Question

Discussion A

Characteristics of a Business Environment

Objective

Define the goals and functions of business

Discussion Overview

This discussion examines the goals of business in the context of a current real-life business issue.

Deliverables

Your participation in the discussion, including the following:

A response to the initial questions below

Responses to at least two other students' responses

Step 1 Provide a response to the discussion.
Provide your response to the following prompts. If appropriate, include personal experience in your response.

Identify a business issue or event that has appeared in the news lately.

Briefly describe the issue or event and then define a goal, function, or characteristic of a specific businessenvironment related to the issue or event you have described

Answer 1

1a) Each business operates in its unique environment. For that matter, businesses cannot function independently of the interacting and influencing forces outside its periphery. In this article, we will look at the meaning and characteristic features of the business environment.

Seven essential characteristics of business environment are: 1. Totality of External Forces 2. Specific and General Forces 3. Inter-Relatedness 4. Dynamic Nature 5. Uncertainty 6. Complexity 7. Relativity

Totality of External Forces:

Business Environment is the sum total of all the external factors that influence the functioning of the business.Hence, it can be called as the comprehensive mega force consisting of all external inputs.

Specific and General Forces:

Business Environment is made up of both specific and general forces. Specific forces refer to the customers, competitors, investors etc. which have a direct effect on the day to day working of the business while the general forces refers to social, political, legal, technological and other forces which indirectly affect the operations of a business.

inter-Relatedness:

Various elements of business environment are very closely related to each other. For example, at present there has been an increase in demand for products like diet colas, fat free cooking oil, sugar free products etc. due to increase in awareness for good health among the consumers.

Dynamic Nature:

Business environment is dynamic in nature i.e. it keeps on changing. For example, change in government policies, change in taste and choice of the consumer, change in technology etc. Such changes could be triggered by internal or external factors.

Uncertainty:

Business environment is very uncertain as one cannot predict as to what will happen in future especially in case of fashion industry, film industry and information technology. Its dynamic nature makes it all more challenging to handle uncertainty.

Complexity:

Many forces constitute the business environment. Thus, it becomes very difficult to know exactly the relative influence of a particular force (social, economic, technological etc.) on the functioning of a business enterprise as all these factors are related to one another.

Managers constantly need to simplify this complexity as much as possible all the time. For example, if there is change in demand of a product, it becomes very difficult to determine the separate influence of social, political, technological, economic or legal forces etc. on such a change.

Relativity:

Different countries and different regions have different business environment. Thus, business environment is a relative concept. For example, technology in Japan differs from that in India or say Pakistan, China etc. Hence, a multinational enterprise has to keep this aspect in mind while formulating its policies for different countries.

Objective fo Business

Business Function

* Perform business definition and reqiirements analysis

* Determine basic business fuctions

* Describe current activities through task analysis

* Develop a conceptual model of the system.

* Establish design standards or style guides.

* Establish system usability design goals

* Define training and documentation needs.

Common Businees Goals

* Improve customer satisfaction.

* Establish or increase brand awareness

* Find new markets for products or services.

* Expand product or service lines.

* Decrease time to market.

* Improve employee satisfaction.

* Increase management communication.

* Reduce operational costs.

* Generate new sources of revenue.

* Become more entrepreneurial.

* Increase networking with partners.

The recent all global business environment faced the issues of Covid -19 so in this situation all business entity also changed their goals and fuctions.Along with the severe health and humanitarian crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, executives around the world face enormous business challenges: the collapse of customer demand, significant regulatory modifications, supply chain interruptions, unemployment, economic recession, and increased uncertainty. And like the health and humanitarian sides of the crisis, the business side needs ways to recover. Ad hoc responses won’t work; organizations must lay the groundwork for their recoveries now.

The management theorist Henry Mintzberg famously defined five strategy ,such as plan, ploy, pattern, position, and perspective. We have adapted his framework to propose our own position, plan, perspective, projects, and preparedness. The following questions can guide you as you work to bounce back from the crisis.

1.What position can you attain during and after the pandemic?

To make smart strategic decisions, you must understand your organization’s position in your environment. Who are you in your market, what role do you play in your ecosystem, and who are your main competitors? You must also understand where you are headed. Can you shut down your operations and reopen unchanged after the pandemic? Can you regain lost ground? Will you be bankrupt, or can you emerge as a market leader fueled by developments during the lockdown?

We hear of many firms that are questioning their viability post-pandemic, including those in the travel, hospitality, and events industries. We also hear of firms accelerating their growth because their value propositions are in high demand; think of home office equipment, internet-enabled communication and collaboration tools, and home delivery services. Because of such factors, firms will differ in their resilience. You should take steps now to map your probable position when the pandemic eases.

2. What is your plan for bouncing back?

A plan is a course of action pointing the way to the position you hope to attain. It should explicate what you need to do today to achieve your objectives tomorrow. In the current context, the question is what you must do to get through the crisis and go back to business when it ends.

The lack of a plan only exacerbates disorientation in an already confusing situation. When drawing up the steps you intend to take, think broadly and deeply, and take a long view.

3. How will your culture and identity change?

Perspective means the way an organization sees the world and itself. In all likelihood, your culture and identity will change as a result of the pandemic. A crisis can bring people together and facilitate a collective spirit of endurance — but it can also push people apart, with individuals distrusting one another and predominantly looking after themselves. It’s crucial to consider how your perspective might evolve. How prepared was your organization culturally to deal with the crisis? Will the ongoing situation bring your employees together or drive them apart? Will they see the organization differently when this is over? Your answers will inform what you can achieve when the pandemic ends.

4. What new projects do you need to launch, run, and coordinate?

Your answers to the questions above should point you to a set of projects for tackling your coronavirus-related problems. The challenge is to prioritize and coordinate initiatives that will future-proof the organization. Beware of starting numerous projects that all depend on the same critical resources, which might be specific individuals, such as top managers, or specific departments, such as IT. With too many new initiatives, you could end up with a war over resources that delays or derails your strategic response.

5. How prepared are you to execute your plans and projects?

Finally, you need to assess your organization’s preparedness. Are you ready and able to accomplish the projects you’ve outlined, particularly if much of your organization has shifted to remote work? We see big differences in preparedness at the individual, team, organization, and national levels. The resources at hand, along with the speed and quality of decision-making processes, vary greatly, and the differences will determine who achieves and who falls short of success.

We have created a worksheet around the five strategic questions. It can help you plot your current and future moves. Be aware that consumers will remember how you reacted during the crisis. Raising prices during a shortage, for example, could have a significant effect on your customer relationships going forward.

The coronavirus has had unprecedented impacts on the world — and the worst is yet to come. Companies must act today if they are to bounce back in the future. Doing so will help the world as a whole recover — and, we hope, become more resilient in the process.