. They sell high quality, great value products to 33 million customers through their 852 UK stores and their e-commerce platform. Their business has two divisions: Food which accounts for 57% of their turnover, and General Merchandise, which accounts for the remaining 43%. They have market leading positions in Womenswear, Lingerie and Menswear. M&S has 480 wholly-owned, jointly-owned or franchised stores in 59 territories across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Their International business now includes a fast-growing standalone Food operation, meaning that more people around the world can enjoy their food products. Marks and Spencer is a (PLC) Public Limited Company, it offers its shares to the general public, often through the Stock Exchange. It is the share prices of these types of companies that are displayed in the daily press. Most of the larger companies are public limited companies, so they keep Household names like Marks and Spencer. M&S use their own money, or borrow money, to set up and run business. According to the information above we can say that M&S operates in the secondary and tertiary sectors. * It operates in secondary sector as it manufactures finished goods and it is associated with textile and food production * It operates majorly in the tertiary sector as it provides goods and services to the population
P2. Describe the different stakeholders who influence the purpose of these contrasting organisations. I am now going to describe the different stakeholders who influence the purpose of Oxfam and M&S. Stakeholders are people who are interested in any aspect of a business. A business need to take account of all of its stakeholder groupings because these interests are all linked together.
The key stakeholders for Oxfam and M&S include the following: * Customers are interested in a business if they buy products from that company. A business also depends on the customers because if no customers bought products from the company, then the company would make no profit and would fail. Customer question time meetings are invaluable. Staffs hear customers' views on everything from how they are serving them in their stores to their role in the community. For Marks and Spenser, I would rate customers as 10/10 as without customers the business would fail. Customers are the people who buy items and make M&S a profit. For Oxfam, I rate the customers as 10/10 as they rely on customers to put donations forward and buy their charity staff. * Employees are interested in a business because it is their source of income. High profits not only lead to high dividends but also job security. Without the employees then the business wouldn't be able to function. Staff gives their feedback through the viewpoint staff survey, staff question time sessions and their staff forum process. For both organisations, I would rate employees as 10/10 because without employees M&S and Oxfam would flop. The employees help to run the business and make sure everything is in order. * Suppliers are interested in a business as they want to have steady orders and prompt payments. They also want to feel valued by a business as they are providing them a service. For Marks and Spenser, I would rate suppliers as 6/10 because suppliers are the people who supply M&S with their food to sell, which in turn results in profit. For Oxfam, I would rate suppliers a 9/10 because the suppliers are the people who donate money to the charity. Without the suppliers, Oxfam wouldn't be able to raise as much money as they hope. * Owners are the people who own companies and have shares inside the business For M&S, I would rate the owners a 9/10 because they influence and invest into the company. They want high profits which lead to high dividends. For Oxfam, I would rate owners a 7/10. Oxfam doesn't have owners as such, but they will have a panel of trustees that are legally responsible for the charity. They will make the decisions on whom and which causes to give out the raised money to. * Local and National Communities are communities in the local area to a business. A business will try to keep the local communities happy which lower chances of them falling out. National communities are everybody throughout the country. For Marks and Spenser, I would rate Local and National Communities a 6/10 as most people wouldn't want a large retail superstore built next to them as it would cause traffic on the roads. However this would have an upside to it as you wouldn't have to travel far to get to the shops. For Oxfam, I would rate Local and National communities a 7/10 because if they are unhappy with Oxfam activities they aren't going to donate any money to the charity so Oxfam thrive on communities donating money in order for them to help poor people. * Governments are people that want the business to do well so they can pay more money on the taxes and can offer more jobs to the local community. For M&S, I would rate Government a 6/10 as they want to be able to take more tax money off them. This will also generate more jobs for the community. For Oxfam, I would rate Government a 5/10 as they don't necessarily get involved, however the more money the charity raises and the government doesn't have to give out as much to other causes.