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Task Environment - Definition, Factors & Example

What is task environment.

Task Environment of an organization is the environment which directly affects the organization from attaining business goals. In brief, Task Environment is the set of conditions originating from suppliers, distributors, customers, stock markets and competitors which directly affects the organization from achieving its goals. 

Suppliers, distributors, customers, competitors all form part of the entire ecosystem in which an organization operates. Every business needs the other business to make sure that the best product is created for the customer meeting the needs and also earns profit. These interdependent conditions form the task environment.

Task Environment Factors

Task environment helps in identifying the environmental factors responsible for the success of the company or a product.

Factors with Examples for Task Environment

Competitors generally look for higher margins and for this they provide unique features to its products, thus try to create differentiation.

Example : Adidas, Nike, Puma all shoe manufacturers produce shoes catering for different segments in different styles and charge premium accordingly.

Organizations also compete for customers as well as for wholesalers, retailers etc. Customers decide the fate of any company and hence companies try their level best to lure them.

Example : Customers might start looking for some other alternative due to shift in consumer behavior like moving from conventional vehicles to electric vehicles. The shift might have been caused by the competitors.

Suppliers have high bargaining power if the raw materials being supplied are rare or if there are less number of suppliers in the market. So it’s important to hold on the suppliers and maintain good relationship with them. Acting intelligently, companies often maintain more number of suppliers to reduce risk of deserting by anyone.

Example : Kriti Nutrients Ltd. in India is supplier of lecithin to Nestle (for baby foods)

Distributors

Distributors who become intermediary between retailers and wholesalers or between manufacturer and wholesaler play a vital role in a task environment.

Example : In case of CPG products, distributors are the most important players in terms of increasing reach of a product across markets, customers and channels.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Task Environment along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team . It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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  • 4.1 The Organization's External Environment
  • Introduction
  • 1.1 What Do Managers Do?
  • 1.2 The Roles Managers Play
  • 1.3 Major Characteristics of the Manager's Job
  • Summary of Learning Outcomes
  • Chapter Review Questions
  • Management Skills Application Exercises
  • Managerial Decision Exercises
  • Critical Thinking Case
  • 2.1 Overview of Managerial Decision-Making
  • 2.2 How the Brain Processes Information to Make Decisions: Reflective and Reactive Systems
  • 2.3 Programmed and Nonprogrammed Decisions
  • 2.4 Barriers to Effective Decision-Making
  • 2.5 Improving the Quality of Decision-Making
  • 2.6 Group Decision-Making
  • 3.1 The Early Origins of Management
  • 3.2 The Italian Renaissance
  • 3.3 The Industrial Revolution
  • 3.4 Taylor-Made Management
  • 3.5 Administrative and Bureaucratic Management
  • 3.6 Human Relations Movement
  • 3.7 Contingency and System Management
  • 4.2 External Environments and Industries
  • 4.3 Organizational Designs and Structures
  • 4.4 The Internal Organization and External Environments
  • 4.5 Corporate Cultures
  • 4.6 Organizing for Change in the 21st Century
  • 5.1 Ethics and Business Ethics Defined
  • 5.2 Dimensions of Ethics: The Individual Level
  • 5.3 Ethical Principles and Responsible Decision-Making
  • 5.4 Leadership: Ethics at the Organizational Level
  • 5.5 Ethics, Corporate Culture, and Compliance
  • 5.6 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
  • 5.7 Ethics around the Globe
  • 5.8 Emerging Trends in Ethics, CSR, and Compliance
  • 6.1 Importance of International Management
  • 6.2 Hofstede's Cultural Framework
  • 6.3 The GLOBE Framework
  • 6.4 Cultural Stereotyping and Social Institutions
  • 6.5 Cross-Cultural Assignments
  • 6.6 Strategies for Expanding Globally
  • 6.7 The Necessity of Global Markets
  • 7.1 Entrepreneurship
  • 7.2 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
  • 7.3 Small Business
  • 7.4 Start Your Own Business
  • 7.5 Managing a Small Business
  • 7.6 The Large Impact of Small Business
  • 7.7 The Small Business Administration
  • 7.8 Trends in Entrepreneurship and Small-Business Ownership
  • 8.1 Gaining Advantages by Understanding the Competitive Environment
  • 8.2 Using SWOT for Strategic Analysis
  • 8.3 A Firm's External Macro Environment: PESTEL
  • 8.4 A Firm's Micro Environment: Porter's Five Forces
  • 8.5 The Internal Environment
  • 8.6 Competition, Strategy, and Competitive Advantage
  • 8.7 Strategic Positioning
  • 9.1 Strategic Management
  • 9.2 Firm Vision and Mission
  • 9.3 The Role of Strategic Analysis in Formulating a Strategy
  • 9.4 Strategic Objectives and Levels of Strategy
  • 9.5 Planning Firm Actions to Implement Strategies
  • 9.6 Measuring and Evaluating Strategic Performance
  • 10.1 Organizational Structures and Design
  • 10.2 Organizational Change
  • 10.3 Managing Change
  • 11.1 An Introduction to Human Resource Management
  • 11.2 Human Resource Management and Compliance
  • 11.3 Performance Management
  • 11.4 Influencing Employee Performance and Motivation
  • 11.5 Building an Organization for the Future
  • 11.6 Talent Development and Succession Planning
  • 12.1 An Introduction to Workplace Diversity
  • 12.2 Diversity and the Workforce
  • 12.3 Diversity and Its Impact on Companies
  • 12.4 Challenges of Diversity
  • 12.5 Key Diversity Theories
  • 12.6 Benefits and Challenges of Workplace Diversity
  • 12.7 Recommendations for Managing Diversity
  • 13.1 The Nature of Leadership
  • 13.2 The Leadership Process
  • 13.3 Leader Emergence
  • 13.4 The Trait Approach to Leadership
  • 13.5 Behavioral Approaches to Leadership
  • 13.6 Situational (Contingency) Approaches to Leadership
  • 13.7 Substitutes for and Neutralizers of Leadership
  • 13.8 Transformational, Visionary, and Charismatic Leadership
  • 13.9 Leadership Needs in the 21st Century
  • 14.1 Motivation: Direction and Intensity
  • 14.2 Content Theories of Motivation
  • 14.3 Process Theories of Motivation
  • 14.4 Recent Research on Motivation Theories
  • 15.1 Teamwork in the Workplace
  • 15.2 Team Development Over Time
  • 15.3 Things to Consider When Managing Teams
  • 15.4 Opportunities and Challenges to Team Building
  • 15.5 Team Diversity
  • 15.6 Multicultural Teams
  • 16.1 The Process of Managerial Communication
  • 16.2 Types of Communications in Organizations
  • 16.3 Factors Affecting Communications and the Roles of Managers
  • 16.4 Managerial Communication and Corporate Reputation
  • 16.5 The Major Channels of Management Communication Are Talking, Listening, Reading, and Writing
  • 17.1 Is Planning Important
  • 17.2 The Planning Process
  • 17.3 Types of Plans
  • 17.4 Goals or Outcome Statements
  • 17.5 Formal Organizational Planning in Practice
  • 17.6 Employees' Responses to Planning
  • 17.7 Management by Objectives: A Planning and Control Technique
  • 17.8 The Control- and Involvement-Oriented Approaches to Planning and Controlling
  • 18.1 MTI—Its Importance Now and In the Future
  • 18.2 Developing Technology and Innovation
  • 18.3 External Sources of Technology and Innovation
  • 18.4 Internal Sources of Technology and Innovation
  • 18.5 Management Entrepreneurship Skills for Technology and Innovation
  • 18.6 Skills Needed for MTI
  • 18.7 Managing Now for Future Technology and Innovation
  • Define the external environment of organizations.

To succeed and thrive, organizations must adapt, exploit, and fit with the forces in their external environments. Organizations are groups of people deliberately formed together to serve a purpose through structured and coordinated goals and plans. As such, organizations operate in different external environments and are organized and structured internally to meet both external and internal demands and opportunities. Different types of organizations include not-for-profit, for-profit, public, private, government, voluntary, family owned and operated, and publicly traded on stock exchanges. Organizations are commonly referred to as companies, firms, corporations, institutions, agencies, associations, groups, consortiums, and conglomerates.

While the type, size, scope, location, purpose, and mission of an organization all help determine the external environment in which it operates, it still must meet the requirements and contingencies of that environment to survive and prosper. This chapter is primarily concerned with how organizations fit with their external environments and how organizations are structured to meet challenges and opportunities of these environments. Major takeaways for readers of this chapter include the following: 1) Be able to identify elements in any organization’s external—and internal—environment that may interest or affect you as an employee, shareholder, family member, or observer. 2) Gain insights into how to develop strategies and tactics that would help you (and your organization) navigate ways to cope with or try to dominate or appeal to elements (e.g., market segments, stakeholders, political/social/economic/technological issues) in the environment.

