BM461 Global Business Environment Assignment Sample

Evaluating the UK Food Takeaway Market and Impact of the Work-from-Home Trend

Critically evaluate the food takeaway market within UK and analyze the level of competitiveness and likely impact of the present economic situation

A food takeaway company, usually referred to as a takeaways or to-go eatery, is a place where cuisine is made and delivered for patrons to eat elsewhere. Due to how convenient it is for customers to eat high-quality food from restaurants in the ease of their personal homes, businesses, or other chose locations, this sort of company structure has experienced enormous success (Ibn-Mohammed, et. al. 2021). Food delivery services provide a wide range of meals, from quick meals to luxury fare, to suit a range of preferences and palates.

The Birmingham food takeaway the marketplace inside the UK has seen substantial expansion in the past decade, driven by shifting customer tastes, advances in technology, and the convenience factor. The objective of this thorough examination is to assess the degree of competition for the Birmingham food delivery industry and forecast the expected effects of the current economic climate on this sector. For instance, the "Bite Bistro" in Birmingham altered the way its products were sourced, decreasing the amount of imported commodities it needed (Bite café, 2023). By doing this, they've been able to reduce expenses and minimize logistical interruptions throughout the pandemic.

The food delivery industry in Birmingham is highly competitive and stands out by a wide variety of meals, service choices, and pricing intervals. The market now has a large number of domestic and foreign companies, giving customers several options. In order to draw in and retain their consumer base, businesses have been forced to innovate in the areas of menu offers, packaging, and delivery services. Particularly, the availability of reputable food delivery services including Just Eat, and Uber Eats increased rivalry by giving companies an easy way to connect with a wider audience (Lord, et. al. 2023). For example, Greens & Grains noticed a rise in the amount of health-conscious customers during the recession. To react to changing tastes among customers and retain demand, they extended their food selection to offer more nutritious and alternatives made from plants.

Additionally, the conventional restaurant concept has been altered by the development of cloud-based kitchens and digital dining establishments. These companies cut expenses by focusing just on making food for delivery instead of maintaining an actual eating area. This has decreased the entrance barrier for new players, increased the rivalry, and expanded the options for consumers (LaMarco, 2023). For instance, "Pizza Perfecto" used internal delivery services to lessen dependence on different platforms (Goffe, et. al. 2020). By avoiding high commission costs, they were able to keep a larger portion of their income, improving their total profit.

Impact of the Present Economic Situation

The Birmingham food takeout business might be greatly impacted by the current economic climate, which is driven by factors including price increases, problems with supply chains, and shortages of labor. These components may increase the price of ingredients, the packaging, and shipping, which would ultimately reduce sector businesses' profitability. Increased operational expenses for restaurants that serve meals might result from inflationary pressures (Delivering Economic Growth: One bite at a time, 2023). Companies could be forced to increase their cost as a result of rising ingredient and raw material costs, which could affect customer demand. Businesses have to carefully manage their pricing tactics to maintain their profitability while also remaining competitive.

Delays in delivery and shortages of ingredients could occur from supply chain interruptions. The grade of the meal and the entire customer experience could decline as a result. To reduce possible interruptions, businesses will have to build solid supply chains that may rely growing on local suppliers (Raj, Sundararajan and You, 2020). In order to enable multidisciplinary roles and increase worker flexibility, "Taste Haven" engaged in training programmes for workers due to a labor shortage. As a consequence of this, they were able to successfully handle personnel issues without sacrificing service quality.

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The food industry, such as takeaways, depends heavily on skilled labor. Higher wage expectations and operational inefficiencies might result from a labor shortage. Due to a shortage of labor, companies may need to make investments in robotics and workflow optimization to maintain service quality. Consumer spending habits might be affected by financial instability. While some customers may choose more economical takeout choices, others may limit their free time, which would hurt upscale eateries (Sukumar, et. al. 2020). For business operations to continue, it will be essential to comprehend and adjust to shifting consumer preferences. Due to commission costs, relying too much on third-party delivery systems could have an effect on profit margins. To retain more of the sales money, restaurants may look at alternate delivery options like in-house delivery teams.

Assess ‘Work from Home ‘trend that was accelerated by the global lockdown, has impacted the economy and explain the benefits and disadvantages this has created for business organizations

The global lockdowns within reaction with the COVID-19 pandemic, that were expedited by the "Work from Home" (WFH) trends, had a significant effect on the UK economy and business organization. A variety of benefits and drawbacks have resulted through this change in how individuals job, changing traditional interactions at work and posing possibilities as well as difficulties for organizations.

Impact on the Economy:

Initially, issues were asked regarding how remote work might affect output. However, many companies and employees have found that working remotely can improve productivity since there are fewer interruptions at work, shorter commute times, and more flexibility in scheduling. The use of modern technology accelerated rapidly as a result of the WFH trend. Organizations have to make investment in and adjust to digital systems and solutions that allow for distant management of projects, cooperation, and communications. Workers and employers can both save money by working remotely (Mukherjee and Narang, 2023). Businesses can lower their expenses for utilities, office space, and facility upkeep. Moving from pricey cities allows employees to cut down on real estate expenses as well as commute expenses. Businesses are entitled to a wider talent pool due to remote labor since they are no longer hampered by geographic limitations. This made it feasible for businesses to access qualified workers from a variety of locations, thereby fostering greater variety and innovation inside teams. The WFH trend reduced carbon emissions as fewer workers travelled and offices used less electricity. This supports goals for sustainability and may improve a business' environmental image.

