Higher Nationals

Assignment Brief – BTEC (RQF)

Higher National Diploma in Business (Business Management)

Student Name/ID Number Pham Tran Phuc Nguyen/ NF71506

Unit Number and Title

Unit 1: Business and the Business Environment

Academic Year
2020/2021

Unit Assessor
Dr. Phan Hoang Long

Assignment Title
BBE2: Business Environmental Analysis (2 of 2)

Issue Date
30/7/2021

Submission Date
30/8/2021

IV Name

Date

Submission Format:

The submission is in the form of a written report that includes a PESTLE analysis and a SWOT or TOWS analysis, and a
5–10 minutes PowerPoint presentation of the key findings.

The report should be written in a concise, formal business style using single spacing and font size 12. You are
required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with
research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Please also provide a bibliography using the Harvard
referencing system. The recommended word limit is 1,000–1,500 words, although you will not be penalised for
exceeding the total word limit.

The presentation slides for the findings should be submitted with speaker notes as one copy. You are required to
make effective use of PowerPoint headings, bullet points and subsections as appropriate. Your research should be
referenced using the Harvard referencing system. The recommended word limit is 500 words, including speaker
notes, although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total word limit.

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 Unit Learning Outcomes:

LO3: Use contemporary examples to demonstrate both the positive and negative influence/impact the macro
environment has on business operations.

LO4: Determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of specific businesses and explain their interrelationship with
external macro factors.

Assignment Brief and Guidance:

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You have been employed as an assistant business analyst by Nestlé Vietnam, a wholly owned subsidiary of

Nestlé S.A., one of the largest foods and beverage business groups in the world. You are to analyse the current macro
and micro factors that influence or impact the organisation.

You are to produce a report and present a summary of findings to the board of directors.

1. Using PESTLE analysis identify and discuss the various macro environmental factors that have an impact upon
the organisation, highlighting the positive and negative impacts using specific examples to support your
findings.

2. Apply a SWOT or TOWS analysis to your organisation to identify their key strengths and weaknesses. Explain
the interrelationships these have with the external factors previously discussed.

3. Present a critical reflection of key findings and evaluate how they influence the decision-making process.

*Please access HN Global for additional resources support and reading for this unit. For further guidance

and support on report writing please refer to the Study Skills Unit on HN Global www.highernationals.com

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 Pearson Education 2016
Higher Education Qualifications

Assignment Brief

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass Merit Distinction
LO3 & LO4
LO3 Use contemporary examples to demonstrate both the positive and
negative influence/impact the macro environment has on business
operations D2 Critically evaluate the impacts
that both macro and micro factors
have upon business objectives and
decision-making.
P4 Identify the positive and negative M3 Apply appropriately the PESTLE
impacts the macro environment has model to support a detailed analysis
upon business operations, of the macro environment within an
supported by specific examples. organisation.

LO4 Determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of specific

businesses and explain their interrelationship with external macro factors

M4 Apply appropriately
P5 Conduct internal and external SWOT/TOWS analysis and justify
analysis of specific organisations in
how they influence decision-making.
order to identify strengths and
weaknesses.

P6 Explain how strengths and

weaknesses interrelate with
external macro factors.

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 Pearson Education 2016
Higher Education Qualifications

Assignment Brief

STUDENT ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION AND DECLARATION

5
When submitting evidence for assessment, each student must sign a declaration confirming that the
work is their own.

Student name: Assessor name:

Pham Tran Phuc Nguyen Phan Hoang Long

Issue date: Submission date: Submitted on:

30/7/2021 30/8/2021 11/9/2021

Programme:

Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Business (Business Management)

Unit:

Unit 1: Business and the Business Environment

Assignment number and title:

BBE1: Organisational Types, Functions and Structures (1 of 2)

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs and students who
break the rules, however innocently, may be penalised. It is your responsibility to ensure that you
understand correct referencing practices. As a university level student, you are expected to use
appropriate references throughout and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of
materialsfor material you have used in your work, including any material downloaded from the
Internet. Please consult the relevant unit lecturer or your course tutor if you need any further
advice.

Student Declaration
Student declaration

I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the
consequences of plagiarism. I understand that making a false declaration is a form of
malpractice.

Student signature: Nguyen Date: 11/9/2021

Higher Nationals –Assignment Feedback Form

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Student Name/ID Pham Tran Phuc Nguyen/ NF71506
Unit Title Unit 1: Business and the Business Environment

Assignment Number 2 Assessor Phan Hoang Long

30/8/2021 Date Received 1st 11/9/2021

Submission Date
submission
Date Received 2nd
Re-submission Date
submission
Formative Feedback: Assessor to Student

Action Plan

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 Summative Feedback: Assessor to Student

The student understands how to conduct a PESTLE analysis for Nestle Vietnam (P4). However,
the analysis is too brief and does not examine the factors thoroughly (M3). The
threats/opportunities presented by each force are not clearly explained.

