Q. How Do We Manage External and Internal Business Environment?

ASSIGNMENT Q. How do we manage external and internal business environment?

Business and the environment Business environment is a set of political, economic, social and technological (PEST) forces that are largely outside the control and influence of a business and that can potentially have both a positive and a negative impact on the business. The business environment can be broadly divided into: (A) External environment (B) Internal environment One of the basic assumptions of business is that organisations are neither self sufficient nor self contained.Rather , they exchange resources with and are dependent upon the external environment, defined as all the elements outside an organisation that are relevant to its operations. Organisations take inputs (raw materials, money, labour, and energy) from the external environment. The many rapid changes taking place in the external environment of the organisations require increasing attention from the managers. The external environment contains numerous resources upon which the organisations rely. This means that the organisations are inevitably affected by what goes on in the environment. The external environment has both direct-action and indirect-action elements . The External Analysis examines opportunities and threats that exist in the environment. Both opportunities and threats exist independently of the firm. The way to differentiate between a strength or weakness from an opportunity or threat is to ask: Would this issue exist if the company did not exist? If the answer is yes, it should be considered external to the firm. Opportunities refer to favorable conditions in the environment that could produce rewards for the organization if acted upon properly. That is, opportunities are situations that exist but must be acted on if the firm is to benefit from them. Threats refer to conditions or barriers that may prevent the firms from reaching its objectives. The following area analyses are used to look at all external factors affecting a company: • • • •

Customer analysis: Segments, motivations, unmet needs Competitive analysis: Identify completely, put in strategic groups, evaluate performance, image, their objectives, strategies, culture, cost structure, strengths, weakness Market analysis: Overall size, projected growth, profitability, entry barriers, cost structure, distribution system, trends, key success factors Environmental analysis: Technological, governmental, economic, cultural, demographic, scenarios, information-need areas. Goal: To identify external opportunities, threats, trends, and strategic uncertainties. External environment can be categorized into :

I. Micro environment or direct action environment It involves individuals or organisations that a firm deals with on a regular basis. For example, suppliers, distributors, competitors, customers and employees are all members of the microenvironment. These groups are stakeholders of the business. They all have a direct interest in the activities of the firm and are clearly affected by its actions. The micro environment therefore plays a critical role in the success and behaviour of a business. Micro environment can be further divided into:

(a) External stakeholders •

SUPPLIERS: Organisations are dependent upon suppliers of materials and labour and will try to take advantage of competition among suppliers to obtain lower prices, betterquality work, and faster deliveries. Every organisation buys inputs-raw materials, services, energy, equipment and labour from the environment and uses them to produce output. Organizations are therefore dependent upon suppliers of materials and labour and will try to take advantage of competition among suppliers to obtain lower prices, better quality work, and faster deliveries. Some firms take quite an aggressive attitude towards their suppliers by trying to push down the prices and delay payments. Others view the relationship more as a partnership in which they are working together with suppliers and that by helping each other both can benefit.

•

COMPETITORS: The success and behaviour of any business will depend on the degree of competition in its market. In some markets one firm is dominant. This is called a monopoly. In other markets a few firms dominate; this type of market structure is called an oligopoly. In oligopolistic markets there is a high degree of interdependence and so

firms will think carefully how their rivals might react to any actions they take. This can lead to an emphasis on non price competition; a price change is relatively easy to imitate and so firms may rely more on methods such as branding or product development. A business could react to an increase in competition (e.g. a launch of rival product) in the following ways: •

Cut prices

•

Improve quality

•

Spend more on promotion Cut costs, e.g. use cheaper materials, make some workers redundant

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CUSTOMERS: Customers are obviously the key to sales. Usually, a marketing manager analyses the potential customers and market conditions and directs a marketing campaign based on that analysis. Managers must monitor customer needs and try to anticipate how these will develop so that they can meet these requirements effectively now and in the future. To help understand their customers firms are increasingly trying to gather information on them through mechanisms such as loyalty cards. By gathering data on shopping patterns and matching this to data the individual shoppers firms can build up detailed pictures of their buyers and then offer them appropriate deals.

