1. 1.5 External Environment
STEEPLE Analysis

2. Social Technological Economic Environmental Political Legal Ethics
External Factors that Impact Business
A framework for analyzing the external environmental factors affecting business objectives and strategies.
Social
Technological
Economic
Environmental
Political
Legal
Ethics

3. External Factors that Impact Business
Social Issues
Population demographics
Role of women
Improved Education
Retirement
Divorce/Marital rates
Job security
Immigration
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

4. External Factors that Impact Business
Impact of Technology
IT's role in:
product development
Communiction (voice and data)
Developing new and better processes
Cost benefits
Competitive advantage
Outsource and offshoring
CAD/CAM
Impact on labor
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

5. External Factors that Impact Business
Economic Influences
Economic Growth
Rising or falling living standards
Low or high levels of unemployment
Value of imports/exports
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

6. Environmental Influences
External Factors that Impact Business
Environmental Influences
Environmental controls on business activities such as waste disposal, use of sustainable energy, reducing packaging
Threats from natural events such as drought, earthquakes, and floods
Natural resources
Infrastructure – such asroad and air transport facilities
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

7. External Factors that Impact Business
Political Issues
Government stability
Form of political structure (democracy, dictatorship?)
Government's attitude to private ownership
Trade policies and membership of free-trade areas or customs union
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

8. External Factors that Impact Business
Legal Issues
Employment laws
Consumer Protection Laws
Business competition Laws
Policy changes (legalizing same-sex marriage, marijuana, medical insurance)
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

9. External Factors that Impact Business
Ethics
Child labor
Corrupt business practices
Advertising and promotion techniques
Can you think of anything in this category that has currently affected business?

10. Other Terms Recession Six months of falling GDP
Cost-push Inflation rising costs of forces business to increase prices
Demand-pull Inflation excess demand allows business to increase prices
Unemployment people in an economy that are willing and able to work, but cannot find employment
Interest rate percentage charge by financial institution when lending money
Inflation the rate of change in the average level of prices

11. Other Terms
Fiscal policy Changes in government spending levels and tax rates
Monetary policy changes in the level of interest rates which make loan capital more or less expensive
Exchange rates increases or decreases in the value of a currency against other currencies.
CAD using computers and IT when
Computer-aided design designing products
CAM the use of computers and
Computer-aided manufacturing computer- controlled machinery to speed up the production process and make it more flexible