Development of a Conference Centre in London Essay

Development of a Conference Centre in London - Essay Example Several changes over the past 20 years have made London a fitting venue for international conferences and their development is the subject of this paper. Among these changes are the globalisation of economic sectors, the dominance of the finance and business sectors, interlinked with advances in technology; increased inter-relationship between major economies, internationalisation of investment and trade, developments in telecommunications and transport which has shrunk distances between people, markets, and business decision makers; movement of people across borders with their fresh ideas, new cultures, enhanced skills and access to new markets; growth of incomes and wealth with particularly strong demand for leisure and tourism activities; and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be hosted by the city of London. Greater London, the administrative subdivision of London, England covers the City of London including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and 32 London boroughs: City of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Islington, Camden, Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Croydon, Bromley, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, Newham, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Harrow, and Hillingdon. As of mid-2006, the population of Greater London was at 7,512,400 official residents in an area of 1,579 square kilometers (Reference.com, 2008). According to Yell Limited (2008), there are over 300 conference facilities and services providers in London. This makes it seem like developing a new conference centre within the area would face tough competition. The objective of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the macro-environmental factors which come into play when planning for the development of a conference center, specifically within the Greater London area. Analysis PEST analysis stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological which describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. It is part of the analysis of the external environment which helps in understanding market growth or decline, business position, and potential and/or direction for operations. Political factors include political stability, legal framework for contract enforcement, trade regulations and tariffs, anti-trust laws, pricing regulations, taxation, wage legislation, work week, mandatory employee benefits, industrial safety regulations and the like. Economic factors include type of economic system, government intervention in the free market, exchange rates and stability of currency, efficiency of financial markets, quality of infrastructure, skill level of workforce, labor costs, economic growth rate, unemployment rate, inflation rate, interest rates and the like. Social factors include demogr aphics, class structure, education, culture and gender roles, environmental consciousness, leisure interests and the like. Technology factors include technology developments and impact of technology on the business (NetMBA, 2007). Politically and economically speaking, London is very politically and economically stable. This is evidenced by the fact that London is a major centre for international