...environments, one rule of thumb applies: If you don't adapt, you don't endure. That's the core idea behind environmental scanning. Definitions of the term abound, but in essence it refers to the means by which organizations gather information on changing conditions and incorporate those observations into a process where necessary changes are made. The right information, combined with the right adaptations, can determine an organization's future viability. A body of knowledge on environmental scanning is developing, but unfortunately much of it is oriented toward for-profit companies and doesn't fully recognize the unique conditions of membership organizations. (See sidebar below for more information on resources ASAE is developing on environmental scanning for nonprofits.) But environmental scanning needn't be complicated or intimidating for association executives. Here are five steps to help begin that effort. 1. Consider Your Scanning Type Your first order of business is to set some parameters on the type of scanning you will be doing. There are two fundamental scanning types: "social intuitive" and "formal analytical." If you run a scanning process in which people investigate a wide range of sources and then produce a report by a given date, you are in formal-analytical mode. "Social intuitive" is a less rigorous type of scanning: The term acknowledges the fact that everyone scans their environment for useful information about what's coming down the pike. Some people are much better...
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...Kudler Fine Foods has several strengths. The company’s mix of products, high quality gourmet and fine foods it provides its customers, and strong reputation in the community because of the freshness and quality of its products are all strenths. This reputation and product mix allows the company to charge a higher price for its high quality specialty foods. In comparison, Kudler Fine Foods has several weaknesses. One weakness is the company has a limited presence and is currently not a national company. Another weakness for Kudler Fine Foods includes fewer resources then its larger competitors that makes it harder for the company to compete, its current network/database is subpar and will have to be upgraded if the company plans to expand, and its website does not adequately showcase the company or its products. Kudler Fine Foods has many opportunities it can take advantage of to make it a stronger company. The company can leverage its reputation and high quality products to help the company expand outside of the areas it currently occupies and into new territory. The company will be able to use its high quality and fresh product mix to help it gain a foothold in other areas and compete with other already established companies. In comparison, one of the major threats that face Kudler Find Foods is its ability to compete with the more established and larger national food chains and other smaller local companies. Another threat the company will have to take into account is its...
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...Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN Environmental Scan The current economy has become known as the Great Recession, since it is the deepest and longest since the depression of the 1930s. There are high rates of unemployment and underemployment. Technically the recession is over; however world events and dependent economies of other countries could reverse this progress. The purpose of environmental scanning is to anticipate and strategize for the opportunities and challenges that could be faced in the future. There are five environmental forces within the current economy that effect an environment scan, those forces are social forces, economics, technology, competitive, and regulatory forces. Below is a brief overview of how each force can impact the completion of an environmental scan. Social An environment scan is dependent on many things to ensure proper predictions of trends. Environmental forces are constantly changing, environmental scanning is “the process of acquiring information about these changes to allow marketers to identify and interpret trends” (Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius, 2010, p. 74). Social trends include many factors, such as age, gender, ethnicity, culture, and occupation. Social trends can also be evaluated through three distinct cohorts, the baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. Demographic and gender preferences can also impact the completion of a environmental scan such as the population in an target market. Each of these identifiers...
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...Environmental Scan There are many uncertainties organizations face when operating their businesses. These uncertainties can be limited if organizations perform environmental scans for their organizations. Environmental scanning assists businesses in providing information from internal and external environments to the executives so measures can be taken to take advantage of the information and succeed. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis is a key element of environmental scanning process which provides detailed information for the organization that can assist in growth and profits. Environmental scanning and SWOT analysis and how organizations use these tools to succeed and grow will be discussed in this paper. Environmental scanning is a process which monitors, evaluates, and disseminates information from internal and external environments to the people of the organization responsible of making decisions regarding growth and success of the company. Scanning the natural environment, societal environment (STEEP analysis), and task environment are the key elements of identifying the external environment. SWOT analysis should be performed to assess the internal environment of the organization. (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010) In scanning the natural environment, strategic managers must assess physical resources, wildlife, and climate. “The concept of sustainability argues that a firm’s ability to continuously renew itself for long-term success and survival is...
