External environment Essay

Recently I celebrated New Years Eve with a true(p) friend a sm solely melodic phrase owner in the self-propelled spray painting industry. We did the usual. Liberal doses of food and alcohol were consumed, and there was no shortage of laughter. During the course of the razeing, my friend asked, Why it is that some commonwealth micturate an apparent midis touch? Its a question Im often asked. Is it purely luck, or is their success a result of something more than(prenominal) cognitive?I responded by saying, While luck may cultivate a role, the vast majority of the highly successful business people Ive met over the past 25 years do cardinal thing in common and they do it extraordinarily well(p). They monitor their business environment to predict future market trends. They analyse external forces, such(prenominal) as their competitive environment, economic conditions, technological possibilities, political and legal forces, changes in demographics, seasonal factors, as well as shifts in social deportment.Basically they engage their crystal ball and they do it much fracture than most. Needless(prenominal) to say, on New Years Day I was feeling a tad lethargic. A restful day it did, however, ease up me time to think about our conversation and the various macro-external forces which confronted Australian businesses in 2011. You could say it was a self-inflicted day of reflection. These are just a untarnished example of what the successful men and women, above, analyse in advance. Of course, not all forces can be accurately predicted in advance.The 2010 New Zealand earthquake adventure is a prime example. Well, what a year it was. There were many challenges presented macroscopicly by macro-external forces. Although the mainstream media were reporting that business confidence was on the rise, this clearly, from my consultation with industry, wasnt the general consensus. Sure there were pockets of our economy which performed well a renowned performe r being our seemingly ever-resilient resource sector. Australias ASX 200, however, lost filth in the 12-months to December 31, closing at 4745.20. While retail mountain continued to display considerable volatility, as did the automotive sector. Indeed, success in the latter cardinal battlefields hinged largely around the deployment of discount pricing tactics. The leave Bank of Australia (RBA) progressively increased interest rates. Although these were predominantly in 25 basis point increments, they adversely affected consumer confidence when it came to purchasing large ticket items, such as domestic housing as well as non-essential luxuries.However, from a global comparison viewpoint, Australia exhibited very good buoyancy. Our currency, the AUD, had reached a 28 year historic high against the United States Dollar (USD), transaction above parity with the greenback for the first time since the currency was initially floated in 1982. No doubt off-shore investment in the AUD wa s vigorously fuelled by the variance in comparative lending rates between the two countries. The financial attractiveness of imports caught Australian consumers attention, stimulated by the AUDs appreciation.Online shopping, as a result, continued to gain popularity. More consumers than ever before were merchandise goods directly from off-shore retailers, in the process often avoiding goods and services tax (GST). not surprisingly, this infuriated domestic retailers, who were not able to offer their customers the same loophole. major retailers including Myer, David Jones and Harvey Norman are now investigating the possibility of enhancing their e-commerce presence, in a bid to alleviate any further sales erosion.Theyre overly vigorously fighting the federal government in their quest for an even playing field, with this initiative let by billionaire, Gerry Harvey. And Queenslands peculiar wear patterns caused havoc. With many Central Queensland towns and parts of the Darling Down s being flood ravaged, woefully the recent natural disaster left many people homeless. The personify of damage, as I write, is still mounting by the hour. Needless to say, the make and automotive industries will be the beneficiaries of this tragic twist of fate. South tocopherol Queensland wasnt left unscathed, either.Hail storms caused extensive devastation in parts, retention insurance companies and panel beaters busy for some time to come. Its bring together to say, while panel beaters and automotive spray painters can look forward-moving to a prosperous 12 months ahead, insurers are likely to be less optimistic about their feasibility over the same period of time. diet for thought Here are just a number of dispatcher questions which you might like ask yourself 1. What is likely to happen to my business should the AUD come down back into sub-parity against the USD? 2.If interest rates rise, will this help or barricade my business? Why? 3. Are my competitors outperforming me? If so, what exactly are they doing which is making them more successful? 4. Are my competitors weak in a particular area? Am I able to capitalise upon this chink in their fit? 5. Is my business sensitive to, or reliant upon, seasonal factors? These might acknowledge specific climatic conditions. And, are these seasonal needs likely to transpire? 6. Are there any looming additions or amendments to legislation which could positively or adversely affect my business?