Introduction The intent of this paper is to perform an analysis of the cable industry's external environment. The first sections of the document will discuss environmental scanning and define the telecommunication niche that is currently occupied by cable operators such as Comcast. The next section will identify the macroeconomic variables that currently impact cable operators and will compare two variables to two corresponding industry variables. The final section of the paper will identify some of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. An external analysis of the industry will provide a clear picture of the environment as well as any opportunities and threats faced by Comcast. By understanding the environment, opportunities and threats a company has the ability to create strategies to support its business goals. The primary process by which Comcast will gain an understanding of its external environment is environmental scanning. Environmental scanning Environmental scanning "is the acquisition and use of information about events, trends, and relationships in an organization's external environment, the knowledge of which would assist management in planning the organization's future course of action." Choo (2001) As explained by Gazzale (2007) all businesses external environment are made up of three facets ": 1) the remote environment (macroeconomic factors including inflation, GDP, interest rates, etc.), 2) the industry environment (barriers to entry, the level of competition within the industry, etc.), and 3) the operating environment (the business's customers, suppliers, and workforce, etc.). Telecommunications Industry (Cable) Comcast Cable is part of the telecommunication industry which is defi... ... middle of paper ... ...ntal scanning as information seeking and organizational learning. Information Research, 7(1), retrieved January 18, 2007 from http://InformationR.net/ir/7-1/paper112.html Countrywatch (2007), retrieved January 19, 2007 from the University of Phoenix rEsource database Countrywatch, United States Gazzale, L (2007), retrieved January 22, 2007 from University of Phoenix, Main MBA501 week five environmental scanning thread McConnell, R., Brue, S. (2004). Economics: principles, problems and policies, 16e. The McGraw-Hill Companies NAICS definitions (2007), retrieved on January 18, 2007 from (http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/ND517510.HTM) US Census Bureau (2006), retrieved January 22, 2007 from http://www.census.gov/ University of Phoenix, (2007), retrieved January 19, 2007 from the University of Phoenix rEsource database MarketLine Business Information Center
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Company.
A firm?s external environment is divided into three major areas : the general, industry and competitor environments. Below is an elaboration in further detail regarding the firm?s opportunities and threats in these three environments.
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Our book says: “A firm’s external environment consists of all the forces that can affect its potential to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. (Rothearmi, 2013) Analyzing the general environment, we can mitigate threats and leverage opportunities.
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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The business environment has a bearing on all these integral and interrelated elements. Business dynamics is dependent on environmental dynamics. It is very important to formulate the business strategy thatshould be defined to achieve a perfect organization-environment fit. Also the vision, mission, objectives of an organization should be designed on the basis of assessment of an environment.Relation of business organization and its environment is obvious from the point ofanalysis ofstrengths, weakness, opportunity and threats of business. Organizationenvironment consists of internal environment and external environment. Internalenvironment factors are easily controllable and manage in the organization. Externalenvironment factors are uncontrollable factors due to changes in the legal, social,economic, and technical in business enterprise. External environment offers wide rangeof opportunities, problems, threats and pressures and thereby influence the structureof the business enterprise and its functions. Business enterprise can be treated assubsystem for drawing certain inputs of resource, information and values extractingfrom the external environmental system. These things transform into outputs inthe form of products and services, goals and satisfactions and exchange of properideas and it transmits to business
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.
Environmental scanning (Grunig et al., 2002) enables detecting issues and external influences likely to be faced by the organisation.
Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., McDaniel, C. D., & Wardlow, D. L. (2009). Essentials of marketing (6th ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub..
Analysis of the external environment is very important for the development strategy of the organization and a very complex process requiring a process tracking and assessment factors and also the establishment of links between those factors and the strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats. External environment has its complexity and uncertainty. It is obvious that without knowing the environment the organization can not exist. The organization studies the environment in order to secure a successful progress towards its goals.
Economic Environment: The economic environment refers to the nature and direction of the economy in which a company competes or may compete. The economic environment includes general economic situation in the region and the nation, conditions in resource markets (money, manpower, raw material and so on) which influence the supply of inputs to the enterprise, their costs, quality, availability and reliability of supplies.
Environmental analysis is a strategic tool. It is a process to identify all the external and internal elements, which can affect the organization’s performance. The analysis entails assessing the level of threat or opportunity the factors might present. These evaluations are later translated into the decision-making process. The analysis helps align strategies with the firm’s environment. The importance of Environmental Analysis lies in its usefulness for evaluating the present strategy, setting strategic objectives and formulating strategies.