mgt521 r10 study guide week2 1 
Week Two Study Guide: Planning
Readings and Key Terms
“How the External Environment Affects Managers” subsection in the “The External Environment: Constraints and Challenges” section in Ch. 2 of Management.
Environmental uncertainty
Stakeholders
Ch. 8 of Management
Goals
Plans
Stated goals
Real goals
Strategic plans
Operational plans
Management by objectives
Environmental scanning
Ch. 9 of Management
Strategic management
Strategic management process
SWOT analysis
Core competencies
Corporate strategy
Growth strategy
Stability strategy
Renewal strategies
Competitive strategy
Competitive advantage
Strategic leadership
Content Overview
Components of the external environment
Environmental uncertainty
Environmental uncertainty is the amount of change and complexity in an organization’s external environment.
Dynamic environments change frequently.
Stable environments do not change frequently.
Environmental complexity
Environmental complexity measures the number of variables in a business environment and how much the business knows about these variables.
The fewer the variables in an organization’s environment and the greater the organization’s ability to know about the variables, the less the uncertainty and risk for the firm.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the groups or individuals affected by an organization’s actions.
Stakeholders can be classified as internal or external, depending on their relationship to the organization.
Planning overview
Planning involves defining goals and developing strategies to meet the defined goals.
Managers must plan to provide direction, reduce uncertainty, and establish the goals or standards used in controlling.
Goals and plans
Types of goals
Financial goals are related to a business’s financial performance.
Strategic goals are related to all other areas of a business’s performance.
Stated goals are those goals explicitly stated by an organization.
Real goals are the goals an organization actually wishes to
Readings and Key Terms
“How the External Environment Affects Managers” subsection in the “The External Environment: Constraints and Challenges” section in Ch. 2 of Management.
Environmental uncertainty
Stakeholders
Ch. 8 of Management
Goals
Plans
Stated goals
Real goals
Strategic plans
Operational plans
Management by objectives
Environmental scanning
Ch. 9 of Management
Strategic management
Strategic management process
SWOT analysis
Core competencies
Corporate strategy
Growth strategy
Stability strategy
Renewal strategies
Competitive strategy
Competitive advantage
Strategic leadership
Content Overview
Components of the external environment
Environmental uncertainty
Environmental uncertainty is the amount of change and complexity in an organization’s external environment.
Dynamic environments change frequently.
Stable environments do not change frequently.
Environmental complexity
Environmental complexity measures the number of variables in a business environment and how much the business knows about these variables.
The fewer the variables in an organization’s environment and the greater the organization’s ability to know about the variables, the less the uncertainty and risk for the firm.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the groups or individuals affected by an organization’s actions.
Stakeholders can be classified as internal or external, depending on their relationship to the organization.
Planning overview
Planning involves defining goals and developing strategies to meet the defined goals.
Managers must plan to provide direction, reduce uncertainty, and establish the goals or standards used in controlling.
Goals and plans
Types of goals
Financial goals are related to a business’s financial performance.
Strategic goals are related to all other areas of a business’s performance.
Stated goals are those goals explicitly stated by an organization.
Real goals are the goals an organization actually wishes to