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...Environmental Scan Strategic Management MGT/498 October 21, 2013 Eligah King Environmental Scan In the business world today there are internal and external environments. Using a competitive advantage and strategies can help a company succeed or if it is not very good help it to fail. Everyone is familiar with the Enron scandal this is obviously a company that did not feel that company values was important because they deceived the public and ended up filing bankruptcy and going to jail. On the other side of the spectrum is Starbucks. Starbucks is a company that is dedicated to meeting and exceeding the expectations of their customers. And with them now being an international company they have succeeded. Enron One of the biggest scandals to hit corporate America was the Enron scandal. It not only affected Enron but the entire business industry. The reason for Enron’s failure was because of the unethical work practices of their employees and Enron was exposed as the Justice Department after Enron filed for bankruptcy (Corrado, 2008). Once the investigation was started, it revealed that top executives had been inflating stock prices via numerous techniques and misleading the public. The purpose behind the Enron executive doing this was to attempt to raise the stock prices and Enron would make a profit. This particular scandal involved five individuals and were said to have made a total of $150 million (Corrado, 2008). Ultimately the poor decision-making...
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...Environmental Scan Dwayne A. Haynes MGT/498 August 12, 2013 Michael Medoro Environmental Scan Internal and external environmental scanning helps shape strategic management and planning. Companies use business strategies to create value and secure competitive advantages. Measurements verify the company’s strategic effectiveness. This essay is a brief overview of the internal and external environmental scans, competitive advantage, value, and measurements used at Wells Fargo and Verizon wireless. Most of the supporting data are summaries from the Wells Fargo, and Verizon websites. Wells Fargo is a large financial institution with five strategic priorities: putting customers first, growing revenue, reducing expenses, living the vision and values, and connecting with communities, and stakeholders (Wells Fargo, 1999 - 2013). The Wells Fargo strategy includes cross-selling, (selling additional products), technology, customer-centric (focus on what the customer needs, not what Wells Fargo wants to sell), brand, and opportunities (Wells Fargo, 1999 - 2013). In the cross sell effort, Wells Fargo has detailed data on what products the customers are buying and the number of products per household. According to Wells Fargo (1999 - 2013), “We want all our wealth management, brokerage and retirement customers to bank with Wells Fargo. We want all our banking customers to think of us first for all their wealth management needs” (Our Strategy). The company wants...
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...In today’s global market place strategic management planning is more important than ever. Developing a strategic management plan is vital to the future of the organization. First and foremost the strategic plan lays down a solid foundation for growth, defining company goals, direction the company is going in the future, and how it is going to get there. A strategic management plan is just like it sounds, it manages the steps along the path leading into the future making sure company goals are meet and if not what changes need to be made in order to stay on course. Developing a strategic management plan can be difficult. Implementing an environmental scan will help identify both internal and external problems and influences used to build or change and existing strategic management plan. Several factors can influence the planning process. Many of the factors can be identified and taken into consideration when planning for the future. No matter how well an organization builds their strategic management plan there are always going to be unforeseen problems that will need to be addressed. Developing a strategic management plan that is able to manage change is essential to the success of the organization. Changes in market trends, consumer demands, and technological advancements are just a few areas change is inevitable. If the strategic management plan is going to work it must manage and implement changes in both internal and external environments. Two organizations that have continuously...
