Factors of direct impact of the external environment of the organization. Environmental factors of direct impact

labor resources (labor market)

suppliers

consumers

competitors unions

laws and government agencies

The more resource providers, the more significant this factor for the enterprise. The use of suppliers from other countries can be economically profitable, but at the same time the risk increases due to currency fluctuations, political instability, etc.

The consumer determines the main element for the enterprise - what to produce and preferably at what price. The efficiency of its activities and, ultimately, survival in a competitive environment depends on the ability of an enterprise to find consumers.

Competition along with consumers determines the price and quality of goods. Enterprises compete for the right to use labor resources, raw materials, materials, equipment, capital and other factors of production.

State bodies, in accordance with the current legislation, create a system of restrictions on the use of hired labor, the import and export of goods, the use of subsoil and other natural resources, and also establish the procedure for replenishing the state and local budgets from taxes.

The trade union acts as the main supplier of labor force. The contract, signed by the management of the enterprise and the trade union, stipulates working conditions, productivity standards, forms of payment, conditions for hiring and dismissal, and opportunities for advanced training.

Indirect impact factors are factors that do not have a direct immediate impact on an entity's operations, but nonetheless affect them.

Indirect impact factors include:

state of the economy in the country

political factors

scientific and technical progress

socio-cultural factors

relationship with the population

international environment

The general state of the economy affects the activities of the enterprise through such factors as economic growth or recession, inflation, conditions for obtaining a loan, interest rate and others. The management of the enterprise must constantly monitor changes at the macroeconomic level and make decisions that minimize losses.

Socio-cultural factors depend on the environment in which the enterprise operates. These include traditions, life values, attitudes, etc. This group of factors requires some attention from managers, since in some cases it can have a strong impact on the organization's activities.

Political factors, the change of which should also be in the field of view of the leaders of the enterprise, include such as: the general political situation in the country and other countries, the possibility of military conflicts, strikes, current life safety standards, current rules for hiring labor, protecting consumer rights and etc.

Scientific and technological progress is closely related to the internal variable "technology". Technical and technological innovations affect the efficiency of production, the rate of obsolescence of products, what goods and services consumers expect from the enterprise.

Taking into account the international situation is necessary, first of all, for enterprises operating in international business, including those related to the trade in oil, gas and oil products. The types of international business currently are as follows:

Thus, the factors of the internal and external environment have a significant impact on the choice of strategic alternatives for the development of an enterprise, on the conditions for implementing the chosen strategy, on the economic efficiency of an enterprise in an extremely mobile market environment. Therefore, controlling the change in these factors and adapting to these changes are the most important components of the success of any organization.

Yalta - 2015

Introduction

1. Modern views about the internal and external environment of the organization. The concept of business environment.

2. The internal environment of the organization.

3. External environment of the organization

Direct Impact Factors

Factors of indirect influence

4. Methods for analyzing the internal and external environment of the organization

5. Opportunities to improve the external and internal environment

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

The most important concept in management is the organization. Any organization is located and operates in the environment. Each action of all organizations without exception is possible only if the environment allows its implementation. The internal environment is the source of it life force. It contains the potential necessary for the functioning of the organization, but at the same time it can be a source of problems and even its death. The external environment is the source that feeds the organization with resources. The organization is in a state of constant exchange with the external environment, thereby providing itself with the possibility of survival. Naturally, these moments should be the subject of constant attention from the manager. Therefore, the main task of this term paper there will be a consideration of the elements of the internal and external environment of the organization that are in constant interaction. As well as the assessment and analysis of these factors using various methods.

Thus, the purpose of this work is to study the internal and external environment of the organization for more effective management decision-making necessary for the successful operation of the enterprise (organization).

1. Modern ideas about the internal and external environment of the organization.

The concept of business environment

In management, the business environment is understood as the presence of conditions and factors that affect the functioning of the company and require managerial decisions to be made to eliminate them or to adapt to them. The environment of any organization is usually considered as consisting of two spheres: internal and external. The external environment, in turn, is divided into microenvironment (or working, or direct environment, or indirect impact environment) and macroenvironment (or general, or direct business environment, or direct impact environment).

The internal environment is understood as the economic organism of the company, which includes a management mechanism aimed at optimizing the scientific, technical and production and marketing activities of the company. When we are talking about about the internal environment of the firm, meaning the global structure of the firm, covering all manufacturing enterprises firms, financial, insurance, transport and other divisions included in the firm, regardless of their location and field of activity.

The external environment is understood as all conditions and factors that arise in the environment, regardless of the activities of a particular company, but which have or may have an impact on its functioning and therefore require management decisions.

However, the set of these factors and the assessment of their impact on economic activity are different for each company. The conclusions of ongoing research or current events are accompanied by the development of specific tools and methods for making appropriate management decisions.

All businesses operate in an environment that drives their operations, and their long-term survival depends on their ability to adapt to the expectations and demands of the environment. Distinguish between the internal and external environment of the organization. The internal environment includes the main elements and subsystems within the organization that ensure the implementation of the processes occurring in it. The external environment is a set of factors, subjects and conditions outside the organization and capable of influencing its behavior.

