External environment:

Opportunities, Threats, Industry Competition and Competitor Analysis

External environment is divided into three main areas, namely the general environment, industry and
competitor environment.
General environment: Segment and Element
Demographic
Population size
Segments
Age Structure
Geographic Distribution
Ethnic Mix
Income distribution
Personal savings rate
Economic Segment
The inflation rate
Level k epentingan
Deficits or surpluses
Deficit or surplus
Business savings rate
Gross domestic product
Segments Politics /
Anti-trust laws
Law
Tax law
Philosophy of deregulation
Employment law training
Philosophy and education policy
Sociocultural Segment
Women as workers
Workforce diversity
Attitudes towards quality of work life
Attitudes towards the environment
Movement of jobs and career options
Movement options with regards to the characteristics of
products and services
Technology Segment
Product innovation
Application of knowledge
Focus on private and government backed by research and
development spending
New communication technologies
Global Segment
Important political event
Critical global markets
new industry
Attributes of different cultural and institutional

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

One important goal of the general environmental studies is to identify opportunities and threats.
Opportunities are conditions in the general environment that can help a company achieve strategic
competitiveness. Threat is a condition in the general environment that may hinder efforts to achieve the
company's strategic competitiveness.
External environment analysis process consists of:
-

Scanning (Scanning)
Scanning is the study of all segments of the general environment. Through scanning, pe plying
to identify early signs of potential changes in the environment to the general n and detect
changes that are happening. Scanning activity should be tied to the context of the organization,
as a scan of the stem which is designed for an unstable environment would not be suitable for
companies who are in a stable environment.
Supervision (Monitoring)
A surveillance nalisis observe environmental changes to see if a trend is developing among the
important things that are observed in scanning. Critical for successful control is the ability untu
k m endeteksi meaning in the events of different environments.
Forecasting (Forecasting)
On forecasting, analysis of the project-developed the project viable kin about what might
happen, and how quickly the changes and trends that are detected through scanning and
surveillance.
Assessment (Assessing)
Purpose of assessment is to erratic right time and the significance of the effects of the changes
and trends of the environment on the strategic management of a company. Through scanning,
monitoring, and forecasting, an analyst can understand the general environment. Going one
step further, to specify the purpose of the assessment is the understanding of the implications
of the organization. Without the assessment, companies are left with interesting data, but it is
not known competitive relevance.

SEGMENT IN GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL

Environment general ungan formed of segments (and their individual elements) that are external to the
company. Although the level of influence varies, segments this environment affects p loyal industry and
the companies in it. The challenge is to scan, monitor, forecast, and assess these elements in each
segment. In addition, the analysis of the general environment should be able to identify changes,
trends, opportunities, and threats tiles lying m environment. Then, the opportunities are matched with
the company's core competencies.
Demographic Segment
Demographic segment relates to:
-

Population size

Observed demographic changes in the population strongly suggests the importance of this
segment. Mi instance, in some developed egara n, t ermasuk U.S., couples on average have
less than two children. Over time, as the birth rate would produce loss of population. Contrast
with developed countries, the population growth rate c epat in most developing countries are
increasingly reducing the natural resources and reduce the standard of living of its citizens.
Pro's projections show the challenges and opportunities in the 21st century business major.
-

Age Structure
Any projection that half of women and one third of men who live d i late 1990s in developing
countries will be able to live to 100 years, will bring business opportunities to develop dituj ukan
goods and services to meet needs of the population of elderly people is constantly increasing.

Geographic Distribution
Geographical distribution of the population across the world is currently being modified by
kapabilita s generated by advances Tech o logy communication. Through computer technology,
for example, people can remain living at home. A wan entrepreneur in the field of IT will find it
more profitable and efficient when working at home rather than renting office.

Ethnic Mix
Ethnic mix of the country's population is constantly changing. Changes in the ethnic mix also
affects the composition of the work pe. Because labor can determine the success of corporate
competition, companies around the world have to learn to work effectively with a diverse
workforce.

Income Distribution
Understanding how income is distributed within and across populations can tell the company
about purchasing power and income groups are different.

