Every organisation is responsible for the environment that it creates. The organisation’s operation and structure all directly affected by the environment. Organisation’s environment impacts on resources and opportunities that how they can be treated? It is primary objective of the organisation to take care of the company’s operations that how they are affecting the environment. For the successful growth and development of business it is important to develop such a strategies those can be assist operate the business operations. To understand the environmental scanning it is important to identify the business and how it can affect the environment business around.
The definition of environmental scanning is “a process of gathering, analyzing, and dispensing information for tactical or strategic purposes. The environmental scanning process entails obtaining both factual and subjective information on the business environments in which a company is operating or considering entering”.
Environment scanning is most commonly done on the macro level. The macro level analysis may contain the definition of the market, analyzing the market size, potential market, market segmentation, structuring the industry, group management, competition, finding the market trends.
The environmental scanning can be achieved by several ways but three important ways of scanning environment are given below:
- Ad-hoc Scanning: Very un-predicted and short-term, mostly used in emergencies or crisis.
- Regular Scanning: This scanning process being done after a certain period but regularly (e.g once in a quarter or once in a year)
- Continuous Scanning: This is an ongoing process and remains in continuous state, have broad range of spectrum.
Now a day’s most of the business likes to implement the continuous scanning. The continuous scanning allows businesses to take actions very quickly and effectively with keep tracking the work.
Importance of Environmental Scanning
Environmental scanning is important for the organisation to step out or find the exact solution for company’s procedure. Environmental scanning helps organisations to improve or enhance the ability of working for changing environment in stable means. The following highlighted points are given below:
- It enables organisation to gain capitalise of the business in early stages of the business as compare to their competitor.
- Environmental scanning give alerts to the organisation well before time for the impending problems. These problems can be handled and solutions can be found well before time if they are noticed well before time.
- This process sensitizes the company’s exact time of changing in environment process to meet the wishes and desire of their potential customers.
- This scanning process helps to find out the qualitative information in regards to the environment to assist the strategist to find the best suitable strategies for the company.
- It helps to strategy making bodies in their decision making process by providing them the simulation of the resource and risks.
- Give more opportunities to increase the business and adds extra points in the good will of the company by adding the ability of environment scanning person.
- It provides opportunity to company’s executive in continuing the broad based studies.
- Helps the strategy developers in finding the latest and up-to date strategies for the organisation.