The Internal Environment
The internal environment of an organization refers to events, factors, people, systems, structures and conditions inside the organization that are generally under the control of the company. The company's mission statement, organizational culture and style of leadership are factors typically associated with the internal environment of an organization. As such, it is the internal environment that will influence organizational activities, decisions and employee behavior and attitudes. Changes in the leadership style, the organization's mission or culture can have a considerable impact on the organization.
The External Environment
The external environment are those factors that occur outside of the company that cause change inside organizations and are, for the most part, beyond the control of the company. Customers, competition, the economy, technology, political and social conditions and resources are common external factors that influence the organization. Even though the external environment occurs outside of an organization, it can have a significant influence on its current operations, growth and long-term sustainability. Ignoring external forces can be a detrimental mistake for managers to make. As such, it is imperative that managers continually monitor and adapt to the external environment, working to make proactive changes earlier on rather than having to take a reactive approach, which can lead to a vastly different outcome.
Changing for the Internal Environment
To better understand changes in the internal environment, let's look at the following example. After graduating from college, Cassandra decided to buy an existing tanning salon in her community. Before Cassandra purchased the salon, it was in terrible financial trouble. Many of the employees complained about the general manager's leadership style, and the staff were often