The big picture of an organization’s external environment , also referred to as the general environment , is an inclusive concept that involves all outside factors and influences that impact the operation of a business that an organization must respond or react to in order to maintain its flow of operations. 4 Exhibit 4.2 illustrates types of general macro environments and forces that are interrelated and affect organizations: sociocultural, technological, economic, government and political, natural disasters, and human-induced problems that affect industries and organizations. For example, economic environmental forces generally include such elements in the economy as exchange rates and wages, employment statistics, and related factors such as inflation, recessions, and other shocks—negative and positive. Hiring and unemployment, employee benefits, factors affecting organizational operating costs, revenues, and profits are affected by global, national, regional, and local economies. Other factors discussed here that interact with economic forces include politics and governmental policies, international wars, natural disasters, technological inventions, and sociocultural forces. It is important to keep these dimensions in mind when studying organizations since many if not most or all changes that affect organizations originate from one or more of these sources—many of which are interrelated.

Globalization is a combination of external forces shaping environments of organizations. Defined as the development of an integrated global economy and characterized by free trade, capital flows, communications, and cheaper foreign labor markets, the processes of globalization underlie the forces in the general international economic environment. This dimension continues to present opportunities and pressures to companies operating locally as well as globally. Globalization continues to affect industries and companies in ways that benefit some and not others. Amazon, for example, is thriving. The firm sells low-end products through its brand AmazonBasics. The company has individual retail websites for the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India, and Mexico. Uber and Airbnb represent some of the larger sharing-economy companies that operate internationally and have to date prospered in the so-called new but fragmenting global economy.

In general, countries that have gained from globalization include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and China. China’s markets and growing economic prowess have particularly been noticed. China’s GDP (gross domestic product) is estimated at $13.2 trillion in 2018, outpacing the $12.8 trillion combined total of the 19 countries that use the euro. 5 Corporations worldwide, large and small, online and land-based, strive to gain access to sell in China’s vast markets. Moreover, China at the beginning of 2018 owns $1.168 trillion of the United States’ debt. 6 Japan, in second place, owes $1.07 trillion of this debt. Any instability politically and economically with China could result in increasing inflation and interest rates in the U.S. economy that could, in turn, negatively affect U.S. businesses.

Economic forces

Economically, “The strategic challenge of the next decade is navigating a world that is simultaneously integrating and fragmenting. Stock markets have set new records and economic volatility has fallen to historic lows, while political shocks on a scale unseen for generations have taken place. Seemingly contradictory realities do co-exist.” 7 Overall, while economic data indicates that globalization has had a positive effect on the world economy, a dark side also shows that two-thirds of all households in 25 advanced-economy countries had incomes stagnate and/or decline between 2005 and 2014. Moreover, the U.K. and U.S. witnessed falling wages. Wealth distribution in these countries continues to decline. Income inequality globally is also rising. Other trends that also affect the global, regional, and local economies are discussed in this chapter as well as below.

Technological forces

Technological forces are another ubiquitous environmental influence on organizations. Speed, price, service, and quality of products and services are dimensions of organizations’ competitive advantage in this era. Information technologies and social media powered by the Internet and used by sharing-economy companies such as Airbnb and Uber have democratized and increased, if not leveled, competition across several industries, such as taxis, real estate rentals, and hospitality services. Companies across industry sectors cannot survive without using the Internet, social media, and sophisticated software in R&D (research and development), operations, marketing, finance, and sales. To manage and use big data in all these functional areas, organizations rely on technology.

Government and political forces

Government and political forces also affect industries and organizations. Recent events that have jarred the global economy—and are too early to predict the long-term outcomes of—are the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, wars in the Middle East, policies that question and disrupt free trade, health-care reform, and immigration—all of which increase uncertainty for businesses while creating opportunities for some industries and instability in others.

Sociocultural forces

Sociocultural environmental forces include different generations’ values, beliefs, attitudes, customs and traditions, habits, and lifestyles. More specifically, other aspects of societal cultures are education, language, religion, law, politics, and social organizations. The millennial (ages 20 to 35) workforce, for example, generally seeks work that engages and interests them. Members of this generation are also health conscious and eager to learn. Since this and the newer generation (Generation Z) are adept and accustomed to using technology—social media in particular—organizations must be ready and equipped to provide wellness, interesting, and a variety of learning and work experiences to attract and retain new talent. Millennials are also estimated to be the United States’ largest living adult generation in 2019. This generation numbered about 71 million compared with 74 million baby boomers (ages 52 to 70) in 2016. By 2019, an estimated 73 million millennials and 72 million boomers are projected. Because of immigration, millennials are estimated to increase until 2036. 8

Other general sociocultural trends occurring in the United States and internationally that affect organizations include the following: (1) Sexual harassment at work in the era of #MeToo has pressured organizations to be more transparent about relationships between owners, bosses, and employees. Related to this trend, some surveys show new difficulties for men in workplace interactions and little effect on women’s career opportunities taking place in the short term. 9 (2) While fewer immigrants have been entering the United States in recent years, diversity in the U.S. workplace continues. For example, 20 million Asian Americans trace their roots to over 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent—“each with unique histories, cultures, languages and other characteristics. The 19 largest origin groups together account for 94% of the total Asian population in the U.S.” 10 (3) Young adults in the United States are living at home longer. “In 2016, 15% of 25- to 35-year-old Millennials were living in their parents’ home. This is 5 percentage points higher than the share of Generation Xers who lived in their parents’ home in 2000 when they were the same age (10%), and nearly double the share of the Silent Generation who lived at home in 1964 (8%).” 11 (4) While women have made gains in the workplace, they still comprise a small share of top leadership jobs—across politics and government, academia, the nonprofit sector, and business. Women comprised only about 10% of CEOs (chief executive officers), CFOs (chief financial officers), and the next three highest-paid executives in U.S. companies in 2016–17. 12 A 2018 study by McKinsey & Company “reaffirms the global relevance of the link between diversity—defined as a greater proportion of women and a more mixed ethnic and cultural composition in the leadership of large companies—and company financial outperformance.” 13 These and other related sociocultural trends impact organizational cultures and other dimensions involving human talent and diverse workforces.

Natural disasters and human-related problems

Natural disaster and human induced environmental problems are events such as high-impact hurricanes, extreme temperatures and the rise in CO2 emissions as well as ‘man-made’ environmental disasters such as water and food crises; biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; large-scale involuntary migration are a force that affects organizations. The 2018 Global Risks Report identified risks in the environmental category that also affect industries and companies—as well as continents and countries. These risks were ranked higher than average for both likelihood and impact over a 10-year horizon. The report showed that 2017 was characterized by high-impact hurricanes, extreme temperatures, and the first rise in carbon dioxide emissions in four years; “man-made” environmental disasters; water and food crises; biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; and large-scale involuntary migration to name a few. Authors of this study noted that “Biodiversity is being lost at mass-extinction rates, agricultural systems are under strain and pollution of the air and sea has become an increasingly pressing threat to human health.” 14 Most vulnerable to rising seas are low-lying islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The Republic of the Marshall Islands has more over 1,100 low-lying islands on 29 atolls that include island nations with hundreds of thousands of people. Predictions indicate that rising sea levels could reach 3 feet worldwide by 2300 or sooner. One report stated that in your child’s lifetime, Miami, Florida, could be underwater. 15 Large sections of Louisiana’s marshes separating the ocean from the coastline are submerging. Oil producers and other related corporations are being sued by that state, claiming that fossil fuel emissions have contributed to natural disasters such as climate change. Many new companies in the United States are already constructing buildings to withstand increasing flooding and predicted rising water levels.

Concept Check

  • Define the components of the internal and the external business environments.
  • What factors within the economic environment affect businesses?
  • Why do demographic shifts and technological developments create both challenges and new opportunities for business?

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Internal and External Environment Factors of Organizational Environment

Organizational environment denotes internal and external environmental factors influencing organizational activities and decision-making.

Let’s Learn About The Environment Factors of Organizational Environment

What is organizational environment.

Every organization, whether business or non-business, has its environment. The organizational environment is always dynamic and ever-changing.

Changes today are so frequent, and every change brings so many challenges that managers and leaders of the organization need to be vigilant about environmental changes. The environment of an organization consists of its surroundings – anything that affects its operations favorably or unfavorably.

Environment embraces such abstract things as an organization’s image and such remote visible issues as the country’s economic conditions and political situations .

