Introduction
Organization can’t exist in a vacuum; it must be set in a particular country and region to which it is inextricably linked. The setting under which the organization operates provides numerous contexts which may influence how the organizations carry out its operations and how it produces (Mark, 2003). This notion yields the concept of external environment which is a significant aspect as organizations seek to address the various emerging trends. Analysis on the external environment is based on attempts to help understand the forces that exist outside the organizational boundaries that contribute towards shaping the organization.
According to researchers, the forces outside the organization’s walls clearly have marginal bearing on that which transpires within. Analysis the external environment can proffer fascinating and inhibiting influences on the organizational performances. The multiple influences in the proximal environment yielding from the boundaries within which an organization is able to function are likely to shape the ways that the organization defines itself and how it fluent what is good and appropriate to achieve (Michael, 2003).
There key dimensions extending beyond the environment which bear on the organizational performance. They include; administrative or the legal forces, technological forces, political forces, economic forces, and social and cultural contexts among other forces.
The study seeks to analyze two specific forces in the external environment that are likely to have the most impact on a specific organization. This is further supplemented by the rationale for the decision on the selected forces.
The selected forces are;
Administrative or the legal environment
Legal or the administrative environment in a country offers a framework within which a particular organization operates. The perspectives on the entities presented under these aspects are based on the varying administrative policies and standards as provided within a specific country. Some countries may have very restrictive legal or administrative policies which may have a marginal impact on every aspect of the organization. However, some countries may have a more permissive administrative or legal environment; this also have impact on the organization’s aspects. According to (Porter, 2003), every organization should understand effectively the administrative or the legal environment under which it seeks or currently operates. This is based on the fact that the organization is able to develop strategic approaches that are aimed at aligning or abiding with the set legal or administrative environment policies within a particular country. Understanding administrative or legal environment enables the organization to determine of changes can be implemented. According to researchers, the administrative or the legal context under which a particular organization operates may have an impact through the combination of the particular forces such as, international, governmental, nongovernmental policy, legislative, legal frameworks, and regulatory policies. To enable the organization avert or address the impact of legal or administrative environment, the preceding specific dimensions can be examined by the organization. They include;
- Assessing whether there are constitutional restrictions on the organization, this will enable the organization understand the part of government ministry or department on whether it has federal or provincial jurisdictions towards the organizational operations.
- Determining whether specific regulations govern the goals and the structures of the organization
- Assessing whether there is a legislative mandate that restricts leadership of the organization, which is essential towards understanding the parameters developed around the organization.
Technology environment
Technology types and levels aid in offering a clear insight into understanding the organization. Technology has been embraced as one of the most influential external force within every organization. There have numerous innovations on technological developments defining the organizational performances. The types and the levels of technology have a marginal impact on every aspect of the organization. They define the level of effectiveness and efficiency that the organization is able to address the daily concerns from day to day operations. This notion has propelled organizations towards developing strategic approaches that are aimed at ensuring that the organization taps the full benefits attached to technological developments. Organizations are advised to understand the level of relevant technology within their operational context. Technology is defined as computer literacy or the development of highly indigenous methods of verbal and nonverbal forms of communication. Organizations can tap the benefits attached to technological environment through the assessment to include the consideration. This is the process where the organization is able to understand and use the new technology. However, the organization should also put into consideration the difficulty of acquiring the resources, this can be achieved through conducting research on technologies and developing appreciation on how the society’s willingness to embrace both the new knowledge and the change.
Rational for the selection of the two forces
The rationale for the selection of the two forces is based on the fact that the two sources are almost inevitable by organizations within their daily operations. The analogy behind the two forces can be further be expounded on the notion that, organizations will always have regulations and pressure from the legal or administrative environment while technology environment supplements the influence. Organizations either seek to diversify their operations by venturing in other foreign markets within an aim of increasing profit or market share; however, the tow forces tend to define the level of success that the organization should anticipate in their new environment. The administrative or the legal environment sets the specific boundaries within which the organization should operate while the level and the type of technology within the specific country defines the level of effectiveness and efficiency that the organization should operate within. The marginal impact and the inevitable influence of the two forces are some of the diverse reasons behind the selection and the discussion of the two sources. Basically organizations have to consider the two forces before making investment or any forms capital or investment decisions.
Internal Factors
Analysis above offered a detailed insight on the impact or influence of the most significant external environmental forces that may influence the business operations. The two forces have marginal impact also on the internal operations of the business, incorporating the two forces of external environment with those of internal environment provides the mechanism that the organization can develop to achieve a competitive advantage. Every organization dream is to establish an environment where employee’s health and safety is highly guaranteed. Though the external environment may have an impact on the health of the patients, the internal environment holds more weight in relation to the level of impact. According to researchers, the health care and the safety of the employees or the consumers is one of the defining entities on the success of the organization. Every employee aims at working in an environment where their safety is the first priority by the organization.