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...Environmental Scan MGT/498 Environmental Scan Environmental scans help companies to assess the market they are doing business in, assess the company’s performance and, assess the competition. The first step in the environmental scan process is to conduct a SWOT analysis to determine internal and external strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth and trends in the market place. Once the SWOT analysis is complete, it can be reviewed and evaluated to determine areas that the company can create value and sustain competitive advantage through business strategy. In order to sustain the created value and competitive advantage, companies must set measurement guidelines and assess how effective those guidelines are in measuring strategic effectiveness. In order to illustrate how an environmental scan can help a company, we will look at two different organizations. The two companies are Caterpillar Logistics, Inc. and Monumental Life Insurance Company. Caterpillar Logistics, Inc. is in the business of distributing parts for Caterpillar, Inc. machines. Monumental Life Insurance Company is in the business of selling life, health, and disability income insurance to American families. We will look at each company separately. Caterpillar Logistics, Inc. Caterpillar Logistics, Inc. has many strengths including quality parts, dealer networks, parts availability, inventory control systems, and twenty-four hour emergency service. Caterpillar parts are original manufacturer...
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...Environment Scans for Apple, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble Nylor P. Coleman MGT/498 January 16, 2013 Robert Consonery, Facilitator Environmental Scan: Apple Inc, Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles Environmental scanning indentifies the external and internal trends that influence the future direction of a business. This process provides the tools for evaluation within the three companies and how the process works. This paper will provide research regarding the internal and external environments for each of the three corporations. The changing environment in the marketplace will provide each business with the challenges and opportunities for competing and growing each business. The companies must adapt to the changes in the business environment for the long term survival. This paper indentifies how each company will create value and sustain its competitive advantage through the business strategy. The guidelines of each business will be explored and how each business will follow these guidelines to meet the business’ visions and missions. How effective these guidelines for each business will be explored. These guidelines will be highlighted and its effectiveness for the business for strategic effectiveness the each is using. Use of environment scanning directs the company’s budget in advertising and how much is spent on marketing. Environmental Scanning “Environmental scanning is the monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination of information...
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...Environmental Scan and Summary Kudler Fine Foods is local specialty store located in the San Diego area of California. Kudler isn’t the average grocery store; the company has been compared to Whole Foods and Trader’s Joes. Kudler is known to sell the finest food and wines. Currently, the company has three locations under the management of Kathy Kudler, the owner. The company wants to expand. Before the company can make the move to open a new store or expand a current location, it important to analyze the internal and external environment. Understanding the environment of the company will help the company understand its strengths and weaknesses. The internal environment involves within the company and how it managed. The internal environment includes the employees, store operations, and responsibilities. The external environment is how the company operates is affected by the outside environment. A summary of the Kudler’s internal and external environment will be analyzed to help the company determine alternative strategies. The internal environment at Kudler includes identifying the stakeholders, understanding the company’s social responsibility, and the Kudler’s economic, ethics, legal, and discretionary responsibilities. Kudler’s stakeholders consists its staff, customers, wholesale suppliers, banks, competition, and Kathy Kudler herself. Each stakeholder, rather internal or external, plays an important part within in the company. Kudler has a social responsibility...
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...Environmental Scan Paper MGT/498 November 26, 2013 Environmental Scan Environmental scanning is an essential element in monitoring and analyzing trends that can affect an organization. A tool used as a part of environmental scanning is the SWOT analysis which pinpoints the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of an organization. This paper will present a SWOT analysis of three companies from three different industries, Starbucks Coffee, southwest Airlines and Wendy’s Old Fashion Hamburgers. In addition to the SWOT analysis there will be information regarding the company’s competitive advantage, strategies used, how value is created by each company along with the measurements guidelines used to verify strategic measurements SWOT Analysis: Starbucks Coffee, Southwest Airlines & Wendy’s Starbucks Coffee, Southwest Airlines, and Wendy’s operate in three different industries, something each company has in common is utilizing as a tool the internal and external environments based on the SWOT analysis. Starbucks Coffee began as a single store in Seattle; now, the number one coffee chain in the world located in over 62 countries with 18,000 stores. In order for Starbucks to have its current success and continued success a SWOT analysis breaks down the favorable and unfavorable factors to determine the appropriate strategy to stay on top in the premiere coffee industry. The Strengths of Starbucks Coffee to name a few are the experience the...