The environmental forces, abstract and visible, need careful analysis. The systematic and adequate analysis produces the information necessary for deciding what strategy to pursue.

Managers cannot make appropriate and sound strategies simply based on their guesses and instincts. They must use relevant information that directly flows from their organization’s environment analysis.

Internal and External Environment Factors that Influences Organizational Decision Making

By the word “environment,” we understand the surroundings or conditions in which a particular activity is carried on.

And we know that an organization is a social entity that has a hierarchical structure where all necessary items are put together. They act within it to reach the collective goal.

Organizations or, more specifically, business organizations and their activities are always being affected by the environment. In an organization, the management body’s actions are influenced by the environment.

Types of Organizational Environment

Types Of Organizational Environment

Organizations have an external and internal environment;

  • Internal environment / Micro environment.
  • General environment.
  • Industry environment.

An organization’s operations are affected by both types of environments.

Therefore, managers need to make an in-depth analysis of the elements of the environment so that they can develop an understanding of the internal and external situations of the organization.

Based on their understanding, they will be better able to establish the required objectives for their organization and formulate appropriate strategies to achieve those objectives.

In this post, we will look at the elements of the organization’s environment.

Internal Environment of Organization

Forces, conditions, or surroundings within the organization’s boundary are elements of the organization’s internal environment.

The internal environment generally consists of elements within or inside the organization, such as physical resources, financial resources, human resources , information resources, technological resources, the organization’s goodwill, corporate culture, and the like.

The internal environment includes everything within the boundaries of the organization.

Some of these are tangible, such as the physical facilities, the plant capacity technology, proprietary technology, or know-how; some are intangible, such as information processing and communication capabilities, reward and task structure, performance expectations, power structure management capability , and dynamics of the organization’s culture.

Based on those resources, the organization can create and deliver value to the customer. This value is fundamental to defining the organization’s purpose and the premise on which it seeks to be profitable.

Are we adding value through research and development or customer service, or by prompt delivery, or by cutting any intermediary which reduces the customers’ costs?

Organizations build capabilities over a long time. They consistently invest in some areas so that they can build strong competitive businesses based on the uniqueness they have created.

The manager’s response to the external environment would depend upon the availability and the configuration of resource deployment within the organization.

The deployment of resources is a key managerial responsibility.

Top management is vested with the responsibility of allocating resources between the ongoing operations/activities and future operations of strategic nature. That is they might yield returns in some future time that require resources now to be nurtured and have some associated risks.

The top management has to balance the conflicting demands of both, as resources are always finite.

For example, General Electric is an aggressive innovator and marketer who has been ruthless in its approach to changing proactively as well as reactively to sustain its competitive positions in the respective industries.

This implies that over the years, General Electric has invested in developing those capabilities, systems, and processes that enable it to respond.

The internal environment consists mainly of the organization’s owners, the board of directors, employees, and culture .

6 elements of the internal environment are;

Owners and Shareholders

Owners are people who invest in the company and have property rights and claims on the organization. Owners can be individuals or groups of persons who started the company; or bought a share of the company in the share market.

They have the right to change the company’s policy at any time.

Owners of an organization may be an individual in the case of a sole proprietorship business , partners in a partnership firm, shareholders or stockholders in a limited company, or members in a cooperative society. In public enterprises, the government of the country is the owner.

Whoever the owners are, they are an integral part of the organization’s internal environment. Owners play an important role in influencing the affairs of the business. This is the reason why managers should take more care of the owners of their organizations .

Board of Directors

The board of directors is the company’s governing body elected by stockholders. They oversee a firm’s top managers, such as the general manager.

Employees or the workforce, are the most important element of an organization’s internal environment, which performs the administration tasks. Individual employees and also the labor unions they join are important parts of the internal environment.

If managed properly they can positively change the organization’s policy. But ill-management of the workforce could lead to a catastrophic situation for the company.

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is the collective behavior of members of an organization and the values , visions, beliefs, and habits that they attach to their actions.

An organization’s culture plays a major role in shaping its success because culture is an important determinant of how well the organization will perform.

As the foundation of the organization’s internal environment, it plays a major role in shaping managerial behavior .

An organization’s culture is viewed as the foundation of its internal environment. Organizational culture (or corporate culture) significantly influences employee behavior.

Culture is important to every employee, including managers who work in the organization.

A strong culture helps a firm achieve its goals better than a firm having a weak culture . Culture in an organization develops and ‘blossoms’ over many years, starting from the practices of the founder(s).

Since culture is an important internal environmental concern for an organization, managers need to understand its influence on organizational activities.

Resources of the Organization

An organization s resources can be discussed under five broad heads: physical resources, human resources, financial resources, informational resources, and technological resources.

Physical resources include land and buildings, warehouses, and all kinds of materials, equipment, and machinery. Examples are office buildings, computers, furniture, fans, and air conditioners.

Human resources include all employees of the organization from the top level to the lowest level of the organization . Examples are teachers in a university, marketing executives in a manufacturing company, and manual workers in a factory.

Financial resources include capital used for financing the organization’s operations, including working capital .

Examples are investments by owners, profits, reserve funds, and revenues received out of a sale. Informational resources encompass ‘usable data needed to make effective decisions.

Examples are sales forecasts , supplier price lists, market-related data, employee profiles, and production reports.

Organization’s image/goodwill

The reputation of an organization is a very valuable intangible asset. High reputation or goodwill develops a favorable image of the organization in the minds of the public (so to say, in the minds of the customers).

‘No- reputation’ cannot create any positive image. A negative image destroys the organization’s efforts to attract customers in a competitive world.

The internal environment of an organization consists of the conditions and forces that exist within the organization.

Internal environment {sometimes called micro-environment) portrays an organization’s ‘in-house’ situations.

An organization has full control over these situations. Unlike the external environment, firms can directly control the internal environment .

The internal environment includes various internal factors of the organization, such as resources, owners/shareholders, a board of directors, employees and trade unions, goodwill, and corporate culture. These factors are detailed out below.

External Environment of Organization – Factors Outside of the Organization’s Scope

Factors outside or organization are the elements of the external environment. The organization has no control over how the external environment elements will shape up.

The external environment embraces all general environmental factors and an organization’s specific industry-related factors. The general environmental factors include those that are common in nature and affect all organizations.

Because of their general nature, an individual organization alone may not be able to substantially control its influence on its business operations.

Managers have to continuously read signals from the external environment to spot emerging opportunities and threats. The external environment presents opportunities for growth leadership and market dominance and poses the threat of obsolescence for products, technology, and markets.

While one section of an organization faces opportunities, another faces threats from a similar environment, perhaps because of differentiation in their respective resources, capabilities, and entrenched positions within the industry .

For example, the burgeoning mobile telephone market in India provides enormous opportunities for different types of organizations, from handset manufacturers, content developers, application developers, and mobile signal tower manufacturers to service providers.

At the same time, it poses a threat to the fixed-line telephone business, which has long been the monopoly of public sector enterprises.

The increasing demand for telecommunication services in India post-deregulation was an enormous opportunity for early entrants to enter the telecom services business and compete for revenue with state-owned organizations.

At the same time, the growing demand for mobile services led to an expansion of industrial capacity, price wars, lowering of call tariffs, acquisitions, and declining industry profits.

India has one of the lowest call rates in the world. As the industry matured and consolidation took place, the old players had to alter their business models and strategies.

The external environment can be subdivided into 2 layers;

Internal And External Environment Factors Of Organizational Environment

General Environment of Organization – Common Factors that All Companies in the Economy Face

The general environment usually includes political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal, environmental (natural), and demographic factors in a particular country or region. The general environment consists of factors that may affect operations but influence the firm’s activities.

The factors of the general environment are broad and non-specific, whereas the dimensions of the task environment are composed of the specific organization.

The external environment consists of an organization’s external factors indirectly affecting its businesses. The organization has little or no control over these factors, so the external environment is generally non-controllable.

However, there may be exceptions. The external environmental factors reside outside the organization, which can lead to opportunities or threats.

For the convenience of analysis, we can divide the external environment into two groups: (a) general environment (or remote environment), and (b) industry environment (some call it the ‘immediate operating environment,’ ‘task environment, or specific environment’).

The general environment consists of factors in the external environment that indirectly affect firms’ business operations.

The major factors that constitute the general environment include political situations, economic conditions, social and cultural factors, technological advancements, legal/regulatory factors, natural environment, and demographics in a particular country or region.

The industry environment consists of those factors in the external environment that exist in the industry in which the organizations operate their business. The industry environmental factors are generally more controllable by a firm than the general environmental factors.

