Carry out an ‘environmental scan’ of an organization you know well. The following steps should help:LO4

(a) Using the PEST framework, the results from Activities 1.2 and 1.3, and the suggestions in Figure 1.3, list those factors you consider could affect the future performance of the organization and/or the way it operates.

Concentrate on those factors external to the organization.

(b) Indicate on your list where there are linkages between the various factors.

Doing this diagrammatically, using lines and arrows, helps. You could use a plus sign to show where the effects combine to reinforce each other and a minus sign to indicate where one factor might help negate another.

(c) Mark with a star those factors that are critically important to the organization.

Consider whether these originate mostly in the political–legal, economic, technological or socio-cultural parts of the PEST environment. Are they also linked to the general movement of organizations into value-oriented time?

(d) Finally, list the starred factors and rank them according to the volatility of the external environment. Consider whether this volatility provides an opportunity or a threat to the organization and its future performance.