Socio-Cultural Development

The social and cultural environment
Paul Wetherly
Contents
Introduction: what is the social and cultural environment? What has it got to do with business? Society, culture and business Demographic trends—an ageing population Immigration and multiculturalism Class structure Inequality A woman’s place? Looking ahead Summary Case study: decline of the working class?
123 150 152 152 153 153 153

Review and discussion questions
125 128 132 135 139 145 149 149

Assignments Further reading Online resources References

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Environments

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Learning objectives
When you have completed this chapter you will be able to: l Explain the nature of the social and cultural environments, and their importance for business Analyse demographic trends and the implications of an ageing population for business Explain what is meant by the term multiculturalism and examine the impact of immigration on business and society Analyse class differences and patterns of inequality in Britain, and relate these issues to business responsibility Examine the causes and implications of the changing role of women in British society and business

l l

l

l

g

Themes
Diversity

Diversity of business Certain industries have a profound impact in shaping the wider culture—the culture industries.

Internal/ external

Internal/external Culture is part of the internal environment of business—organization culture. Business reflects the wider culture, e.g. racism and sexism. Complexity of the environment This chapter demonstrates the complexity of the business environment by showing that it is not just economic but has important social and cultural dimensions. It also shows how the social and cultural are interrelated with other dimensions of the environment.

Complexity

Spatial levels

Variety of spatial levels This chapter shows how social and cultural life cannot be understood only at a national level. For example, nations are multicultural and even

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