Using Scanning The Horizon Of Possibilities Essay

In the previously stated companies, each one has a distinct competitive advantage and strategies that enable them to be successful within the industry. Environmental scanning helps an organization observe its environment for external and internal issues that can affect the functionality of the company. By observing the environment, an organization can plan for its future needs. Each of the previously stated companies does environmental scanning on a continual basis to stay ahead of the competition.

However, there is a slightly different view on that presented by Boone and Kurtz (2011, p.61). They argue that the main purpose of environmental scanning is to identify the present trends and the extent to which they affect the company. If any trend provides an opportunity or poses a real threat to the business, appropriate action should follow.

The background information about the industry and also a detailed description of the competing firms represent a good base for evaluating the firm’s decision making when engaging in the purchasing project.

Is our youth doomed? Mark Edmundson begs this question in his essay, “Dwelling in Possibilities.” His essay explains how the lives of young people have changed drastically over the years. Edmundson, professor at the University of Virginia, says his students are constantly “going” and that they never stop; they never settle in fear of missing something great. In lieu of this, Edmundson says that they are, “victims of their own hunger for speed” (Edmundson2). He also adds that his students, and young people in general, use today’s technology to be “everywhere at once” (watching a movie, instant messaging, talking on the phone, and glancing at a textbook) and are therefore, “not anywhere in particular” (Edmundson

Environmental scanning can be viewed as a way of acquiring information about outside events that can aid organizations in first identifying potential trends, then interpreting them

Secondly, knowing your competitors is vital to be a business, because there could be a new business

The environment of any organization consists of internal and external factors. An organization should conduct a scan of its environment in order for it to determine development, and a forecast on the factors that may influence the success of the organization. Scanning the environment refers to the possession and utilization of the information that an organization has about trends, patterns, occasion and the external and internal relationship that are within an organization. A scan of the environment may assist the management team of an organization in making a decision about the future path of the

Visiting competitors websites can reveal information about new products or projects, potential alliances, trends in budgeting, advertising strategies used, financial strength, and more

An understanding of a competitor’s position can be a key for a business to determine where funding and resources should be allotted to create new products or services.

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Select one (1) global industry, such as the automobile or cell phone industry. Next, use the Internet to research three (3) major international competitors within the chosen industry. Take note of manner in which the popular international business press (e.g., newspapers, magazines, e-zines, press releases, etc.) depicts the selected companies.

Environmental scanning involves an organization to look at any trend, opportunity or threat that could create issues for their company. Once any of these issues are identified, the organization should consider new strategies that react to these external factors. Issues should be examined that involve not only direct customers and suppliers, but also competitors, any changes in regulations and possible political involvement. External factors will be constantly changing so environmental scanning should occur frequently and regularly to ensure the current issues have been captured. Research and data analysis can help drive decisions regarding overall marketing changes that might be necessary.

For example as AutoZone expands all over the United States it scans every environment to identify changing tendencies and decorations, watching over a particular tendency and decoration, and asses their business influence. In 1979 AutoZone opened their first store in Arkansas, and they started the company from scratch. They looked up to PEP boys though they were and are still strong competitors; they kept working hard in small margins and were very tight operators so that discipline helped them as they learn the business. Now AutoZone is now the nation’s largest retail auto parts chain.

To mainly look into the strategies of the strongest and the weakest company in the market to see how each of them has tried to stay or become competitive in the market.

Knowing who your competitors are, and what they are offering, can help you to make your products, services and marketing stand out. It will enable you to set your prices competitively and help you to respond to rival marketing campaigns with your own initiatives. You can use this knowledge to create marketing strategies that take advantage of your competitors ' weaknesses, and improve your own business performance. You can also assess any threats posed by both new entrants to your market and current competitors. This knowledge will help you to be realistic about how successful you can be.