Economic Segment
The economic environment refers to the nature and the direction of the economy in which a firm
competes or will compete. Because of the interconnectedness between nations caused by the global
economy, companies need to scan, monitor, forecast, and assess the health of the economy outside
their own nation. Therefore, any uncertainty in an interdependent world economy will affect companies
of all types and sizes.
Cost a fortune to reverse the economy of a country that never experienced a problem not a bit. This
explains the importance of the estimated cost for a nation to govern themselves and the organization of
its business in ways that facilitate economic success is continuous, without interruption.

Segments Politics / Law

Economic issues are closely linked to the realities of the external environment of a segment of the
political / legal. Segment politics / law is an arena in which organizations and groups with an interest in
competing for the desired resource, and there is supervision of legal entities and the laws that govern
the interaction among nations. Basically, this segment represents how organizations trying to influence
the government and how government affects them. Venturing changes constantly, this segment affect
the nature of competition. Therefore, companies should carefully analyze the new administration of the
policies and philosophies related to business. Antitrust laws, tax laws, deregulation-deregulation of the
industry, legislation workforce training, and the level of commitment of educational institutions are the
areas where Adiministrasi policy can affect the operation and profitability of the industry and individual
companies. Often, how the company wants to interact with a segment of the political / legal can be
captured through the development of the use of political strategy. Effects of a large number of
government policies on the global competitive position of the company increased the importance of
creating an effective political strategy.

Sociocultural Segment
Segment related to sociocultural attitudes and cultural values of a society. Because the attitudes and
values form the foundation of a society, they often participate in promoting the conditions and changes
in demographic, economic, political / legal, and technological.
It is very important for everyone to understand that the culture of a nation affect the character and social
health. Thus, companies must understand the implications of attitudes and cultural values of a society
before they wish to offer goods and services that will meet the needs and interests of the customers.
As mentioned previously, a significant trend in many countries is the increasing diversity of the workers.
Number of women workers is an important indicator of the increasing diversity of the workforce., And
women are a valuable source of high officials who be productive. The entry of women workers and the
increasing ethnic and cultural diversity produces interesting challenges and significant opportunities.
Included in this is the need to combine the best of the leadership styles of women and men for the
benefit of the company and identify ways to facilitate all employee contributions to the company. Most
companies now provide training to enhance the leadership potential of women and ethnic minorities.
Changes in organizational structure and management practices are often needed to remove the
obstacles that may arise. Learning to manage diversity of domestic labor can increase the effectiveness
of the company in managing a diverse workforce globally, as companies buy more international
operations. Commitments to promote and organize this diversity will enhance the company's
performance.
Technology Segment
Technology segment includes the institutions and activities involved in creating new knowledge and
translating that knowledge into output, products, processes, and new materials. Knowledge and
capabilities created by developing or using new technologies sometimes transform or revitalize the
entire industry.

With the rapid technological changes, become important for companies to learn the technology
segments quickly and thoroughly. The importance of the efforts shown by the discovery that the
company early adopted the new technology often achieve a higher market share and generate higher
profits as well. So, executives have to verify that their company continuously scan the external
environment to identify potential replacement of technologies that are currently being used, also see the
extent to which companies can take advantage of new technologies.
Among the many benefits, the Internet is a source for company data and information to understand the
external ungan qu. I nternet usage for the purpose of supporting the company's efforts to conduct an
effective analysis of the external environment. Accesses to the experts for topics such as chemical
engineering technology and semi-conductor manufacturing, to the Library of Congress (Library of
Congress), lists of new patents, new data stock market and even satellite photos, are available through
Internet. In addition, as a technology, the Internet can also be used to conduct business transactions
between the company and its customers (E-commerce). As can be concluded that the company is able
to understand the potential of the Internet and the business opportunities it created to get change and
use the Internet to increase flexibility so that they can move rapidly in the competitive market.

Segment Global
Global segment includes relevant new global markets, global markets are changing, international
political events that are important, and the cultural and institutional characteristics that determine the
global marketplace. Although the segments that we have learned so far analyzed in the domestic and
global implications, some specific global factors should be analyzed as well, for example, companies
should strive to identify new global markets is critical, which is also being changed. Many global
markets, such as in the countries of South America, in South Korea and Taiwan, became increasingly
limit and converge. And also, in addition to explore opportunities, companies must recognize the
potential threats to the nation-state and the market.