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SPECIAL INTERST GROUPS: They are groups of people who organise to use the political process to advance their position on particular issues, such as abortion and gun control. Managers must take both the present and future SIGs into account when setting organisational strategy. Among the most important SIGs are consumer advocates and environmentalists.

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MEDIA: Today, managers at most large organisations realise they operate in a fishbowl where every action may be the subject of media scrutiny. To improve their communication with both internal and external audiences, they have developed sophisticated public relations and marketing departments. In addition, executives who regularly deal with media often seek professional coaching to improve their ability to present information and opinions clearly and effectively.

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: Both new and well establishes organisations may rely on short term or long term loans. Because effective working relationships with financial institutions are so vitally important, establishing and maintaining such relationships is normally the joint responsibility of the chief financial officer and the chief operating officer of the organisation.

•

DISTRIBUTORS: Often getting products to the end customers can be a major issue for firms. Imagine you sell shampoo - what you need to sell this is to get it on the shelves in the leading chemists and supermarkets but this means moving someone else's products off the shelves! So the challenge is to get stores to stock your products; this may be achieved by good negotiating skills and offering appropriate incentives. When selling via

retailers, for example, the retailer has control over where the products are displayed and how much they are promoted in-store. Banks, insurance companies, holiday firms, hotels and many others businesses have seen the opportunities created by the internet. Direct Line insurance, Dell computers and Amazon have reduced costs by selling direct. •

GOVERNMENT: Economic policies affect firms’ costs (through taxation and interest rates).Legislation formulated by the govt. regulates what business can do in areas such as the environment and occupational safety and health. Successful firms are good for governments as they create wealth and employment.

(a)Internal stakeholders 

EMPLOYEES: A business needs staff or employees to carry out its activities Employees agree to work a certain number of hours in return for a wage or salary Pay levels vary with skills, qualifications, age, location, types of work and industry and other factors

•

SHAREHOLDERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The number of owners and the roles they carry out differ according to the size of the firm. In small businesses there may be only one owner (sole trader) or perhaps a small number of partners (partnership).In large firms there are often thousands of shareholders, who each own a small part of the business. II. MACRO ENVIRONMENT OR INDIRECT ACTION ENVIRONMENT This involves factors outside of the direct control of the business. These macro-factors such as the economy, government policy and social change can have a significant effect on a firm's success but the relationship is fairly one way. The macro-environment can be analysed using PESTEL analysis.

PESTEL ANALYSIS

A PEST analysis is one of them that is merely a framework that categorizes environmental influences as political, economic, social and technological forces. Sometimes two additional factors, environmental and legal, will be added to make a PESTEL analysis, but these themes can easily be subsumed in the others. The analysis examines the impact of each of these factors (and their interplay with each other) on the business. The results can then be used to take advantage of opportunities and to make contingency plans for threats when preparing business and strategic plans The classification distinguishes between: •

Political factors. These refer to government policy such as the degree of intervention in the economy. What goods and services does a government want to provide? To what extent does it believe in subsidising firms? What are its priorities in terms of business support? Political decisions can impact on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the road and rail system.

•

Economic factors: These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. For example: - higher interest rates may deter investment because it costs more to borrow - a strong currency may make exporting more difficult because it may raise the price in

terms of foreign currency - inflation may provoke higher wage demands from employees and raise costs - higher national income growth may boost demand for a firm's products.

•

Social factors: Changes in social trends can impact on the demand for a firm's products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. There are basically three types of social factors: Demographic (size, structure & distribution of population), social and lifestyle.

•

Technological factors: New technologies create new products and new processes. MP3 players, computer games, online gambling and high definition TVs are all new markets created by technological advances. Online shopping, bar coding and computer aided design are all improvements to the way we do business as a result of better technology. Technology

can

reduce

costs,

improve

quality

and

lead

to

innovation.