Industry environment comprises those factors in the external environment that exists in tie concerned industry of a firm in which it is operating its business.

For example, US Pharma is operating its business in the pharmaceutical industry.

Therefore, all factors that are likely to affect the business operations of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Limited would be included in the ‘industry environment’ of the company.

There are 6 factors in the industry environment: suppliers, buyers & customers, competitors & new entrants, substitute products, regulators, and strategic partners.

It may be noted that some industry environmental factors, such as competitors and substitute products, may exist even outside the concerned industry.

For example, a leasing company may emerge as a competitor of the companies in the banking industry in terms of attracting deposits and providing loans to business houses.

Regarding the industry environment, the important issue to appreciate is that they reside in the immediate competitive situations of a firm.

Also, they are very specific in that they can be easily identified. For these reasons, they are often regarded as ‘specific environment’ or ‘task environment.’

The strategy-makers must understand the challenges and complexities of the general and industry environmental factors. They must appreciate that the general environmental factors are largely non-controllable because of their distantly located external nature.

When strategists take cognizance of both the general (remote) and industry (operating) environments, they are likely to become more proactive in strategic planning .

In the following discussions, you will find a broad description of the general environment.

8 Elements of the General External Environment

The general environment includes the; distant factors in the external environment that is general or common in nature. Its impact on the firm’s operations, competitors, and customers make its analysis imperative.

We can use the PESTLE model to identify and analyze the factors in the general environment. PESTLE Model covers political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal, and environmental (natural). Along with these, we can add additional factors that suit the current modern business atmosphere, demographic factors, and international factors.

8 elements or factors of the general environment of an organization are;

Political Legal Factors

The political factors of the general environment refer to the business-government relationship and the overall political situation of a country.

A good business-government relationship is essential to the economy and, most importantly, for the business.

The government of a country intervenes in the national economy by setting policies/rules for business. We see many such policies – import policy, export policy, taxation policy, investment policy, drug policy, competition policy, consumer protection policy, etc.

Sometimes, the government pursues a nationalization policy for state ownership of a business .

Some countries, such as India, pursue state-driven mercantilism to reduce imports and increase exports. Some countries; have liberalized their economy and shifted from centrally managed economies to capitalist economies or welfare economies.

In many 3rd world countries, successive governments emphasize privatization more than state ownership. As global competition has increased, the government has also liberalized its trade policies to align with the WTO agreements.

Another important issue is political stability, which substantially affects business firms’ operations. Divert’s decision about investment is highly affected by political stability.

Managers must be able to understand the implications of the activities of these agencies and groups.

Government agencies include different ministries, the office of the Controller of Imports and Exports, the Board of Investment, the Revenue board or agency, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Employers’ Associations, the Environmental Protection Movement, and the like.

Since the pressure groups put restraints on business managers, managers should have clear ideas about the actions of these groups.

Economic Factors

The economic factor of an organization is the overall status of the economic system in which the organization operates. The important economic factors for business are inflation, interest rates , and unemployment.

These factors of the economy always affect the demand for products. During inflation, the company pays more for its resources, and to cover its higher costs, they raise commodity prices.

When interest rates are high, customers are less willing to borrow money, and the company itself must pay more when it borrows. When unemployment is high, the company can be very selective about who it hires, but customers’ buying power is low as fewer people are working.

A country’s economic conditions affect market attractiveness. The performance of business organizations is affected by the health of a nation’s economy.

Several economic variables are relevant in determining business opportunities.

Examples of economic factors include the trend in economic growth, population income levels, inflation rate, tax rates for individuals and business organizations, etc.

There is thus a need to analyze the economic environment prudently by the business firms.

The economic environment comprises a distinct variable with which management must be concerned. A country’s economy can be in a situation of boom or recession or depression or recovery, or it may be in a state of fluctuation.

Managers/strategy-makers must be able to predict the economy’s state. These warrants the necessity of studying the economic environment to identify changes, trends, and their strategic implications.

Business organizations operate their businesses in markets consisting of people. These people are likely to become customers when they have purchasing power. And purchasing power depends on income, prices, savings, debt, and availability of credit.

Therefore, business organizations must pay attention to customers’ income and consumption patterns.

However, all the economic variables in the economy must be treated holistically for the clear envisioning of the entire economy and the market.

Socio-Cultural Factors

Customs, mores, values , and demographic characteristics of the society in which the organization operates make up the general environment’s socio-cultural factors.

A manager must well study the socio-cultural dimension. It indicates the product, services, and standards of conduct that society will likely value and appreciate.

The standard of business conduct varies from culture to culture, as does the taste and necessity of products and services. Socio-cultural forces include culture, lifestyle changes, social mobility, attitudes toward technology, and people’s values, opinion, beliefs, etc.

A society’s values and altitudes form the cornerstone of society. They often drive other conditions and changes. The hand for many products changes with the changes in social attitudes .

Socio-cultural factors differ across countries. In many countries, worker diversity is now a common phenomenon.

We find in first world countries the increasing life span of population, trend towards fewer children, movement of population from rural areas to urban areas, increasing rate of female education, more and more women entering the mainstream workforce, etc.

All these have a primary effect on a country’s social character and health.

Therefore, managers of business organizations need to study and predict the impact of social and cultural changes on the future of business operations in terms of meeting consumer needs and interests.

Business firms must offer products in society that correspond to their values and attitudes. It denotes the methods available for converting resources into products or services.

Technological Factors

Managers must be careful about technological factors. Investment decisions must be accurate in new technologies, and they must be adaptable to them.

Technological factors include information technology, the Internet, biotechnology, global transfer of technology, and so forth. None can deny the fact that the pace of change in these technological dimensions is extremely fast.

Technological changes substantially affect a firm’s operations in many ways. The advancement of industrialization in any Country depends mostly on the technological environment. Technology has major impacts on product development , manufacturing efficiencies, and potential competition.

Business organizations facing changing technology problems are always more difficult than those with stable technologies.

The effects of technological changes occur primarily through new products, processes, and materials. An entire industry may be transformed or revitalized due to new technology.

Strategy formulation is linked to technological changes. An intelligent response to the ever-increasing technological advances should be entrepreneurial rather than reactive.

Strategic managers need to monitor developments in technology for their particular industry when formulating a strategy . A quick and thorough study of technological changes; helps managers achieve a higher market share because of the early adoption of new technology.

A firm must be aware of technological changes to avoid obsolescence arid promote innovation. It means that strategy managers of an organization must be adept in – technological forecasting.

Legal Factors

The legal environment consists of laws and regulatory frameworks in a country. Many laws regulate the business operations of enterprises, such as the Factories Act, Industrial Relations Ordinance, the Contract Act, and the Company law, just to name a few.

Business laws protect companies from unfair competition and consumers from unfair business practices.

Business laws also protect society at large. The laws regarding a merger, acquisitions , industry regulation, employment conditions, unionization, workmen’s compensation, and the like affect a firm’s strategy.

Even globalization has caused significant repercussions in the legal environment. Thus, business managers must thoroughly know the major laws that protect business enterprises, consumers, and society.

And the overall situation of law implementation and justice in a country indicates that there is a favorable situation in business in a country.

Environmental / Natural Factors

Strategy-makers need to analyze the trends in the natural environment of the country where it is operating their business.

The most pertinent issues in the natural environment that strategy-makers should consider include the availability of raw materials and other inputs, changes in the cost of energy, levels of environmental pollution, and the changing role of government ‘in environmental protection.

Changes in the physical/natural environment, such as global warming, will heavily affect our daily lives and the functioning of our organizations with various consequences.

Demographic Factors

The demographic environment is concerned with a country’s population.

Specifically, it is related to the population’s size, age structure, geographic distribution, ethnic mix, and income distribution.

With over 8 billion population, demographic changes are evident worldwide. There is negative population growth in some countries, and in some countries, couples are averaging fewer than two children. In general, the average age is increasing.

In many countries, rural-urban migration is rampant. These trends suggest numerous opportunities for firms to develop products and services to meet the needs of diversified groups of people in society.

Strategy-makers must analyze the demographic issues, especially the size and growth rate of the population, age distribution, ethnic mix, educational level, household patterns, and inter-regional movements.

International Factors

Virtually every organization is affected by international factors. It refers to the degree to which an organization is involved in or affected by businesses in other countries.

The global society concept has brought all the nations together, and modern network of communication and transportation technology, almost every part of the world is connected.

General external environmental factors are interrelated with organizational success.

Therefore, strategy-makers need to analyze them in an interrelated fashion to understand and visualize the ‘whole of the environment.

