A critical ingredient to studying the general environment is identifying opportunities and threats. An opportunity is a condition in the environment that, if exploited, helps a company achieve strategic competitiveness. In order to identify opportunities, you must be aware of trends that affect the world around us now or that are projected to do so in the future. Identify a trend, technology, entertainment mode, or design that is likely to alter the way in which business is conducted in the future. Once you have identified this, be prepared to discuss: Which of the seven dimensions of the general environment will this affect (may be more than one)? Describe the effect. List some business opportunities that will come from this. Identify some existing organizations that stand to benefit. What, if any, are the ethical implications?