SOCIO-CULTURAL- Attitudes, opinions, and age distribution of population lifestyles DEMOGRAPHIC lifestyle of persons attitudes toward business number of births Values, mores, customs and attitudes toward careers number of churches and church members traditions attitudes toward customer service number of deaths Society composition attitudes toward foreign people number of divorces attitudes toward government & authorities number of high school and college graduates attitudes toward investing by geographic area attitudes toward quality number of marriages attitudes toward retirement number of special-interest groups attitudes toward saving number of women and minority workers attitudes toward work per capita income average disposable income population changes by city, county, state, average level of education region, and country birth rates population changes by race, age, sex, and buying and consumption habits of people level of affluence childbearing rates racial equality client activism rate of family formation customs and traditions, regional changes in tastes and preferences entry of large number of women into labor regional shifts in population market sex roles ethical concerns shift in the age distribution of the population growth rate of population social programs immigration and emigration rates social responsibility interest of consumers and employees in the tastes and preferences, quality of life issues. trust in government language beliefs and values use of birth control level of education value placed on leisure time life expectancies TECHNOLOGICAL Problem-solving interventions; automation and robotics government spending on r & d Creative technological focus of r & d efforts productivity improvements adaptation Internet & world wide web technology investments 1 To avoid obsolescence and new technologies promote innovation ECONOMIC Exchange of materials, money, availability of credit inflation rates energy and information consumption patterns interest rates Nature and direction of the credit availability level of disposable income economy in which a firm demand shifts for goods/services monetary policy operates dollar value in world markets money market rates energy availability and costs people’s propensity to spend export of labor and capital price fluctuations fiscal policy stock market trends foreign countries’ economic conditions trends in the growth of the gross national gnp trends product government budget deficits unemployment rate gross domestic product trend value of the dollar in world markets import/export factors wage/price controls income difference worker productivity levels ENVIRONMENT Natural resources air pollution limitation of natural resources (ECOLOGY) Reciprocal relationship land pollution ozone depletion between business and ecology availability of raw materials pollution calamities pollution control climate change recycling endangered species traffic congestion energy conservation waste management inner-city environments water pollution POLITICO-LEGAL Laws and regulations; Legal attitude toward foreign firms lobbying activities and regulatory parameters changes in patent laws local, state, and national elections Direction and stability factor is changes in tax laws location and severity of terrorist activities a major consideration for country-country relationships number of patents managers on formulating environmental protection laws number, severity, and location of company strategy equal employment legislation government protests government fiscal and monetary policy political action committees government protests political conditions government regulations or deregulations size of government budgets government stability special incentives government subsidies special local, state, and federal laws 2 import–export regulations terrorist activities laws on hiring, promotion and pay voter participation rates level of defense expenditures world oil, currency and labor markets