Political/Legal Coalition government The UK is governed by a coalition government which means that sometimes the political parties dont

agree on everything. With evidence the telegraph (2011) reported Nick clegg the labour party MP stayed away from the chamber due to David Camerons decision over the Brussels summit. This kind of situation affects the buying power of blackberry customers and other industry sectors because the economic future is unpredictable therefore the customers resort to saving income in order to meet any challenges that might be faced with the economy in the future. (Institute for government, 2011) Government cutting plan The Economic watch (2010) report that the government introduction of austerity programme; with introduction of new taxes and public cuts that were implemented in order to reduce the national debt yet the policies affect the economic growth in the short term. This affected and still affecting the telecom industry and buying decisions as there are extra costs and low or no income. Signing of EU treaty David Cameron the UK prime minister blocked the EU treaty and all the rest of the 26 countries agreed to sign according to BBC reports. This is evident that the UK remained isolated from the rest of the EU countries and this will have an impact on the key decision that will affect the UK economy for example exempted from the EU market which will affect Blackberry sales. (BBC,2011)

Economical Growing economy The Economic watch (2010) observed the United Kingdom as being the sixth largest economy in the world according to the nominal GDP in 2010.The study described the economy as a highly broad developed market based economy with a strong trading international power; this is an advantage to the industry and Blackberry to provide a wider market for their products and reap off profits Solly (2010) further gives evidence that according to 2009 records IHS Global Insight reported that the UK Mobile Industry has had a dramatic growth for 15years and reached a maturity stage with the UK Mobile Market penetration rate of 121% in 2008. Financial crisis UK economy plays a good role in profitability of Smartphone industry. The demand is elastic and any economic down fall might affect the sales of Blackberry products. Agrawal (2009) reported that the crisis from 2008 spread to each industry and the telecom industry was not an exception. The strong impact led to the slowdown of the UK economy making it difficult for companies like Blackberry to operate with lower sales.

Competition The telecom industry change from monopoly in 1969 to free competition from 1991 introduced more companies into the UK economy which favored Blackberry penetration into the UK market. The Blackberry currently faces threats with new growing companies into the UK like Apple. Kolakowski (2011) observed that the new model Apple phone product released this year Iphone 4s affected the sales of the blackberry devices which give Blackberry stiff competition in the market nevertheless Blackberry is preparing super phones with BBX operating system and is predicated to take on the UK mobile market in 2012. Social Technology image Customers tastes are changing every now and then. This happens very often because there is a lot of technology that is available in mobile phones and the economic industry. The UK society is much receptive to technology advances in the telecom industry and other industry sectors. From this has observed the mobile industry growing with new welcomed tools in the UK market for example; 3g, Wifi, high quality camera. (Cebr &mmO2, 2004) Lifestyle Willamson (2011) suggests that the UKs culture recognises entertainment such as attending theatre, dance and music performances, museums and others. From this evidence, Blackberry recognized the consumers passion and included the entertainment application tools on its mobile phone and tablet gadgets to win the consumers choice. The evident of his work is also the fact that the UK has an increasing consumer expenditure of durable products and it is seasonally adjusted with a dramatic increase in the fourth quarter annually. Media The UK has a strong tradition of public service broadcasting and an international reputation for creative programme making. BBC (2011) note that the home soap operas have long topped the TV ratings and the UK viewers following the likes of Coronation Street and East Enders. BBC (2011) further asserts that the media channels are free to report anything which can either damage or strengthen a Brand reputation. The commercial TV and radio was later introduced onto media channels and through the different sources of media channels available in the UK, Blackberry has managed to keep its customers known to its latest updates. Technology Technology is recognised for having had a substantial impact on peoples lives and companies fortunes Einhorn(2011) noted that UK has been ranked 15 worldwide for its quality research for most productive place for innovation through technology which

provides opportunity for new products which is the key attributes of success in the industry and Blackberry operation in the UK. Product design Vincent, Haddon & Hamill (2005) asserts that the technology has great impact on the design of the product. With the availability of technology blackberry produces new designs with advanced style, size and weight of mobile phones which has favoured the UK community as nowadays people prefer to have a mobile that they can put in their pockets and it isnt heavy to carry. Internet access The availability of internet access on has had a great impact on peoples lives in the UK. Kalapesi ,Willersdorf & Zwellenberg (2010) asserts that UK has embraced the ecommerce and it is recognized as the largest per capita ecommerce globally. This is evident that the internet has become a very important tool not only on business aspects but as well as on other aspects like social networking. All Blackberry up to date phone products and tablets have Internet access which has strengthen blackberry as a phone brand in complying with the changing technologies and current trend. Introduction of 3G The Introduction of 3G phones through an evolution of change in a series of mobile technology communications over the past decades. The change has generally appreciated Blackberry product users especially those that experience a loss in service due to a closure of the dependant network service in the UK. The Blackberry production of 3G enhanced products has more advances on to delivering mobile phone services on new content and gaming over the broadcast media. (Vincent, Haddon & Hamill, 2005) However technology impacted on products can be rejected by people or the government therefore Blackberry should be more careful when selecting the right technology to insert in the products in the UK for example the London riots that sparked off in August 2011 are said to have expanded due to the Blackberry messenger application. Browning and Thomson (2011) reported that the due to the riots blackberry dropped from the executive brand position to riot catalyst which misrepresented the brand image as sparking violence.