The SWOT analysis for Nestle Vietnam is conducted in the report (P5, P6). The strengths and
weaknesses are identified. The external opportunities and threats are established based on the
PESTLE analysis. There is no TOWS matrix analysis and no strategic recommendation (M4,
D2).

The writing, in general, is appropriate. However, more data and example should be presented to
support the analyses.

In summary, the report partly meets LO P4, P5, and P6 . It fails to meet M3, M4, and D2. It
should get a Pass grade.

Learning Content Result

Outcome
P4 Identify the positive and negative Satisfactory
impacts the macro environment has (60%)
upon business operations, supported
by specific examples
M3 Apply appropriately the PESTLE Satisfactory
model to support a detailed analysis of (30%)
the macro environment within an
organisation
P5 Conduct internal and external analysis Satisfactory
of specific organisations in order to (60%)
identify strengths and weaknesses
P6 Explain how strengths and Satisfactory
weaknesses interrelate with external (60%)
macro factors
M4 Apply appropriately SWOT/TOWS Unsatisfactory
analysis and justify how they (30%)
influence decision-making
D2 Critically evaluate the impacts that Unsatisfactory
both macro and micro factors have (0%)
upon business objectives and
decision-making

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Grade: Assessor Signature: Date:
Resubmission Feedback:

Grade: Assessor Signature: Date:

Internal Verifier’s Comments:

Signature& Date:

Feedback: Student to Assessor

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 Signature & Date:

* Please note that grade decisions are provisional. They are only confirmed once internal and external moderation
has taken place and grades decisions have been agreed at the assessment board.

Pearson Education 2017

Higher Education Qualifications

Table of Contents
Cover page........................................................................................................................................1
Unit Learning Outcomes & Assignment Brief and Guidance………………………………..2, 3
Learning Outcomes & Assessment Criteria……………………………………………………4,5
Student Assessment Submission and Declaration………………………………………………6
Assignment Feedback Form………………………………………………………………7, 8, 9
Table of content……………………………………………………………………………….10
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….11
Assignment’s Content………………………………………………………………………11-15

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Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..15
Reference list………………………………………………………………………………..16, 17

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I. Introduction:
Nestle is a Swiss multinational food and beverage corporation. In 1866, Henri Nestle founded the
brand by combining it with the Anglo-Swiss Baby Milk Company. Nestle is one of the world’s
largest food and beverage company. Coffee, baby food, medical food, bottled water, milkshake,
breakfast cereals, infant foods, performance and healthcare nutrition, seasonings, frozen and
refrigerated foods, and pet food are among the products offered by Nestlé. Nestlé has 447
factories, operates in 186 countries, and employs approximately 273,000 people (nestle.com,
n.d.). This report aims to conduct the PESTLE analysis to identify micro and macro factors that
can have positive or negative impacts on the organization. The report also aims to apply the
SWOT analysis to identify Nestle’s key strengths and weaknesses and how these factors
interrelate with the micro and macro factors identified in the PESTLE analysis.
II. PESTLE analysis:
The Sheffield Hallam University (n.d.) defined the PESTLE analysis as a framework or tool for
analyzing and monitoring external environment factors that affect an organization. They argued
that the results could be applied to a SWOT analysis in order to discern strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats. PESTEL is an acronym for the various factors that are considered
when analyzing external factors’ impacts on companies. These factors are: Political (P),
Economic (E), Social (S), Technological (T), Legal (L), and Environmental (E).
1. Political factors:
Pathak (2020) argued that the political factors dictate the amount of influence a government may
have on a business sector or a firm. These factors can include: tax policies, environmental laws,
trade limitations, tariffs, etc. As a multinational firm operating in over 180 countries, any
changes in government policies and regulations can have a great impact on Nestle’s operations
and production. In general, the more nations a company operates in, the greater the risk of
regulatory changes disrupting operations. For example, in 2010, the Vietnamese Ministry of
Finance issued Circular 122/2010/TT-BTC, which was a price stabilization measure aimed to
address the citizens’ concern over the rise in price for essential goods. Pincus (2010) argues that
this milk price policy not only forced companies to raise their product prices but also placed a
significant administrative burden on these companies.
Nestlé must also adhere to Vietnam’s evolving food standards and laws. If Nestlé does not
follow them, they will be cut off; the products will no longer be available for purchase or
consumption.
2. Economic factors:
Economic factors are factors that impact a country’s economy, such as wage rates, economic
growth/decline, cost of living, exchange rates, etc. As a multinational corporation, the sway of
foreign-exchange rates and pricing has a significant impact on the company. Depending on the

