MANAG 2210 Principles Of Management

Response to question no. 1

The car sharing industry is a recent trend around the globe and the industry is flourishing with Go Car sharing in Ireland.  GoCar has recently been promoted widely in Dublin, the capital of Ireland to promote sustainable driving and community driving clubs. The external factors that influence the car sharing service in Ireland include the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects (GoCar 2018). A comprehensive PESTEL analysis will allow us to look into the external macro environment of the car sharing service. The following sections will discuss the above mentioned factors in detail.

Political Factors:

Being a sovereign democratic state with a parliamentary form of government, Ireland has a stable political scenario without much political conflict. The two major parties Fianna fail and Fine Gael have dominated the political scenario of Ireland. Currently the government in Ireland is a coalition of the Fine Gael and Labour parties. With the growth in organized retail and other exporting commodities, the potential to invest in Ireland is huge making it one of the politically stable countries to do business. The GoCar sharing company is providing sustainable solution to the growing pollution and creating ease of access by partnering with the local government. According to the report of the World Bank Ireland is ranked at 17 in terms of ease of doing business, which proves the competency of the government in providing an environment for business. The political factor for GoCar seems positive with respect to Irish backdrop.

Economic Factors:

The economy of Ireland has been stable and has risen considerably post the economic recession in 2009. The World Economic Forum ranks Ireland in 15^th position among a list of 82 economies in the competitive index. The economy of Ireland is boosted due to its nature of being an exporting economy. The tourism industry contributes a considerable amount of revenue to the GDP of Ireland. The Car rental industry dominated by GoCar sees extensive growth in Ireland with respect to the economic environment in Ireland. Ireland is ranked at sixth in terms of Economic freedom among a list of 180 economies (Heritage.org 2018). The government policies are investor friendly and encourage investment in newer sectors. Being a car rental service, GoCar is expected to grow substantially in the economic environment of Ireland (World Bank 2018).

Social factors:

The social environment of Ireland is stable with high literacy rates and is ranked 11 in the Social Progress Index. The high SPI proves that that socially the Irish are capable to provide competent labour and environment for a business to grow. The demography of Ireland reveals that the major population constitutes of people from the age group of 25 -54 and the average age of Ireland being in the thirties. This proves that that Ireland has a large working force and employable resources are available. The dependent age group is also increasing and hence community clubs and services as GoCar are becoming more relevant in Ireland (Budget.gov.ie 2018).

Technological factors:

Ireland being a major exporter of global trade, it is technically well equipped. The technical efficiency of Ireland would enhance chances of newer investments that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable. Technology Ireland is a corporate entity that looks into promoting and encouraging innovation and technological application.

Environmental factors:

The environmental factors are of paramount importance in Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency looks after the sustainable development goals and sustainable technological innovation to address the effects of climate change in the country. The major opportunity for GoCar in expanding their car sharing business is promoting environmental sustainability and promoting the concept of sharing common means of transport rather than using individual vehicles. The local government of Dublin and cork has initiated the car club permits to promote car sharing. With the operation of GoCar here has been a reduction of individual vehicles, thereby reducing vehicular pollution effectively (Spoon et al. 2014).

Legal Factors:

The legal environment of Ireland provides a fair frame work for smooth and easy operation of business in the country.  The policies and regulations are modified and amended to meet business requirements. The local authority of Dublin and Cork has recently initiated car sharing services in the city by bringing the service under a legal framework.  The car sharing by –laws in Dublin enhances the chances of car sharing by other counties as well. The legal environment is in accordance with environment and business policies to foster growth in a positive manner.

Response to question no. 2

The financial Budget of Ireland, 2019 announced by the Department of Finance brings in certain additions and exemption as compared to last year’s fiscal budget. The major outcomes will be discussed below with their probable implication.

Carbon tax:

To cope with the international guidelines, the government has decided to implement a Carbon tax. This will affect the industries involved in producing carbon and fuel consumptions are expected to reduce. Exemption in tariff has been made in electric vehicles. A surcharge has been added on diesel vehicles. This will promote the technologies and industries with sustainable projects and planning.

Tax relief for SMEs and Start-ups

The governments in an aim to value the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SME) in contributing to the GDP and have given tax relief for the startup companies and SMEs up to three years. This will boost the growth of indigenous industries and enterprises fostering economic growth (Budget.gov.ie 2018).

Corporate tax

The corporate tax has not been changed and the earlier rate of 12.5% has been kept for incorporations. This will encourage investors to prepare their future planning and ongoing projects in Ireland.

Income Tax

 The income tax has been lowered by increasing the slab for low and middle income workers. This will increase the per capita income. The universal social surcharge has also been reduced to benefit the low income groups.

