Task 1: Business Analysis Tools

What is a SWOT analysis?

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT Analysis is a simple tool that can help you to analyse what your company does best at the time you're doing it, and to devise a successful strategy for the future(Strengths). SWOT can also reveal areas of the business that are holding you back (Weaknesses), or that your competitors could exploit if you don't protect yourself (Threats).

Strengths: The strong points of your company and what it does well.

Weaknesses: The weaker points to your company, what it lacks and what should be changed to benefit it.

Opportunities: Chances in your company growing larger and becoming more noticed to the public, via social media or collaborating with other companies that have a bigger name.

Threats: Challenges your company might face, other companies also trying to grow bigger and having to compete against yours, a negative impact on social media advertising/coverage.

My Personal SWOT Analysis:

What is a PESTEL analysis?

A PESTEL Analysis is a strategic framework that is used to evaluate the external environment of a business by breaking down the opportunities and risks into:  

Political - how government policy and actions intervene in the economy and other factors that can affect a business. 

Economic - take into account the various aspects of the economy, and how the outlook on each area could impact your business. 

Social - the cultural and demographic trends of society. 

Technological - innovation in the industry and innovation in the overall economy. 

Environmental - the ecological impacts on a business, as weather extremes become more common, businesses need to plan how to adapt to these changes. 

Legal - Legal factors pertain to any legal forces that define what a business can or cannot do. Political factors involve the relationship between business and the government. 

Examples of Political Factors: 

- Tax Policy 

- Trade Restrictions 

- Tariffs 

- Bureaucracy 

Examples of Economic Factors: 

- Economic Growth Rates 

- Interest Rates 

- Exchange Rates 

- Inflation 

- Unemployment Rates 

Examples of Social Factors: 

- Cultural Aspects & Perceptions 

- Health Consciousness 

- Populations Growth Rates 

- Age Distribution 

- Career Attitudes 

Examples of Technological Factors: 

- R&D Activity 

- Automation 

- Technological Incentives 

- The Rate of change in technology 

Examples of Environmental Factors: 

- Weather Conditions 

- Temperature 

- Climate Change 

- Pollution 

- Natural disasters (tsunami, tornadoes, etc.) 

Examples of Legal Factors: 

- Industry Regulation 

- Licenses & Permits 

- Labour Laws 

- Intellectual Property 

What does / might Brexit mean for the creative industries?

Brexit can affect quite a lot of things in the creative industries, some of which include:

- Employing workers outside of the UK - Creative Industries cannot employ people who don't live in the UK if they do not have the correct license to do so.

- Getting permission to take equipment for making films - creative industries won't be allowed to take musical instruments, stage designs, make-up, and filming equipment in and out of the EU if they haven't been given permission

- Copyright - creative industries have to be careful with what they use in their productions and depending on which country they're in, the copyright laws differ. So they have to know what the copyright laws are to make sure they don't break them unless they use copyrighted material and were given permission to use it.

Cultural policy - what is currently happening in the UK?

Cultural policy is the 'government actions, laws and programs that regulate, protect, encourage and financially (or otherwise) support activities related to the arts and creative sectors'. This involves the government putting in place processes, legal classifications, regulations, legislation, and institutions such as galleries, museums, libraries, etc. Which promote and facilitate cultural diversity and creative expressions in a range of different forms of art and creative activities.

The COVID-19 Virus took a large hit on the creative industries, especially during lockdown periods. The government had to provide financial support to many venues hosting creative arts such as music halls and theatres. During the first lockdown, more than 15,000 theatrical performances had to be canceled which resulted in a loss of £300 million in box office revenue according to the Parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee. An emergency furlough scheme was eventually put in place to help reduce the number of workers being in the same workplace, but that has come to an end which meant that the number of job losses started to increase again. Venues have been able to open, but with social distancing measures put in place and having to follow the governments' COVID-19 guidelines. This has reduced the of people who are able to visit these venues, so it isn't financially viable for many of these places to stay open. Some smaller creative businesses even had to close down permanently due to financial troubles.