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...Environmental scanning is the first portion to an organization’s strategic management and is very important to the corporation. Environmental scanning is gathering information for the external and the internal of the company. A SWOTT is the best way to gather the information. A SWOTT is determining the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities, the threats, and the trends of the organization. Starbucks is a coffee shop that sets out to be different from the competitors. The company does not just focus on coffee but “bring a feeling of connection” to the people. Starbucks mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”. Starbucks is a multi-billion dollar corporation and is the go to place if someone is looking for a great cup of coffee. By using an environmental scan and determining strategies the company uses to have competitive advantages will help explain why the company is so successful. Determining the values and what measurement guidelines Starbucks uses will promote how the corporation stands out for the rest of the competitors in the market. The internal and external environments of Levi Strauss and Apple computer describes how each company changed company focus by structuring the position of demographics to gain access to marketing trends and dealings with government regulations. Each company has proven capabilities for the organization’s success and taken responsible infrastructure...
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...Environmental Scan MGT/498 Environmental Advantage One of the fundamental requirements for a company to succeed is to understand both the internal and external environments. The companies must understand these environments and apply the knowledge to a strategy that will give the company a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage must be measured to fully understand how the strategy is being implemented and to what extent the strategy is creating a competitive advantage. Northrop Grumman (NG) uses environmental scanning to understand the market environment. This helps establish a strategy that will hopefully create a competitive advantage. Internal and external environmental scan Northrop Grumman’s internal environment is very strong. The company has positioned itself well to capitalize on the emerging trends in the national defense market place. Northrop has developed new technologies and internal infrastructure to sustain new business in the new technologies departments. NG is also strong in personnel, although there is a troubling trend emerging. NG has a long history of dedicated workers but has failed to retain or attract new talent. There is a growing gap between the experienced knowhow and the new employees. NG has a large gap in the middle of the workforce. The majority of the work force is either five years from retirement or has less than five years with the company. Therefore the “local knowledge” that is essential for continuing seamless operations...
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...Environmental Scan Jeffery McDonald MGT/498 Professor Thomas Hughes April 20, 2013 University of Phoenix Environmental Scan Environmental scanning is the monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination of information from the external and internal environments to key people within the corporation. A corporation uses this tool to avoid strategic surprise and to ensure its long-term health (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010, p. 254). When scanning the external environment a company looks for opportunities and threats. The external environment involves natural factors, societal factors, and industry factors. These variables must first be examined. The internal environment is an organizational analysis of a company’s strengths and weakness. Understanding strength and weakness will allow a company to determine the opportunities they can take advantage of. The internal environment consists of structure, culture, and resources. Gathering information is the first process in strategic planning. It allows a firm to create value, and sustain a competitive advantage. Firms measure their strategic effectiveness by using measurement guidelines. This paper will examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer. Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is a multinational retail chain headquartered in the Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded by business man Sam Walton in 1962. It quickly grew and by 1967 Walton owned 24 stores doing $12.7 million...
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...Environmental Scan Paper MGT/498 January 25, 2016 Environmental Scan Paper A critical part of the strategic planning process is to perform a scan of the internal and external environment. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths or weaknesses, and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities or threats (QuickMBA, 2010). The analysis of the strategic environment is also known as a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis will be used for both AT&T and Sprint Company and will evaluate the following topics: internal and external environments; competitive advantage of each company; strategies each company use to create value and gain advantage; and the measurement guidelines each company uses to verify its strategic effectiveness. Strengths & Weaknesses A firm’s strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage (QuickMBA, 2010). AT&T key strengths are top leading market and financial position, dominant brand image, and strong nationwide coverage. Sprint key strengths are technology and innovation, product performance, and customer satisfaction. Weakness occurs in the absence of certain strengths and in certain instances weakness may be the opposite side of strengths. AT&T weaknesses are lack of geographical concentration and lack of content. Sprint’s weaknesses are integrating two companies, lack of branding, and shareholder’s equity. Opportunities & Threats ...
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