Elements of the external environment are divided into two groups: factors of direct and indirect impact on the organization. The direct impact environment (business environment, microenvironment) includes such elements that directly affect the business process and experience the same impact of the functioning of the organization. This environment is specific to each individual organization and, as a rule, is controlled by it.



The environment of indirect impact (macro environment) includes elements that affect the processes occurring in the organization not directly, but indirectly, indirectly. This environment is generally not specific to a single organization and is usually outside its control.

2. Internal environment of the organization

The manager creates and changes, when necessary, the internal environment of the organization, which is an organic combination of its internal variables. But for this he must be able to distinguish and know them.

Internal variables are situational factors within an organization.

The main variables within the organization itself that require management attention are goals, structure, tasks, technology, and people.

Goals are specific end states or desired outcomes that a group seeks to achieve by working together.

The main purpose of most organizations is to make a profit. There are three main types of profit orientation of an organization:

Its maximization;

Obtaining a "satisfactory" profit, i.e. the bottom line is that when planning profit, it is considered “satisfactory” if the degree of risk is taken into account;

Profit minimization. This option denotes maximizing the minimum expected income along with minimizing the maximum loss.

But not all organizations make profit is the main goal. This applies to non-profit organizations, such as churches, charitable foundations. Non-profit organizations have a variety of goals, but are likely to focus more on social responsibility. Goal-driven orientation pervades all subsequent management decisions.

The structure of an organization is a logical relationship between levels of management and functional areas, built in a form that allows you to most effectively achieve the goals of the organization.

The main concept of the structure is a specialized division of labor. A characteristic feature is the specialized division of labor - the assignment of this work to specialists, i.e. those who are able to perform it best from the point of view of the organization as a whole. An example is the division of labor between experts in marketing, finance and production.

A task is a prescribed job, a series of jobs, or a piece of work that must be completed in a predetermined manner within a predetermined timeframe. From a technical point of view, tasks are assigned not to the employee, but to his position. Based on the decision of management on the structure, each position includes a number of tasks that are considered as a necessary contribution to the achievement of the objectives of the organization.

The tasks of the organization are traditionally divided into three categories. This is work with people, objects, information.

Changes in the nature and content of tasks are closely related to the evolution of specialization. As Adam Smith showed in his famous pin manufacturing example, a specialist can greatly increase productivity. In our century, technological innovations and the systemic combination of technology and labor specialization have made task specialization deep and complex to a degree that Smith could not have imagined.

Technology as a factor in the internal environment is much more important than many people think. Most people view technology as something to do with inventions and machines, such as semiconductors and computers. However, sociologist Charles Perrow, who has written extensively about the impact of technology on organizations and societies, describes technology as a means of transforming raw materials—whether people, information, or physical materials—into the desired products and services.

Technology implies standardization and mechanization. That is, the use of standard parts can greatly facilitate the process of production and repair. Nowadays, there are very few goods whose production process is not standardized.

People are the backbone of any organization. People in an organization create its product, they shape the culture of the organization, its internal climate, they determine what the organization is.

Because of this situation, people are the "number one subject" for the manager. The manager forms personnel, establishes a system of relations between them, includes them in the creative process of joint work, promotes their development, training and promotion at work.

inner life organization is made up of many various activities, subprocesses and processes. Despite the huge variety of actions and processes, five groups of functional processes can be distinguished. These functional groups of processes are the following: production, marketing, finance, work with personnel, accounting (accounting and analysis of economic activity).

In the field of production management, management performs the following operations: product development and design management; the choice of the technological process, the placement of personnel and equipment for the process in order to optimize costs; management of the purchase of raw materials, materials and semi-finished products; stock management in warehouses; quality control.

Marketing management is designed to link the satisfaction of the needs of the organization's customers and the achievement of the organization's goals into a single consistent process. For this, such processes and actions are managed as: market research; advertising; pricing; creation of sales systems; distribution of created products; sales.

Financial management is that management manages the process of movement of funds in the organization. To do this, the following is carried out: budgeting and financial plan; formation of monetary resources; the distribution of money between the various parties that determine the life of the organization; assessment of the financial potential of the organization.

Personnel management is associated with the provision of production and other areas with human resources (hiring, training and retraining).

Accounting management involves managing the processing and analysis process financial information about the work of the organization in order to compare the actual activities of the organization with its capabilities, as well as with the activities of other organizations.

The main internal variables have been discussed above. But it should be remembered that in management these variables should never be considered separately. No one will deny that the objectives of the organization influence the development of goals. Similarly, all other internal variables are interconnected and influence each other.

The internal environment of the organization can be considered from the point of view of statics, highlighting the composition of its elements and structure, and from the point of view of dynamics, i.e., the processes taking place in it. The elements of the internal environment include goals, tasks, people, technologies, information, structure, organizational culture and other components.

People occupy a special place in the internal environment of the organization. Their abilities, education, qualifications, experience, motivation and dedication ultimately determine the results of the organization. The realization that the organization is primarily the people working in it, that they are the main resource of the organization, changes the attitude towards the staff. Managers pay great attention to the selection of people, their introduction into the organization, they are engaged in the training and development of employees, ensuring a high quality of working life.