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area, a weakening currency can result in a loss of profit. On the contrary, a thriving currency
could potentially have the opposite effect, resulting in an increase in profit.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, the cost of raw materials has been
gradually increasing (vietnamnews, 2021). As a result, production companies are forced to raise
their product costs to compensate for the high input costs. Another consequence of the increase
in input costs is inflation.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese consumers have shifted their spending priorities
towards necessities (Deloitte, 2021). This is greatly beneficial to Nestle as their products such as
milk, coffee, food products, etc. fall into this category. A research conducted by J.P. Morgan
(2020) found that Nestle Europe’s coffee sales increased by approximately 30% in 2020 and
grew at the rate of double-digits in the first six months of 2020.
3. Social factors:
Social factors are factors such as social norms, health consciousness, buying behaviors,
demographics, etc. Vietnamese Investment Review (VIR) (2021) argues that Vietnamese citizens
are moderately becoming more concerned with improving their own health and wellness. As
such, Nestle Vietnam has partnered with the National Institute of Nutrition to develop new
products that can meet the health-conscious consumers, such as low sugar or micronutrients
products (Vietnamnews, 2021). Nestle has also been improving their reputation in Vietnam by
donating their products to areas that have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, replacing plastic
straws with paper straws, founded the Vietnam Packaging Recycling Organization (PRO
Vietnam) in order to recycle and reduce wastes.
The company is well-aware of their notoriety as is actively trying to fix their damage reputation.
They are notorious for the baby milk controversy. In the 1970s, Nestle was accused of hooking
third-world mothers on formula, which provided less nutritional values for infants and more
expensive than breast milk, which resulted in numerous deaths of infants in developing
countries. Since then, the business has pledged to make three adjustments to its infant formula
lines: removing sucrose and vanilla components from all products for babies under the age of
one year, as well as deleting contradicting nutritional statements on sucrose and vanilla
flavorings (unicef, 2019).
4. Technological factors:
With the adoption of the digital transformation method, Nestle Vietnam has achieved sustainable
growth. According to VIR (2021), the term "digital transformation" refers to a process that
encompasses a company's whole operation. It aids in the establishment of a basis for expansion,
encourages flexibility, and improves management and operational efficiency. Nestle Vietnam has
seen a considerable increase in productivity and quality as a result of this technique, with
production line downtime reduced by up to 60% and energy consumption reduced by up to 10
million kWh per year.
Thanks to advances in technology, connecting with audiences all around the world has never
been easier. With social media sites being more and more prevalent nowadays, Nestle has

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utilized them to great effect, using sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. to engage with
their customers.
5. Legal factors:
A country's legal and political environments often intersect with each other and have an impact
on firms and businesses. An example of this is Vietnam’s tax proposal made in 2018 to address
the obesity and overweight problem in Vietnam. Along with cigarettes and alcohol, sugary
drinks were added to the list of commodities to be subjected to greater control and tax rules in
this plan (Phuong, 2018). As such, Nestle has to comply with these rules and regulations in order
to have their products on shelves.
6. Environmental factors:
Nowadays, consumers are becoming a lot more conscious of the CO2 admission we produce. As
such, Nestle Vietnam has adopted the digitalization approach, which helped them reduce their
CO2 emission. In order to reduce plastic wastes, Nestle Vietnam has changed their plastic straws
into paper straws, and partnered with industry leaders to establish the Vietnam Packaging
Recycling Organization (PRO Vietnam), which aims to play a part in keeping Vietnam green,
clean, and beautiful.
III. SWOT analysis:
1. SWOT analysis:
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (T).
This analysis often identifies the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, as well as pointing
out potential opportunities and threats for the company to address.

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 Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
- Global brand - Tainted public - Rise in middle class - Political and legal
recognition: the image due to past population, with 3.2 environments forcing
company operates in controversies. million people Nestle to comply or
over 180 countries, - Nestle manages a joining the be fined.
making their products vast number of demographic by 2030 - Competition in
highly recognizable. individual brands (An, 2021), means Vietnam from firms
- Diverse product under the same that there is an such as Vinamilk,
portfolio (beverages, umbrella group, increase in income Trung Nguyen,
milk, coffee, which can create a levels. As a result, Vinacafe, etc.
confectionary, bottled conflict of interest. Vietnamese people - Raw material price
water, etc.) have more purchasing hikes due to the
- Digital power. COVID-19
transformation allows - Vietnamese pandemic.
the company to be citizens’ shift towards - Their tainted
sustainable. healthier products: reputation can be a
- Large workforce: Nestle can cater to threat as people with
over 270,000 these consumers by more buying power
employees. developing healthy tend to choose their
- Brand loyalty: the alternatives. products based on
company has been - Transparency: The reputation.
operating in Vietnam prevalence of the - As Vietnam enters
for 25 years, thus Internet allows the an aging population
managed to pick up ease of access to stage, this could
loyal customers. company mean that Nestle
information. By Vietnam will be short
being transparent on workers in the
with how and where future.
the raw materials
come from, Nestle
can build customer
confidence and trust
in the brand.
- Gradual
improvements of
public image.

