WHICH EXTERNAL TRENDS INFLUENCE FUTURE SUCCESS?

In the framework of analyzing the macro-economic environment, the factors and

systems that may have an effect on the business and its potential are considered. The
goal is to include all potentially relevant trends and developments, determine their
possible influence and develop the initial strategic courses of action applicable to them.
In this context, it is especially important to discover the driving forces that can change
the structure of an industry, a market or a specific market segment.

Method
At the beginning of this selection process – in accordance with the PESTEL analysis
of Johnson and Scholes – six environmental aspects are to be differentiated: the political,
the economic, the socio-cultural, the technological, the natural and the legal. The analysis
of the development of the environment should not be a one-off process, it should be
anchored as a permanent task in the strategy process. In order to concentrate on the
priorities obscured by the large number and interconnectedness of the environmental
processes, a classification in both dimensions of probability for the occurrence of the
environmental influence and its effect on the business is recommended.

The macro-economic environment of the business

(according to Johnson/Scholes (2002), p.102)
Workshop

In the workshop, use Figure below. The trends for each environmental branch have to
be identified first. Building upon this, the opportunities and risks and the probability of
the influencing elements occurring, together with the range of their effect on your own
business, can be derived. A strategy can then be set up either to effect the rules of
engagement in the environment to be influenced (action) or to adapt to the developments
in the environment (reaction). The analysis of the action and reaction in the environment
and the possibilities of influencing them through your own business indicate the options
for strategic action.

These are to be made concrete in the conception phase. To optimize the quality of the
analysis, the integration of participants with knowledge of the various dimensions of the
environment (if necessary, external experts) and employees from the various functional
areas of the business is recommended. A variety of perspectives and insights have a
positive impact on the creative potential and the solution-finding competence of the
strategy team.

Workshop: Analysis of the environment

Tip
In conducting an environmental analysis, a variety of sources can be
used, many of which are free of charge:
_ publications of international organizations (eg EU, UNO);
_ publications of government agencies at both central and regional level;
_ government statistics services;
_ publications by industry groups and chambers of commerce;
_ business branch reports of lending institutions;
_ market and opinion research institutes;
_ news reports or search engines of media publications (eg business
magazines, trade journals);
_ business reports, annual reports, pricing lists, advertising brochures
and catalogues from competitors;
_ studies by consultants;
_ databases on the world wide web.