The European Union Business Essay Example for Free

The European Union Business Essay INTRODUCTION:   Fraser Eagle can take you places! Fraser Eagle, a UK based company dedicated to transport management started in the year 1919. The company boast of providing the most professional and reliable service with their comfortable coaches in the UK. Their coach fleet had served many people for vacation and other coach service imaginable. As one of UK’s leading suppliers of managed travel and transport services, they are able to serve their clients in UK and throughout Europe. The company encompassed the basic coach services they can offer, but the term transport management goes beyond more than just the transportation aspect. The company employs other reliable services like coach trains in UK’s grand central, corporate travel and transport requirements, accommodation reservations, both flight and rail ticketing services, and transport contract in their executive coaches, mini-buses, and vetted taxi rates. Since 1919 the company had dedicated their objectives in providing the best and quality service to travelers in the UK and in Europe. But as any company in the global market, there lies the factors of the business environment that affects the company in many of their decision-making processes. The company belonging to the complex and diverse business environment of the European Union experienced its share of transition and adaptation in the changes influenced by the growing and market environment. In this paper, we will evaluate the factors that influence the company as a leading transport management group. The European Union business environment, being as diverse and complex as it is, poses many opportunities and threats to the businesses included in that particular market. The paper must address these different economic opportunities and threats to the company so as to general assess how the business environment affects that growth and commerciality of the company. OVERVIEW Europe over the past years has been coping up with the integration of ten European countries objectively gearing towards a stronger economy competitive in the global market.(Harris, 1999) The paper attempts to evaluate the opportunities and threat of the European business environment in the specified company which caters to transport management. In general, the European economy is governed by an administrative body called the European commission which aims to integrate the different enterprise policy for the European Union economy. In general, the enterprise policy of the EU is to create an environment and venue for European entrepreneurs. It aims to favor the European environment to contribute to productivity in terms of growth, job opportunities and wealth necessary to carry the objectives of the European Council in March 2000.(Mercado, 2001) The High level group chaired by Wim Kok in November of 2004 reported the current situation of the European economies to address the Lisbon objectives. The European economies targets to reduce the total administrative burden of integrating economies of ten key cities, to improve the quality of legislation, to facilitate the rapid emergence of new and small enterprises and the creation of a healthy competitive environment which support the million businesses in Europe.(Darmer and Kuyper, 2000) It also aims to ensure the necessities of a competitive community industry, since the EU is composed of ten key cities, and encourages small and medium enterprises to initiate economic activities. ANALYSIS and DISCUSSION In order to evaluate the opportunities and threats of the European business in the transport sector, the generalized policies governing the EU economy will greatly be used as a referring factor and as a background of the EU economy. The Fraser Eagle Company that is concerned with transport management is an established company that is influenced by the different economic policies of the EU. The company which has improved its standards and qualifications are concerned with addressing the priorities of the EU economy. Since the company was established in UK and their services are specific in the European nations, the study of its environment can be referred to the different influence generated in its environment. One aspect in which we see the opportunities laid by the EU economy to the company is generating a proper avenue in which the company can adhere to necessary factors in their need to expand and improve their services. One opportunity of the EU is attributed to its environmental requirements that go hand in hand with the appropriate balance of environmental, economic and social objectives. As a transport management group, the must be able to ensure the proper standards of meeting the EU industrial policy. As a response, the company ensures the quality and efficiency of their energy and energy consumption that allows them to participate in the growth of their economy striking the balance between environmental, economic and social activities. The EU economy also encourages growth in productivity by addressing the need of the working sector. Fraser Eagle, along with the improvement of the company’s services had addressed this by continuously implementing other services that needs and requires other human skills. Starting from the coach services, the company expanded their services by cooperating with Grand Central of UK in providing coach servicing through railway to people. This opportunity brought by the growing economy of the EU had influenced the company to provide this kind of services. The company’s goal is to widen their scope of services and the opportunity brought by the Grand Central railway transport system of UK had presented them with that. Another one launched at the age of technology advancement is when the company employed a telecommunications service for their clients which aims to address the need of their customers. The EU encourages use of the advantages of communication in the united countries of European nations. Another way that Fraser Eagle handled this opportunity is setting up their own call center that caters to the continuous influence of communication in acquiring their transport services. The customer care program of the company is an easy and convenient way for the company to answer the needs and inquiries of their consumers. Also with this motivation, the company had provided another opportunity for work of Europeans. Being dynamic and global as it is, the EU had proposed several additional policies that encourage the companies to invest in languages that is proven to boost competitiveness among the companies included in the EU economy. Reports of the European Commission have stated that more European companies lose their business due to the lack of language skills. As the European Commissions response to this, the UK national Center for Languages was used to generate the information and to inform the different companies in the EU economy. Fraser Eagle used this information and included this in their e-telecommunications services and this had developed their coherent language strategies.   (Mercado, 2001) The transport sector of the European Union had faced a dramatic change over the course of period the EU was established. Before, the citizens of the different European Nations are denied of transportation to different regions of the country. For generations, the Europeans are denied with this privilege. In context of the economy, the transport sector, may it be air, land or sea concerns the mobility of economic activities. The transport sector in the EU economy is of great importance. One of the greatest threats of the EU economy is congestion which is 1% of Europe’s GDP. The transport sector is roughly responsible for this as it contributes to C02 emissions. Jacques Barrot, the Commissioner for Transport of the European Commission entails that meet all the challenges of the EU in terms of environment, oil dependency, congestion and road safety, innovation is the seen solution to address these challenges.(Harrison et al., 2000) The transport sector’s innovativeness can greatly affect the future of the economy and discovery the many advantages that the transport sector can use and utilize. One worthy innovation Fraser Eagle made is manufacturing for and providing Grand Central, Europe’s main mode of transport coach type trains. The company faced much adversity before in talking with the Grand Central authorities for acquisition of their services but with persistent efforts, the company had closed and deal. Now with ten members states in the European Union, transport management services of the company allows greater profitability and provision for people to acquire their services. Europeans now has the freedom to travel and that is one of the greatest opportunities the EU business environment and policy contributed. For the threats, congestion was addressed as one of the challenges seen in the integration of ten key cities of the EU. It will be a pursuit for the company to widen the scope and area to which they can offer their services and also to make the services available to a greater number of consumers. There is also the continuous motivation to ensure the growing number of traveling individuals their safety thus the attempt to address the need for road safety in Europe. A transport growth forecast expects the freight transport to increase by 50 percent in the year 2020. Also this consequently adds to the 35 percent increase in passenger transport in the same predicted year. The challenge of the European Union is to address the greater number of people to cater too because of a more unified economy. There must be a strengthened effort to address the need for growing population and growing number of potential consumers. Changes in the European market have disadvantages and advantages in an established transport management company like Fraser Eagle. EU encourages the small and medium enterprises to bravely face the competitive EU economy. Given that Fraser Eagle is already well established, the competitiveness and spirit of small and medium enterprises encouraged by the EU can pose as a challenge for them. Several scenarios of which entail that SME can propose newer services that the Fraser Eagle does not have and thus incurring a loss in profitability. The SME can also be a reflection of the company’s strength and weaknesses . A SME smart enough to see what the company lacks will take the opportunity to present it to the growing and diversified population and consumers. Fraser Eagle also will have difficulty in adjusting to the European Commission’s policy on deindustrialization. In this process, Fraser Eagle will have to effectively deliver the demands of the policy in terms of the reduction of fossil fuels and other materials employed in their services. Being a transport management company that is very much influenced by this factor, Fraser Eagle will have to adhere to the EU policies. Given that innovation and competitive environment the EU is promoting, Fraser Eagle will indeed face many other competitors in the market. The competitive advantage of the company relies on its history and innovation practices but there still remains the challenge posed by the increasing number of key players in the EU economy. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The integrated economies of the ten members of the European Union have led companies to deliver the most diverse and asset in the growing economic community of the EU. The sustainability of the economy of EU relies on how companies treat and adhere to the opportunities and threats of the policies and nature of the business environment of the EU. One key aspect is innovation. Fraser Eagle will remain in its competitive stance if innovation persist and is adapted. The company had already taken most of the opportunity of the EU, including the greater number of consumers that rely on their transport management service. They had also used the great advantage of technology in competing with other transport service companies. The main threat of a unified economy is that the economic activities become homogenous and confined in Europe along, in and between the member countries. This limits the number of competition and key players that can affect the growth of its economy. There should be further study on the implication of the opportunities and threats of the European Union environment in different aspects of the society. Like mentioned, as business-oriented as the policies are, a study regarding how these opportunities and threats are perceived and received by the companies part of EU. There should also be study of the internal challenges of EU in response to the opportunities it gives to the business sectors and the threats that limits the capability of the companies to expand and increase their opportunity to profit.       Bibliography: BULCKE, D. V. D., ZHANG, H. ESTEVES, M. D. C. 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