Industry/Task Environment of Organization – Industry Factors that are Vital for Business Functions

A business firm’s strategy is affected by the structural characteristics of the industry , it is thus considered essential for a firm to make an elaborate analysis of the industry in which the firm operates its business.

Based on Michael Porter’s research results, the Van industry structure consists of suppliers, buyers, direct competitors, new entrants, and substitutes. The strategy-makers of a firm need to be concerned with the impact of the industry structure on the firm’s strategy .

Once the external environmental analysis has been completed, they should embark upon industry analysis. Industry analysis helps them have clear information about what is happening in the industry in which their companies are operating their businesses.

Since the industry contains competition, its analysis brings to light the complexities of the competition and the consequent challenges facing the industry.

The industry environmental factors, on the other hand, are those factors in the external environment that specifically reside in a particular industry and affect competition, such as suppliers, customers, competitors, and substitute products.

The task environment consists of factors that directly affect and is affected by the organization’s operations. These factors include suppliers, customers, competitors, regulators, and so on.

A manager can identify environmental factors of specific interest rather than having to deal with a more abstract dimension of the general environment.

6 Elements of the Industry or Task environment

As a manager or entrepreneur , you should be able to identify the various elements of the industry environment so that you can take appropriate steps to respond to them effectively in order to survive in the industry.

Elements Of Industry Environment

6 elements of the task environment for an organization are;

Suppliers are the providers of production or service materials. Dealing with suppliers is an important task of management.

A good relationship between the organization and the suppliers is important for an organization to keep a steady following of quality input materials. Suppliers are sources of resources such as raw materials, components, equipment, financial support, services, and Office Supplies.

To ensure a company’s long-term survival and growth, it is essential to develop a dependable relationship between a business firm and its suppliers. Concerning its competitive position with suppliers, a company should address the following questions;

  • Are the suppliers’ prices competitive?
  • Do suppliers offer attractive quantity discounts?
  • How costly are their shipping charges?
  • Are vendors competitive in terms of production standards?
  • Are suppliers’ abilities , reputation, and services competitive?
  • Are suppliers reciprocally dependent on the firm?

Customers & Buyers

“Satisfaction of customer”- the primary goal of every organization. The customer pays money for the organization’s product or services. They are the peoples who hand them the profit that the companies are targeting .

Managers should pay close attention to the customers’ dimension of the task environment because its customers purchase what keeps a company alive and sound. Strategy managers must understand the composition of the company’s customers .

With this end in view, they need to develop an exhaustive customer profile of the present and potential customers. Managers will be in a better position to pragmatically plan the firm’s strategic operations, anticipate changes in the size of the markets, and anticipate demand patterns.

While constructing a customer profile, managers need to use information regarding customers’ geographic location, demographic characteristics, psychographic issues, and buyer behavior.

Competitors & New Entrants.

The competitors often influence the policies of the organization. Competitive marketplace companies are always trying to stay and go further ahead of their competitors.

In the current world economy, competition and competitors in all respects have increased tremendously. A firm needs to analyze the competitive intensity in the industry. It needs to understand its competitive position in the industry to improve its chance of designing winning strategies .

Many companies develop a ‘competitor profile’ to accurately forecast their short-and-long-term growth and profit potentials.

A competitor profile may include such variables as market share, product line , the effectiveness of sales distribution, price competitiveness, advertising and promotion effectiveness, location, and age of the facility, production capacity, raw material costs, financial position, etc.

This positive effect is that the customers always have options, and the quality of products goes high.

The new entrants are the upcoming competitors of the firm. They are potential competitors because the competitive intensity increases when they enter the industry with similar products.

Regulators are units in the task environment that have the authority to control, regulate or influence an organization’s policies and practices.

Government agencies are the main player in the environment, and interest groups are created by their members to attempt to influence organizations as well as the government. Trade unions and the chamber of commerce are common examples of interest groups.

Substitute Products

The producers of substitute products are indirect competitors.

Substitute products serve the same categories of customers. They can meet the similar needs of customers and, therefore, emerge as threats.

For example, when the detergent powder is capable of meeting customer needs in a much better way, or even in the same way as the laundry soap does, the detergent powder becomes a strong indirect competitor of laundry soap.

Strategic Partners

They are the organization and individuals with whom the organization is to an agreement or understanding for the benefit of the organization. These strategic partners, in some way, influence the organization’s activities in various ways.

The industry environment is the competitive environment of a business organization. The industry environment substantially affects a firm’s business operations because it is the ‘immediate’ external environment of the firm, also known as the ‘immediate operating environment.’

Every firm operates its business in an industry. Therefore its activities are directly affected by any change in the industry, and therefore its activities are directly affected by any changes in the industry environment.

Changes in the general environment can directly impact any of the factors in the industry environment.

An organization has greater control over the industry’s environmental factors than the general environmental factors.

One point is to be noted that although the industry environment affects all the firms in the industry, in reality, all firms are not affected equally.

Influence of Internal and Environment on Business

Business managers must understand the various facets of the impacts of the external environment.

They need to recognize that the external environment has many aspects that can significantly impact a firm’s operations. They need to undertake an analysis of the environment regularly.

This is particularly important for the reason that developments/changes in the remote environment influence business organizations. They also need to understand the influences of changes in the industry environment.

Managers are benefited in several ways when they have a deep understanding and appreciation of the impact of environmental factors on business:

  • Knowledge of the environment helps managers identify the direction in which they should proceed. They will travel along with a distinct way of changing direction whenever necessary. Without an understanding of the environment, managers are like a bicycle without a handlebar – no way of maneuvering while riding on a street.
  • Managers can isolate those factors, especially in the external environment, which are of specific interest to the organization.
  • Managers can take preparation to deal with a predicted crisis in any of the factors in the environment. They can develop crisis plans for overcoming crises that affect an organization.
  • The key to achieving organizational effectiveness is understanding of the environment in which the firm operates its No knowledge or inadequate knowledge is very likely to lead managers to ineffectiveness because of ‘running on the wrong road for reaching the goals.

A manager must clearly understand the environment, irrespective of its external or internal nature.

Normally, you would not go for a walk in the rain without an umbrella, because you understand the environment and know you can get wet when it rains.

Similarly, suppose a manager does not know and understand the organization’s environment. In that case, he or she will definitively get wet or dry, and the organization is also in today’s fast and hyper-moving organizational environment.

Now that we have covered internal and external environment factors of organizational environment; read our materials on fundamentals of management and strategic management .

  • 3 Levels of Management in Organizational Hierarchy
  • Functional Departmentalization: Advantages and Disadvantages
  • Departmentalization of Organization by Process Types
  • 6 Barriers to Goal Setting in Organization
  • Managerial Skills: 5 Skills Managers MUST HAVE!
  • Internal Control System: Definition, Components, Features
  • Budgetary Control: Meaning, Objectives, Techniques, Steps
  • Functional Authority: Delegation of Functional Authority
  • Henri Fayol’s Contribution to Management
  • 4 Roles Played by Third Party in Negotiation
  • Modern Management Theories: Evolution, Schools, & Approaches
  • Goal Setting Theory of Motivation
  • Choose Best Alternative in Decision Making
  • Expectancy Theory of Motivation – Explained
  • Equity Theory of Motivation
  • Emerging Industries: Strategies For Emerging Industries
  • Fragmented Industry: Strategies For Fragmented Industry
  • Evaluating Strategies of Diversified Companies in 8 Steps
  • 3 Components for Building a Capable Organization
  • Stakeholder Analysis
  • Corporate Strategy: Meaning, Implementation, Elements
  • Horizontal Integration Strategy
  • Late Mover Strategy: Benefits & Key Examples
  • Five Forces Model by Porter: Competition and Industry Analysis
  • Seven Forces Model by Thompson and Strickland
  • Management By Objectives(MBO): Meaning, Steps, Benefits
  • Cost Leadership Strategy (Low-Cost Strategy)
  • Competitive Strategy: Four Types of Competitive Strategy
  • Operation Management: Definition, Importance, Decisions

BCIS First Semester

Specific or Task Environment || The Nature of Management || Bcis notes

March 30, 2020 Satyal Principles Of Management 0

Specific or Task Environment || The Nature of Management || Bcis notes

Specific or Task Environment

The task environment consists of specific organizations or groups that influence an organization’s performance. Each organization may have a unique task environment and may change in accordance with time and situation. The specific or task environment is also known as micro-environment. The micro-environment of a business includes the factors in the immediate area of operation affecting its performance and decision making freedom. They include competitors, customers, distribution channels, suppliers, and the public.