People working in an organization, their relationships and interactions form the social subsystem of the organization. The production and technical subsystem includes a complex of machines, equipment, raw materials, materials, tools, energy, which processes incoming resources into a finished product. The main characteristics of this subsystem are: technologies used, labor productivity, production costs, product quality, inventory volume. The financial subsystem carries out the movement and use of funds in the organization. In particular, maintaining liquidity and ensuring profitability, creating investment opportunities. The marketing subsystem is associated with meeting the needs of customers in the company's products by studying the market, creating a sales system, organizing optimal pricing and effective advertising, as well as actively influencing the market in order to form new needs to increase the market share and increase the profitability of sales.

3. External environment of the organization

Like the factors of the internal environment, the factors of the external environment are interrelated. The interconnectedness of environmental factors is understood as the level of force with which a change in one factor affects other factors. Just as a change in any internal variable can affect others, a change in one environmental factor can change others.

The external environment is not constant, it changes all the time. Many researchers have pointed out that the environment of modern organizations is changing at an accelerating rate. Given the complexity of operating in a highly mobile environment, an organization or its departments must rely on more diverse information to make effective decisions about their internal variables. This makes decision making more difficult.

The direct impact environment is also called the direct business environment of the organization. This environment forms such subjects of the environment that directly affect the activities of a particular organization.

From the point of view of the systems approach, the organization is a mechanism for transforming inputs into outputs. The main types of inputs are materials, equipment, energy, capital and work force. Suppliers provide the input of these resources. Receiving resources from other countries could be more profitable in terms of price, quality or quantity, but at the same time dangerously increase environmental factors such as exchange rate fluctuations or political instability.

All suppliers can be divided into several groups - suppliers of materials, capital, labor resources.

laws and government agencies. Many laws and government agencies affect organizations. Each organization has a specific legal status, whether it be a sole proprietorship, a company, a corporation or a non-profit corporation, and it is this that determines how an organization can conduct its business and what taxes it must pay.

As is known, the state in a market economy has both an indirect influence on organizations, primarily through the tax system, state property and the budget, and a direct one - through legislative acts.

Consumers. The well-known management specialist Peter F. Drucker, speaking of the purpose of the organization, singled out, in his opinion, the only true purpose of the business is to create a customer. This means the following: the very survival and justification of the existence of the organization depends on its ability to find a consumer of the results of its activities and satisfy its needs.

They acquire importance in modern conditions and various associations and associations of consumers that influence not only demand, but also the image of firms. It is necessary to take into account the factors influencing the behavior of consumers, their demand.

Competitors. The impact on the organization of such a factor as competition cannot be disputed. The management of each enterprise clearly understands that if the needs of consumers are not met as effectively as competitors do, the enterprise will not stay afloat for a long time. In many cases, competitors rather than consumers determine what kind of performance can be sold and what price can be asked.

Indirect environmental factors or the general external environment usually do not affect the organization as noticeably as direct environmental factors. However, management needs to take them into account.

The indirect impact environment is usually more complex than the direct impact environment. Therefore, its study is usually based primarily on forecasts. The main environmental factors of indirect impact include technological, economic, socio-cultural and political factors, as well as relationships with local communities.

Technology is both an internal variable and external factor great importance. As an external factor, it reflects the level of scientific and technological development that affects the organization, for example, in the areas of automation, informatization, etc.

Management must also be able to assess how general changes in the state of the economy will affect the organization's operations. The state of the world economy affects the cost of all inputs and the ability of consumers to buy certain goods and services, the ability of an organization to obtain capital for its needs.

Every organization operates in at least one cultural environment. Therefore, socio-cultural factors, among which attitudes, life values ​​and traditions predominate, affect the organization.

Socio-cultural factors influence the formation of the demand of the population, labor relations, the level wages and on working conditions. These factors include the demographic state of society.

Some aspects of the political environment are of particular importance to the leaders of the organization. One of them is the mood of the administration, legislative bodies and courts in relation to business. For companies with operations or markets in other countries, the factor of political stability is of great importance.

For almost all organizations, the prevailing attitude of the local community in which an organization operates is of paramount importance as a factor in the environment of indirect influence. In almost every community, there are specific laws and regulations in relation to business, determining where it is possible to deploy the activities of a particular enterprise.

While the environmental factors described above affect all organizations to some extent, the environment of organizations operating internationally is highly complex. The latter is due to the unique set of factors that characterize each country. The economy, culture, quantity and quality of labor and material resources, laws, government institutions, political stability, and the level of technological development vary from country to country. In carrying out the functions of planning, organizing, stimulating and controlling, managers must take such differences into account.

When an organization begins to conduct its business outside the domestic market, the relevant procedures are subject to modification for certain specific environmental factors. As the research team points out: “The firm must determine in what respect new environment different from what is more familiar within the country, and decide how to change the theory and practice of management in the new conditions. However, the analysis of the factors of the international environment is a difficult urgent task.

3.1 Direct impact factors

The direct impact environment includes factors that directly affect the organization's performance.

