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Management - Vikhanskiy OS

2.1. Analysis of the external environment

The external environment in strategic management is viewed as the aggregate of two relatively independent subsystems: the macroenvironment and the immediate environment.

Macroenvironment creates the general conditions of the environment of the organization. In most cases, the macroenvironment is not specific to an individual organization. However, the degree of influence of the state of the macroenvironment on different organizations is different. This is due both to differences in the spheres of activity of organizations, and to differences in the internal potential of organizations.

The study of the economic component of the macroenvironment makes it possible to understand how resources are formed and distributed. It involves analysis of such characteristics as the size of the gross national product, the rate of inflation, the unemployment rate, the interest rate, labor productivity, taxation rates, the balance of payments, the rate of accumulation, and so on. When studying the economic component, it is important to pay attention to such factors as the overall level of economic development, the extracted natural resources, the climate, the type and level of development of competitive relations, the structure of the population, the level of education of the workforce and the size of wages.

Analysis of legal regulation, involving the study of laws and other normative acts that establish legal norms and framework of relations, gives the organization the opportunity to determine for itself the permissible limits of actions in relations with other subjects of law and acceptable methods of defending their interests. The study of legal regulation should not be limited to studying the content of legal acts. It is important to pay attention to such aspects of the legal environment as the effectiveness of the legal system, the established traditions in this area and the procedural aspect of the practical implementation of legislation.

The political component of the macroenvironment should be studied first of all in order to have a clear idea of ​​the intentions of the state authorities regarding the development of society and the means by which the state intends to enforce its policy. The study of the political component should focus on finding out what programs different party structures are trying to implement, what lobbying groups exist in public authorities, what the government's attitude to different sectors of the economy and the regions of the country is, what changes in legislation and legal regulation Are possible as a result of the adoption of new laws and new norms regulating economic processes. It is important to understand such basic characteristics of the political subsystem as: what political ideology determines the policy of the government, how stable is the government, how far is it able to carry out its policy, what is the degree of public discontent and how strong are opposition political structures, in order to use this discontent, Seize power.

The study of the social component of the macroenvironment is aimed at understanding the impact on the business of such social phenomena and processes as: the attitude of people towards work and the quality of life; The existing customs and beliefs in society; Shared values; Demographic structures of the society, population growth, educational level, mobility of people or readiness for change of residence, etc. The importance of the social component is very important, because it is all-pervasive, affecting both other components of the macroenvironment, and the internal environment of the organization. Social processes change relatively slowly. However, if certain social changes occur, they lead to many very significant changes in the environment of the organization. Therefore, the organization must seriously monitor possible social changes.

The analysis of the technological component allows us to see in a timely manner those opportunities that the development of science and technology opens up for the production of new products, for the improvement of manufactured products and for the modernization of the technology for manufacturing and marketing products. The progress of science and technology bears enormous opportunities and no less tremendous threats for firms. Many organizations are not able to see the new opportunities that are opening, as the technical opportunities for implementing radical changes are predominantly created outside the industry in which they operate. After being late with the upgrade, they lose their market share, which can lead to extremely negative consequences for them.

While studying the various components of the macroenvironment, it is very important to keep in mind the following two points.

First, it is that all the components of the macroenvironment are in a state of strong mutual influence. Changes in one of the components necessarily lead to changes in other components of the macroenvironment. Therefore, their study and analysis should be conducted not individually, but systematically, not only tracking changes in the individual component itself, but also with understanding how these changes will affect other components of the macroenvironment.

Secondly, this is the fact that the degree of impact of individual components of the Macroenvironment on different organizations is different. In particular, the degree of influence manifests itself differently depending on the size of the organization, its industry affiliation, territorial location, etc. For example, it is believed that large organizations are more dependent on the macroenvironment than small ones. To take this into account in the study of the macroenvironment, the organization must determine for itself which of the external factors pertaining to each component of the macroenvironment have a significant impact on its activities. In addition, the organization should make a list of those external factors that are potential carriers of threats to the organization. It is also necessary to have a list of those external factors, changes in which can open additional opportunities for the organization.

In order for the organization to effectively study the state of the macroenvironment component, a special system for monitoring the external environment must be created. This system should carry out both special observations related to some special events and regular (usually once a year) observations of the state of the external factors important for the organization. Observations can be carried out in a variety of ways. The most common methods of observation are:

• analysis of materials published in books, journals and other information publications;

• participation in professional conferences;

• analysis of the experience of the organization;

• examination of the opinion of employees of the organization;

• Organizational meetings and discussions. The study of the components of the macroenvironment should not end

Only a statement of the state in which they were before or in what state they are now. It is also necessary to disclose the trends that are characteristic for changing the state of certain important factors and try to predict the direction of development of these factors in order to foresee what threats the organization can expect and what opportunities it may face in the future.

The macro-environment analysis system gives the necessary effect if it is supported by top management and gives it the necessary information if it is closely related to the planning system in the organization and, finally, if the work of analysts working in this system is combined with the work of specialists on strategic issues that State to trace the relationship between data on the state of the macroenvironment and the strategic objectives of the organization and to evaluate this information in terms of threats and additional opportunities for implementing the organization's strategy.

