Week 3b - Social Environment

8/7/2019 Week 3b - Social Environment

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SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT


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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

y Explain the importance of the social environment forbusiness

y Understand and explain major social factors

y Analyse the implications of social factors for business


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Social Environment

y Concerned with the social organisation and structure of

society.

y The social and cultural characteristics of:

a group of people

in a particular geographical area.


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Factors in the social environment

y Social class/social mobility

y Income and wealth

y Population growth rate, age distribution

yAging population smaller and less willing workforce ?

y Family size and composition, single households

y Changing nature of occupations labour mobility

y Urbanisation

y Dominant religion(s), ethnic factors

y Level of education, career attitudesy Lifestyle trends, consumer attitudes and opinions, consumer

trends and buying habits, home working, changing tastes,changing lifestyles


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Factors in the social environment

y Attitudes to work and leisure

y Leisure time, health consciousness

y Fashions and fads

y Health and welfare

y Role of men/women within the society

y Living conditions (housing, amenities, pollution)

y Working conditions

y

Income distribution (change in distribution of disposableincome)

y Structures of employment/unemployment

y Provision of welfare for the population welfare state,benefits etc.


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The

Social Environment

1. Social Divisions

y Vary from country to country.

y Often associated with inequalities in income, wealth, levels of health andeducation, and lifestyle.

Example:

y US highest level of inequality with highest earners earning 6 times more than the lowestearners

y Only Russia and Mexico had higher levels of inequalityy Most European countries had lower levels of inequality than the USA

y Most equal societies were the Scandinavian countries, with Finland and Holland

y Japan and Taiwan in the middle of the rankings.


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Divisions within societies

2. Education levels of literacy and educational achievement.

y Global literacy rate almost 90% (UNESCO, 2008)

y Southern Asian countries like India: 61%

y Pakistan: around 50%

3. Health infant & maternal mortality, life expectancy,

incidence of diseases.


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Divisions within societies

4. Demography population size, growth and structure,

urbanisation.

World Population


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Divisions within societies5. Different models of welfare provision

Emanates from the model of government employed:

y The Liberal Model

y The Corporatist Model

y The Social Democratic Model

y The East Asia Model


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The Liberal Model

Supporters argue for:

y low levels of state interventiony minimal levels of welfare provision

y distinguishing between deserving and undeserving poor

y people improving their position through their own efforts

Found in USA, Canada, Australia


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The Corporatist Model

This model:

y goes in for high levels of social expenditure

y provides generous welfare benefits based on individual

contributionsy sees poverty as inevitable or due to social injustice

y emphasises the importance of work

y values dialogue amongst the social partners (trade unions,employers organisations)

y gives important role to voluntary organizations in welfareprovision

Found in Germany, France, Austria and Italy


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T

heS

ocial Democratic Model

Countries operating this model go in for:

y relatively high levels of social expenditure

y generous and universal welfare benefits

y redistributive tax and spending policies

y help for those wishing to work

y dialogue between the social partnersFound in Scandinavian countries e.g. Sweden, Norway


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East Asia Model

Characteristics:

y priority given to economic growth

y low levels of social expenditurebut

y strong emphasis on educational provision

y relatively low welfare benefits

Found in Japan and the four tiger economies of Hong

Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.


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Impact of welfare state models on work-life balance

y Countries and cultures differ in relation to their stance onwhether helping employees to balance work and familyresponsibilities is a collective or an individual responsibility

(Lewis, 1999).

y State support for the reconciliation of work and familyresponsibilities emanates from the underpinning model ofwelfare state employed in the country (Lewis and Smithson,

2001).


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Impact of welfare state models on work-life balancey In an egalitarian environment, such as in the Nordic countries, perceived

entitlement to and expectations ofsupport from state are much higherthan those in countries with more traditional welfare state models such asIreland and Portugal.

y The historical model in the UK has been one where work-life issues havebeen regarded as an individual or corporate responsibility rather than aresponsibility of the state.

y Thus employees do not expect the same level of state intervention andhelp as would be expected in more egalitarian countries.

y However, there is a growing acknowledgement by government that thereconciliation of work and family responsibilities by employees isimportant to the growth and productivity of the economy.


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Social factors

Documents

Week 3b - Social Environment