The following environmental factors of direct impact are distinguished:

consumers, suppliers, intermediaries, authorities, laws, trade union, competitors.

In relation to the organization under study, the most important of them are the following: consumers, suppliers, authorities and the laws they issue, competitors.

Let's take a closer look at each of these factors.

Suppliers and consumers are the most significant elements of the external environment for the company. As mentioned above, the clients of the firm act as consumers, because they use the services this enterprise. Suppliers also play a significant role, as at what prices they will buy fuel and the superstructure of the tracks, such will be the tariffs for transportation.

These two factors are ranked first in terms of importance for the organization due to the fact that in activities in this area, since The lower the shipping rates, the more customers there will be. Naturally, the more clients a company has, the more opportunities it has for development, the more globally its activities can be deployed and, accordingly, the greater the amount of profit can be.

Among the most significant factors of the external environment of direct impact, one can also note the authorities and the laws they issue. They can both stimulate and limit the activities of this type of organization (by direct or indirect methods), since monopoly firm.

The main factors in the direct impact environment are resource providers; consumers of products and services; competitors; government agencies and regulations that directly affect the performance of the organization.

Analysis of the direct impact environment includes consideration of individual factors and their interactions.

Suppliers meet the needs of the organization for various resources. The main types of resources: material, labor, financial, information.

Provision of material resources includes the supply of raw materials and semi-finished products, component parts and assemblies, equipment, energy in accordance with the volumes and structure of needs on time, subject to other conditions.

Provision of financial resources includes substantiation of the volume and structure of the necessary resources, relationships with investors, financial and commercial structures, the budget, and individuals.

For a modern organization, the importance of providing management with quality information is increasing. This may be information about markets, competitors' plans, government policy priorities, new product developments, etc.

A special place is occupied by providing the organization with labor resources corresponding to it in quantity, structure, level of general and professional training, and age. The most significant here is the involvement of highly qualified senior managers, as well as the training of capable leaders, including within the organization.

Consumers purchase produced goods or services. Depending on the volume of demand, small and large consumers are distinguished. Accounting for the requests of the latter is a necessary condition for the successful operation of the organization. Depending on the attitude towards consumers, we can talk about different strategies of the organization: to sell already manufactured products; produce products that the consumer needs; form your consumer, convincing him of the need to purchase products that will be produced.

State and municipal bodies also directly affect the organization, and therefore, are related to the environment of direct impact. These are tax and sanitary inspections, statistical accounting bodies, etc.

As a result of the interaction of the organization with suppliers and consumers, a system of economic relations is formed - one of the most important characteristics direct impact environments.

Another characteristic is the state of the market environment. Here, first of all, the nature of the environment is determined - monopoly (pure, natural), oligopoly or monopolistic competition.

Competitors may compete for various objects. Traditionally - for product sales markets. Currently, it is also a struggle with manufacturers of replacement products, for consumers' money.

Resources can also be objects of competition: labor, material and financial, scientific and technical developments, etc.

State influence is carried out through legislation and the activities of state bodies. Legislation regulates labor relations between employees and employers, tax, customs relations, labor protection, conditions for the production of certain types of products, consumer protection, environmental impact on the environment, etc.

According to the nature of the functions they perform, state bodies can be conditionally divided into supervisory and regulatory ones. At the same time, they use various ways and methods of influencing organizations - issuing licenses, setting tax rates and quotas, regulating prices and tariffs, determining construction sites, etc.

3.2 Factors of indirect influence

The indirect impact environment consists of factors that do not have a direct and immediate impact on the organization's operations.

Environmental factors of indirect impact have a more complex structure, multifaceted nature. They, to a lesser extent than environmental factors of direct impact, are influenced by the organization. Information about the indirect impact environment is often incomplete. In the context of the increasing impact of this environment on the competitiveness of the organization, one has to rely on subjective assessments, and not on analytical data.

Technology as an environmental factor of indirect impact characterizes the general level of productive forces. This is the most dynamic factor in this environment. The level and pace of technology change in different industries differ significantly. However, the most knowledge-intensive industries and industries - computer technology, telecommunications systems, the production of synthetic materials - have a significant and growing impact on other organizations, the effectiveness of their activities. The labor-intensive and capital-intensive stages of production development have been replaced by science-intensive technologies that allow saving traditional resources.

Rates of inflation, unemployment, rates of taxes and bank loans, forms and scales of state support for business, etc. directly affect the relationship of the organization with suppliers and consumers, the behavior of competitors. For example, the establishment of tax incentives contributes to the inflow of capital, and therefore facilitates the satisfaction of the need for financial resources. The forecast of rising inflation encourages to increase inventories, obtaining loans. The growing demand for material and financial resources also makes it difficult to acquire them.

The state of the economy as an environmental factor of indirect impact includes a number of characteristics.

First, these are the most General characteristics economic system- population size, availability and use of resources, type state structure, monetary system, currency position, sectoral structure of the economy, parameters of the domestic market, volume, structure and geography of exports and imports, etc.

