Reflective Report on Business Environment Analysis & Tools

This reflective report delves into the business environment, emphasizing the interplay of internal and external factors influencing organizational activities. It highlights the significance of tools like SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), resource audits (physical, economic, and human resources), and stakeholder mapping frameworks in achieving organizational success. The report underscores how SWOT analysis aids in strategic planning and decision-making by identifying market positions and career paths. Resource audits are presented as a method for evaluating all available business resources, while stakeholder mapping helps management understand stakeholder interests and influences. Ultimately, the report demonstrates how these tools contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the business environment and facilitate effective management strategies. Desklib offers a wealth of similar resources, including past papers and solved assignments, to support student learning and academic success.

Reflective Report on Business Environment
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Table of Contents
Self Reflection............................................................................................................................2
Different Tools for business environment:................................................................................2
SWOT:.......................................................................................................................................2
Resource Audit:..........................................................................................................................4
Stakeholder mapping framework:..............................................................................................6
Reference List............................................................................................................................8
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Self Reflection
According to me, the business environment can be described by the group of all internal
along with external facts of a company that can influence all of its business activities. It may
also be described that the business environment may also have an effect on all the primary
elements for an organization such as subordinates, customers, the management department as
well as the terms and conditions of the business. The success for an organization is always
dependent on the expectations along with the experiences of the subordinates of the
organization (Gupta, 2013). As example, it may also be stated that using proper business
environment a company can have their expectations for achieving the customer satisfactions
as well.
As per the assumptions undertaken, the behavioural structure of an organization is also
depends on the natures of the employees as well as the business environment of the company
that provide proper support to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. As we know
that an organization is a place where people use to assist their actions to achieve their
personal goals and aims or to help the organization to gain more revenue from the market
through maximizing the rate of its business (Hamilton and Webster, 2015). In case of
business environment for any organization, they needs to use different types of equipments
such as SWOT analysis tools, Resource audit includes resource skills, capabilities as well as
core competencies and the stakeholder mapping framework. This all equipments help an
organization to bring advantages as well as benefits to the organization.
Different Tools for business environment:
SWOT:
SWOT analysis basically refers to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for
any organization and this tool can be considered as a framework for analysing as well as
identifying the internal and external factors for that organization. This all factors also have an
impact on the business environment of the organization in its projects, products as well as its
employees.
According to me, SWOT analysis basically can be used by all the business entities and to
access all the initiatives, products and projects of an organization. A SWOT analysis can be
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used in the beginning or can be used for the exercise of strategic planning (Bohari et al.,
2017). The specific framework can be considered as a proper support in case of decision
making as it also enables an activity to uncover the opportunities for the success for any
organization. As example, this equipment can also help to identify a market position through
which a business can gain benefits or can provide supports to the personnel scheme for career
achievement through pinpointing a proper way that increases their abilities.
SWOT analysis can be examined by four elements such as:
Strength: It refers to all the internal abilities as well as attributes along with resources that
can provide the support for a successful result.
Weakness: It refers to the internal abilities as well as attributes along with resources that
prevent the success for an organization.
Opportunity: Opportunity refers to the external factors through which an entity can help to
capitalize on or the use for its benefit.
Threat: Threats can be considered as the external factors as well that might jeopardize the
success of the entity.
I think that a SWOT matrix can be used to maintain all the items that are identified inside
these four elements. SWOT matrix can be divided basically as a square of four quadrants and
each of the quadrants represent only one particular element. The decision-makers always
used to identify as well as make the list of all specific strengths in the very first quadrant and
weakness to the next after that opportunity and finally the threats (Yuan, 2013).
According to me, a SWOT analysis basically needs decision makers to identify all the aims
that they are wished to achieve for the business, personally or organization from the market.
For this purpose the decision makers make the list of all strengths and weaknesses along with
opportunities as well as threats. There are several equipments that are used to guide the
decision makers for this processing by using a set of questions of every element. As example,
the decision makers can be guided by proper questions like what can he do better than other
and what are the positive points he have, in case of identifying the strengths. It can also be
asked that what the improvements he needs to identify the weaknesses are.
SWOT analysis can be used to provide the support to an entity whether it is inside the
organization or to an individual for gaining the insight into that’s present and the future
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position in the market for business purpose or it can be against a pre planed objectives. The
decision makers can get proper help from SWOT analysis through generating a visual image
of the different factors that have many impacts on achieving the goals for any business,
organization or project and products (Bohari et al., 2017). In addition, the SWOT analysis
helps an organization or an individual to identify its own strengths and weaknesses as well.
Resource Audit:
According to me, resource audit can be considered as a method that is going through every
parts of a business or an organization that available to that. All of these resources can be
taken into account as several forms that are not limited into normal items such as cash as well
as inventories. Resource audit is very important equipment that will help an organization by
considering all the specific requirements that the organization includes like proper
experiences and skills on a specific field. It may take some extra times and efforts than other
equipments but the outcome of the resource audit analysis for any organization or business is
very valuable (Rao, 2014).
Figure 1: Resource Audit
(Source: Armellini and Nie, 2013)
From the above figure it will be easy to develop an understanding about the working process
of Resource audit tool in an organization. For performing the resource audit tool in an
organization, the organization needs to specify all the resources that are required to perform
the organizational activities. As there are several resources that are available for operating
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this resource audit such as physical, economic and human resources, the organization needs
to specify the proper resource for using the tool firstly. After that, in case of dynamic
procedure they need to use the best resource for their operation. With the help of this tool,
any organization or business can easily identify their inner strengths as well as their external
factors (Armellini and Nie, 2013).
