Environmental Factors and Corporate Strategies

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes regarding the environmental factors influencing HR strategy and the different types of corporate strategies including growth, restructuring, and stability.

Corporate Strategy

An organization's overall macro strategy that identifies how the corporation supports and enhances the value of different business units and answers the question: what business should we be in?

Glocal

A philosophy often adopted by international organizations to think global but act local.

Globalization

The growth of trade and financial capital across borders and the spread of economic ventures from one country into another.

Global Economy

An economy where goods, services, people, skills, and ideas move freely across geographical borders.

Political and Legislative Factors

The arena in which organizations and interest groups compete for attention and resources, including the laws and regulations enacted by governments.

Knowledge Workers

Employees who represent a shift from touch labor, resulting from the impact of advanced technology on how work is done.

Technological Factors

The processes by which inputs from an organization's environment are transformed into outputs, such as translating new breakthroughs into products and materials.

Digital Convergence

A trend in the technological segment that impacts HR and organizational environments.

Demographics

The study of population statistics including subsets such as age, gender, family status, race, religion, and the labor market.

Labour Market

Considered the most important demographic factor, it is the specific environment where an organization recruits its employees.

Restructuring

The act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company to make it more profitable or better organized.

Turnaround Strategy

A restructuring strategy that attempts to increase the viability and sustainability of a corporation or business unit, often involving a SWOT analysis.

SWOT Analysis

A strategic tool used to examine a corporation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Divestiture

A restructuring strategy where a part of the business or corporation is sold to maximize profits, eliminate underperforming aspects, or streamline operations.

Liquidation

The process of terminating a business and selling its assets, possibly in a piecemeal fashion, to fund other parts of the corporation.

Bankruptcy

A legal status imposed by a court order where an appointed trustee takes possession of business assets because the entity cannot repay its debts.

Incremental Growth

A linear or gradual expansion of business attained by expanding the client base, services, distribution networks, or using new technology.

International Growth

A growth strategy involving the pursuit of new customers or markets abroad to expand an organization's reach beyond traditional borders.

Acquisition

The purchase of another company to gain access to its customer base, means of production, or to consolidate a competitor's processes.

Merger

A strategy where two organizations combine their resources to become one larger organization.

Stability Strategy

A corporate strategy adopted to keep things constant and maintain the status quo, often used as a wait and see approach or a pause after expansion.

Silo Mentality

A situation in smaller business units where programs and training align strictly with narrow objectives, resulting in non-existent communication between units.