  • Customers-  The main purpose for the existence of most organizations is to satisfy the needs and wants of the customers. The enterprise aims to please the customer and earn a profit in return. So the ultimate aim is to provide the best products/services to the customer at the best prices. Failure to do so may result in failure of the business.
  • Competitors-  There are no pure monopolies in the world. Every organization, whether big or small, has competition and competitors. So the company has to keep a constant check on their competitors. No business organization can ignore its competitors and their business strategies.
  • Suppliers-  Suppliers provide the firm with the materials and factors of production they need to run the business. The relation between the company and the suppliers is a power equation. Both depend on each other for their survival.
  • Shareholders-  Shareholders of an organization have an influence as the company want investors to increase for this they might make a decision to increase money by buoyant on the stock market, i.e. shifting to public from private ownership. This change will pressure the company as the public shareholders seek returns on their investment.
  • Media-  The way media acts can make or break an organization. The organization should manage to keep a good relationship with the media as whatever it shows will directly influence the organization business. If the media will show a positive aspect, this will increase the business of the organization and vice-versa.

Therefore, the components of a specific or task environment are explained above.

You may also like  General Environment 

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PEAS Description of Task Environment

We need to describe the PEAS for the “bidding on an item at an auction” activity. PEAS stands for Performance measures, Environment, Actuators, and Sensors . We shall see what these terms mean individually.

  • Performance measures: These are the parameters used to measure the performance of the agent. How well the agent is carrying out a particular assigned task.
  • Environment: It is the task environment of the agent. The agent interacts with its environment. It takes perceptual input from the environment and acts on the environment using actuators.
  • Actuators: These are the means of performing calculated actions on the environment. For a human agent; hands and legs are the actuators.
  • Sensors: These are the means of taking the input from the environment. For a human agent; ears, eyes, and nose are the sensors.

Let us come back to the auction activity.

Performance measures: 

  • Cost of the item
  • Quality of the item
  • Value of the item
  • Necessity of the item

Environment:

  • BiddersItems which are to be bid

Actuators: (means to perform the activity)

  • Microphones
  • Display items

Sensors: (means to perceive the environment)

  • Price monitor, where prices are being displayed.
  • Ears of the attendees.

Further, we shall see the properties of this agent.

  • Observable (Fully/Partially): It is a partially observable environment. When an agent can’t determine the complete state of the environment at all points of time, then it is called a partially observable environment. Here, the auctioneering agent is not capable of knowing the state of the environment fully at all points in time. Simply, we can say that wherever the agent has to deal with humans in the task environment, it can’t observe the state fully.
  • Agents (Single/Multi): It is single-agent activity. Because only one agent is involved in this environment and is operating by itself. There are other human agents involved in the activity but they all are passing their percept sequence to the central agent – our auction agent. So, it is still a single-agent environment.
  • Deterministic (Deterministic/Stochastic): It is stochastic activity. Because in bidding the outcome can’t be determined base on a specific state of the agent. It is the process where the outcome involves some randomness and has some uncertainty
  • Episodic (Episodic/Sequential): It is a sequential task environment. In the episodic environment, the episodes are independent of each other. The action performed in one episode doesn’t affect subsequent episodes. Here in auction activity, if one bidder set the value X then the next bidder can’t set the lesser value than X. So, the episodes are not independent here. Therefore, it is a sequential activity. There is high uncertainty in the environment.
  • Static (Static/Semi/Dynamic): It is a dynamic activity. The static activity is the one in which one particular state of the environment doesn’t change over time. But here in the auction activity, the states are highly subjective to the change. A static environment is the crossword solving problem where numbers don’t change.
  • Discrete (Discrete/Continuous): It is a continuous activity. The discrete environment is one that has a finite number of states. But here in auction activity, bidders can set the value forever. The number of states can be 1 or 1000. There is randomness in the environment. Thus, it is a continuous environment.

2. PEAS description of the “online shopping agent”

We need to describe the PEAS for the “shopping for DataWarehousing books on the internet” activity. 

Performance measures:

  • Price of the book
  • Author of the book
  • Quality of the book
  • Book reviews on google.
  • Obtain interested/desired books.
  • Cost minimization.
  • Internet websites.
  • Web pages of a particular website
  • Vendors/Sellers
  • Filling in the forms.
  • Display to the user
  • Keyboard entry
  • Browser used to find web pages

1. Observable (Fully or Partial):   This environment is partially observable. When an agent can’t determine the complete state of the environment at all points of time, then it is called a partially observable environment.

Here, the shopping agent can’t see all types of books on one webpage. For example, on the current webpage, all the books have similar ratings and prices. If the user wants to see the books with high ratings then the agent has to follow a different webpage or set the filter in the search bar. Thus, the agent is interacting with a partially observable environment.

2. Deterministic or non-deterministic: The environment is deterministic. A task environment is said to be deterministic if the current state and actions performed in the current state completely determines the next state, otherwise, it will be a non-deterministic task environment.

Here, if the shopping agent likes a book and wants to purchase it, then the next state will be followed for the same book. The next stages will be: payment, filling in the delivery address, and order confirmation. The agent will make the payment for the selected book only. Thus, the next state is determined by the current state. 

3. Episodic/Sequential: This is a sequential environment. An environment is said to be episodic if it consists of independent episodes and actions performed in one episode don’t affect the other episodes. In a sequential environment, the actions performed in the current state will affect the next states.

Here, if the current book is rejected by the agent then the agent will not see the same book again. The webpage will not show the same book again, once it is rejected by the agent. Therefore, the action in the current state completely changed the next possible state.

4. Static/Dynamic: It is a static environment. An environment is static if it does not change over time. A car driving environment is dynamic because vehicles are running continuously. The agent doesn’t know what is going to come next. But in the static environment, a particular state is completely unchangeable over time, like a web page.

Here, the details of the books or the list of the books displayed on the website is not going to change over time. Details of the book don’t depend on the actions of the agent.

5. Discrete/Continuous: It is a discrete environment. An environment is discrete if it consists of a finite number of states. A chess-playing environment is discrete while the car driving environment is continuous.  

Here, the number of states is finite. The possible states are:

  • See the book details
  • See the price
  • Fill the form
  • Place the order and make payment.

6. Single-agent/Multi-agent : It is a single-agent system. Only one agent is interacting with the environment and no other robots or AI agent is present in the environment. An environment is said to be a single agent environment if only one agent is interacting and acting on it, otherwise multi-agent. A chess-playing environment is multi-agent since two agents (human or robot) are required to play the chess game.

Here, the shopping agent alone is acting on the website.

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External Components of Business Environment | The Task Environment

External components.

External components of the business environment remain outside of the organization. They influence the ability of an organization. They can be classified into two categories- task general and general environment. Competitors, suppliers, customers, regulators, strategic allies, etc. are task environments and political-legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological(PEST) are general environments. These factors are beyond the control of the business organization. The management should utilize them in favor of the organization by using their knowledge, ability, and skill. Some popular definitions of external environment given by J. Stoner and R.W. Griffin are as follows:

The external environment can be defined as all elements outside an organization that is relevant to its operations. —J.Stoner The external environment is everything outside an organization that might affect it. —R.W. Griffin

Eventually, components of tasks and the general environment are the major external factors of the business environment. They remain outside the organization and directly and indirectly influence the ability of the organization. External components are harder to predict and control. These factors can be more dangerous for an organization. Careful analysis is a must to make rational decisions.

1 . The task environment

Competitors, suppliers, customers, regulators, strategic allies, etc. are the major components of the task environment. These components, directly and indirectly, influence business decisions from outside. They remain outside but very close to the organization.

External Components of Business Environment | The Task Environment

Competitors:

The competing firms are the competitors of the organization. They influence business organizations. Competitors can launch a new product in the market, they can reduce the price of the product, can launch a new promotional scheme, and so on. The competitors also compete for resources. All these activities of competitors provide threats to the organization.

Suppliers are those organizations that provide resources to business organizations. It is good for any organization to keep long-term relationships with suppliers for quality, effective, and prompt delivery of resources. Suppliers may be raw material suppliers, machinery suppliers, human resource suppliers, financial resource suppliers, and so on.

Customers purchase products or services of an organization. They can be of different types such as household, government, industry, commercial enterprises, etc. An organization should make efforts to have different kinds of customers and has to develop different programs to retain quality customers. They are king in the market. An organization’s success depends on profitable relationships with quality customers.

The regulator controls the policy and behavior of an organization. Regulators may be regulatory agencies and interest groups.

Regulatory agency:

The regulatory agency is a unit formed by the government. It provides protection to people and organizations by curbing unfair business practices. It protects consumers’ rights.

