COMM 315 Chapter 2: Comm 401 chapter 2.docx
Document Summary
Chapter 2- the external environment: opportunities, threats, industry competition, and competitor. Analysis: viewed in their totality, the conditions that affect firms today indicate that for most organizations, their external environment is filled with uncertainty. In combination, the results of these three analyses influence the firm"s vision, mission, and strategic actions. External environmental analysis: to cope with often ambiguous and incomplete environmental data and to increase understanding of the general environment, firms engage in external analysis. People in boundary-spanning positions can obtain a great deal of this type of information salespersons; customer service representative"s people interacting with external constituents are examples of boundary-spanning positions). Components of the external environmental analysis: the study of all segments in the general environment. Identifying early signals of environmental changes and trends in the general environment and detecting changes that are already underway: scanning activities must be aligned with the organizational context (scanning system for a volatile environment vs. stable environment).