Secondly, it is an analysis of the general conditions for the development of entrepreneurship: a characteristic of economic stability, the availability of market and technical infrastructure, the legislative framework, investment climate, conditions for the formation of new market entities, forms and scales of state regulation of the economy.

Thirdly, this is a specific state, a stage of economic development, including an assessment of the economic situation, the level and rate of inflation, and the phase of the economic cycle.

Sociocultural factors are manifested in social values ​​and attitudes, priorities, national traditions that affect the activities of the organization. In every country there are ideas about ethical business practices, necessary service quality standards, acceptable levels of environmental impact. Typical examples of such factors that should be taken into account by an organization are Japan's tradition of lifetime employment, the green movement, and the demand for natural fur products; perceptions that women are risk-averse and their promotion to senior management positions.

Some social attitudes change with age. Relatively young workers strive for independence in work, willingly accept responsibility. At an older age, the desire to maintain one's status, the desire for social security, etc., comes to the fore. This influence of environmental factors should be taken into account in motivation systems.

Political factors determine the general political situation in the country, its level of stability and predictability. A high level of political risk leads to a slowdown in the scientific and technical renewal of production, obsolescence of the structure, and a decrease in the competitiveness of national enterprises in the competitive struggle.

However, even in a relatively stable situation, there are clashes between various economic entities and political forces and lobby groups representing their interests. In the transitional economy of Russia, this is a clash of three complexes - military-industrial, fuel and energy and agrarian. Currently, the struggle is going on in the sphere of privatization of the former state property, as well as for the distribution of budgetary funds. It is clear that the solution of these problems, on the one hand, is determined by political factors, and on the other, it influences them.

The policy of local authorities has a significant impact on employment in the region and the location of enterprises, their impact on the environment, the extraction and use of natural resources, the creation of industrial, technical and social infrastructure.

For example, the number of building sites is always limited. Currently, local authorities are more interested in allocating them for the construction of industrial facilities, rather than housing. The reason for this is that employees pay income tax at the place of work.

The environmental factors of indirect impact differ significantly from country to country. This must be taken into account by organizations involved in international business.

It is clear that the degree of influence of environmental factors of indirect impact on the implementation of the organization various kinds international business will be significantly different. This influence will be most significant when creating joint ventures, less - when making capital investments, especially portfolio investments, and even less - when issuing licenses.

The impact of specific environmental factors of indirect impact will also be different. A general prerequisite for effective international business is the political situation in the country where the organization operates. The state of the economy and the development of technologies have a significant impact on international business. In some cases, for example, when exporting certain consumer goods sociocultural factors may play a decisive role. When placing new production facilities, it is necessary to seek the support of local authorities.

4 Methods for analyzing the internal and external environment of the organization

Analysis of the external environment is an assessment of the state and development prospects of the most important, from the point of view of the organization, subjects and factors environment: industries, markets, suppliers and a set of global environmental factors that the organization cannot directly influence.

There are a large number of methods for analyzing the internal and external environment of the organization, consider some of them:

SWOT analysis is the definition of the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, as well as the opportunities and threats coming from its immediate environment (external environment).

§ Strengths (Strengths) - advantages of the organization;

§ Weaknesses - shortcomings of the organization;

§ Opportunities - advantages of the organization in the market;

§ Threats.

Unlike the SNW strengths and weaknesses analysis, the analysis also offers an average market condition (N). The main reason for adding a neutral side is that “often, to win the competition, it may be sufficient to have a given organization relative to all its competitors in all but one key positions in state N, and only one in state S.”

PEST - analysis is a tool designed to identify political (Policy), economic (Economy), social (Society) and technological (Technology) aspects of the external environment that may affect the company's strategy. The policy being studied regulates power, which in turn determines the company's environment and the acquisition of key resources for its operations. The main reason for studying the economy is to create a picture of the distribution of resources at the state level, which is the most important condition for the activity of an enterprise. No less important consumer preferences are determined using the social component of PEST - Analysis. The last factor is the technological component. The purpose of her research is considered to be the identification of trends in technological development, which are often the causes of changes and market losses, as well as the emergence of new products.

The environment profile is convenient to use for compiling a profile of a separate macro environment, immediate environment and internal environment. Individual environmental factors are listed in the environment profile table. Each of the factors is assessed in an expert way.

The external environment of the organization of direct impact

The internal environment of the organization was the main object of consideration of different schools in management theory. Each school focused primarily on those aspects that, in its opinion, the management of the organization should have influenced in order for it to function successfully. The school of scientific management, for example, focused on the tasks and technology of management, the school of administrative management on the creation of a structure that should ensure the achievement of the goals of the organization, the school of human relations on the people in the organization.

Researchers in these early schools paid little attention to factors outside the organization. Today, this is considered a major drawback of either approach.

In management thought, the idea of ​​the importance of the external environment and the need to take into account the forces external to the organization appeared in the late 50s. This was one of the most important contributions of the systems approach to the science of management, as it emphasized the need for the leader to consider his organization as a whole, consisting of interconnected parts, in turn entangled in connections with the outside world. The situational approach is the concept that the most appropriate method in a given situation is determined by specific internal and external factors.