Interest group:

An interest group is another form of the regulator. The group formed to influence an organization is an interest group. The such group works for the interests of its members. For example, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers-MDD is an interest group that gives pressure on liquor producers to paste warning levels on their products, gives pressure on automobile producers to manufacture difficult automobiles/cars to start by intoxicated persons, puts pressure on the government to make rigid legal provisions against liquor drinking, and give pressure to bars and restaurants not to sell liquors to the habitual drunkards.

Strategic allies:

When two or more companies work together as a joint venture, it is called strategic allies. such allies are formed for doing important work for the benefit of involving parties. One company can learn special skills and knowledge from others in strategic allies. Along with this, the risk is shared among companies or parties. For example, Ford and Mazda Companies establish strategic allies and they have jointly established Probe Automobile.

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Preparing Your Team for a Year of Intense Political Polarization

  • Ron Carucci
  • Caroline Mehl

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How to encourage people to productively disagree while maintaining mutual respect.

To be sure, the year ahead is going to bring even greater levels of social and political conflict than 2023. Shaping an environment that allows people to productively exchange opposing views and maintain mutual respect in the face of deeply personal differences is no small task. Further, some of those delicate viewpoints may be your own. Figuring out how much you can personally share without tipping the team’s dynamics can be even trickier. Keeping your team unified when external forces are trying to polarize you is possible, but it takes advance preparation and managerial courage. The authors share six strategies they’ve seen organizations employ for building conflict-resilient cultures.

In the wake of 2023’s turbulent social and political landscape that has spilled over into 2024, business leaders face a compounding challenge as the U.S. presidential election approaches. The campaign vitriol has already begun, and many leaders are dreading what this is going to bring into their workplaces and onto their teams.

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  • Ron Carucci is co-founder and managing partner at  Navalent , working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change. He is the bestselling author of eight books, including To Be Honest and Rising to Power . Connect with him on Linked In at  RonCarucci , and download his free “How Honest is My Team?” assessment.
  • Caroline Mehl is cofounder and executive director of the Constructive Dialogue Institute , a nonprofit that helps workplaces and institutions of higher education improve dialogue across lines of difference. Connect with her on LinkedIn  and sign up for the Constructive Dialogue Institute’s newsletter for new research on the science and practice of constructive dialogue.

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Federal Records Show Increasing Use of Solitary Confinement for Immigrants

A new report based on records from the Trump and Biden years found the average length of solitary detainment was longer than the duration the U.N. says can constitute torture.

A man standing in a kitchen gazes out an open door.

By Emily Baumgaertner

The United States government has placed detained immigrants in solitary confinement more than 14,000 times in the last five years, and the average duration is almost twice the 15-day threshold that the United Nations has said may constitute torture, according to a new analysis of federal records by researchers at Harvard and the nonprofit group Physicians for Human Rights.

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The report, based on government records from 2018 through 2023 and interviews with several dozen former detainees, noted cases of extreme physical, verbal and sexual abuse for immigrants held in solitary cells. The New York Times reviewed the original records cited in the report, spoke with the data analysts and interviewed former detainees to corroborate their stories.

Overall, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is detaining more than 38,000 people — up from about 15,000 at the start of the Biden administration in January 2021, according to an independent tracking system maintained by Syracuse University. A growing proportion of detainees are being held in private prison facilities with little means of accountability, and preliminary data from 2023 suggests a “marked increase” in the use of solitary confinement, according to the report.

A spokesman for ICE, Mike Alvarez, said in a statement that 15 entities oversee ICE detention facilities to “ensure detainees reside in safe, secure and humane environments, and under appropriate conditions of confinement.” He added that detained immigrants are able to file complaints about facilities or staff conduct via phone or through the Homeland Security inspector general.

“Placement of detainees in segregation requires careful consideration of alternatives, and administrative segregation placements for a special vulnerability should be used only as a last resort,” he said, using the agency’s terminology for solitary confinement. “Segregation is never used as a method of retaliation.”

ICE issued directives in 2013 and 2015 to limit the use of solitary confinement, saying it should be a “last resort.”

But the use of solitary confinement spiked during the pandemic in 2020 “ under the guise of medical isolation ,” according to Physicians for Human Rights. It dropped back in 2021 but has been increasing since the middle of that year, throughout the Biden administration, the report found. Solitary confinement placements in the third quarter of 2023 were 61 percent higher than in the third quarter of the previous year, according to ICE’s quarterly reports.

The average length of time in solitary confinement over the last five years was 27 days, almost twice the number that the U.N. believes constitutes torture. More than 680 cases of isolation lasted at least three months, the records show; 42 of them lasted more than one year.

The researchers’ work began more than six years ago when faculty members at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program started requesting documents from the Department of Homeland Security through the Freedom of Information Act. They eventually sued , obtaining some records through an order from a Federal District Court judge in Massachusetts.

Among the documents were copies of emails and monitoring reports exchanged between ICE headquarters officials and records of facility inspections by independent groups and the Homeland Security inspector general. The researchers also received a spreadsheet of data from the Segregation Review Management System, a database kept by ICE headquarters staff members on cases of solitary confinement across 125 facilities, including the rationale, dates, duration and location for each case.

Data analysts used Excel and Stata to calculate average durations and the total number of confinement placements, as well as to compare the data across years and facilities.

ICE arrests and holds immigrants in facilities across the country that are run by private companies. Some of those people were convicted of serious crimes in the United States and turned over to immigration authorities after they finished serving sentences; they remain in custody until they are deported. Others crossed the border unlawfully and, rather than being released into the country, are transferred to a detention center where they remain at least until the outcome of their deportation or asylum hearings.

Even in the case of convicted criminals, the use of solitary confinement is controversial . Prolonged isolation has been linked to brain damage, hallucinations, heart palpitations, poor sleep, reduced cognitive function and increased risk of self-harm and suicide . Just last week New York City ended the use of solitary confinement in the city’s jails.

While civil custody is not intended to be punitive, government records show the use of solitary confinement as a punishment for petty offenses or as retaliation for bringing issues to light, such as submitting complaints or participating in hunger strikes. One immigrant received 29 days of solitary confinement for “using profanity”; two received 30 days for a “consensual kiss,” according to a Homeland Security email.

‘I wanted to die’

Legal complaints and interviews with former detainees showed that humiliation was a common tactic used against those in solitary confinement. Immigrants detailed being called vulgar slurs, being strip-searched and being asked by guards to perform oral sex. One detainee said that when he had asked for water, he was told “to drink water from the toilet.” Two described being filmed and photographed while naked — one of them with feet and hands tied and with at least five officials present.

The Times interviewed several people cited in the report, who asked that their names and home countries not be identified out of fear for their safety, as they had been deported.

One former detainee, 40, from West Africa, who was kept in ICE custody for four years, including a month in solitary confinement, said that the guards had chosen predawn hours as his opportunity to leave his solitary cell, when it was too early for him to reach his lawyer or his family by phone. He said they had also kept the overhead fluorescent lights on all night, making it impossible for him to sleep.

Another, 39, a Muslim from Africa, said he had been refused Halal meals during a month in solitary confinement. He said he had been beaten, kicked in the head and kept in handcuffs even in the shower.

“It makes you crazy — you talk to the walls,” he said in an interview. “You eventually know nothing about the outside world — it’s like you’re dead.”

An asylum seeker from central Africa who spent three years in ICE custody, including a month in solitary confinement in Mississippi, said that one of the most intense methods of psychological abuse was forcing the immigrants to constantly wonder how long their isolation would last. He said a guard had told him it would last for seven days, but then another seven passed, and another. The guards laughed, he said.

“It was so stressful, I can’t even say,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep at all. I was thinking to kill myself every day — I wanted to die.”

Detainees also reported extreme gaps and delays in medical care. More than half of those interviewed by the researchers who had asked to see a doctor while in solitary confinement said they had waited one week or more to be seen, in cases including chest pain and head trauma. In one case, a detainee said he had to perform CPR on a fellow inmate “while a guard stood there in shock.”

Steven Tendo was a pastor who had endured torture in his home country of Uganda, including being placed in an underground jail cell with a python and the loss of two fingers, bit by bit, to a wire cutter.

He arrived in the United States seeking asylum, but instead of finding freedom, he was detained by ICE for 26 months, including recurring stints in solitary confinement. He was denied medication for his diabetes and his health deteriorated, but he couldn’t reach a lawyer, he said. He was placed in a full-body restraint device called “the wrap” for so long that he soiled himself.

Mr. Tendo has since been released from detention and lives in Vermont, where he is still pursuing asylum.

“I would rather be tortured physically back home than go back through the psychological pain here,” Mr. Tendo said in an interview. “You wouldn’t think that a first-world country that advocates for human rights would have such venom.”

