1. The Business Environment

2. What is an organisation? An organisation is a structured arrangement of people connected by common procedures and physical resources, established for the purpose of achieving a set of goals.

3. The Business Environment Macro Environment – legal/technological/ political/ international/social/ economic/ cultural factors Task / Operating Environment:  Customers / clients, professional associations  Trade unions, distributors, suppliers  Competitors, individuals + community groups Internal  Employees, Directors, Shareholders  Proprietors  Boards / Committees An organisation is a system that operates as part of a larger social and economic system

4. Factors that influence organisations Categorise each of these factors that influence organisations as one of the following:  Economic  Social / Cultural  Political / Legal  International  Technological Law enforcement Computer user needs Government policies Court decisions Interest rates Demographic changes Unemployment rate New laws World stability Community concerns

5. The organisation as a system An organisation receives feedback about the output it produces from:  Its operating environment (e.g. Customers and members)  The internal environment (from stakeholders, directors of the board etc)  The feedback can be used to change inputs, processes, or even the goals of the organisation.

6. Macro environment – Social Factors Social factors are stimulated by society. They stem from the needs of people and include: social / cultural, political, legal and international factors. The causes of social change include:  Government policies  Community values  Legislation (e.g. privacy legislation)

7. Macro environment – Economic Factors Economic factors are those that affect the cost, speed or effort required to process information. Economic causes of change include:  Competitive edge  Telecommuting  Downsizing

8. Macro environment – Technological Factors Technological factors include:  New technology driven by:  Consumer demand  Supply of new hardware and software  Planned obsolescence

9. Causes and Consequences For each example, identify the :  Type of influence (internal or external)  Cause (social, economic etc) A publishing company decides to sell its publications online The Commonwealth Government introduces the GST as part of its tax reform program. A club decides to replace its printed newsletter with an online version. The government introduces a policy that all new publications must be available in both printed and online form. A firm decides to allow middle managers to work from home one day per week. A firm decides to upgrade all its computers because of compatibility problems.

10. Summary Organisations operate within a specific environment that is unique and they are influenced by the general environment. An organisation is a system that operates as part of a larger social and economic system. Organisations have very little control over the macro environment, do have some control and input over the task / operating environment and have even more control over their internal environment.