An open system is dependent on the outside world for supplies of resources, energy, personnel, and consumers. In this respect, organizations are like biological organisms. According to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, surviving species survived because they were able to evolve and adapt to changes in their environment.

The first problem that all leaders face is the definition of the external environment. After all, the world is big, and it would be a waste of energy to try to take into account all the factors in it. Management should obviously limit consideration of the external environment to only those aspects on which the success of the organization is critically dependent.

One way to define the environment and make it easier to take into account its impact on the organization is to divide external factors into two main groups.

Direct impact environment includes factors that directly affect an entity's operations: suppliers, workforce, laws and government regulations, customers and competitors.

Under environment of indirect influence refers to factors that may not have a direct immediate impact on operations, but nevertheless affect them: the state of the economy, scientific and technological progress, socio-cultural and political changes, the influence of group interests and events significant for the organization in other countries.

The external environment has the following characteristics:

Interconnection of environmental factors is the level of force with which a change in one factor affects other factors.

The fact of interconnectedness is especially significant for the world market: "the globe is rapidly turning into a single market." “Survival becomes crucially related to the level of knowledge the organization has of its environment.”

The complexity of the external environment is the number of factors to which the organization is required to respond, as well as the level of variability of each factor.

In terms of the diversity of factors, an organization that uses many and different technologies, undergoing more rapid development, will be in more difficult conditions than an organization that is not affected by all this.

Mobility of the environment is the rate at which changes occur in the organization's environment.

In today's organizations, the environment is changing at an ever-increasing rate. While this trend is general, there are organizations around which the external environment is particularly fluid. For example, in the pharmaceutical, chemical and electronic industries, the rate of change in the external environment is higher than in mechanical engineering, the production of spare parts for automobiles and the confectionery industry.

In addition, the mobility of the external environment may be higher for some departments of the organization and lower for others. For example, in many firms, the R&D department faces a highly fluid environment because it must keep track of all technological innovations. On the other hand, the production department may be immersed in a relatively slow-changing environment characterized by a stable movement of materials and labor resources.

Uncertainty of the external environment - the amount of information that the organization (or person) has about a particular factor, as well as the confidence in this information. If information is scarce or there is doubt about its accuracy, the environment becomes more uncertain than when there is adequate information and there is reason to believe it is highly reliable.

From the point of view of a systems approach, an organization is a mechanism for transforming inputs to the exits. The main types of inputs are materials, equipment, energy, capital and labor. Dependency between organization and network suppliers , providing the input of these resources, is one of the most striking examples of the direct impact of the environment on the operations and successful activities of the organization.

Potential suppliers (investors) of such a resource as capital(money) several: banks, government loan programs, shareholders and individuals, etc. As a rule, the better the company is doing, the higher its ability to negotiate with suppliers on favorable terms and receive the required amount of funds.

Without of people capable of effectively using complex technology, capital and materials, all of the above is of little use. The development of a number of industries is currently constrained by the lack of the necessary specialists. Laws and government bodies also affect organizations. In a predominantly private economy such as the US, the interactions between buyers and sellers of every input and every output are subject to numerous legal restrictions. Each organization has a specific legal status, being a sole proprietorship, company, corporation or non-profit organization and it is this that determines how an organization can conduct its business and what taxes it must pay.

The state of legislation is often characterized not only by its complexity, but also by mobility, and sometimes even uncertainty.

Since 1967, many regulations have passed through the US Congress that directly affect the activities of organizations. Among them are codes of laws on safety and health in the workplace, environmental protection, consumer protection, fair employment practices, the principles of equal pay for equal work, and financial protection. Unfortunately, the amount of paperwork required to comply with current legislation has become prohibitive.



About the USA (!): "The uncertainty of today's legal field stems from the fact that the requirements of some institutions conflict with the requirements of others."

Consumers. Many accept the point of view of the famous management specialist P. Drucker, according to which the only true goal of a business is to create a consumer. This means the following: the very survival and justification of the existence of the organization depends on its ability to find a consumer of the results of its activities and satisfy its needs.

Customers, by deciding what goods and services they want and at what price, determine almost everything related to the results of its activities for the organization. Thus, the need to meet the needs of customers affects the interaction of the organization with suppliers of materials and labor resources.

Competitors. The management of each enterprise clearly understands that if the needs of consumers are not met as efficiently as competitors do, the enterprise will not stay afloat for a long time. In many cases, it is competitors, not consumers, who determine what kind of performance can be sold and what price can be asked.

In the external environment, it is customary to single out factors of direct and indirect impact. The first group (factors of direct impact) includes consumers, competitors, shareholders, suppliers, legislation, the state and trade unions. These factors have the strongest influence on the operation of the system.

The elements of direct impact of the external environment of the organization include:

· Suppliers supply materials, equipment, energy, capital and labor.

Suppliers are a very strong factor. The quality of suppliers (complex indicator) determines the viability of many organizations.

· Laws and government agencies affect an organization because each organization has a specific legal status as a sole proprietorship, company, corporation, or not-for-profit association.

· The activities of the organization are subject to many legal restrictions that the state establishes through laws: it has a certain status - OJSC, SUE, LLC, CJSC, PE and much more, it operates in accordance with tax laws.