Environment Ecological issues The UK has a concern on ecological issues through sustainable consumption and production not only on the UK direct resources but also on imported manufactured products. The ecological footprint shows that the UK has a very high consumption on resources which can

leave the UK economy unsustainable putting the mobile industry at risk. (EcologicalbugetUK, 2006) Air Pollution According to Levit (2011) reports a high air pollution observed in the UK and believes that London has the worst levels of air pollution than any other city in EU. Levit (2011) argues that the UK government is using the EU air quality rules to extent its policy to tackle pollution by 2015 which was meant to be handled by 2012 which puts the national residents health at risk. Environmental regulations Regulation bodies like Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and Water Supply (Water Fittings) governing the UK environment are legal in origin although they have been brought about by environmental concerns. These bodies are often politically enforced because of social attitudes towards the environment. It is up to the individual business to know what issues are relevant to their operations and address them accordingly in order to reduce their significant impact on the environment. (UK environmental law association,2011)

Legal Competition law Companies should comply with the EU and UK completion law which state that the anticompetitive behavior which may affect the trade is highly prohibited and firms may face serious consequences like a global fine of 10% of group turnover. Blackberry is aware of the competition law and meets its obligation in order not to get penalized. (out-law.com (2011) Trading laws Darlington(2011) describes the UK as a country that strives to ensure peace and a friendly commercial environment. It has Civil and Criminal Courts that include all personal statues, all types of civil and commercial disputes as well as serious criminal offences. The UK government imposes a set of laws to guide the community on fair trading Act which limit Blackberry business operations in respect of the consumers and the government for example; Sales of good act which states goods must be of a merchantable quality and fit their purpose. The goods must also fit the description given to the customers. If any of these conditions are breached, then the company must refund the customer. Health and safety regulations The UK government with great concern further imposes strict regulations with respect to health and safety standards for manufacturers which may impact the operations of RIM like facing pressure from the usage of toxic contents, energy usage and recycling. The safety standards are set to protect public health and are implemented under the General Product

Safety Regulations 1994. These regulations are enforced by local authority trading standards officers who have the power to remove the products that are believed to be unsafe from sale. (legislation.gov.uk, 2011) References Agrawal M (2009) Impact of Economic Crisis on Telecom Industry *internet+ available from http://www.telecomcircle.com/2009/03/economic-crisis-in-telecom/ accessed on 11/12/2012 BBC (2011) UK alone as EU agrees fisical treaty UK, BBC, 09/12/11 *internet+ available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16116276 accessed on 13/12/11 BBC (2011) The United kingdom country profile BBC, 12/12/11 *Internet+ available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1038758.stm accessed on 12/12/11 Browning J, Thomson A (2011) BlackBerrys fall from Executive Suite to London Looters May Bruise Brand *internet+ available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-09/blackberry-s-fall-from-executive-suite-tolondon-looters-may-bruise-brand.html accessed on 10/12/2012 Cebr &mmO2 (2004) The contribution of mobile phones to the UK economy UK, mmO2plc [internet] available from http://www.o2.com/cr/report2005/media_files/Contribution.pdf Accessed on 11/12/2012 Darlington R (2011) A short guide to the British political system. Rodgerdarlington [internet] 11/11/2011 available at http://www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/Britishpoliticalsystem.html#Government, accessed 29/11/2011 Economicwatch (2010) UK Economic Indicators: UK GDP, UK Interest Rates, UK Inflation Rates, UK Unemployment Rates, UK Economic Data. Economicwatch, 30/06/2010, [internet] available at http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/unitedkingdom/uk-economic-indicators.html, accessed 1/12/2011 Ecologicalbugetuk (2006) Counting consumption UK, WWF, 2006 *internet+ available at http://www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/countingconsumption_es.pdf accessed on 12/12/2011 Einhorn .B,(2011) The worlds most innovative countries, bloombergbusiness week [internet] available at http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/03/0312_innovative_countries/17.htm accessed 3/12/2011

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