Introduction
This paper critiques three concepts in management reflecting how each concept relates to the objective of the course and my personal career aspirations. The three topics to be discussed therefore include macro level factors, porter’s five forces of analysis and social networking. There are things that I learn from these three ideas. The first one is that analysis is a key part for problem solving and decision making. The second important thing is that all these ideas are an essential part of business strategic management.
I. Macro level factors
Macro level factors are used in analysis of external environment and hence affect strategic decision making. The factors are several and can be categorized into six. This includes: political factors, social factor, economic factors, environmental factors, technological factors, and legal factors. All these are external factors that affect organizations and needs to be analyzed constantly for strategic planning. The macro level factors are therefore relevant to the objective of this course.
The factors also relate to my career aspiration as a project engineer for wind energy. The industry that I intend to work for is affected by the macro environmental factors. As a project manager conducting market analysis is important because of the dynamics of the market. The macro level factors constantly change thus impacting a project in one way or another. If an analysis is done regularly, the manager can easily know where changes are likely to occur and the impact they would have to the business. Macro level factors affect both new projects and already running projects. Depending on the industry, the project manager will have to rank these factors in order of importance.
II. Porter’s five forces of competition
The porter’s five force analysis includes five critical areas in which businesses need to strategize on in order to remain competitive within the market. the five areas include, threat of new entrants, threats of substitute products, customers bargaining power, suppliers bargaining power and intensity of rivalry in the market. This concept is very important to the course objective because it is in line with business strategic planning and as well, analysis of a business’ external environment. Depending on the market, every other intends to remain competitive and to grow.
Porter’s five forces of analysis will be an essential part of my career as project engineer for wind energy. It is an important tool for assessment of profitability and success of a project. It is also important for the project planning since it analyzes important factors for consideration during the process of planning. Problem solving relies on the five forces identified by porter. This means that it offers solutions to various business situations. As a project manager, I will be able to have a clear understanding of the external environment where the projects will be run.
III. Social networking
Social networking in the world of business and management is all about communication to various target groups. Social networking can be used to carry out advertisement, marketing, customer relation management, and public relations among other areas that can rely on social networking communication. It is therefore important aspect of business communication making it relevant to the objective of this course. Effective communication is an essential part of business strategy. It can be used to gather information for analysis of business external environment.
Conclusion
The three topics discussed in this paper are essential aspects of management that determine success of businesses or projects. Macro level factors helps to identify possible changes that occur within a market. The five forces of analysis are important for projects to remain competitive while social networking is important for business communication.
References
Gillespie. (2009). PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment. Journal on Business Strategy, 52-64.
Grant, R. M. (2010). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. New York: MaCGraw Hill.
Porter, M. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy. Harvard business review, 234-257.