The necessary resources can be categorized into three parts such a physical, economic, and
HR that are described below:
Physical resources: The physical resources refer to the tools; inventories as well as buildings
that can allow an organization or business for become more valuable. Basically, physical
resources are those that are easy to obtain and monitor as well by normal people. As example,
in case of a MNC company such as IT industry the physical resources for using this tool will
be the design of their office building, location, values and many others.
Economic Resources: Financial resources refer to the funds, profitability ratio, amount of
gaining revenue and many others. In this case, it will be very easy to identify the ways that
can help the organization to make financial strength more efficient and effective. Through
this tool, an organization can assume their rival’s financial strength as well.
HR resources: This refers to every person who works inside of the organization and having a
particular set of skills and knowledge as well as experiences that make them unique from
others. Wages make up a huge part of any organizations budget, so make sure to get the best
possible return from the investment that the organization have made in these people.
According to me, the resource audit helps to identify all the available resources in the
business where all of plant, brands and machinery can be owned. The economic resources
also consist of the economic assets for the organization that also includes all the abilities to
increase their economic condition through credit. The reputation of an organization is also a
reflection on how an organization can be perceived in the market for business purpose.
In case of some negative impacts of the resource audit for an organization a few factors can
be taken into account such as the physical resources that consist of building along with other
tools that can be owned or leased. The HR also consists of both permanent as well as
temporary staffs.
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Stakeholder mapping framework:
I think, the stakeholder mapping for the framework also needs the management team to gain
proper understanding of the stakeholders as well as their personal interests. Through the
stakeholder mapping this all outcomes can also be achieved. Various things may be mapped
in case of this assignment where the first and most important factor is to map the stakeholders
against their personal interests within a project, portfolio or programme (Jackson et al.,
2013). The following diagram can be the representation for showing the portfolio of the
interest of the stakeholders:
Project A Project B Project C Project D
Stakeholder A Affected Affected
Stakeholder B Affected Affected
Stakeholder C Affected Affected Affected
Stakeholder D Affected Affected
All the stakeholders are not equally skilled but all of them have various levels of interest on
the job as well as various skills for influencing or affecting it. A brief description of the
different level of analysis as well as mapping can help to estimate the height of influence
along with the interest’s level for every stakeholder. It always helps to distinguish all of them
who are in the favourable side of the work along with those who are against the work. One of
the part for stakeholder management and stakeholder mapping framework is the wield
influence for the stakeholders as well as it try to move all of them from right to left inside the
chart.
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Figure 2: Level of interest
(Source: Gari et al., 2015)
In this mapped matrix all the cells are marked by using the RAG style where they used to
relate all the pre determined activities set out in case of stakeholder management planning as
well as communication planning. There are several equipments that are used to guide the
decision makers for this processing by using a set of questions of every element. As example,
the decision makers can be guided by proper questions like what can he do better than other
and what are the positive points he have, in case of identifying the strengths (Gari et al.,
2015).
The stakeholder analysis uses the powerful grid, stakeholder mapping framework. The
method of identifying all the stakeholders can cause the outcome inside a long list of
personals and groups as well. All the necessary fields and areas for the stakeholder mapping
framework can be identified in the equal interests of this stakeholder mapping. In addition,
the influence lines of the power and interest matrix also provide a detail and brief information
on the stakeholder mapping framework through revealing all the importance of the
stakeholders inside each quadrant of the mapping matrix.
According to me, stakeholder mapping framework is a systematic procedure to make the
analysis of the stakeholders through their power as well as interests. The main players of the
stakeholder mapping framework are high power as well as high interest. The least important
of this tool is low power and low interest as well. It can also describe by me that the mapping
introduces as a cognitive procedure as well as it helps to explore all the equality of structural
analysis in between the mapping and theories. On the other hand, different aspects can be
mapped in case of this assignment where the first and most important factor is to map the
stakeholders against their personal interests within a project, portfolio or programme (Jackson
et al., 2013). The success for an organization is always dependent on the expectations along
with the experiences of the subordinates of the organization. As example, it may also be
stated that using proper business environment a company can have their expectations for
achieving the customer satisfactions as well.
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Reference List
Armellini, A. and Nie, M., 2013. Open educational practices for curriculum
enhancement. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 28(1), pp.7-
20.
Bohari, A.M., Hin, C.W. and Fuad, N., 2017. The competitiveness of halal food industry in
Malaysia: A SWOT-ICT analysis. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 9(1).
Gari, S.R., Newton, A. and Icely, J.D., 2015. A review of the application and evolution of the
DPSIR framework with an emphasis on coastal social-ecological systems. Ocean & coastal
management, 103, pp.63-77.
Gupta, A., 2013. Environmental and pest analysis: An approach to external business
environment. Merit Research Journal of Art, Social Science and Humanities, 1(2), pp.13-17.
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2015. The international business environment. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Jackson, B., Pagella, T., Sinclair, F., Orellana, B., Henshaw, A., Reynolds, B., Mcintyre, N.,
Wheater, H. and Eycott, A., 2013. Polyscape: A GIS mapping framework providing efficient
and spatially explicit landscape-scale valuation of multiple ecosystem services. Landscape
and Urban Planning, 112, pp.74-88.
Rao, T.V., 2014. HRD audit: Evaluating the human resource function for business
improvement. SAGE Publications India.
Yuan, H., 2013. A SWOT analysis of successful construction waste management. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 39, pp.1-8.
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