Introduction to Business Management - The Organisational Environment

Vocabulary flashcards covering the components of the business micro, market, and macro environments, as well as tools for environmental analysis based on the Introduction to Business Management text.

Micro-environment

Also referred to as the internal environment, it includes all the variables within a business that managers can directly or indirectly control, such as vision, mission, business functions, and resources.

Market Environment

Also known as the task environment, it serves as the link or buffer between the business and the macro-environment, comprising variables like consumers, competitors, suppliers, and intermediaries.

Macro-environment

The external environment consisting of broad forces like political-legal, economic, and technological factors that an organisation has no control over.

Stakeholders

All the different people who are affected by an organisation’s policies and decisions.

Tangible Resources

Physical business resources such as raw materials ($wood$, $water$, and minerals), capital, machinery, and property.

Intangible Resources

Non-physical business resources including patents, trademarks, brand names, staff morale, and overall staff experience.

Industrial Market

Users who purchase goods and/or services for use in their own production of other goods and services.

Resale Market

Parties that buy products and sell them, without any further processing, in order to make a profit.

Institutional Market

Large-scale users such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, government agencies, and non-profit organisations.

International Market

Foreign buyers, including customers, manufacturers, resellers, and governments.

Intermediary

A third party, such as merchants, agents, or facilitators, that offers intermediation services between two parties.

LSM (Living Standard Measure)

A socio-economic measure that depicts how South Africans live based on what they have access to in and near their homes.

Urbanisation

The increase in the proportion of people moving from rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (towns and cities).

Consumerism

The protection or promotion of the interests of consumers.

Business Cycle

Economic fluctuations consisting of prosperity, recession/depression, and recovery.

Environmental Scanning

The process of gathering recent information about occurrences within business environments to aid managers in identifying opportunities and threats.

Strengths

An organisation’s internal resources, skills, expertise, knowledge, or other advantages relative to competitors.

Weaknesses

Internal limitations or deficiencies in an organisation’s resources, skills, and capabilities that negatively impact performance.

Opportunities

Favourable elements within the external business environments (market and macro) that can be used by management for profitability, survival, or growth.

Threats

Major unfavourable elements within the external business environments that can lead to the failure of a product, service, or the organisation itself.

BRICS

An economic alliance for development, integration, and industrialisation consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.