Cultural Levels and Business
February 12, 2025
In the previous couple of articles, we listed down the problems with the procedure used to collect numbers related to inflation. In this article, we will go a step further. In this article, the central point being said is that even after all the efforts are done and the numbers are collected they aren’t really […]
Youth is the Future of every nation & inheritors of the earth tomorrow. This statement stands true in every sense. When a country has a healthy youth population, you will find the country making headway in terms of overall development and progress. A country with high aging population and lower youth population has a lot […]
Tax Evasion vs. Tax Avoidance Tax evasion and tax avoidance are often used interchangeably. However, there is a huge difference between the two terms. Tax evasion is a criminal activity. In most countries, tax evasion would attract a jail term. Evasion is usually done by not reporting income or overstating expenses. However, tax avoidance is […]
Introduction Humans are social animals and hence, form groups wherever they are. This is true for organizations as well as familial and friendship networks wherein people tend to congregate in groups and be governed by the norms and rules of the group. For instance, familial groups impose a certain way of behavior in us as […]
In any business or organization, all functions are interlinked and connected to each other and are often overlapping. Some key aspects like supply chain management, logistics and inventory form the backbone of the business delivery function. Therefore these functions are extremely important to marketing managers as well as finance controllers. Inventory management is a very […]
Organizational environment consists of both external and internal factors. Environment must be scanned so as to determine development and forecasts of factors that will influence organizational success.
Environmental scanning refers to possession and utilization of information about occasions, patterns, trends, and relationships within an organization’s internal and external environment.
It helps the managers to decide the future path of the organization. Scanning must identify the threats and opportunities existing in the environment.
During strategy formulation, an organization must take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. A threat for one organization may be an opportunity for another.
Internal analysis of the environment is the first step of environment scanning. Organizations should observe the internal organizational environment.
This includes employee interaction with other employees, employee interaction with management, manager interaction with other managers, and management interaction with shareholders, access to natural resources, brand awareness, organizational structure, main staff, operational potential, etc. Also, discussions, interviews, and surveys can be used to assess the internal environment.
Analysis of internal environment helps in identifying strengths and weaknesses of an organization.
As business becomes more competitive, and there are rapid changes in the external environment, information from external environment adds crucial elements to the effectiveness of long-term plans.
As environment is dynamic, it becomes essential to identify competitors’ moves and actions. Organizations have also to update the core competencies and internal environment as per external environment.
Environmental factors are infinite, hence, organization should be agile and vigile to accept and adjust to the environmental changes.
For instance - Monitoring might indicate that an original forecast of the prices of the raw materials that are involved in the product are no more credible, which could imply the requirement for more focused scanning, forecasting and analysis to create a more trustworthy prediction about the input costs. In a similar manner, there can be changes in factors such as competitor’s activities, technology, market tastes and preferences.
While in external analysis, three correlated environment should be studied and analyzed —
Examining the industry environment needs an appraisal of the competitive structure of the organization’s industry, including the competitive position of a particular organization and it’s main rivals. Also, an assessment of the nature, stage, dynamics and history of the industry is essential. It also implies evaluating the effect of globalization on competition within the industry.
Analyzing the national environment needs an appraisal of whether the national framework helps in achieving competitive advantage in the globalized environment.
Analysis of macro-environment includes exploring macro-economic, social, government, legal, technological and international factors that may influence the environment. The analysis of organization’s external environment reveals opportunities and threats for an organization.
Strategic managers must not only recognize the present state of the environment and their industry but also be able to predict its future positions.
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