General External Environment Analysis Essay

Words: 2046
Pages: 9

THE GENERAL EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
- Laka Muralidharan

General external environment is composed of dimensions in the broader society that influence an industry and the firms within it. These dimensions can be can be grouped into the following six environmental segments: demographic, economic, political/legal, sociocultural, technological and global segments.

1) Demographic segment
China and India account for 1/3rd of the population and experts believe that they will remain the top two populous countries at least until 2050. China and India would contribute 65 million and 142 million new workers respectively to the global workforce by the year 2020. Both countries offer large, educated, relatively low-cost workforces, and as
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Sociocultural segments differ across countries. A study in 15 countries indicated that retirement planning in the US starts earlier than in other countries – since in Western Europe the social security and pension income provide a much higher percentage of income in retirement. . As the labor force has increased, it also has become more diverse as significantly more women and minorities from a variety of cultures entered the labor force. This trend is becoming prevalent even in developing countries as well and is changing the culture and day-to-day activities surrounding women in countries like India and China. Women in the middle-east (Iran, Iraq, and Saudi-Arabia) are also stepping forward and choosing to have a professional life of their own. This trend will continue in the future and women will eventually have equal rights as men in all the countries in the world.

Another manifestation of changing attitudes toward work is the continuing growth of contingency workers (part-time, temporary and contractors) throughout the global economy. Contributing to this growth are corporate restructuring and downsizing that occur in poor economic conditions. Some companies move their resources, within the US, to a smaller city where the cost is lower. This leads to a trend in the continued growth of suburban communities in the US and abroad. Longer commute to urban businesses, increase