Question 1
Quid is a limited liability company founded in Verona, Italy, by Anna Fiscale. The company typically employs a flat business structure. The main features of this type of organization include the lack of stress on the hierarchy, expertise, and job levels (Schulman, 2020, p. 669). Instead, most roles and workers are self-managed and work towards improving quality. The company has about 140 employees and has several branches in Verona, Milan, Genova, and Bologna, among other towns. Quid operates in the textile industry. It deals with the recovery of high-quality fabrics which could have been disposed of by fashion factories and brands.
Question 2
A STEEPLE analysis is a study of the external factors that affect an organization or an industry. It is a planning tool that business owners and managers can use to look at the macro-environment of their business and make the appropriate decisions. These environmental issues examined include ethical, political, economic, sociological, technological, legal, and environmental factors. In this regard, “the acronym for STEEPLE analysis stands for Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, and Ethical factors” (Nudurupati, Garengo, and Bititci)
Quid’s business environment contains different factors that can be looked at through a STEEPLE analysis. The social factors influencing Quid’s business activities in the case study include cultural diversity among the customers they serve in the fashion industry. The company has to incorporate cultural differences in its designs. The company suffered a major blow during the Covid-19 pandemic and had to change production processes to fit new products. However, the management planned to implement an online commerce platform to sell its products. Besides, there are various economic issues within Quid’s business environment, such as the company’s economic growth shown by an increase in the number of employees, collaboration with other organizations in the fashion industry, and the creation of more employment opportunities. The environmental aspects highlighted in Quid’s business model include conserving the environment by reducing fashion factories’ carbon footprint and producing reusable face masks. The legal factors include adherence to healthcare standards in the production of goods. Lastly, the business also faced various ethical issues, such as the employment of individuals recovering from substance abuse, disadvantaged women, and paying good wages.
Question 3
From the STEEPLE analysis, Quid should put most of its focus on the technological trend of developing an online commerce platform to help market its products globally. However, it sells its products in stores forced to close during the Covid-19 pandemic leaving the organization with no sales. In this case, following the idea of starting an online platform should cushion the organization against any pandemics in the future (Sołoducho-Pelc and Sulich, 2020, p. 8832).