Mod005248 Understanding Business For The Assessment Answers

In Cuba, the working class has political power despite having other political parties established within Cuba. The communist and the party representing interests of the working class remains vibrant in Cuba (Zeitlin 2015). 

Apart from Improved medical care, Why People in the UK are Living Longer.

Apart from modern and improved facilities and technological advancement in the UK on the healthcare sector, there are also other reasons why people are living longer. They include the following:

 Exercise schedule which has tailored routine on the UK people. Through the physical exercise, people have become physically fit and continue remaining active even in their old age hence increasing their living span (Garatachea et al. 2014). The Government in the UK has also raised the retirement age. This has greatly helped the old people from social isolation relieving them of stress where they feel useful as being part of the working force. Through stress relief, they can continue living longer since stress is a major health deteriorating factor.

As a result of improved life expectancy, people can spend more time with their family where working parents can leave their children in the safe hands of grandparents after they retire. These is better than leaving children in a daycare Centre where attention at home is more appealing. To conclude with, better-eating habits which involve eating fresh and clean food rich in essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, zinc, carbohydrates which boost body immune system, organ growth thus resulting to a higher resistance to diseases (Schnettler et al. 2015). Good eating habits also reduce the intake of artificial supplements since such supplements can be obtained from natural vegetables hence increasing their lifespan.

What is Fracking and why some people are concerned about it.

Fracking refers to the process of drilling down into the earth which afterward a high-pressure water mixture is blown into the rock to fracture due to the high-pressure mixture (Varki 2017).

Fracking has continued being controversial through the following ways: The extensive use of fracking for example in the US has revolutionized the energy industry raising environmental concerns. The concern is that fracking uses huge amounts of water that must be transported to the site which may claim huge and significant environmental cost (Dodge 2017).

Environmentalists have a concern that some chemicals may find a way out and contaminate groundwater around the fracking site, for example, carcinogenic chemicals used causing pollution. Campaigners have a concern that fracking has continued distracting government and various energy firms through their efforts in investing in renewable sources of energy. Continuing with fracking activity is viewed by campaigners as encouraging reliance on fossil fuel which is not renewable.  

Another concern is from the health and safety personnel who criticize the carcinogenic chemicals used in the mixture of the fracturing liquid which can affect the health of workers. They observe that not all companies comply with regulatory rules on workplace safety and ignorance of some workers who are careless in wearing personal protective gear.

In conclusion, fracturing has also raised worries that the process can cause mild earthquakes. Due to the tremors being mild, they may seem less severe but on places with weak soil, landslides may be experienced.

Impacts of Government Regulations on three specific areas of Business Function. 

Every government put measures that provide rules and framework to guide the operation of businesses and other activities. In some areas such as business, the government needs to establish compulsory regulation in order to create a favorable environment for producers and consumer without conflicts between them (Bernstein 2015). These regulations should be backed up by legal sanctions to ensure they are strictly maintained for example fines for those responsible. The following are the impacts of government regulations:

In advertising, the government establishes laws pertaining to marketing and advertising thus ensuring the protection of consumers by ensuring companies are honest about their product. Every business should comply with the government rules to avoid lawsuits for violation of the set rules. Honest advertising gives the consumers confidence for the product. Advertising is made fair to both competitors and the consumers (Trevino and Nelson 2016).

In employment and labor, the government set laws to protect employees by ensuring that they receive better wages, safety and health compliance, working conditions are conducive, they receive equal opportunity employment and privacy of employees are maintained. These laws ensure that child labor is also avoided at the highest level by setting strict laws for those convicted.

Another area is privacy protection, employees and customers usually share sensitive information during hiring and transaction, through government regulation it prevents businesses from disclosing this information to unauthorized individuals or companies. This, therefore, ensures that businesses maintain the highest level of ethical practices.

Impact of the Availability of Cheap Energy on Business.

Energy plays a pivotal role in the development of an economy and growth of businesses. It is used almost in all stages of a product development from production to delivery to the customers, therefore the availability, sustainability, and the cost of energy are factors that investors consider before establishing a business (Haas et al. 2011). Availability of cheap energy can impact businesses in multiple ways such as:

Reduction in production cost: production of physical products requires electric energy to run the production plants, run conveyor belts provide, lighting in the factory among others (Connolly, Lund, and Mathiesen 2016). When electric power is not available many factories use fossil energy as a backup which is relatively expensive. The availability of cheap energy would, therefore, reduce the cost of production and consequently increase the profit.