‘Severe consequences’

Records show the Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and Office of General Counsel internally documented more than 60 complaints over the past four years regarding people with serious mental health conditions who were being held in solitary confinement. In some cases, their conditions were the only rationales listed: An immigrant who displayed “unusual body movements” and “irrational answers” was moved to solitary confinement for 28 days.

Nearly a quarter of the people surveyed by the researchers who had requested mental health care said they had never been seen; an additional 23 percent said they had been seen after more than a month. One person experiencing a dissociative episode was not seen for a psychological evaluation for five months, and the evaluations often lasted “maybe five minutes,” one said, done without privacy through the door of the cell.

“It’s pretty widely understood the severe consequences of putting vulnerable populations in solitary confinement,” said Sabrineh Ardalan, the director of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, who contributed to the analysis. “So the lack of compliance with their own directives is really striking.”

Mr. Alvarez, the ICE spokesman, said that the agency does not isolate detainees solely for mental illness unless directed to do so by medical staff members. He added that facility leaders and medical personnel meet weekly to review cases of any individuals with mental illness who are being held in isolation.

The authors of the report recommended the establishment of a task force that would draw up a plan to end the practice of solitary confinement in ICE facilities, present it to Congress and then carry it out entirely within a year.

In the shorter term, they offered a series of other recommendations, including a formal justification for each use of confinement, more explicit standards for facilities and financial penalties for any prison contractors that did not comply.

Because there is “much less oversight within the immigration detention setting” than in the criminal setting, said Tessa Wilson, a senior program officer for the asylum program at Physicians for Human Rights, the findings are intended to “remind ICE and the general public to look and to see what’s happening.”

Audio produced by Sarah Diamond .

Emily Baumgaertner is a national health reporter for The Times, focusing on public health issues that primarily affect vulnerable communities. More about Emily Baumgaertner

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Parent item expand the sub menu, prada group joins sustainable markets initiative fashion task force.

The coalition focuses on sustainable solutions in the global fashion, textile and apparel sectors.  

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Lorenzo Bertelli and Federico Marchetti

MILAN – The Prada Group is joining the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Fashion Task Force, a private-sector coalition aimed at accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable future. The SMI’s   Fashion  Task Force focuses on sustainable solutions in the global fashion, textile and apparel sectors. 

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The SMI was launched by then-Prince Charles during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2002. Its Fashion Task Force, which counts other members such as the Aura Blockchain Consortium, Brunello Cucinelli , Burberry, Chloé, Gabriela Hearst, Giorgio Armani , Puig, Moda Operandi and Zalando, is chaired by entrepreneur and former Yoox Net-a-porter chairman and chief executive officer Federico Marchetti. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Prada Group and Lorenzo Bertelli to our action-oriented Fashion Task Force,” said Marchetti. “Lorenzo and I share the same passion for customer-centricity and innovation, and Prada is an excellent fit with a cohesive group of leading brands who are striving for one shared purpose: fashion in harmony with nature.”

Since its inception in 2021, the Fashion Task Force has been driving tangible projects in multiple areas which include the launch of the Digital Product Passport at the G20 in Rome, and regenerative agriculture projects in the Himalayas and Apulia, Italy.

The Prada Group is part of the Fashion Pact and is a cofounder with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Compagnie Financière Richemont of the Aura Blockchain Consortium.

 UNESCO last year invited  Lorenzo Bertelli to become  “ Patron of the Ocean Decade Alliance” in recognition of  Prada ’s support of ocean literacy through its  Sea Beyond  educational program, as well as Bertelli’s personal vision and efforts to raise awareness of the role that the private sector can play in supporting ocean knowledge for sustainable development. The Sea Beyond project was launched in 2019 and is dedicated to the promotion of ocean literacy and ocean preservation.

Prada Group has committed to donate 1 percent of the proceeds of the Prada  Re-Nylon collection   to the Sea Beyond project, strengthening the partnership with IOC/UNESCO. In 2021, the group achieved full conversion to Re-Nylon, extending the use of the regenerated nylon to ready-to-wear, footwear and new accessories. It has also embraced a fur-free policy.

The group’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets have been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative and its goal is to reach net-zero emissions in 2050.

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  1. Task Environment

    Activities Why is a task environment important? A task environment is important because it impacts a company's ability to achieve its goals. For example, customers influence the business's...

  2. Task Environment

    Task Environment of an organization is the environment which directly affects the organization from attaining business goals. In brief, Task Environment is the set of conditions originating from suppliers, distributors, customers, stock markets and competitors which directly affects the organization from achieving its goals.

  3. 4.4 The Internal Organization and External Environments

    Some of the major sectors of a task environment include marketing, technology, government, financial resources, and human resources. Presently, several environmental domains that once were considered stable have become more complex and unstable—e.g., toys, public utilities, the U.S. Postal Service, and higher education.

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    Task Environment External environment of an organization which affects its ability to reach business goals. Any business or consumer with direct involvement with an organization may be part of the task environment. Examples of task environment sectors include, competitors, customers, suppliers and labour supply. Rate this term +2 -1 Search

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    analysis was the organizational task environment, which in-cluded those elements that actively and directly cooperated and competed with the focal organization, as discussed by Starbuck (1976). This task environment mig ht have differed from that specified by Dill (1958) in that it excluded regulatory groups of an organization's environment.

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    The concept of task environment not only directs use of a different set of respondents but also requires sensi- tivity to domains of activity as they vary across organi- zations.8 Prior organizational assessments have not ex- plored how domain characteristics such as the location or type of service provided by the governmental unit may affect it...

  7. Organization Task Environments: Have they Changed ...

    Changes in three task environment dimensions—munificence, dynamism, and complexity—were assessed for manufacturing establishments in 45 established industries and 43 new industries. In analyses of both the established and new industries, all three environmental dimensions tended to decrease over time.

  8. Organizational Task Environments and Performance: An Empirical Analysis

    Perceptual measures gauging managerial "subjective" views on the nature of the task environment are also likely to be important determinants of organizational outcomes. In this paper, a comprehensive model of the impact of "objective" and "subjective" task environments on the performance of local government service departments is ...

  9. Organization Task Environments: Have they Changed ...

    Changes in three task environment dimensions—munificence, dynamism, and complexity—were assessed for manufacturing establishments in 45 established industries and 43 new industries. In analyses of both the established and new industries, all three environmental dimensions tended to decrease over time.

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    An organization's task environment is the collection of factors that affects its ability to achieve goals. Common factors in the task environment include competitors, customers, suppliers and distributors. By identifying potential factors that could impede success, the organization has the ability to adapt.

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    The big picture of an organization's external environment, also referred to as the general environment, is an inclusive concept that involves all outside factors and influences that impact the operation of a business that an organization must respond or react to in order to maintain its flow of operations. 4 Exhibit 4.2 illustrates types of ...

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    The task environment consists of factors that directly affect and is affected by the organization's operations. These factors include suppliers, customers, competitors, regulators, and so on. A manager can identify environmental factors of specific interest rather than having to deal with a more abstract dimension of the general environment.

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    The task environment consists of specific organizations or groups that influence an organization's performance. Each organization may have a unique task environment and may change in accordance with time and situation. The specific or task environment is also known as micro-environment.

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    Read Courses We need to describe the PEAS for the "bidding on an item at an auction" activity. PEAS stands for Performance measures, Environment, Actuators, and Sensors. We shall see what these terms mean individually. Performance measures: These are the parameters used to measure the performance of the agent.

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    Sign in to download full-size image Figure 1-2. Satellite technology has led to many new security applications such as the global positioning system for tracking movement of cargo and finding wanted persons. Source: iStockphotos.

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  24. ABA Environmental Justice Task Force

    The resolution calls on the association to advance environmental justice principles and considerations in its programs, policies and activities; and to work with governmental bodies to establish laws, regulations and other measures "that reflect the right of every human being to dignity and a clean and healthy environment."

  25. Preparing Your Team for a Year of Intense Political Polarization

    Shaping an environment that allows people to productively exchange opposing views and maintain mutual respect in the face of deeply personal differences is no small task. Further, some of those ...

  26. Federal Records Show Increasing Use of Solitary Confinement for

    A new report based on records from the Trump and Biden years found the average length of solitary detainment was longer than the duration the U.N. says can constitute torture.

  27. Prada Joins Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Task Force

    MILAN - The Prada Group is joining the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Fashion Task Force, a private-sector coalition aimed at accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable future ...

  28. EPA seeks improvement in Georgia's coal ash cleanup plan

    The letter takes EPD to task for a final closure permit at Georgia Power's Plant Hammond near Rome. EPA says the permit issued last September likely breaks the groundwater rule. About 10% of the ...