| Purpose: | The purpose of this report is to demonstrate research and academic literacy skills. Building on Assessment 1, you need to produce writing that is clear, concise and meaningful, whilst now incorporating evidence from sources. The structure, format, cohesion and coherence of report writing needs to be demonstrated. This is a text type that Business students are often asked to produce, so this will give you an opportunity to walk through the steps of the report-writing process. |
| Task Details: | Include the following sections in your assessment submission: cover sheet Title page Executive summary Table of contents
2.2 Another aspect the company excels at 2.3 One aspect that the company is criticised for
Ground the reader in the topic by introducing the industry that you are focusing on. Then describe your chosen company within that industry. Analyse the company by specifying two aspects that the company does well and one aspect that it is criticised for. Finally, summarise the main points that you have put forth in your report and give recommendations for how the company could improve. |
COMPANY: FOX (A SEGMENT OF 21ST CENTURY FOX)
Executive Summary
The present report evaluates the Fox Entertainment which is one of the renowned organisations in the entertainment industry. The first section of the report sheds light on the organisation and its current status. This helps to find out its current strength. The first one is the phenomenal growth of its news channel that is driving its revenue growth. The second important strength is brand equity. It occupies the 54th position in Forbes Magazine among the 100 branded companies. However, the improper work environment has created challenges for the organisation creating turbulence in its business. The second section offered a suitable recommendation based on these findings that stress the importance of policy and training.
1. Introduction
The entertainment industry forms a part of the tertiary sector of the economy which incorporates different sub-industries that are focused on entertaining. The entertainment industry in Australia has grown from 2008 to 2017 at an annual growth rate of 2.9% and thereby creating revenue of $36 billion. As per the report provided by PowerWaterhouseCooperation (PwC), the Australian entertainment industry would reach the value of $43.7 billion by 2025 (Gradaustralia.com.au, 2019). The growth of the entertainment industry in Australia from 2008 to 2017 is illustrated below:
Figure 1: Value of Entertainment Industry Australia
(Source: Statista, 2019)
The entertainment industry is a place of creative work environment that possess different work ideologies. Van den Eynde, Fisher and Sonn, (2016, pp.1-16) commented that the entertainment industry in Australia is profoundly affected by the by the volatility and the increasing pressure of more people entering this industry. The different companies working in this industry are affected as a result of these factors. The report would shed light on Fox which is a leading company in this industry.
2. Overview of Fox
The Fox Entertainment is an American Entertainment company that operates in four different segments namely filmed entertainment, television stations, television broadcast networks and the cable networking program. For Entertainment is owned by the media conglomerate 21st Century Fox. Fox Entertainment was established in 1990, and Rupert Murdoch is its current chairman. Fox Entertainment Group employs 12,100 employees. The sales of Fox Entertainment have been increasing with the expansion of its segment. Recently, the profitability of Fox News and FX channels has increased by 11% to AU$5.6 billion that accounted for more than half of the total revenue in the quarter. The advertisement revenue of Fox often defends on events, and it is volatile. The revenue from the film entertainment unit of Fox declined by 1% and accounted to US$2.25 billion. Fox has recently focused on News and sports which has helped to increase the total revenue to $8.04 million that have surpassed the estimation of US$7.94 million (Australian Financial Review, 2019).
Some of the commercial success, followed by the increased popularity of the News Channel and the rise in the advertising sales has positively contributed to double-digit revenue of Fox. The success of the company is influenced by several factors, and some challenging factors are disused in the next section.
2.1 Phenomenal growth of Fox News
As per the report of PwC, the entertainment industry is expected to increase by 2.1% annually for the next few years. The growth would be different in a different segment of entrainment. The revenue from the digital section is expected to increase by 5% by 2021. Fox has seen growth in digital entertainment but particularly in the News section. Fox news channel has seen a growth of 4% to $4.3 billion in the first quarter. The revenue of the 21st Fox Century Fox film studio declined by 7% and this negatively affected the performance of the entire group. However, the overall revenue of Fox Entertainment increased by 5%, and this was driven by Advertisement and News Section (Forbes.com, 2019). It seemed to compete well with its competitors as illustrated below:
Figure 2: Fox Leads
(Source: Holcomb, 2019)
Fox News has continued to be an essential strength for the company as this news channel has proved to be the best quarter of 2017 regarding 24-hour viewership. The views of the channel increases and Fox have helped to increase the domestic cable revenues by 6% on a yearly basis.
2.2 High Brand Equity of Fox Entertainment
Keller (2016, pp.262-298) commented that brand equity is the commercial value obtained from the perception of the consumers regarding a product or service. Fox Entertainment is one of the renowned brands in the entertainment industry of the developed nations of the world. Fox occupies the 54th position regarding brand position among the top 100 companies of the world as per Forbes list. The brand value is $11.7 billion. Presently, Fox News is observed in 90 million homes and has turned out to be the dominant cable news network for the last 16 years (Forbes, 2019).
Fox news is considered to hold ideology as compared to its two main competitors who are CNN and MSNBC. Fox News has the number of audiences for its efficiency, and this highlights the brand equity. Fox & Friends has proved to be the top show with 1.6 million total viewers and has 25% for the last years. The year 2017 was turbulent, but the appointment of CEO Suzanne Scott has proved to be beneficial for the cable News network (Forbes, 2019).
2.3 Improper work environment
Block (2016, pp.149-185) commented that it is the responsibility of the organisation to create a work environment that would encourage the growth and development of the employees and prevent any abuse and harassment. However, in the year 2016, Fox News has been criticised for not offering the best working environment for the women. Roger Ailes was accused of sexually harassing a host of the channel named Gretchen Carlson. Furthermore, it was also accused that Bill O' Reilly has settled the case of sexual harassment for an amount of $13 million which led to the cancellation of some shows. The increased incidences of sexual harassment within the work environment of Fox destroyed its reputation, and for this, the business saw a turbulent period in the year 2017 (Wemple, 2019). After several controversies, a female CEO named Suzanne Scott was appointed. This helped to create a positive environment and regain the trust of the employees as well as it’s audiences.
3. Conclusion & Recommendations
Fox Entertainment is a part of the 21st Century Fox Entertainment Group. This organisation works in the entertainment sector and has a different segment. However, presently, the Fox News is driving the growth of the organisation and increasing its revenue. Fox News is an important source of strength, and it has good brand equity. However, the scandal of sexual harassment hampered the reputation of the company and affected its CSR activities. Considering the above findings, the suitable recommendations are offered that would help the organisation to regain its position.
1. The Australian government has developed strict laws to prevent all forms of abuse in the workplace. Following the established laws, Fox Entertainment needs to develop coherent policies for preventing and fighting sexual harassment.
2. Development of strict punishment for sexual harassment and abuse should be developed that would prevent such future activities. Creating a team or board, specifically, to look after this issue would be beneficial and can solve the cases more quickly.
3. Gender diversity is an important way to prevent cases of sexual harassment in the workplace. Recruitment of more women in the organisation and most importantly in the important positions would help to address the issue of female abuse. The women need to be given an important position to ensure that some people understand the importance of respecting women.
4. Training is an important way to prevent any form of abuse in the organisation. Fox Entertainment needs to organise a proper training session that would help the employees to create a positive work environment. They should be aware of the instances of sexual abuse and the consequences they would encounter for the same.
Login
Pages: 4
Words: 890