Assignment for Unit 1

Q1) Preview the Business Environment prevailing in India? Discuss the Micro and Macro Factors of the
same?
Q2) Collect news clippings for the last one quarter which show how changes in international economic
environment affects domestic macroeconomic environment. It can be submitted in single or a group of
maximum 3 students.

Ans.1 Preview of Business environment prevailing in India.

* The Indian Textile Industry: The textile industry is one of the oldest industries of the Indian
economy. The industry contributes around 30 percent of the total exports of the country. It is also
the second largest producer of employment opportunities to the vast population of the country.

* The Chemical Industry: This is yet another most important b2b industry which has a pertinent
influence on the export sector of the economy. Contributing to around 7 percent of the Indian
GDP, the chemical industry has varied products listed in its genre. Most of these products like
chemical, drugs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, pesticides and so forth are exported to different
countries all over the world.

* The Agricultural Industry: The agricultural sector in India is one among the worlds largest
sectors. This sector is alluring in the global market because of its diverse products. The Indian
agricultural products include diary products, animal feed, cereals, meat and poultry products and
so forth.

* The Plastic Industry: This is another important industry in India which contributes to the
export sector of the economy.

* The Indian Leather Industry: Providing employment to around 2.5 million people, the Indian
leather industry is among the top 8 export industries of the country.
Micro and Macro Environment factors of the same are:

Customers
As all businesses need customers, they should be Centred (Orientated) around customers. The
firm's marketing plan should aim to attract and retain customers through products that meets
their "wants and needs" and excellent customer service.
Employees
Employing staff with relevant skills and experience is essential. This process begins at
recruitment stage and continues throughout an employee's employment via ongoing training and
promotion opportunities. Training and development play a critical role in achieving a
competitive edge; especially in Service Sector Marketing. If a business employs staff without
motivation, skills or experience it will affect customer service and ultimately sales.
Suppliers
Suppliers provide businesses with the materials they need to carry out their business activities. A
supplier's behaviour will directly impact the business it supplies. For example if a supplier
provides a poor service this could increase timescales or product quality. An increase in raw
material prices will affect an organisation's Marketing Mix strategy and may even force price
increases. Close supplier relationships are an effective way to remain competitive and secure
quality products.
Shareholders
As organisations require investment to grow, they may decide to raise money by floating on the
stock market i.e. move from private to public ownership. The introduction of public shareholders
brings new pressures as public shareholders want a return from the money they have invested in
the company. Shareholder pressure to increase profits will affect organisational strategy.
Relationships with shareholders need to be managed carefully as rapid short term increases in
profit could detrimentally affect the long term success of the business.
Media
Positive media attention can make an organisation (or its products) and negative media
attention can break an organisation. Organisations need to mange the media so that the media
help promote the positive things about the organisation and reduce the impact of a negative event

on their reputation. Some organisations will even employ public relations (PR) consultants to
help them manage a particular event or incident.
Consumer television programmes with a wide and more direct audience can also have a very
powerful impact on the success of an organisation. Some businesses recognise this and will
change their reaction when consumers mention that they are going to contact a consumer
television programme or the newspapers about the business.
Competitors
The name of the game in marketing is differentiation. Can the organisation offer benefits that are
better than those offered by competitors? Does the business have a unique selling point (USP)?
Competitor analysis and monitoring is crucial if an organisation is to maintain or improve its
position within the market. If a business is unaware of its competitor's activities they will find it
very difficult to beat their competitors. The market can move very quickly for example through
a change in trading conditions, consumer behaviour or technological developments. As a
business it is important to examine competitors' responses to these changes so that you can
maximise the impact of your response.

Macro Environment:

Macro environment factors are uncontrollable external forces that affect how a business operates.
They are largely out of the control of the business, and often require changes in operating,
management, production, and marketing. Analysts often categorize them using the acronyms
PEST or PESTEL. Broken down, PEST stands for political, economic, social, and technological
concerns. PESTEL also includes environmental and legal factors.
Political

Political macro environment factors include things like tax policies, government-issued safety
regulations, the availability of government contracts, and even shifts in the controlling political
party. International laws, such as trade agreements and tariffs, may affect the supply and demand
chains and available markets for many different companies as well.

Economic
A market boom, recession, or growing inflation problem can all change the way an organization
plans for the future and operates in the present. Economic factors are often difficult to assess,
since economic forecasts and analyses vary widely between experts. Unemployment levels,
comparative foreign exchange rates, and the state of the global economy can all help or hurt a
business' ability to get needed components and maintain a stable profit.

Social
The mood and demographics of the population make up the social area of macro environment
factors. For example, a society that places an emphasis on self-guided jobs with room for
creativity may cause organizations to redefine job descriptions and adapt the model of the
workplace to attract workers. Social trends, such as a preference for on-demand mobile media
devices, can also influence which products a company manufacturers and where it chooses to
spend advertising dollars.

Technological
Technological macro environment factors can influence how an organization does business. A
new type of machinery, computer chip, or product created through research and development can
help a company stay modernized and ahead of the market curve. Owners must be able to
accurately identify which new developments will be truly useful, and which are just fads.

