PESTEL Analysis of John Lewis and Oxfam

Unit 1 Exploring Business Activity Assignment 3 D2

D2: evaluate how future changes in economic political, legal and social factors, may impact on the strategy of a specified organisation.

John Lewis

Political

The political factor has impacted John Lewis enormously. New laws bring limits on what they can do and what is legal to do. There are a few major laws that have affected John Lewis more than others:

Sales of good act 1979, goods must be:

• To a satisfying standard
• Made to work for the purpose known by the seller
• As described

This law makes sure that John Lewis produces goods to a satisfying standard and that they actually work for the purpose that the seller knows. All products must be as described making the marketing job harder as they must not be biased.

Trade descriptions act 1968, good must be correctly described including:

• The way they were made or processed
• What they are made of
• Their fitness for purpose

This is similar to the sales of goods act and ensures the customer that the items are correctly described.

Data protection act 1998, the information collected by marketers must be:

• Obtained fairly and lawfully
• Used only for the purposes stated during collection
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the intended use
• Accurate and where necessary kept up to date
• Not kept for longer than necessary
• Protected from unauthorised use
• Available for inspection and correction by the individual
• Subject to procedures to prevent unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage to personal data
• Protected from transfer to an area outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless adequate protection exists for that data in the area

A quite recent and very important act, the data protection act, makes sure that John Lewis do not exchange personal data collected from customers in order to gain money from niche market lists.

What has John Lewis done to face the impact?

John Lewis has done a lot of things to face the impact politics have had on them.

The sale of good act has made John Lewis train their staff a lot more when they market their product to the public. They try not be biased and over exaggerate what the product really does. This way the public aren’t being lied to or deceived. John Lewis have had to adapt their descriptions on packaging so that it clearly states what it does so that there is no grey areas left when the buyer purchases the product. This is also the same reasons for the trade descriptions act.

With the data protections act John Lewis have had to edit their websites and say, when  a customer puts their email address in to receive monthly news letters, that they wont pass the information on to other businesses thus preventing spam mail. All information gathered from any primary or secondary research is kept to just John Lewis and its partnerships (Waitrose).

Environmental

Environmental factors are new and are fast growing with the rise of Copenhagen. Everyone is talking about how to cut emissions and carry out activities in an eco friendly way.

A carbon footprintis a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.

There is more pressure than ever for john lewis to reduce its carbon footprint. They have made small changes over the years, such as recyclable paper and energy efficient cars but they hope to make more changes in the future like powering a department off of solar panels.

What has John Lewis done to face the impact?

John Lewis has done a lot to face the environmental impact of green house gases.

We actively promote responsible and sustainable methods of agriculture, animal husbandry and biodiversity and have taken on suppliers that offer eco friendly products. These products include; energy-saving washing machines, kettles and showers. The major change that has happened is the eco friendly cars that are more energy efficient.

Social

There are many social factors that have affected John Lewis but the main factor is the trend of fashion.

Massive boom in fashion has paid John Lewis well with a lot of people shopping at their store for branded items; this includes anything from clothing to kitchen appliances.

What has John Lewis done to face the impact?

In response to the high fashion trend of all young to middle aged people, John Lewis have increased their stock line and invested in more branded items such as Ralph Lauren. They have also had to employ more staff on clothing departments in many stores due to the high demand of products and constant need for clothes to be out on stock on time.

Technological

The massive advancements in technology mean a lot of changes to John Lewis. Since they started in the 1800’s they have experienced the introduction of the internet. The internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. With the power of the internet John Lewis have been able to sell products online, message customers electronically and send out advertisements on the web. In the past month a faster broadband has been released of 50mb, this gives john lewis the power of ultimate speed and efficiency when trying to function online.

The introduction of the chip and pin makes it easier for customers to pay for items and prevents them from having to carry loose change around. It makes John Lewis’ process faster.

What has John Lewis done to face the impact?

John Lewis has really grasped the impact of technology and has set up a massive online website from which customers can register an account, order products, post feedback, give advice to fellow customers and speak to other people on a forum about almost anything in general. They have online chat installed on their website for better means of customer service and also have a computerised robot that helps answer frequently answered questions.

In order to do all of this John Lewis have had to employ a huge IT team in order to set up all the networks, host servers and maintain the standard of the website and servers. Any faults or glitches are reported to this team and dealt with immediately.

The use of chip and pin has also been executed well by John Lewis. They have chip and pin on every single checkout to provide a better, more efficient and faster process.

Customers have had to adapt to the new technology also and there are fliers created by John Lewis on how to use the chip and pin instead of cash or loose change.  Suppliers of John Lewis have also been affected as they now receive their orders of products online rather than on the phone, it means that they don’t have to be on the phone all day and can just check their website for orders come in overnight.

Oxfam

Political

The political factor has impacted Oxfam enormously. New laws bring limits on what they can do and what is legal to do. There are a few major laws that have affected Oxfam more than others:

Sales of good act 1979, goods must be:

• To a satisfying standard
• Made to work for the purpose known by the seller
• As described

Trade descriptions act 1968, good must be correctly described including:

• The way they were made or processed
• What they are made of
• Their fitness for purpose

This means Oxfam have to describe their operations accurately and not defy the people who donate for the operation to function.

What has Oxfam done to face the impact?

In order to face the impact of political change Oxfam have trained their staff to describe products and operation goals accurately and not to lie or be at all biased.

Environmental

Environmental factors are new and are fast growing with the rise of Copenhagen. Everyone is talking about how to cut emissions and carry out activities in an eco friendly way.

A carbon footprintis a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.

There is more pressure than ever for Oxfam to reduce its carbon footprint. They have made small changes over the years, such as recyclable paper and energy efficient cars but they hope to make more changes in the future like powering a department off of solar panels.

What has Oxfam done to face the impact?

Marks & Spencer and Oxfam have joined forces to launch the M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange, the biggest programme in the UK to encourage consumers to recycle their clothes. The Exchange is designed to both raise money for Oxfam’s work to tackle poverty and injustice and to reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent by the public to landfill in the UK each year.

Oxfam have also started a campaign called ‘Green Grannies’ in which a granny, Barbara Walmsley, reveals tips on how to save on everyday products. She displays tips on how to make the most of stale bread, mend old clothes and find new use for unused clothes.

Social

There are many social factors that have affected John Lewis but the main factor is the trend of fashion.

A lot of people have felt the pressure in the past to have to donate to charities because they feel selfish keeping all their money to themselves. As other people do it, it increases the pressure for more people to donate as it makes them think about if they are being selfish.

What has Oxfam done to face the impact?

Oxfam has had to re-invest money in ad-campaigns persuading even more people to donate and to raise a lot of awareness for operations that might not always hit the news.

Technological

The massive advancements in technology mean a lot of changes to Oxfam. Since they started in the 1800’s they have experienced the introduction of the internet. The internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. With the power of the internet Oxfam have been able to receive donations online, message customers electronically and send out advertisements on the web. In the past month a faster broadband has been released of 50mb, this gives Oxfam the power of ultimate speed and efficiency when trying to function online.

What has Oxfam done to face the impact?

Oxfam have faced the impact of technology by keeping up with the times and creating an online website with all the news and details. They have also launched big marketing campaigns via advertisements on the internet; these are displayed on well known sites such as facebook and youtube. Oxfam have also built massive databases with details of all the volunteers and have put it all on electronically.

Reference: http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?MasterId=896114ba-7ef6-4d94-970c-fcde19b39799&NavigationId=1626