Untitled form

- focuses on identifying and evaluating trends and events beyond the control of a single firm - reveals key opportunities and threats confronting an organization so that managers can formulate strategies to take advantage of the opportunities and avoid or reduce the impact of threats

The _______ is aimed at identifying key variables that offer actionable responses

The General Environment  Population size  Age structure  Geographic distribution  Ethnic mix  Income distribution

The General Environment Inflation rates  Interest rates  Trade deficits or surpluses  Budget deficits or surpluses  Personal savings rate  Business savings rates  Gross domestic product

The General Environment Antitrust laws  Taxation laws  Deregulation philosophies  Labor training laws  Educational philosophies and policies

The General Environment Women in the workforce  Workforce diversity  Attitudes about work life quality  Concerns about the environment  Shifts in work and career preferences  Shifts in preferences regarding product and service characteristics

The General Environment  Product innovations  Applications of knowledge  Focus of private and government-supported R&D expenditures  New communication technologies

The General Environment  Important political events  Critical global markets  Newly industrialized countries  Different cultural and institutional attributes

Environmental External Scanning What trends are occurring in the marketplace or industry that could affect the organization either positively or negatively?

Environmental External Scanning ✓ What is your competition doing that provides them an advantage? ✓ Where can you exploit your competition's weaknesses?