Pick ONE Fortune 500 company (http://fortune.com/fortune500/) in the manufacturing, transportation or retail industries and conduct an organizational environment assessment. You should use respected sources like books, business periodicals/journals, business databases or mainstream online business sites (i.e. CNN Money, Bloomberg, etc.). Only two (2) of your six (6) minimum references should come from internet websites. This does not include online academic journals, online books and industry publications which are considered equivalent to physical books.
Discuss the characteristics of at least four (4) of the thirteen (13) components listed below. Do so in paragraph form by looking at each selected component from an industry perspective and then explain how that component affects your chosen company specifically. Of the four (4) components you choose, at least one should come from the General Environment and at least one should come from the Task Environment.
Components of the General/Macro Environment
Economy Growing vs. shrinking economies – Predicting future economic activity
Technological trends Inputs (Raw Materials, Information)
Technology (Knowledge, Tools, Techniques)
Output (Products, Service)
Socio-cultural trends
Demographic changes
Changes in behavior, attitudes, and beliefs
Political / Legal trends/Legislation
Components of theTask/Competitive Environment
Customers
Competitors/Rival Firms
New Entrants
Suppliers
Substitutes and Complements
Conclusion
In your conclusion explain at least two components in either of the general and/or task environment that are affecting your company the most and how the company is dealing with these environmental factors.
Potential sources
Feel free to visit the following resources to get reliable information on your company and the global environment: (University library, FSU databases (Proquest/EBSCO), Standard and Poors Industry Reports, Hoovers, Company websites, 10K, Mergent, Lexis Nexus, etc).
Plagiarism
Work will be checked for plagiarism and violators can expect disciplinary action to be taken.
Format
There should be a Cover Page followed by the body of the paper. That paper should contain the following sections labeled in bold print.
Introduction
Name of the 1st Component to be Discussed
Name of the 2nd Component to be Discussed
Name of the 3rd Component to be Discussed
Name of the 4th Component to be Discussed
Conclusion
Bibliography