Among other things, the organization must perform not only federal laws, but also the requirements of various state bodies - the State Property Committee, Gosstandart, Rospotrebnadzor, Pension Fund and many others.

· Consumers. The existence of an organization depends on its ability to find a consumer of the results of its activities and satisfy its needs.

According to many management professionals, the only true purpose of a business is to create a customer. The firm exists and all the more flourishes as long as there is a consumer, as long as it satisfies his needs.

· Competitors. This is one of the external factors, the influence of which cannot be disputed.

The management of each organization clearly understands that if you do not meet the needs of consumers as effectively as competitors do, then you will not last long in the market for goods or services. Sometimes it is not consumers, but competitors (by the quality of their products and their production costs) that determine which products the organization can sell and at what price. It should be understood that consumers are not the only object of rivalry between organizations. They are fighting for influence on all environmental factors - labor resources, materials, capital, for the right to use new technologies.

Environmental factors of indirect influence of the external environment of the organization usually do not affect the activities of organizations as noticeably as environmental factors of direct influence. However, the management of organizations must take them into account.

The indirect impact environment is usually more complex than the direct impact environment. Predicting its impact on the organization, management, as a rule, does not have reliable information regarding the direction and absolute values ​​of environmental factors (the dollar exchange rate, the legally established minimum wage, the interest rate of loans, and much more), therefore, when making strategic decisions for the organization, it is often forced rely only on your intuition. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the organization cannot have a direct impact on changes in environmental factors of indirect impact. Because among them are technologies (in a broad sense - as a state of scientific and technological progress), the state of the economy, socio-cultural and political factors, relations with the local population, and the international environment.

The elements of the indirect impact of the external environment of the organization include:

· Technology (as a state of scientific and technological progress) as an external factor reflects the level of scientific and technological development that affects the organization.

Technology is both an internal variable and an external factor of great importance to the organization.

The state of the economy.

The manager must also be able to assess how general changes in the state of the economy will affect the organization's operations, as this can greatly affect the organization's ability to obtain capital for its needs.

· Socio-cultural factors.

Any organization operates in at least one cultural environment. Therefore, the socio-cultural factors of this environment, including attitudes, life values, national traditions of the population, independent media, and much more, directly affect the organization.

· Political factors - the mood of the administration, legislatures and courts in relation to business.

Sentiment influences government actions such as taxation of corporate income, the establishment of tax breaks or preferential trade duties, mandatory certification, trends in price-wage ratios, and much more.

· Relations with the local population.

Has the predominant importance of the local community for the organization. In almost every community, there are certain laws and regulations in relation to business that determine where you can deploy the activities of an organization.

· International environment.

While the environmental factors described above affect all organizations to some extent, the environment of organizations operating internationally is highly complex.

Thus, forecasting the external environment allows the organization to create a list of dangers and opportunities that it faces in this environment, as shown in Figure 1.

For successful planning, management must have a complete understanding not only of significant external problems, but also of the internal potentialities and shortcomings of the organization.

Figure 1. Factors in the external environment of the organization.

Indirect environmental factors usually do not affect the operations of organizations as markedly as direct environmental factors. However, it is important for management to take them into account. The indirect impact environment is usually more complex than the direct impact environment. Management is often forced to rely on assumptions about such an environment, based on incomplete information, in an attempt to forecast possible consequences for the organization. We will dwell on this issue in more detail, considering the planning function. However, to begin with, it is necessary to briefly consider the main environmental factors of indirect impact.

These include technology, the state of the economy, socio-cultural and political factors, and relationships with the local population.

political factors.

Certain aspects of the political environment are of particular importance to leaders. One of them is the mood of the administration, legislative bodies and courts in relation to business. Closely linked to socio-cultural trends, in a democratic general these sentiments influence government actions such as taxation of corporate income, the establishment of tax breaks or preferential trade duties, requirements regarding the practice of recruiting and promoting members of national minorities, consumer protection legislation, safety standards, standards for cleanliness of the environment, price and wage controls, the balance of power between workers and company managers.

For companies with operations or markets in other countries, the factor of political stability is of great importance. In the host country of a foreign investor or for the export of products, political changes may lead to restrictions on property rights for foreigners (even to the nationalization of foreign property) or the imposition of special duties on imports. The balance of payments or problems with external debt servicing can make it difficult to get the dollars exported as profit. On the other hand, the policy may change in the direction favorable for investors when there is a need for capital inflow from abroad. Establishing diplomatic relations can open the way to new markets, as was the case in China, but in other countries business usually continues despite official diplomatic confrontations with local communities.

Technology.

Technology is both an internal variable and an external factor of great importance. Technological innovations affect the efficiency with which products can be made and sold, the rate of product obsolescence, how information can be collected, stored, and distributed, and the types of services and new products customers expect from an organization.

Clearly, organizations dealing directly with technology high level, knowledge-intensive enterprises, must be able to quickly respond to new developments and propose innovations themselves. However, today, in order to remain competitive, all organizations are forced to keep pace with at least those developments on which the effectiveness of their activities depends.

