Business Environment Reflection

Business Environment Assignment

In today's business world, there are so many factors that influence the day-to-day decisions of small and large companies.  Based on current events, leaders are forced to adapt to changes and make tough decisions to keep a competitive edge. There are two important environmental factors that can influence the decisions of a business - the general environment and the task environment.  The general environment affects a corporation on a macro-level, perhaps on an international, national or regional level.  Whereas, the task environment affects companies because of the potential influence it can have on their daily business operations. These various environments are discussed in business articles giving real life examples of how market forces affect businesses and how businesses adapt to keep a competitive edge in today's society.

The general environment, such socio-cultural, technological and demographic forces are market forces that cause businesses to change their direction either temporarily or permanently.

Social Cultural

 The recent turmoil in Pakistan is an example of how some companies make decisions as a result of Socio-cultural forces. In CNN Money, an article entitled "KFC Shuts All Pakistan Restaurants Amid Protests," states protesting against the anti-Islam video created in the United States is affecting Kentucky Fried Chicken’s business. Currently, there are twenty franchises in that region. To protect customers and employees, KFC has decided to shut down their restaurants, which will greatly affect their profits and perhaps cause them to rethink their strategy regarding future business in that part of the world (Smith, CNN). Unfortunately, some socio-cultural forces are situations a business can only react to as it happens.  In this situation, thinking of the customer's and employee's welfare protects them, as well as the company from any legal issues.

Technology

Technology is a general...