Hospitality vat and taxes

There has been substantial rise in the tourism and hospitality sector from 9% to 13.5% which will affect the booming tourism industry in Ireland. However the lucrative sector is expected to bring in more revenue in the reform.

Agricultural taxes and benefits

The exemption of the stamp duty for Young trained farmer for the next three years also sees to the benefit of the farmers. The allocation of 57 million Euros in addition to 60 million allocated fund for the department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, will look into the development of the Agrarian sector and boost the sector to cope with Brexit implications. Tax from off farm trading has also been attached with income from farms to address the farmer’s issue. This will enhance the agrarian sector of the country.

Taxation on Tobacco and Gambling.

The increased taxation on tobacco and gambling is expected to generate additional 40 million Euros and increased reforms have been made by 50 cents for cigarettes priced at 11 Euros. The increase of taxes on betting from 1 % to 2% will generate huge revenue. There has been increase in the duty levied on commission of intermediaries from 15 to 25 % brings considerable effect in the industry. This increase in revenue will allow scope to invest in innovation and research sectors. 

Response to Question no. 3

The dangers and opportunities that Ireland is likely to face with Brexit is mostly governed around the trade and business development. The dangers or crises faced by Ireland will involve the following issues:

Lesser FDIs: With Brexit, the multinational corporations will look into investing in United Kingdom, since trading might be costlier with EU after Brexit. Compared to UKs taxation policies, Ireland might be a less chosen one to invest.

Lesser Trade between UK and Ireland: The major trade of Ireland involves exports to UK. After the Brexit, the trade and export options will become costlier for Ireland. The major import of UK includes pharmaceuticals, certain metals and merchandise. This is supposed to decline with Brexit. Ireland needs to find better options to export its merchandise. Ireland is supposed to experience an overall decline in production and exports around the corner (Barrett et al. 2015).

Employment Crisis: Being an island nation, Ireland experiences emigration to UK which will be largely restricted after Brexit. This will affect the employment scenario in Ireland. Free trade and movement of citizens will also be restricted bringing about huge negative impacts in the local trade.

The opportunities will include better market options for Ireland. Creating a competitive environment for UK and reaching out to Asian and African and Australian Markets with ambitious expansion policies. The increase in global foot print of Ireland will allow oversea opportunities for Ireland. This will also provide a stiff competition to commodities and services from UK. New market opportunities for FDIs will be available for Ireland. This will boost the internal industry and growth of economy. The Brexit will force Ireland to find alternate options to employ their population. This will create employment opportunities in the country and develop the scope for foreign students and employees. Energy produced by Ireland would be a potential produce that could be marketed with profitable margins to Northern Ireland (Mac 2016).

The danger and opportunities will only be analysed once the Brexit is implemented. However, with proper policies and economic planning Ireland can make the best out of the situation. It is important for the country to carefully understand the Implications of Brexit and initiate plans in accordance with it.

References

Barrett, A., Bergin, A., FitzGerald, J., Lambert, D., McCoy, D., Morgenroth, E., Siedschlag, I. and Studnicka, Z., 2015. Scoping the possible economic implications of Brexit on Ireland. Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute.

Budget.gov.ie (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2019/Documents/Financial%20Statement_C.pdf [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Budget.gov.ie (2018). [online] Budget.gov.ie. Available at: https://www.budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2018/Documents/NED/Social-Progress-Imperative-Presentation-by-Michael-Green.pdf [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Dbei.gov.ie (2018). Company and Corporate Law - DBEI. [online] Dbei.gov.ie. Available at: https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Company-Corporate-Law/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Epa.ie (2018). Environment and Wellbeing :: Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland. [online] Epa.ie. Available at: https://www.epa.ie/irelandsenvironment/environmentandwellbeing/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

GoCar (2018). GoCar - Irelands #1 Car Sharing Company. [online] GoCar. Available at: https://gocar.ie/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Heritage.org (2018). Ireland Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption. [online] Heritage.org. Available at: https://www.heritage.org/index/country/ireland [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Mac Flynn, P., 2016. The economic implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland.

Spoon, J.J., Hobolt, S.B. and De Vries, C.E., 2014. Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), pp.363-380.

Technology Ireland (2018). Technology Ireland. [online] Technology Ireland. Available at: https://www.technology-ireland.ie/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

Transport for Ireland (2018). Transport For Ireland - Carsharing -. [online] Transport for Ireland. Available at: https://www.transportforireland.ie/carsharing/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].

World Bank (2018). Explore Economies. [online] World Bank. Available at: https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/ireland [Accessed 23 Oct. 2018].