Answer to Question #196922 in Political Science for Kamogelo Moloko

Question

Explain in detail the three categories of the external environment and show how important these categories/factors are during communication strategy formulation.

Answer 1

External Environment

Introduction

           Businesses never operate in a complete vacuum; we have external forces beyond the organization's control. Organizations have to always work with these external forces, and it is how they respond to these Special Forces which determine whether the organization will be successful. In today's fast-paced business environment, companies have to be agile in their dealing with external forces than before. These Special Forces include the competitive environment, technological environment, and social environment. This essay provides an in-depth understanding of these Special Forces and their importance in developing the company's communication strategy.

           The technological environment is one of the imperative external forces that businesses have to address in their endeavours. Daily, every business has to rethink ways to improve their technical abilities to be able to meet customer needs through effectively delivering their products or services (Lumen, 2021). Talking of business technology, we are talking of digital tools, including computers, the internet, and telecommunication. The expansion, the complexity and usage of internet access of internet is virtually in every part of the world. Hence, this has forced many companies that operated as brick and motor into eCommerce searching online, which are currently more effective.

           The advantage is that their customers now don't need to live near their stores to purchase their products. Instead, they just have to place orders online and use logistical means to deliver the products (Paul, 2021). The disadvantage is that consumers can then compare the products quality and prices which make the company have no power to control. Every business has to take advantage of technology and work towards developing highly effective use of technology. Every business communication strategy has to involve technology, and it is the fastest and most effective means of communication. Businesses have to use social media, blogs, websites, and telesales to make effective communication, so it is imperative to develop a communication strategy (Mukherjee, 2021).

           On the other hand, the competitive environment refers to ways in which businesses operate to remain competitive while still maintaining high levels of profitability and efficiency. The rise of consumer expectations, advancement in technological operations, and the opening up of new and foreign markets has always led to intensified competition within the markets (Lumen, 2021). The small local stores are now in competition with other large stores such as amazon through eCommerce. These big stores can deliver products in the right quality and quantity while at the same time offering a good variety of products and good loyalty rewards and after-sale services. The competitive environment needs to be better understood while creating a communication strategy due to its significance in maintaining customer loyalty. Communication to the consumers correctly determines whether the organization acquires and maintains loyalty among the consumers (Paul, 2021).

           We also have the legal environment, which is the most complex and highly dangerous external factor which has to be addressed by every business organization. There are many regulations that organizations have to follow; businesses have to adopt these regulations to stay in business (Mukherjee, 2021). Many companies have closed, and some ended up paying hugely for failing to follow up on rules. A good example is "Volkswagen teeters on the brink of ruin because it falsified data about its cars' emissions," and "Johnson & Johnson's move in 1982 to make the product more difficult to open after a tampering incident in 1982 caused a spate of deaths and illness." Every organization needs to look into regulations while developing a communications strategy to ensure that it meets the laws and avoid plunging into legal issues (Lumen, 2021).

References

Lumen. (2021, May 23). External Forces That Shape Business Activities. Retrieved from Lumen: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-introbusiness/chapter/external-forces-2/

Mukherjee, S. (2021, May 23). Business Environment Types (External Micro and External Macro). Retrieved from Economic Discussions: https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/business-environment/business-environment-types-external-micro-and-external-macro/10095

Paul, R. (2021, May 23). The Organization’s External Environment. Retrieved from Open text: https://opentextbc.ca/organizationalbehavioropenstax/chapter/the-organizations-external-environment/