Benefits for Business Organizations:

1. Flexibility and working-Life Balance: Workers who work remotely have greater influence over how they manage both their professional and personal lives, which leads to an enhanced balance between work and life and raised job satisfaction.
2. Cost savings: Businesses may cut back on expenses for overhead like rent for workplaces, utilities, and other building charges. This may free up resources for investment elsewhere in business units.
3. Talent acquisition: Employing remote workers enables businesses to access an international pool of talent and recruit competent professionals from anywhere in the world (Kuzemko, et. al. 2020).
4. Employee engagement: Giving workers the option of working remotely may increase their involvement and morale. Employees value the autonomy and trust provided by being able to handle their duties on their own terms.
5. Corporate continuity: The global epidemic made clear that it is to be able to operate remotely in order to continue operations through unplanned disruptions like restrictions, emergencies, or other calamities.

Disadvantages for Business Organizations

• Communication Difficulties: since there are less face-to-face comes across when working remotely, communication issues can occur. Possible disadvantages include ineffective communication, decreased teamwork, and worker isolation.
• Absence of supervision: When working remotely, certain people may have difficulty maintaining their self-control while controlling their time (López Peláez, et. al. 2021). Reduced accountability and maybe poorer output could result from this.
• Unequal Accessibility: Neither every worker has access to neither the right technology nor a favorable remote work atmosphere. Disparities in participation and productivity may result from this.
• Loss of business Culture: It is more difficult to establish and preserve a strong business culture when staff is geographically dispersed. There may not be a lot of informal encounters or exercises for team-building.
• Security Issues: Employees who work remotely run a risk of accessing private company information through unsafe connections or their own equipment.
• Blurring Work-Life Boundaries: Although working remotely gives flexibility, it may additionally cause lines between professional and private lives to grow hazier (Batool, et. al. 2021). Overwork, exhaustion, and a decline in overall health might arise from this.

The economy of the United Kingdom and business organizations has been profoundly affected by the increasing "Work from Home" trend. While it offers many benefits, like higher efficiency, cost savings, and easier access to ability, it also has drawbacks, like difficulties with communication, a loss of business culture, and possible problems with security. With efficient interpersonal strategies, technological investments, and regulations that support both work-life balance and well-being for workers, businesses must find a balance between capitalizing on the benefits while addressing the negatives (Mastoi, et. al. 2022). Organizations that adapt and take advantage of the WFH trend's possibilities will stand to prosper in the changing world of work as it continues to develop.

References

Books and Journals

• Batool, M., Ghulam, H., Azmat Hayat, M., Naeem, M.Z., Ejaz, A., Imran, Z.A., Spulbar, C., Birau, R. and Hora?iu Gorun, T., 2021. How COVID-19 has shaken the sharing economy? An analysis using Google trends data. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 34(1), pp.2374-2386.
• Gangadharbatla, H., 2021. Covid-19 and advertising: The case for a paradigm shift. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 42(1), pp.1-18.
• Goffe, L., Uwamahoro, N.S., Dixon, C.J., Blain, A.P., Danielsen, J., Kirk, D. and Adamson, A.J., 2020. Supporting a healthier takeaway meal choice: creating a universal health rating for online takeaway fast-food outlets. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(24), p.9260.
• Ibn-Mohammed, T., Mustapha, K.B., Godsell, J., Adamu, Z., Babatunde, K.A., Akintade, D.D., Acquaye, A., Fujii, H., Ndiaye, M.M., Yamoah, F.A. and Koh, S.C.L., 2021. A critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 164, p.105169.
• Kouhizadeh, M., Zhu, Q. and Sarkis, J., 2020. Blockchain and the circular economy: potential tensions and critical reflections from practice. Production Planning & Control, 31(11-12), pp.950-966.
• Kuzemko, C., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Goldthau, A., Jewell, J., Overland, I., Scholten, D., Van de Graaf, T. and Westphal, K., 2020. Covid-19 and the politics of sustainable energy transitions. Energy research & social science, 68, p.101685.
• López Peláez, A., Erro-Garcés, A., Pinilla García, F.J. and Kiriakou, D., 2021. Working in the 21st Century. The coronavirus crisis: A driver of digitalisation, teleworking, and innovation, with unintended social consequences. Information, 12(9), p.377.
• Lord, C., Bates, O., Friday, A., McLeod, F., Cherrett, T., Martinez-Sykora, A. and Oakey, A., 2023. The sustainability of the gig economy food delivery system (Deliveroo, UberEATS and Just-Eat): Histories and futures of rebound, lock-in and path dependency. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 17(5), pp.490-502.
• Mastoi, M.S., Munir, H.M., Zhuang, S., Hassan, M., Usman, M., Alahmadi, A. and Alamri, B., 2022. A critical analysis of the impact of pandemic on China's electricity usage patterns and the global development of renewable energy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), p.4608.
• Mukherjee, S. and Narang, D., 2023. Digital economy and work-from-home: The rise of home offices amidst the COVID-19 outbreak in India. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 14(2), pp.924-945.
• Raj, M., Sundararajan, A. and You, C., 2020. COVID-19 and digital resilience: Evidence from Uber Eats. arXiv preprint arXiv:2006.07204.
• Sukumar, A., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Garcia-Perez, A. and Dutta, D.K., 2020. The potential link between corporate innovations and corporate competitiveness: evidence from IT firms in the UK. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(5), pp.965-983.

Online

• Bite café. 2023. Online. Available Through. :<https://bitescafe.square.site/>
• Delivering Economic Growth: One bite at a time. 2023. Online. Available Through. :< https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/the-buzz/story/the-data-dining-125741-2018-12-25>
• LaMarco, N., 2023. Types of Economic Factors That Can Affect the Fast Food Industry. Online. Available Through. :< https://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-economic-factors-can-affect-fast-food-industry-36923.html>