Summary Introduction to management, Chapter 4

The general environment of organizations consist of all external conditions that set the context for managerial decision making: • Economic conditions - overall health of economy in terms of financial markets, inflation, income levels, and job outlook - Offshoring: outsourcing of jobs to (lower-cost) foreign locations - Reshoring: return of jobs from foreign locations (rising labor costs, higher shipping costs, complicated logistics) • Legal-Political Conditions - Existing and proposed laws and regulations, government policies, and the philosophy and objectives of political parties - Vary from one country to the next - Not all countries stand up for international copyright (patent) and intellectual property protection - Internet censorship: the deliberate blockage and denial of public access to information posted on the internet. (China, with twitter youtube) • Sociocultural Conditions - Diversity issues relating to educational opportunity, access to technology, housing options, job options and more. - Norms, customs, demographic of a society and region. As well as social values as ethics, human rights, gender roles, and lifestyle - Generational cohorts – people born within a few years of one another and who experience somewhat similar life events during their formative years. - Baby Boomers are “digital immigrants” - iGeneration are “digital natives” who grew up in technology homes, schools and friendship. Multitasking, desire for immediate gratification, continuous contact with others, and less concern. - With high unemployment and big, wide gaps between the average workers and executives, public values show more intolerance on executive pay. • Technological conditions - Social media, features and “apps” on smart phones - For employers technology gives potential problems, as well as opportunities. It’s a fact that many employees spend a lot of time doing personal things online. Some employers call this loss of productivity time. - On the employee side of things, technology is often a factor in work-life issues. Do you realize how easily it carries work responsibilities into our nonwork lives? • Natural Environment Conditions - It’s all about the natural resources that the environment provides for organizations and society, and the need to protect the availability of those resources for the future. (“green”) - As consumers we are asking for and getting more access to “green products and services”. We are also finding more “green job opportunities” - sustainable business meets both the needs of customers and protects the neutral environment