NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 3 Business Environment
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 3 Business Environment
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 3 Business Environment is designed and prepared by the best teachers across India. All the important topics are covered in the exercises and each answer comes with a detailed explanation to help students understand concepts better. These NCERT solutions play a crucial role in your preparation for all exams conducted by the CBSE, including the JEE.
NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED
1. What do you understand by business environment?Ans. The term 'business environment' means the sum total of all individuals, institutions and other forces that are outside the control of a business enterprise but that may affect its performance. The economic, social, political, technological and other forces, which operate outside the business enterprise are part of its environment.
2. Why it is important for business enterprises to understand their environment? Explain briefly.Ans. It is important for business organisations to understand their environment because of the following reasons.
(i) It Enables the Firm to Identify Opportunities and Getting the First Mover Advantage Environment provide numerous opportunities for business. Early identification of opportunities helps an enterprise to use it before instead of losing them to competitors.
(ii) It Helps the Firm to Identify Threats and Early Warning Signals Environmental awareness can help managers to identify various threats on time and serve as an early warning signals.
(iii) It Helps in Tapping Useful Resources Environment is a source of various resources for running a business. To engage in any type of activity, a business enterprise assembles various resources called inputs. This can be done better by understanding what the environment has to offer.
(iv) It Helps in Coping with Rapid Changes All types of enterprises facing increasingly dynamic environment. In order to effectively cope with these significant changes, managers must understand and examine the environment and develop suitable courses of action.
(v) It Helps in Assisting in Planning and Policy Formulation Since environment is the source of opportunities and threats, its understanding and analysis becomes the base for various policies to be framed and strategies to be made.
(vi) It Helps in Improving Performance The enterprises that continuously monitor their environment and adopt suitable business practices are the ones, which not only improve their present performance but also continue to succeed in the market for a longer period.
Ans. Economic Environment Interest rates, inflation rates, value of rupee and many more are the economic factors that can affect management practices in a business enterprise.
(ii) Social Environment The social environment of business includes the social forces like customs and traditions, values, social trends etc.
(iii) Technological Environment This includes forces relating to scientific improvements and innovations, which provide new ways of producing goods and services and new methods and techniques of operating a business.
(iv) Political Environment This includes political conditions such as general stability and peace in the country and specific attitudes that elected government representatives hold towards business.
(v) Legal Environment This includes various legislations passed by government authorities and court judgements. It is important for the management of every enterprise to obey the law of land and for this, enough of knowledge of rules, and regulations framed by the government is a pre-requisite for better performance.
Ans. Impact of Government policy changes on business and industry
(i) Increasing Competition As a result of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation number of players increased in all sectors and increased competition for everyone.
(ii) More Demanding Customers Increased competition in the market gives the customer wider choices in purchasing better quality of goods and services, which makes them more demanding.
(iii) Rapidly Changing Technological Environment New technologies help to improve machines, process products and services. The rapidly changing technological environment creates tough challenges before smaller firms.
(iv) Necessity for Change After 1991, the market forces have become turbulent as a result of which the enterprises have to continuously modifying their operations.
(v) Need for Developing Human Resource The new market conditions require people with higher competence and greater commitment. Hence, the need for developing human resources emerged.v
(vi) Market Orientation Earlier, production was taken up first and then selling was done. Now, due to increasing competition and more demanding customers firms have to study and analyse the market first and produce goods accordingly.
(vii) Loss of Budgetary Support to the Public Sector Public sector have less of budgetary support from the Central Government. Now, they have to generate their own resources and be more efficient in order to survive and grow.
Ans. Features of business environment
(i) Totality of External Forces Business environment is aggregative in nature as it is the sum total of all things external to business firms.
(ii) Inter-relatedness Different elements of business environment are closely related to each other, e.g., increased awareness of health care have increased the demand for many health products.
(iii) Dynamic Nature The business environment is highly dynamic. It keeps on changing. Sometimes there is a change in technology, tastes and preference of consumer etc.
(iv) Uncertainty The environment cannot be predicted. It is highly uncertain and unpredictable.