There are various internal factors that every organization’s leader should consider while preparing for the future of health care and the future of the organization. The leader should consider the level of impact projected by the factors towards developing a more effective and efficient health care plan defining the future of both the plan and the organization. To achieve this, the leader should carry out research on the specific factors and needs that should be incorporated in the plan. This can include; the problem, the objectives and the goals, the strategies to enhance effective implementation and control and evaluation policies or procedures among others. Some of the factors that leader can consider while developing or preparing the health care plan are; the current strategic plan on the health care, occupational health and safety as aligned within the organization and the specifications by the governing bodies, the customer focus among others.
The two specific internal factors that the organization’s leaders need in preparing for the future of health care and the future of the organization as provided in this study are;
Occupational health and safety
Occupational health and safety policies developed within the organizations and the set policies by the other governing bodies should be one of the factors that the leaders should consider. The notion behind analyzing and examining the current occupational health and safety is based on the fact that it aids the leader to understand the level of health care availed currently by the organization. This is essential towards defining the extent or the level of the standards that the leader needs to develop either to supplemented on the existing health care policies and the standards or develop more effective and efficient standards. This will enable the leader develop more aggressive and dynamic health care plan which advocates on the future of health organization where employees health and safety is one of the organizational value. Health care plan future concerns should include the projections on changes within the organizational operations and the risks that the employees are more likely to face (Arneill, 2003). The plan can also act as a form of motivation where the employees develop a positive perception on the fact that the organization holds their health and safety as a significant entity. These will likely increase employee’s performance hence more productivity while retaining them.
Customer focus and strategic planning
The analogy behind combining the two factors is based on the essentiality towards the need for organization’s leaders to develop a health care plan that addressees both organization’s future and the health care future within the organization. Customers focus is a significant entity which is normally integrated with strategic planning where organization develops strategic objectives and action plans. The strategic plans and actions plans normally reflect the organization’s most significant asset which is their consumers. This notion reflects the need of the organization’s leader to consider the customer focus and strategic planning while preparing health care plan. The customer focus will enable the leader incorporate more consumer health care and safety based programs while the strategic planning addresses the long term investment objectives that can be attached to the health care plan.
Impact of the both identified internal and external forces on the organization’s ability to develop a competitive advantage
The indentified internal and the external forces have a marginal impact on the organizational performance as depicted in the analyses above. The external forces which are the legal or administrative environment and the technological environment together with the internal factors which are occupational health and safety and customers focus and strategic planning can be integrated by an organization to achieve a competitive advantage within the market. The administrative or legal environment force can be used by the organization with the set occupational health and safety standards to position the organization within a competitive advantage. This can be achieved through ensuring that the health care plan enacted by the organization’s leader incorporates employees, customers, society and every stakeholder within the organization. When the organization incorporates the stated aspects and develops a strategic health care plan encompassing the stated aspects will position the organization in a competitive position within the market. The organization can also integrate customer focus and strategic planning under the internal factor with the technological environment force to enable the organization achieves a competitive advantage. To achieve this, the organization should research on technologies that align with customer focus and through strategic planning develop and implement a strategy aimed at supplementing the level of customer care service within the organization especially on health care based on products and services offered by the organization. The ability of the organization to develop and implement such as strategy, offers a clear path towards positioning the organization hence creating a competitive advantage within the industry. Integrating the stated strategic approaches avails some of the positioning strategies propelling the organization towards creating a competitive advantage hence increasing dominance or market shares while addressing both internal factors and harvesting the benefits attached to the external forces.
Recommendation
Organization’s managers normally seek for strategies that can be used to implement and maintain the momentum of the strategic plan; this is based on the numerous challenges and the shortcomings that may limit the effectiveness of the plan. The most essential strategy that the managers within the organizations fails to address or consider while implementing and maintaining the momentum is based on the failure to develop contingency strategies. While implementing and maintaining the momentum of the strategic plan, managers are advised to develop contingency plans which can be used when the anticipated results or the progress of plan fails to meet the projected results. Contingency plan incorporates alternatives under both certainty and uncertainty equipping the managers with more appropriate and less risky alternatives to supplement their decisions especially during the implementation and maintaining the momentum of the strategic plan enacted. The plans further aids the managers with more informed decisions compared to when the manager makes decisions on uncertainty or based on the occurrences. According to researchers, managers who fail to develop contingency plans and makes decisions based on the mere occurrences on the strategic plans are more likely to make risky decisions which may lead to collapse of a plan or even the entire organizations. The essentiality of a contingency plans towards ensuring success of a particular strategic plan can’t be overlooked. The plan enables manages have a list of alternative made on both quantitative and qualitative decisions on prior analyses before the implementation and maintaining of the strategic plan. This avails more chances of success by the managers on their strategic plan.
References
Porter, Michael E. and Mark R. Kramer (2003) “The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy”[Online]
Visser W. (2005). Revisiting Carroll‟s CSR Pyramid An African Perspective. Define CSR, [Online] p.32.Available: http://www.waynevisser.com/chapter_wvisser_africa_csr_pyramid.pdf [2010-04-5]
B. Arneill and K. Beaulieu, (2003)“Healing Environments: Architecture and Design Conducive to Health,” Putting Patients First, S. B. Frampton, et al. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,
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