Reduction in distribution cost: The various modes of transport that producers/ manufacturers use to deliver goods to the distributors or wholesalers depend on fossil fuel which is costly thus increasing the transport cost. Cheap energy availability would be a great relief since it would reduce the cost of transport by almost 50%.  Businesses can use the saved cost to invest in other ventures or to maximize on the quality of the products (Connolly, Lund, and Mathiesen 2016).

Improved security in the business premises; security is essential for the operation of any business, security and monitoring devices such as closed-circuit televisions require a constant flow of power, therefore, cheap energy would make it easy for a business to sustain such security devices within its premises (Haas et al. 2011). 

Effects of Decarbonizing the Economy on UK Business in the next 10 Years.

Decarbonization refers to the process of removing harmful carbons from the atmosphere (Haller, Ludig, and Bauer 2012). Such carbons are emitted by human activities such as excessive use of petroleum products and industrialization among others. The harmful carbons result in global warming which adversely affects business. Decarbonization can be done by adopting clean energy such as solar energy and other forms of renewable energy. It will affect United Kingdom businesses in the following ways:

Increase business reputation: due to the adverse effects of carbon, the society is so much concerned about how it can be eliminated from the atmosphere. Therefore according to Menyah and Wolde-Rufael (2010), a business that will adopt clean energy in its operations will attract society endorsement consequently resulting in high levels of customer goodwill, which will enable the business to compete both locally and globally.

Increased productivity: the adoption of a carbon-free economy will require businesses to adopt clean and renewable energy methods which are less costly (Haller, Ludig, and Bauer 2012). The reduced cost will enable the businesses to increase the number of units produced. For businesses which are in the agricultural and tourism sectors, removal of carbon in the atmosphere will result to favorable climate and weather patterns, and conservation of natural resources which will boost business.

Closure of businesses that deal with carbon fuels: many petroleum products businesses will be closed down because decarbonization will remove their products from the market (Menyah and Wolde-Rufael 2010). Also, Automobile businesses would be forced to change the engines of their products or suffer business closure. 

References 

Bernstein, M.H., 2015. Regulating business by independent commission. Princeton University Press.

Borkenau, F., 2013. Socialism National or International Routledge Library Editions: Political Science Volume 48. Routledge.

Connolly, D., Lund, H. and Mathiesen, B.V., 2016. Smart Energy Europe: The technical and economic impact of one potential 100% renewable energy scenario for the European Union. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,60,pp.1634-1653.

Dodge, J., 2017. Crowded Advocacy: Framing Dynamic in the Fracking Controversy in New York. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 28(3), pp.888-915.

Garatachea, N., Santos-Lozano, A., Sanchis-Gomar, F., Fiuza-Luces, C., Pareja-Galeano, H., Emanuele, E. and Lucia, A., 2014, September. Elite athletes live longer than the general population: a meta-analysis. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 89, No. 9, pp. 1195-1200). Elsevier.

Haas, R., Panzer, C., Resch, G., Ragwitz, M., Reece, G. and Held, A., 2011. A historical review of promotion strategies for electricity from renewable energy sources in EU countries. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 15(2), pp.1003-1034.

Haller, M., Ludig, S. and Bauer, N., 2012. Decarbonization scenarios for the EU and MENA power system: Considering spatial distribution and short term dynamics of renewable generation. Energy Policy, 47, pp.282-290.

Menyah, K. and Wolde-Rufael, Y., 2010. CO2 emissions, nuclear energy, renewable energy and economic growth in the US. Energy Policy, 38(6), pp.2911-2915.

Schnettler, B., Miranda, H., Lobos, G., Orellana, L., Sepúlveda, J., Denegri, M., Etchebarne, S., Mora, M. and Grunert, K.G., 2015. Eating habits and subjective well-being. A typology of students in Chilean state universities. Appetite, 89, pp.203-214.

Trevino, L.K. and Nelson, K.A., 2016. Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.

Varki, A., 2017. Scientific journals: Rename the impact factor. Nature, 548(7668), p.393.

Zeitlin, M., 2015. Revolutionary politics and the Cuban working class (Vol. 2336). Princeton University Press.