social-influences

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Social influences are attitudes, values and culture that affect business decisions

High social mobility, good schooling, gender equality and varied work patterns give firms a larger, better-skilled labour pool
Educated, multicultural and gender-inclusive societies increase spending power and mix viewpoints, helping businesses exploit new customer needs and create fresh ideas

Social mobility refers to how easily someone can climb from a low-income or low-status background to the middle or top of society
- Denmark has the highest level of social mobility in the world
- India has relatively low levels of social mobility

Impact on business	High mobility	Low mobility
Availability of skilled workers	Plenty of educated, healthy people to hire, so recruitment is easy and cheap	A smaller skilled pool of labour, so firms compete, pay more or import talent
Wages and labour costs	Pay gaps are smaller and predictable, so labour costs stay steady	Big pay gaps emerge as low-skilled labour is cheap but top talent is expensive
Size of the customer market	Many move into the middle class, so there is broad, reliable demand for goods and services	Spending power sits with a few wealthy groups so firms target budget or luxury segments
Start-ups and innovation	Anyone with a good idea can get education and funding, so more new firms are set up and fresh ideas generated	Barriers in class, caste, location block ideas, so fewer businesses are set up and innovation is slower

Education outcomes

Spending on good schools and skilled teachers in Singapore is very high
In contrast, South Africa lacks education resources and quality problems hold learning back

Impact on business	High educational outcomes	Low educational outcomes
Skilled worker supply	A large pool of well-qualified staff, especially in maths and science, makes hiring easy	A shortage of engineers, IT and health workers makes vacancies hard to fill
Training and recruitment costs	New recruits arrive work-ready, so firms spend less time and money on basic training	Companies must run extra training programmes or recruit overseas, raising costs
Innovation and investment	Availability of talented workers attracts technology, biotech and finance firms to set up R&D and head offices	Skills gaps make global investors cautious about setting up high-tech factories or research labs
Consumer spending power	Graduate salaries create a broad middle class that buys a wide range of goods	Many workers stuck in low-paid jobs limit demand for anything beyond essentials

Gender equality means giving people of all genders the same rights, responsibilities, opportunities and respect
- Everyone can study, work, earn, own property and take part in decisions without discrimination
- Rewards such as pay, promotion or investment are based on merit, not gender
Sweden has a high level of gender equality, where women earn about 90% of men’s pay
Japan has high levels of gender inequality, with a gender pay gap of around 22%, and only 14 % of company directors are women

Impact on business	High gender equality	Low gender equality
Size of the talent pool	Women take part in every occupation, so firms can choose from almost the whole population when hiring	Many skilled women are shut out of top jobs Companies struggle to fill senior roles and may need to pay more to recruit
Productivity and new ideas	Mixed-gender teams bring different views, leading to better problem-solving and faster innovation	If almost everyone in a team is male, with similar backgrounds and experiences they may all think in the same way This can slow down product design and decision-making
Reputation with customers and investors	Equal-pay audits, flexible leave and gender-neutral adverts signal fairness This strengthens the brand and is attractive to investors	A large pay gap and few female directors hurt global image Some investors demand change before investing
Legal compliance and costs	Clear rules mean fewer discrimination claims	Stock-exchange quotas and mandatory pay-gap reporting force rapid change Firms that lag behind face fines or bad press

New technology, changing lifestyles and worker expectations mean that many jobs have changes significantly in recent years
- Employees work shorter weeks, split their time between home and office, take on project-based jobs or rely on digital tools to complete tasks

Change	Explanation	Impact on business
Growth of part-time and flexible hours	More employees work shorter weeks, vary start and finish times They may work compressed hours to balance work with study, parenting or leisure	Bigger talent pool includes parents, students and retirees Rotas and payroll are more complex
Expansion of gig and zero-hour contracts	Companies increasingly use project-based workers rather than employing permanent staff	Lower fixed wage bills Harder to build loyalty and maintain consistent quality
Move to remote, hybrid and four-day weeks	Technology allows many roles to be done partly or fully from home, and some businesses have trialled 32-hour weeks	Save money on office space Can recruit staff from anywhere Need effective online communication
New jobs in green and digital industries	Demand is rising for skills in renewable energy, electric vehicles, cybersecurity, cloud services and e-commerce	New markets open up Shortage of skilled staff can push wages up
Automation and artificial intelligence reshaping tasks	Routine or data-heavy activities are increasingly handled by robots, software or AI assistants	Faster output and lower long-term costs High up-front technology investment spending and staff retraining.
Greater focus on work–life balance and employee wellbeing	Workers expect mental health support, flexible leave and meaningful work	Better morale and fewer sick days Extra cost if financial benefits are improved

A multicultural society is one where many cultural, ethnic and religious groups live side by side and are recognised as equal
- Customers, employees and suppliers may bring different languages, values, tastes and traditions

Decision	Typical responses from firms
Product design and ranges	Adapting flavours, sizes or features to suit diverse preferences e.g. halal menus, skin-tone cosmetics and multilingual packaging
Marketing and branding	Using inclusive images and language Avoiding stereotypes Scheduling promotional campaigns around festivals such as Diwali, Ramadan or Lunar New Year
Customer service	Training staff in cultural sensitivity Offering interpretation Respecting religious d