These

developments can benefit consumers as well as the organisations providing the products. •

Environmental factors: Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness; the growing desire to protect the environment is having an impact on many industries such as the travel and transportation industries (for example, more taxes being placed on air travel and the success of hybrid cars) and the general move towards more environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities.

•

Legal factors: these are related to the legal environment in which firms operate. Legal changes can affect a firm's costs (e.g. if new systems and procedures have to be developed) and demand (e.g. if the law affects the likelihood of customers buying the good or using the service). Different categories of law include:

•

Consumer laws

•

Competition laws

•

Employment laws

•

Health and Safety legislation

Factor

Often Comprised Of

Political

- Current taxation policy - Future taxation policy - The current and future political support - Effect of wars or worsening relations with particular countries

Economic

- Overall economic situation - Strength of consumer spending - Current and future levels of government spending

- Ease of access to loans Sociological

- Demographics - Lifestyle patterns and changes - Attitudes towards issues such as education, corporate responsibility and the environment - Social mobility - Media views and perceptions - Ethnic and religious differences

Technological

- Relevant current and future technology innovations - The level of research funding - The ways in which consumers make purchases - Intellectual property rights and copyright infringements - Global communication technological advances

Legal

- Legislation in areas such as employment, competition and health & safety - Future legislation changes - Changes in European law - Trading policies - Regulatory bodies

Environmental

- The level of pollution created by the product or service - Recycling considerations - Attitudes to the environment from the government, media and consumers - Current and future environmental legislative changes

What managers need to do is to think about which factors are most likely to change and which ones will have the greatest impact on them i.e. each firm must identify the key factors in their own environment. For some such as pharmaceutical companies government regulation may be critical; for others, perhaps firms that have borrowed heavily, interest rate changes may be a huge issue. Managers must decide on the relative

importance of various factors and one way of doing this is to rank or score the likelihood of a change occurring and also rate the impact if it did. The higher the likelihood of a change occurring and the greater the impact of any change the more significant this factor will be to the firm's planning. Another version of PESTEL analysis is called LoNGPESTEL. This is illustrated below: LOCAL Provision of services by local council

NATIONAL GLOBAL POLITICAL Government policy World trade on subsidies agreements e.g. Free Trade Agreements ECONOMIC Local income Interest rates Overseas economic growth SOCIAL Local population Demographic Migration flows growth change (e.g. ageing population) TECHNOLOGICAL Improvements in Country wide International local technologies technology e.g. technological e.g. availability of online services breakthroughs e.g. Digital TV internet ENVIRONMENTAL Local waste issues Weather Global climate change LEGAL Local Law International licences/planning agreements on permission human rights or environmental policy These can be incredibly important factors in a firm's macro-environment. The growth of China and India, for example, have had massive effects on many organisations. Firms can relocate production there to benefit from lower costs; these emerging markets are also providing enormous markets for firms to aim their products at. With a population of over 1 billion, for example, the Chinese market is not one you would want to ignore; at the same time Chinese producers should not be ignored either. Whether a particular change is an opportunity or threat depends on the specific position of a business- is it able to exploit the opportunities created? Has it anticipated the change already and prepared for it or has it been taken by surprise? Does it have the skills and resources required to meet changing customer needs? When considering the external changes that may occur and deciding whether they are significant opportunities or threats managers must consider the internal functions of their business. This is called SWOT analysis. Influencing the PESTEL environment For most firms there is little hope of influencing the PESTEL environment on their own, at least on a global scale. It may be more feasible through industry

associations that are formed to protect their interests and represent a particular sector such as cars or printing. These bodies represent many firms and therefore may have more power than any individual firm when it comes to influencing government. The organization’s resources, its capabilities and competencies make up the internal environment of the organization. The internal environment plays a crucial role in the strategic management process of the organization. It is a direct reflection of what the organization can do in the event of a businessrelated exigency. The organization’s core competencies help sustain it in the long run in the face of competition. The paper discusses the factors, processes and tools in the analysis of the internal environment of the organization. In this context, the paper also examines the issue of core competency.

