Macro Environmental Factors

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MACROENVIRONMENTAL FORCES An organization's macro environment consists of nonspecific aspects in the organization's surroundings that have the potential to affect the organization's strategies. When compared to a firm's task environment, the impact of macro environmental variables is less direct and the organization has a more limited impact on these elements of the environment. Macro environmental variables include sociocultural, technological, political-legal, economic, and international variables. A firm considers these variables as part of its environmental scanning to better understand the threats and opportunities created by the variables and how strategic plans need to be adjusted so the firm can obtain and retain competitive advantage. The macro environment consists of forces that originate outside of an organization and generally cannot be altered by actions of the organization. In other words, a firm may be influenced by changes within this element of its environment, but cannot itself influence the environment. The curved lines in Figure 1 indicate the indirect influence of the environment on the organization. Figure 1 Elements of the Macroenvironment SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS The sociocultural dimensions of the environment consist of customs, lifestyles, and values that characterize the society in which the firm operates. Socio-cultural components of the environment influence the ability of the firm to obtain resources, make its goods and services, and function within the society. Sociocultural factors include anything within the context of society that has the potential to affect an organization. Population demographics, rising educational levels, norms and values, and attitudes toward social responsibility are examples of sociocultural variables. POPULATION CHANGES. Changes in population demographics have many potential consequences

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