Scanning and Business Insight Capability

In the recent time, the environment is changing at a rapid pace. It creates a profound impact on the operation of the business firms. Therefore, environmental scann
ing is essential. An effective analysis of business environment helps to discern strength weakness, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis is indispensable for the sustenance of all business ventures (Gallupe and Jiang 2015).

Selection and discussion of two macro-environmental factors

In this segment, the paper discusses the socio-cultural and economic factors that fall under the ambit of macro-environmental factors. Malaysia is home to a society with diverse ethnicities and cultures, which entail Malays, Chinese and Indians. These sections of people have variegated taste and preference, as far as the cuisine is concerned (Salleh 2014). With the intrusion of western culture, the food patterns witness an increasing change. Apart from the local cuisines of Malaysia, other MNCs outlets such as KFC, McDonald’s came into existence. The ongoing trend of restaurant/café chains indicate the melding of eastern and western culture. Therefore, the assignment seeks to explain the business through the prism of socio-cultural factor that is one of the macro-environmental factors influencing the particular industry (Ismail et al. 2016).

In the recent time, Malaysian economy stands out to be the effective one. The European recession hardly determines the fate of the Malaysian food services. The widespread uses of technology, increasing disposable income and health awareness have exerted a strong influence on the particular sector of Malaysian economy. Therefore, the assignment reflects on the economic factor to address the character of the particular business.

Substantiation of the discussion

Malaysia witnesses conglomeration of races and commingling of diverse cultures. According to Davis, Islam is the principal religion that affects the socio-cultural temperament of the people. The norms and ethical issues are inextricably linked to the Islamic law.

According to Fieldhouse, culture is the main determinant factor of dietary pattern. The culture of Malaysia underwent continuous changes due to ecological and economic changes. The change emanated from the process of food innovation and intermingling with other races. At the same time, the spread of food science and technology also contributed towards the production of high quality of food. Various restaurants in Malaysia combine both the eastern and western trends. In fact, fast food chains such as Burger King, McDonald’s, and KFC permeate the Malaysian food-service terrain (Ismail et al. 2016). At the same time, there are local restaurants in Malaysia that maintain their legacy. With the changing complexion of the society and culture of Malaysia, the dietary patterns and habits also perceive considerable changes.  

The economy of Malaysia is stable and involves various elements such as efficient economic policies, export-related industrialization and incessant flow of foreign direct investments. These factors revived the economic situation of Malaysia and increased the business trends of Malaysia (Moniruzzaman 2013). With the increasing disposable income and per-capita income of Malaysia, the food services display an upward course and the profit level is on high. According to the 2016 edition of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of doing business’ report Malaysia ranks 18 in the World and the second in South East Asia (World Bank Group 2013). Malaysia aims to provide tax incentives to technology-based businesses through the MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) body.

Impact of the two macro-environmental factors

Based on the two macro-environmental factors, the assignment explains their impact on the restaurant business/industry, as far as the marketing strategies are concerned. The marketing policies include place, product, price and promotion. Positioned as one of the hospitable countries, Malaysia provides a host of facilities to the businesspersons who want to promote their restaurant/café industry in the region. Malaysia has an array of western food restaurants such as the Coliseum Café, and Maria’s Food steak chain that strongly support the cultural amalgam

The four Ps of marketing include product, price, place and promotion that often referred to as marketing mix. Keeping in mind the points, the paper assesses the impact of the chosen factors (Socio-Cultural and economic) in framing the market strategy.

Place: Coliseum Café and Grill is the finest café in Malaysia that specializes in continental cuisines.

Product: Colonial pie and Cajun spiced chicken spaghetti of the particular restaurant are scrumptious dishes and indicates the finest touch of western cuisine. The products are available from Monday to Friday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Price: The dishes come with an affordable price that is 18.99 ringgits. It also includes a packed drink. The customers can pick their favorites from a wide array of drinks such as Pepsi, Seven Up or Lipton Green tea.

Promotion Strategy: A majority of daily local and international news media cover the lavish products of Coliseum Café and Grill. The English news dailies such as The Kosmos, The Star Online, And New Straight Times depict the products of the particular restaurant. This promotional strategy maximizes the profit level of the restaurants. At the same time, it caters to the taste and preference of the customers (Www.coliseum1921.com 2016).

Sources claim that more than 1000 restaurants in Kuala Lumpar bear a foreign influence. Foreign ventures such as Chat Time (Owned by Taiwanese) and Café Bene (owned by Koreans) indicate the synthesis of various cultures. The macro-environmental factors (socio-cultural and economic) increasingly influence the disposition of the restaurant/café business (Zain 2014).

The government endeavors to adopt a friendly business environment and establish a special task force entitled PEMUDAH that reinvigorates every kind of business promotion. The word PEMUDAH means “simplifier” in Malay (Www.pemudah.gov.my 2016).

Conclusion

The assignment explicates two of the macro-environmental factors (socio-cultural and economic) in the context of restaurant/café industry. In the first section, the paper explains the importance of environmental scanning. The second strata reveals light on the significance of the two macro-environmental factors in the particular sphere. The third segment entails the substantiation of the first section with the help of relevant information. In the fourth and the last section, the assignment discusses the impact of the two environmental factors in relation to marketing strategies of the particular restaurant industry.

References

Gallupe, B. and Jiang, J., 2015. Environmental Scanning and Business Insight Capability: The Role of Business Analytics and Knowledge Integration.

Ismail, T.A.T., Muhammad, R., Yusoff, N.M. and Shariff, M.S.M., 2016. The Myth and Reality of Hotel Brand and Food Quality: The Case of Hotel Restaurants in Malaysia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Moniruzzaman, M., 2013. Political economy of Malaysia.

Salleh, H.M., 2014. The adaptations of Malay food knowledge among Malay generations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

World Bank Group ed., 2013. Doing Business 2014: understanding regulations for small and medium-size enterprises (Vol. 11). World Bank Publications.

Www.coliseum1921.com, 2016. Coliseum1921 (online) Available at: https://www.coliseum1921.com/ (Accessed 14 September 2016).

Www.pemudah.gov.my, 2016. PEMUDAH (Online) Available at: https://www.pemudah.gov.my/ (Accessed 14 September 2016).

Zain, Z.M., Khalili, J.M., Fauzi, M.W.M. and Ramli, N.H.N., 2014. An Empirical Study of Environmental Awareness in the Malaysian Restaurant Industry. International Foundation for Research and Development (IFRD).