ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

One of the authors to address this theme was [ CITATION Agu67 \l 1033 ], who define scanning as a
manner through which managers acquire relevant information about what happens outside the
company so that future courses of action are taken. According to [ CITATION Mcg03 \l 1033 ]
environmental scanning is a present and essential practice in business management, where the
collection of accurate information is necessary. This scanning is important so that organizations
operate as open systems, searching for resources and legitimacy in their environment. Besides,
scanning makes it easy to obtain signals or information and, whenever effectively taken into
account, it describes the conditions reflected in the environment, shows advancements,
opportunities, and the conditions related to the existence or nonexistence of problems [ CITATION
Yas96 \l 1033 ]. Effective scanning of the environment has been necessary for the competitive
success of strategies - environmental scanning being the first stage of the process, associating
strategy with the environment [ CITATION May00 \l 1033 ]. also make it clear that environmental
scanning provides the organization with important information, thus, keeping it from becoming
stagnant due to the lack of information given to its executives about environmental change s.
Based on this information, proper adjustments are made between the internal structure and the
environment. Therefore, organizations need to keep attuned to what is happening in the
environment so that managers may respond to the market changes. Two important aspects of the
scanning process are related to the frequency in which information about the external
environment is acquired and how it is acquired. Frequency [ CITATION Bea00 \l 1033 ] refers to the
number of times a manager scans the environment, while how the manager acquires information
refers to the type of source. Companies may acquire a large or small amount of data about the
environment.
The frequency in which data is acquired may vary according to the nature of the external aspects
under observation, as the environment may be regarded as having a variety of components.
[ CITATION Daf88 \l 1033 ] subdivide these components into clients, competitors, technological
aspects, economic aspects, regulatory aspects, and social and cultural aspects, and the results of
their studies showed that the scanning frequency varied according to these areas -a fact
substantiated by previous studies such as the ones. Environmental information can be acquired
by methods that vary from personal to impersonal sources and from external to internal sources
related to the organization [ CITATION Agu67 \l 1033 ]. Personal sources refer to conversations face
to face or by telephone and they provide multiple suggestions and quick feedback, while
impersonal sources refer to the written or documental ones and they enable them to condense a
large amount of data. Internal sources are found within the organization and enable data directly
related to their reality, while external sources are found outside the organization and they lose
fewer data as they do not go through intermediary parties [ CITATION Daf88 \l 1033 ]. Due to its
distinctive e nature, access frequency may vary according to the type of source referred to, as
seen in the studies by[ CITATION Daf88 \l 1033 ]
Perceived environmental change
External factors perceived as causing the change in the environment were identified as about two
main categories: the regulatory framework and the business structure. The changes of a
regulatory nature were linked to joining the EC and to government intervention, while the
changes of a business nature were linked to the trend for concentration in the chemical industry
and the crisis of client industries.
The analysis of the data regarding managers' perceptions of environmental change, showed that
the impact of joining the EC was evaluated mainly in terms of the changes in the regulatory
framework, bringing in new rules and procedures to follow, such as regulations concerning the
registration of drugs, the adoption of the patent regime in force in Europe and the demand for
higher standards regarding product quality. It was also evaluated in terms of the progressive
elimination of customs tariffs and its consequences upon the fragile competitiveness of the
national companies, and the fear that customs barriers would be replaced by technical barriers.
The growth of the market was a positive issue associated with joining the EC.

Strategic change
More than any other factor, the changeability of the environment proved to be determinant in the
rejection of tight planning schemes, while the size of the company influences the adoption of
planning (larger companies tend to engage in planning) but other factors interfere with that
tendency, such as the form of the organization and the management style or the dominant
culture. There emerged no evidence that industrial segments or sub-sectors might influence the
adoption of planning as a management tool. On the other hand, planning offices are rare and their
main role is to collect the hard data needed to support top managers' decision making.
Strategic change in the companies analyzed revolved mainly around increasing product quality,
which involved in some cases the improvement of the conditions of production and was
associated, in specific cases of highly pollutant industries, with measures of environment
protection. Other important changes in strategic nature were internationalization and
diversification, pursued by dynamic companies enjoying a steady growth trend. Growth through
acquisitions was pursued by companies targeting internationalization, and strategic alliances
were embraced mainly by companies oriented to the internal market, needing to secure a position
threatened by strong competitors. Specialization was adopted by companies with little scope for
growth.