Environmental scanning is the communication of external information about facts that could influence an organization on its’ strategic decision-making process. It is a method of analyzing relevant gathered information and use to determine strategic and premeditated action on the business environment. The environmental scanning process seek obtain both realistic and subjective information on the business environments where a corporation is functioning or considering entering. It is the possession and use of information concerning events, trends, and interaction in an organization's external environment, the data of which could support management in scheduling the organization's future line of action.
Organizations should scan the environment in order to recognize any external factors that could affect their position on the market, and therefore build up successful responses to protected or improve their position in the future. They scan in order to evade surprises, spot pressure and opportunities, increase competitive advantage, and improve long-term and immediate planning. An organization's capability to adapt to its external environment is strongly dependent on the interpretation of external factors.
Environmental scanning focuses on the detection of rising issues, circumstances, and potential issues that could determine an organization's future. The gathered information is provided to key managers on the organization and used to direct management in future plans. It is also used to evaluate an organization's strengths and weaknesses in response to external threats and opportunities. In essence, environmental scanning is a process to identify, collect, and transmit information about external factors to be converted into plans and decisions.
Environmental scanning assesses the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization in relation to the external opportunities and threats it faces.
All organizations need examine at some
References: and Further Reading Bryson, J.M. (1989). “Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofits Organizations.” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Choo, Chun Wei. “Environmental scanning as information seeking and organizational learning.” Information Research, Vol. 7 No. 1 (October 2001). [Online] Available from: http://informationr.net/ir/7-1/paper112.html [Accessed 31 October 2008]. Gillespie: “Foundations of Economics - Additional chapter on Business Strategy.” Oxford University Press. (2007). [Online] Available from: http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm [Accessed 03 November 2008]. Gordon, Lawrence A. and Narayanan, V.K. (1984). “Management Accounting Systems, Perceived Environmental Uncertainty and Organization Structure: An Empirical Investigation.” Accounting Organizations and Society, 9(1). Khandwalla, Pradip N. (1977). “The Design of Organizations.” New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.