The ability of management to collect both internal and external information and use the analysis to respond to emerging patterns and trends in the target market is critical to the company’s competitiveness. As an ongoing process, environmental scanning is used by management to investigate the interdependency of the various sectors of the target market and their respective patterns and trends. The results of the environmental scan should translate into the company’s guidelines for planning and decision-making. In comparing the environmental scans of the United States and that of Zambia, it was found that monitoring and understanding the target market’s dynamics in the legal system, crime situation, international membership focus, and economic environment is essential in the formulation of management’s response strategy.
Economic and Environmental Scanning
Before conducting business in another country management collects information on different macroeconomic indicators, environmental issues, legal processes, political trends, and patterns of events that may have a bearing on the company. The underlying assumption is that the present pace of events determines the path of future developments. It is, therefore, advised that a company conducts an environmental scan to assess the overall attraction of the target environment in terms of potential benefits, costs, and risks. The focus of this paper is to compare the United States data and Zambia in critical areas of the global environment. Definitive areas discussed range from rates of unemployment and political risk. Understanding the status and condition characterizing these environmental attributes would enable businesspeople to predict future trends and prepare responses when conducting business in the Southern region of Africa.
Population trends
The population of the United States 312,900,000 made up of 79.96 percent white, 12.85 percent black, 4.43 percent Asian, 0.97 percent Amerindian and Alaska native, 0.18 percent native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander, two or more ethnics 1.61percent ("United State Census," 2012). The population is growing at the rate of 0.963 percent. English is the official language and is spoken by 82.1 percent of the U.S. population. The size of the average household incomes makes it one of the biggest markets in the world.
The Zambian population, on the other hand, is only13, 881,000 composed of 99.5 percent indigenous Zambians and 0.5 percent Europeans, Asians, and Americans (U.S. State Department, 2012). Based on 2011 estimates, the Zambian population is growing at the rate of 3.06 percent. Although the 98.3 percent of the Zambian population speaks local languages, English, spoken by 1.
What is the official language or the United States? 90% of the people would answer English, but guess again. The United States doesn’t have an official language. The subject of English as the official language of the United States has been covered intensively by the world press over the past decade. Declaring it the official language of United States can make an improvement in many areas, and is very relevant for future generations.
In the developing wold, both population and economy depend on the environment. Nowadays, climate changes and other environmental problems have a huge impact in the developing world.
With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
Based on a study conducted in 2000, 1.5 million women (approximately 25% of the female population) and about 834,732 men (approximately 7.6-14%
According to the 2011 census, over 20.8 percent of the United States population spoke another language other than English (www.us-english.org). Language barriers, cultural differences, and immigration have been a part of life in the United States for decades. Language is considered a vital tool in the construction of someone’s identity and an expression of culture. In the last 200 years immigrants have chosen to make the United States their home, but some proceeded with caution by slowly adapting to the English language and culture.
Strategic analysis has a relevant and necessary application in intelligence-led policing. Its objective is to provide a better understanding of current and future crime trends and implement strategies to prevent or limit them in a long term. For strategies to be effective, analysis must be thorough, incorporating high accuracy for detail. It is the responsibility of an analyst to perform an in-depth research that will yield as much of information about the current issue. Both, quantitative and qualitative research methods are useful for obtaining information which is combined in the strategic analysis report. Qualitative research has been proven to be an invaluable tool in strategic analysis, and consists of conducting interviews, citizens
Environmental – External environmental factors are forces or trends that can affect a business whether it is an opportunity, threat, or constraint. They can be divided into three interrelated subcategories of remote, industry, and operating environments. The remote environment includes factors beyond a company’s operating situation such as the economic, social, political, technological, and ecological factors. The industry environment includes factors that have more of a direct influence on a company’s business such as entry barriers, competitor rivalry, the availability of substitutes, and the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers.
The largest language spoken in the United States after English is Spanish, with more than 37 million speakers (Brunner). This makes the United States have the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, only behind Mexico and in front of Spain itself. This number has been growing in The United States at an exponential rate. “[Spanish] is also one of the fastest-growing, with the number of speakers up 233% since 1980” (Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrera). As this trend continues over the years the 17% of the population, which speaks Spanish in the United States may increase to a significant enough amount that it could rival that of English. Several years down the line, the most commonly spoken language could become Spanish. As the growth of Spanish increases in the United States, it seems illogical to make only English the official language. If there were to be an official language then Spanish and English should both become official, forcing businesses to put all their products in both English and Spanish.
How does this case illustrate the threats and opportunities facing global companies in developing their strategies?
In this particular region of Africa, it is hard to ignore the impact that environmental degradation has. As climate change ramps up, there are new issues and new problems that will face all parts of the Earth. No region will be unaffected as the environment continues to change and current trends persist into the future. Sea level rise will affect coastal communities, warming trends will affect crop yields, and pollution will make some areas unlivable. Though the entire planet feels at least some effect of environmental change and global warming, there are particular regions where the effect is greatest. In these regions, environmental change or degradation can add to an already unstable and volatile situation. Increased environmental hardship or unpredictability can be the final factor that leads to a conflict.
American society is becoming increasingly culturally diverse. The 2010 Census indicates that the racial and ethnic makeup of the American population has increased dramatically throughout the years. The U.S. Bureau of the Census predicts that the United States will continue to undergo the following population changes over the next half century: Hispanics will represent 24.5% of the population (16.35% in 2010), African Americans will represent 13.6% of U.S. population (12.6% in 2010), Asian and Pacific Islanders will increase to 8.2% of U.S. population (4.8% in 2010), American Indians will represent 0.9% of U.S. population (0.9% in 2010), and Whites will represent 52.8% of the U.S. population (72.4% in 2010).
A key point that must be understood is that developing countries form the West African region. For this reason, the business environment is affected by elements that are not common in the most developed countries such as where McDonalds has started and grown its business. This part of the report focuses on those elements that shapes the West African business environment and is supported by analytical report from ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West Africa States) and literature review and interview with Sir David Santos Professor of economy at the University of Dakar.
Environmental scanning is the process of gathering information about events and their relationships within an organization's internal and external environments. The basic purpose of environmental scanning is to help management determine the future direction of the organization (Barnat, 2004). For a business to succeed, it is important to study the business environment of the firm that consists external and internal influences that affect the firm’s decisions and performance (Grant, 2010). Environmental scanning includes the assessment of Macro and Micro environmental analysis.
The first external environment of a business factor is economic that plays a significant role in business. The Republic of Kazakhstan is rich in mineral resources, vast agricu...