External/Internal Factors Paper
There are many external and internal factors that impact the planning functions of
management. We must all be mindful of these factors because they could have an
enormous impact on organizations productivity. The process of assessing the external and
internal factors that an organization will face can be vital to the planning function of
management. One must determine a set of issues and constraints and then list the
assumptions that will impact the implementation of the plan. The environmental
assessment develops understanding of external and internal processes that influence the
organizations success rate. The purpose of the environmental assessment is to identify and
analyze the key trends, forces, and phenomena having a potential impact on the
formulation and implementation of strategies. In effect, the environmental assessment
attempts to prepare the organization to acclimatize to environmental changes to take
advantage of opportunities and to minimize the adverse effects of threats. Once the
environmental assessment is complete, it is analyzed to prioritize issues, constraints and
assumptions that could influence the planning function of management.
The assessment of external factors analyze outside the physical confines of the enterprise.
These factors are beyond the control of the enterprise, and could have significant impact
on the planning function of management. The external assessment is performed at a
worldwide level and at a metropolitan area level. At the worldwide level, the assessment
includes economic trends of national and local economies, social trends, government
policies of national and local influence, and technological advancements of the world at
large. This includes the impact of our global market, technology advancements throughout
the world, and e-business that is rapidly growing. Macro elements are analyzed to uncover
issues, constraints and assumptions that could influence the integrated planning function of
management. At the metropolitan area level, the assessment includes industry trends,
market trends, customer expectations, competitor performance, competitive alternatives,
and supplier capabilities.
The internal environmental evaluation closely parallels the external evaluation of the
environment. The internal evaluation requires gathering and assimilating information
about the firms management, marketing, finance, operations, research and development,
and information systems operations. Strengths and weaknesses come from the internal
environment of the firm. Strengths can be exploited, built upon and made key to
accomplishment of mission and objectives. Strengths reflect past accomplishments in
production, financial, marketing and human resource management. Weaknesses are
internal characteristics that have the potential to limit accomplishment of mission and
objectives. Weaknesses may be so important that they need to be addressed before any
