Exam 2: Managing the Organizational Environment

All of the following are examples of the general environment of the organization except:

If a major firm suddenly creates a new product which makes the products of its competitors obsolete,this is an example of a force in which type of environment?

The general environment includes economic,technological,socio-cultural,demographic,political and legal,and global forces.

For the typical manager,opportunities and threats resulting from changes in the task or industry-specific environment are more difficult to identify than events in the general environment.

All potential competitors are considered organizations that are part of the task environment.

Since the end of the Second World War,a continuing stream of advances in communications and transportation technology has worked to reduce the barriers of distance and culture that affected Unilever and all global organizations.

By better connecting companies' success with societal improvement,it opens up many ways to serve new needs,gain efficiency,create differentiation,and expand markets.

Financial managers and accounting departments handle the forces in the economic realm.

The main task of middle managers is to collect relevant data on forces in the task environment.

The wide-ranging set of forces and conditions that operate beyond an organization's boundaries and affect the organization are known as forces in the general environment.

For a computer manufacturing company,such as Hewlett-Packard,discuss its "task environment" and how this type of industry-specific environment places pressures on HP's managers on a daily basis.

An organization's suppliers can have an important impact on the success of the organization.Discuss the various types of suppliers for Dell Canada and explain why these suppliers are important to Dell Canada's success.

The task of the top-management team in reducing the impact of environmental forces,is to create strategies that will take advantage of opportunities and counter threats.

Changes in technological forces are handled by:

Some managers view regional free-trade agreements as a threat because they expose a company based in a one-member country to increased competition from companies based in the other member countries.

In terms of free trade,all of the following are correct,except:

Pressures from competitors are handled by:

Explain how managers can minimize threats and uncertainty from forces in the external environment.Identify three forces from your own experience that contribute to the complexity and rate of environmental change.

The internal organizational environment includes the culture and structure of the organization.

Discuss the "four building blocks" of competitive advantage and give an example of a company that you feel uses each of these building blocks successfully in its production of goods and services.