Answer to Question #189641 in Management for Shaun G

Question

Summarise the concept of "environmental scanning"

Answer 1

Environmental scanning refers to the process of monitoring an organization’s internal and external environment to enhance strategic decision-making. The process helps in identifying company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the organization’s environment, from which strategies maximizing opportunities and minimizing threats can be established. Also, it is important given that rapid changes occurring in the environment have great impact on the working of an organization. Modes of environmental scanning include both viewing (looking at) and searching (looking for) information. In an organizational setting, an internal analysis of the environment entails employee interaction, managerial interaction, brand awareness, access to strategic resources, organizational power and operational potential among others. External analysis of the environment encompasses the industry environment, national environment and the macro environment whose scope is socioeconomic, legal, technological, government and international factors. Important factors to consider in environmental scanning include: events, trends, issues and expectations.