External Considerations: Their Influence on Future Strategic Planning

Changes in the role of information, workplace technologies, and the composition and attitudes of the workforce will have a bearing on companies′ competitive position in the marketplace; both in marketing products and services and in attracting the requisite quality and skill of workers. Alterations in the basic tenets of how firms conduct business and interact within a dynamic national and international market present challenges to all US companies. Energy, distribution and metrification issues as well as changing international market developments in Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim, Canada and Mexico present both opportunities and threats. These external factors, over which the individual manager has minimal control, must be accommodated in strategic planning. The key areas of technological advances, human relations factors, business trends, and international trade are fundamental external factors which may potentially impact on industries. In addressing these areas, specific projections are provided which can be utilized to assess the compatibility of a firm′s current positions and future strategies with the rapidly changing external environment.