BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Business Environments

Large-scale organisations do not operate within a vacuum, they operate within constantly changing commercial and non-commercial environments.  These organisations are not static, they are dynamic organisations operating within an open (as opposed to a closed) system.  It is important for managers within these organisations to understand the environment within which they operate so that they can be about any likely impacts that the environment may have on the organisation. In this way managers can make any necessary changes to ensure the continued success of the organisation and the attainment of its goals and objectives. Large-scale organisations operate within essentially two broad environments - the internal environment and the external environment. The external environment may be further divided into the task environment and the general environment. There are three major sectors or contributors to the internal environment which may impact on the organisation - management, employees and the culture of the organisations. Management obviously has a significant impact on the way that the organisation operates and functions, through the management functions already discussed. The employees may impact on the organisation through the tasks that they perform and the way that they execute those tasks.  The culture of the organisation is a significant impactor as it incorporates 'the way that things are done within the organisation'.  The culture of the organisation includes the 'system of shared values' inherent within the organisation, i.e. what people both within and outside the organisation believe the organisation stands for and how it operates, e.g. the quality of its service and the level of the organisation's employee relations. If the culture was to alter then the operations of the organisation would change as well. It is worth noting that the organisation has a fair degree of control over these sectors and the impact that they have on the organisation.