The state of the economy.

Management must also be able to assess how general changes in the state of the economy will affect the organization's operations. The state of the world economy affects the cost of all inputs and the ability of consumers to buy certain goods and services. Management may also decide to take out a loan, as the money will be worth less when the payments fall due, thus offsetting part of the interest loss. If an economic downturn is predicted, the organization may prefer the path of reducing stocks of finished products, since it may become difficult to sell it, lay off part of the workforce, or postpone expansion plans until better times.

The state of the economy can greatly affect the ability of an organization to obtain capital for its needs. This is mainly due to the fact that the federal government often tries to mitigate the effects of deteriorating economic conditions by adjusting taxes, the money supply and the interest rate set by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. If this bank tightens credit conditions and raises interest rates, commercial banks must do the same in order not to be out of the game. As a result, it becomes more difficult to obtain loans and they cost the organization more. Similarly, tax cuts increase the amount of money that people can spend on non-essential purposes and thereby help stimulate business.

It is important to understand that this or that particular change in the state of the economy can have a positive impact on some and negative on others. From history, for example, we know that the film industry flourished when the economy was in a deplorable state. There are also local variations. If, during the economic downturn, stores retail may be severely affected in general, then stores located, for example, in wealthy suburbs, will probably not feel anything at all. Organizations doing business in many countries often find the state of the economy particularly challenging and important to them. Fluctuations in the exchange rate of the dollar against the currencies of other countries became the reason for the instant gain or loss of large firms of millions of dollars.

sociocultural factors.

Every organization operates in at least one cultural environment. Therefore, socio-cultural factors, among which attitudes, life values ​​and traditions predominate, affect the organization. For example, the American public has certain expectations and beliefs about the value of what constitutes ethical business practices. Giving a bribe to obtain a lucrative contract or political advantage, favoritism instead of maintaining competence, spreading rumors that defame a competitor are considered unethical and immoral actions, even when they cannot be considered inherently illegal. In some other countries, however, this practice is considered normal and adopted by enterprises, since the socio-cultural environment is different there.

Another example of the socio-cultural influence on business practices is the traditional and unfortunate stereotype that women are risk-averse and incompetent as leaders. Such an attitude is realized in the discriminatory practice of hiring and promotion of women, and although it is illegal, it is difficult to get rid of such an attitude.

Sociocultural factors also influence the products or services that are the result of the company's activities. A good example is the clothing industry. People are often willing to pay more for a piece of clothing bearing the name of a prestigious fashion designer like Ralph Lauren or Gloria Vanderbilt, because they feel it gives them extra weight in society. Another example is the passion for nuclear power plants, which has had a sharp negative impact on the respective firms. Another example is the demand by some population groups to reduce the sugar content of breakfast cereals and to carefully control advertising directed to children. The growing awareness of the importance of sports and good nutrition has led to the rapid proliferation of, for example, sports shoes, vitamin supplements and sports centers, figure skating.

Sociocultural factors also influence how organizations conduct their business. The result of the socio-cultural impact on organizations has been a growing focus on the social responsibility of business.

Relations with the local population.

For almost any organization, the prevailing attitude of the local community in which this or that organization operates is of paramount importance as a factor in the environment of indirect influence, if we do not talk about the factor of the actions of the federal authorities. In almost every community, there are specific laws and regulations in relation to business, determining where it is possible to deploy the activities of a particular enterprise. Some cities, for example, spare no effort to create incentives to attract industries to the city.

Others, on the contrary, have been fighting in court for years to prevent an industrial enterprise from entering the city. In some communities, the political climate favors business, which forms the basis of the local budget's tax revenue. Elsewhere, property owners choose to take on a larger share of municipal government revenue, either to attract new businesses to the community or to help businesses avoid pollution and other problems that may come with the new jobs that businesses create.

Therefore, many organizations make a concerted effort to maintain good relationships with the communities in which they operate. These efforts may take the form of funding local schools, philanthropy, or supporting young talent in management rather than giving cash to the community.

International environment.

While the environmental factors described above affect all organizations to varying degrees, the environment of organizations operating internationally is increasingly complex. The latter is due to the unique set of factors that characterize each country. The economy, culture, quantity and quality of labor and material resources, laws, government institutions, political stability, and the level of technological development vary from country to country.

When an organization begins to conduct its business outside the domestic market, the relevant procedures are subject to modification for certain specific environmental factors.

Managers may start from the incorrect premise of the similarity of business practices at home and abroad. For example, Max Factor, Revlon, or Avon failed to break into the cosmetics market in Japan. Among the factors that limited the sale of the company's products in Japan are the following: the consumption of perfumes is insignificant here, it is believed that tanning creams, like tanning itself, disfigure a person, extracts are not used to add to the bath in hotels, baths. Campbell Soup faced similar challenges when it invested $8 million to promote instant soups in the Brazilian market. When it turned out that the actual sales differed significantly from what was predicted, they collected Additional information to understand why this happened. In-depth interviews have shown that Brazilian housewives lose their sense of being homemakers if all they have to do when making soup is pour water into a pot.


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