The study of the immediate environment of the organization is aimed at analyzing the state of those components of the external environment with which the organization is in direct interaction. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that an organization can have a significant impact on the nature and content of this interaction, thereby it can actively participate in the formation of additional opportunities and in preventing the emergence of threats to its continued existence. X

Analysis of buyers as components of the immediate environment of the organization primarily has as its task the compilation of the profile of those who buy the product sold by the organization. Studying customers allows the organization to better understand what product will be most accepted by buyers, the amount of sales the organization can expect, the extent to which buyers are committed to the product of this particular organization, how much it is possible to expand the range of potential buyers, what the product expects in the future and much more .

The buyer profile can be made according to the following characteristics:

• Geographical location of the buyer;

* Demographic characteristics of the buyer, such as age, education, scope of activities, etc .;

• Socio-psychological characteristics of the buyer, reflecting his position in society, style of behavior, tastes, habits, etc .;

• the buyer's attitude to the product, reflecting why he buys this product, whether he is the user of the product, how the product evaluates, and so on.

Studying the buyer, the firm also understands how strong its position vis-à-vis it in the bargaining process. If, for example, the buyer has a limited opportunity in choosing the seller of the product he needs, then his strength to bargain is significantly weakened. If on the contrary, the seller should seek a replacement for the given buyer by another, who would have less opportunity in choosing a seller. The trading power of the buyer depends, for example, also on how much the quality of the purchased product is for him. There are a number of factors that determine the trading power of the buyer, which must necessarily be opened and studied in the analysis of the buyer. Among such factors are the following:

• the ratio of the degree of dependence of the buyer on the seller with the degree of dependence of the seller on the buyer;

• the volume of purchases made by the buyer;

• level of buyer's awareness;

• availability of substitute products;

• the cost to the buyer of the transfer to another seller;

• sensitivity of the buyer to the price, depending on the total value of the purchases made by him, his orientation to a certain brand, the existence of certain requirements for the quality of the goods, their profits, the incentive system and the responsibility of the decision-makers.

The analysis of suppliers is aimed at identifying those aspects in the activities of entities supplying the organization with various raw materials, semi-finished products, energy and information resources, finances, etc., on which the organization's efficiency depends, the cost and quality of the product produced by the organization.

Suppliers of materials and components, if they have great power, can put the organization in a very strong dependence on themselves. Therefore, when choosing suppliers it is very important to thoroughly and comprehensively study their activities and their potential in order to be able to build such relationships with them that would ensure the organization maximum strength in interaction with suppliers. Competitive strength of the supplier is determined by the following factors:

• level of supplier specialization;

• the value of switching costs for the supplier to other customers;

• the degree of the buyer's specialization in acquiring certain resources;

• Concentration of the supplier on work with specific clients;

• importance for the supplier of sales.

When studying suppliers of materials and components, first of all, one should pay attention to the following characteristics of their activities:

• the cost of the delivered goods;

• guarantee of quality of the delivered goods;

• time schedule for the supply of goods;

• punctuality and compulsion to fulfill the terms of delivery of the goods.

Study of competitors , i.e. Those with whom organizations have to fight for the resources that it seeks to receive from the external environment to ensure its existence, occupies a special and very important place in strategic management. This study is aimed at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and based on this, build their strategy of competition.

Competitive environment is formed not only by intra-industry competitors, producing similar products and selling it on the same market. The subjects of the competitive environment are also those firms that can enter the market, as well as those firms that produce a replacement product. In addition to them, the competitive environment of the organization has a significant impact on its customers and suppliers, which, having the strength to trade, can significantly weaken the organization's position in the field of competition.

Many firms do not pay due attention to the possible threat from the "aliens" and therefore lose in the competitive struggle just again came to their market. It is very important to remember this and create barriers in advance for the entry of potential "aliens" in advance. Such barriers can be in-depth specialization in the production of a product, low costs due to savings from a large volume of production, control over distribution channels, use of local features that give an advantage in competition, etc. However, any of these measures is effective only when it is a real barrier to the "newcomer". Therefore, it is very important to know well what barriers can stop or prevent a potential "newcomer" from entering the market, and erect these barriers.

Manufacturers of substitute products are very competitive. The peculiarity of the transformation of the market in the case of the appearance of a substitute product is that if the market of the old product was "killed", it is usually not recoverable. Therefore, in order to be able to adequately meet the challenge of firms producing a replacement product, the organization must have sufficient potential to proceed to create a new type of product.

The analysis of the labor market is aimed at revealing its potential opportunities in providing the organization with the personnel necessary for solving its tasks. The organization should study the labor market both from the point of view of the availability of the necessary skills and qualifications, the required level of education, the required age, gender, etc., and in terms of labor costs. An important trend in the study of the labor market is the analysis of the policies of trade unions that have an impact on this market, since in some cases they can severely restrict access to the necessary manpower for the organization.