(c) Dr. G. S. Russ, T. L.
Galloway
THE GENERAL ENVIRONMENT
MACRO ECONOMY
How will these factors affect your
industry in general? Will your
company be affected more or less
favorably than your competitors?
Must consider your customers,
workforce, vendors, & capital
sources.
Required indicators:
GDP/Growth rate of the economy
Consumer Price Index /inflation
Interest rates
Unemployment levels
Optional indicators:
Currency exchange rates
Disposable & discretionary income
DJIA -Dow Jones Industrial Average
Energy availability & cost
Personal savings rates
Budget deficits or surpluses
PHYSICAL
Potential and actual changes in
the physical environment and
business practices that are
intended to positively respond to
those changes.
Business practices and policies
focused on preservation of natural
resources i.e. Sustainability and
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)
DEMOGRAPHIC
Must consider for your customers
AND your workforce.
Composition of population by:
Age distribution
Educational levels
- Literacy rates
- Computer literacy rates
- Math & science degrees
Ethnic mix & changes in mix
Gender
Geographic distribution
- Regional shifts in population
Growth rate of age groups
Household composition
Income distribution
- Greater affluence
- Greater disparities in income
levels
Life expectancies
Religious affiliation
Socio-economic status
Illinois State University
TECHNOLOGY SOCIO/CULTURAL
General technological The customs, attitudes, expectations,
developments (possibly created values & norms of a society.
by or for another industry) that
have relevance for your industry. Must consider for your customers AND
your workforce.
Product innovations Examples of societal values, concerns,
Manufacturing (process) innovations customs & expectations:
Total government spending for R&D Attitudes about the quality of work life
Focus of private & government- Business ethics
supported R&D expenditures Child care & Elder care
New communication technologies Corporate Social Responsibility
Decline of the mass market – mass
Some current technological customization
issues: Differences across generations in
expectations & attitudes
Biotechnology Diversity & Xenophobia
- Recombinant DNA technology -Diversity of the workforce & markets
- Genetic engineering -Concerns about minorities,
immigration, & globalization
CAD/CAM Environmentalism
Family life customs & concerns
Cloud computing Formality/informality
Growth of seniors market
Global warming Health consciousness
Leisure activities
Internet Lifestyle changes and trends
Nomophobia
Nanotechnology Pace of life
Procedural justice
Pollution Religious beliefs & practices
Shifts in preferences regarding product
RFID & service characteristics
Shifts in work & career preferences
Wireless communication
POLITICAL/LEGAL GLOBAL
Antitrust laws (& enforcement levels) Attitudes of non-US countries toward
Changes in federally-mandated foreign countries/firms - especially
minimum wage attitudes toward US & US companies
Copyright & patent protection
Federal government bailout of ailing Critical global markets
Industries
Labor laws Different cultural & institutional attributes
- 1990 Americans with Disabilities
Act Globalization
Legalizing same-sex marriages
Privacy laws Important political events
Regulation/deregulation trends
SOX 2002 – Sarbanes-Oxley Act Newly industrialized countries
Tax laws
Terrorist activity Stability of governments
- The Patriot Act
Tort reform And any factors from the other five
Visa & immigration policies sectors that are relevant to the global
- Students environment!
- Temporary workers
- Illegal immigrants
WAR