SWOT ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis should be conducted after the PESTLE analysis, as the external environment impacts on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the business faces. Analyse each aspect of the SWOT analysis and look at avenues which exploit the strengths of the business and pursue the identified opportunities. Similarly, the threats and weaknesses should be assessed and possible options identified so as to minimise these. These options may include diversification, targeting a different customer segment, or product development.

Strengths

Weaknesses

What’s different about your business? What do your competitors have that What do you do well?

you don’t?

What unique resources or knowledge do you have?

What areas can you improve at? W

hat weaknesses do people perceive you Think from an internal and external

as having?

perspective. For example, if all your competitors have a high quality

Perception is just as important as the

product then having a high quality

reality here. Do customers perceive

product is not a strength, it’s a

you as having certain weaknesses?

necessity.

Where do you think you could do better?

Opportunities What trends present an opportunity to you? Are there any complementary

Threats What legal and technological developments could threaten your business?

products which you could look to

Are any new entrants likely?

expand into?

What does your competition plan to

Are there any potentially beneficial

do?

technological or legal developments? Threats may often arise as a result of Refer back to your strengths and

your weaknesses. Assessing your

look at whether you can exploit any

weaknesses will help you identify

opportunities through using them.

future threats and assess how to minimise them.

A strategy may be developed by using a firm's strengths to exploit the opportunities that exist. For example, a strong brand name may be used to extend a firm's products into new markets. It may also use these strengths to protect itself against threats; for example, a retailer may use its finance to acquire key locations to prevent a competitor buying them. A firm may also want to protect itself against its weaknesses. Undertaking a SWOT analysis effectively involves two things. Firstly, managers have to correctly identify what all the relevant factors are and how important each one is.

Secondly, managers need to work out the most appropriate strategy that combines the strengths and opportunities and actually implement the plan successfully The importance of strategy should not be underestimated. The strategy sets out where and how the battles will be fought and a good strategy is essential to business success. This involves an understanding not only of what happens within the firm but also the ability to forecast changes in the external environment and their significance successfully. As the internal and external environments change so must a firm's strategy to maintain an appropriate fit. Managers must ensure the complexity of the environment and rate of environmental change. Environmental complexities deals with the number and possible impacts of different forces in the environment • •

Manager s should pay more attention to forces with larger impact Usually , the larger the organization, the greater is the number of forces managers must oversee. The more forces, the more complex the manager’s job becomes.

REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Managers can counter environmental threats by reducing the number of forces. Many firms have sought to reduce it deals with which reduce uncertainty. All levels managers should work to minimize the potential impact of environmental forces . Example: reduction of waste by first line managers , determining competitor’s moves by middle managers , or the creation of a new strategy by top managers. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Managers can create new organizational structure to deal with change. Many firms use specific departments to respond to each force. Managers also create mechanistic or organic structures. Mechanistic structures have centralized authority : 1. Roles are clearly specified 2. Good for slowly changing environments Organic structures authority is decentralized. Roles overlap, providing quick response to change.

BOUNDARY SPANNING Managers must gain access to information needed to forecast future issues. Rod Canion’s forecast of Compaq’s future was wrong due to his incorrect view of the environment. Boundary spanning is the practice of relating people outside the organization. 1. Seek ways to respond and influence stakeholder perception.

2. By gaining information outside, managers can make better decisions about change. More management levels involved in spanning, yields better overall decision making

SCANNING AND MONITORING Environmental scanning is an important boundary spanning activity. Includes reading journals, attending trade shows and the like. Gatekeeping: the boundary spanner decides what information to allow into organization and what to keep out. The manager must ensure that he should not let bias decide what comes in. Interorganisational relations: firms need alliances globally to best utilize resources. Managers can become agents of change and have an impact on the environment.