Environmental
Environmental concerns are important to businesses both in the short and long term. In the short-term,
things like natural disasters can disrupt production and supply operations, or even destroy company
assets. Programs such as environmental risk assessment can help companies prepare to handle many of
the most likely short-term crises. In the long view, however, businesses may have an interest in ensuring
that their supply chains are not destroyed by unsustainable practices.

Legal
Legal factors can limit or change how a business operates. For example, they may have to hire additional
supervisory staff or purchase safety equipment after a new health and safety law is passed. Child labor
laws often limit the hours a minor can work and require set break periods. If an organization employs
several minors, it may have to hire additional help to cover the hours when the minors cannot legally

work. Legal factors are determined by both local legislation and regional and national laws. In some
cases, companies that do business internationally are also affected by international laws.

Ans.2 Hindustan times article

Samsung gearing up for September smartphone launch affecting
international as well as domestic markets too
The latest wrist-worn computing device-based rumors center around Samsung's GEAR
smartwatch and the company's plans to launch it alongside its third generation phablet, the
Galaxy Note III this autumn.
Unlike other reports relating to other companies' supposed entry into the wearable, and, in
particular,
the wrist-worn technology sector, Samsung rumors have a higher than average degree of
accuracy, partly because unlike many of its contemporaries, the company has made no secret of
its intentions to actually launch a smartwatch within the next 12 months.
Earlier trademark applications show that the device is likely to be called the Samsung GEAR and
the latest news, courtesy of Patently Apple, claims that the smartwatch will be ready for its big
reveal September 6 at the same press conference that will see the Korean technology firm launch
the third iteration of its Galaxy Note phablet.
All of which suggests that the GEAR will be marketed as an accessory rather than as a
standalone product. This line of thinking is supported by a set of leaked screenshots that were
hosted on Korean message board service RULIWEB that show the device displaying email, calls
and music notifications.

Phablets getting their own accessories

Unlike the typical smartphone, a huge five-to-seven-inch screen phablet is not easy to whip out
of a pocket or a bag every time its owner receives a message or misses a call so a wrist-worn
notification device, and one that could potentially double as a music player, could make sense
and could indeed prove popular with existing phablet owners.

When Sony unveiled its latest phablet, the 6.4-inch display Xperia Z Ultra, on June 28 it did so
alongside a wearable accessory called the Sony Smart Bluetooth Handset which contains a small
screen for message notifications, a headphone jack and a built-in mic so that the phablet can be
left in a bag and the handset used as a wireless remote control. A feature that a number of tech
sites, including Computerworld, saw as validation for the creation of the smartwatch market.

In Samsung's case, there is also a strong possibility that the watch would offer some type of
health or motion-tracking functionality. During the opening keynote debate of the ventureBeat
Mobile Beat conference on July 10, Samsung's chief strategy officer Young Sohn, showcased a
proof of concept video outlining Samsung's future vision for mobile devices. It included noninvasive wrist-applied sensors that wirelessly communicated medical information to doctors via
smartphones.

In March, when Samsung officially announced that it was developing a smartwatch, the news
came following intense speculation as to Apple's intentions in the same tech space. Since the
spring, LG, Intel, Dell and Acer have all officially revealed that they too are considering
smartwatches or are already in the process of developing devices. However, similar rumors
relating to Apple, Google and Microsoft have yet to be officially confirmed or denied.

2.) Rupee fall to raise import bill, global buyers seek discounts: FIEO
Indian exporters on Monday said the fluctuating rupee will not only raise imports bill but would
also lead to volatility affecting their businesses.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said while the depreciating domestic currency
would help exporters in a way but it also increases their manufacturing cost due to high import
content in products.
"We are happy but we want a stable currency. It is difficult to quote prices for buyers due to the
fluctuation. It confuses buyers," FIEO president Rafeeq Ahmed said.
He also said that due to this trend, importers are demanding heavy discounts on the products as
well.

Continuing its free fall, the rupee on Monday breached 63-mark a dollar to end at record low of
63.13, recording the decade's worst single-day fall of 148 paise.
Sharing similar views, Apparel Export Promotion Council chairman A Sakthivel said, "On one
hand it is advantageous for exporters but on the other hand it is pushing up the manufacturing
cost".
Sakthivel said that global buyers are putting pressure on exporters to give heavy discounts.
"We want a stable currency so that the business confidence of exporters is not affected. Given the
current scenario, we will lose as importers have been asking for discounts," he added.
He said that increasing import bill will further dent the widening current account deficit.
Current Account Deficit, which indicates imports of goods, services and transfer are higher than their
exports services and transfers, touched 4.8% (or $88.2 billion) of country's Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in 2012-13 period.
In the current fiscal, the government is making efforts to contain the CAD at 3.7% (or $70 billion) of
GDP.
During April-July this fiscal, exports grew by 1.72% to $98.2 billion. Imports also increased by 2.82% to
$160.7 billion during the period.
Trade deficit during the first four months of this fiscal stood at $62.4 billion.