(v) Complexity Since there are many elements of business. Environment and they are inter-related and dynamic in nature. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to understand them as a whole.
Difference between Specific and General Environment There are two types of forces operating in business environment specific and general. Specific forces affect the individual enterprises directly and immediately, e.g., customers, suppliers.
General forces affect the firms and only indirectly e.g., social conditions or political conditions.
Ans. Importance of business environment
(i) It Enables the firm to Identify Opportunities and Getting the First Mover Advantage
Environment provides numerous opportunities for business success. Early identification of opportunities helps an enterprise to be the first to exploit them instead of loosing them to competitors, e.g., Eureka Forbes introduced Aquaguard and took away the cream of demand.
(ii) It Helps the Firm to Identify Threats and Early Warning Signals Environment happens to be the source of many threats. Environmental awareness can help managers to identify various threats on time and serve as an early warning signals e.g., Lakme took serious steps to improve the quality and types of products as foreign multinational cosmetics companies started coming to India after 1991.
(iii) It Helps in Tapping Useful Resources Environment offers various resources for running a business in return the business enterprise supplies the environment with its outputs such as goods and services for customers, taxes for government. In order to arrange for the best possible resources, better understanding of the environment becomes important.
(iv) It Helps in Coping with Rapid Changes It is not the fact of change itself that is so important as the pace of change. There are many changes taking place in the environment and at a fast speed. In order to effectively cope with these changes, managers must understand and examine the environment and develop suitable courses of action.
(v) It Helps in Assisting in Planning and Policy Formulation Since environment is a source of both opportunities and threats, its understanding and analysis only helps in formulating the best possible policies to handle the future properly.
(vi) It Helps in Improving Performance Continuous monitoring and adopting changes in an enterprise will help in improving not only their present performance, but also continue to succeed in the market in long run.
Ans. Dimension of business environment
(i) Economic Environment It includes the changes in the system due to economic policies made by the government. Reserve Bank of India is the key regulator of country's economic environment since it
(a) influences the interest rates
(b) controls the flow of money in the economy
(c) regulates the working of banks
Example When the banks reduce the interest rates on long term loans, automobiles and construction industries get a boost to the business as more spending is made on the purchase of homes and cars through loans.
(ii) Social Environment
The social environment of business include the social forces like customs and traditions, values, social trends, society's expectations from business etc. In business terms, these values translate into freedom of choice in the market. Major elements of social environment are
(a) life expectancy
(b) shifts in the presence of women in the workforce
(c) consumption habits
Example Due to the shift in the presence of women in the workforce, the demand for readymade ladies formal wear, cosmetics, packed/processed food, electronic gadgets has gone up.
(iii) Technological Environment
Technological environment includes forces relating to scientific improvements and innovations which provide new ways of producing goods and services and new methods and techniques of operating a business.
Example Because of technological advancement, it has become possible to book railway tickets through internet from home, office etc.
(iv) Political Environment
Political environment includes political conditions such as general stability and peace in the country and specific attitudes that elected government representatives hold towards business. It is only of use when a business enterprise can predict its business activities under stable political conditions. Major elements of political environment are
(a) The constitution of the country
(b) The nature and profile of political leadership and thinking of political personalities
(c) Political ideology and practices of the ruling party.
Ans. Changes which have taken place in the following areas are as follows
(i) Economic Availability of more money because of employment opportunities increasing.
(ii) Social Tastes of customers are changing. As he is getting more exposure to the outside world his tastes are changing.
(iii) Technological Technological advancements have led to advanced ways of counting, checking, coding, billing, discounts which are convenient for the customer and also retailer
(iv) Political Government policies are encouraging developers to go for mass construction on real estate. As MNCs are coming to India, they have to be provided an internationally based infrastructure to operate from.
(v) Legal As the government is providing more rights to the consumers, an organised retailing outlets would be more particular in taking care as compared to a small retailer.
Ans. Answer Due to globalisation and privatisation, more retailers from India and abroad are encouraged to make investments in organised retailing. The competition has increased, the consumers are more demanding and expert working force is required in order to cope up with the changes, which have taken place and are further changing.