2. How these factors correlate with external factors:

Nestle’s strengths directly correlates with the technological factor as the company is headed in a
sustainable direction. It also correlates with the environmental factor as the digital transformation
allows the company to reduce CO2. The economic factor plays both roles of opportunities and

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threats to Nestle Vietnam as loyal buyers with high purchasing power is generally great for the
company, but if they decide to choose products based on reputation the company will often lose
that customer, thus decreasing their profits. The social factor is Nestle’s biggest weakness as
their controversies are well-documented and easily accessible on the Internet, but with effort the
organization can minimize the damages cause by their reputation. The political and legal
environments are threats to the company as they are forced to comply and change their products
to be in line with regulations.
IV. Conclusion:
In conclusion, Nestle Vietnam has a wide range of micro and macro factors that can influence
the organization.

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REFERENCE LIST:
An, P., 2021, Vietnam among world’s fastest middle class growth nations [online] Available at:
<https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/vietnam-among-world-s-fastest-middle-class-
growth-nations-4351459.html> [Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Deloitte, 2021, The Vietnam Consumer Survey Staying resilient amidst headwinds [pdf]
Available at: <https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/sg/Documents/consumer-
business/sea-cb-vietnam-consumer-2021.pdf> [Accessed on 10 September 2021].
J.P. Morgan, 2020, How COVID–19 Has Transformed Consumer Spending Habits [online]
Available at: <https://www.jpmorgan.com/solutions/cib/research/covid-spending-habits>
[Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Nestle, n.d., How many people work at Nestlé? [online] Available at:
<https://www.nestle.com/ask-nestle/our-company/answers/how-many-people-work-at-nestle>
[Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Nestle, n.d., How many countries do you sell your products in? [online] Available at:
<https://www.nestle.com/ask-nestle/our-company/answers/where-in-the-world-do-you-operate>
[Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Pathak, R., 2020, What is PESTLE Analysis? Everything you need to know about it [online]
Available at: <https://www.analyticssteps.com/blogs/what-pestle-analysis> [Accessed on 10
September 2021].
Phuong, N., 2018, WHO backs Vietnam's new tax proposal on sugary drinks [online] Available
at: <https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/who-backs-vietnam-s-new-tax-proposal-on-sugary-
drinks-3768921.html> [Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Pincus, J., 2010, MILK PRICE REGISTRATION AND REGULATIONS IN VIETNAM: WILL IT
LOWER MILK PRICES? [pdf] Available at:
<https://fsppm.fulbright.edu.vn/documents/FF90870595B35743910A22D063598C26.pdf>
[Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Sheffield Hallam University, n.d., Professional Services Capability Framework: Seeing the
Bigger Picture [pdf] Available at:
<https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/shupdreviewtoolkit/files/2019/01/PESTEL-ANALYSIS.pdf> [Accessed
on 10 September 2021].
Unicef, 2019, New report examines Nestlé’s infant milk products and claims [online] Available
at: <https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/report-nestle/> [Accessed on 10 September 2021].

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Vietnamnews, 2021, Food companies pressured by soaring raw material prices [online] Available at:
<https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/957411/food-companies-pressured-by-soaring-raw-material-
prices.html> [Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Vietnam Investment Review, 2019, More citizens see fitness benefits [online] Available at:
<https://vir.com.vn/more-citizens-see-fitness-benefits-68830.html> [Accessed on 10 September
2021].
Vietnamnews, 2021, Nestlé's 25-year journey in Việt Nam described as sustainable development
[online] Available at: <https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/872679/nestles-25-year-journey-in-viet-
nam-described-as-sustainable-development.html> [Accessed on 10 September 2021].
Vietnam Investment Review, 2021, Nestlé Vietnam accelerates digital transformation to achieve
sustainable development [online] Available at:<https://vir.com.vn/nestle-vietnam-accelerates-
digital-transformation-to-achieve-sustainable-development-87199.html> [Accessed on 10
September 2021].

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