BY MOHAMMED MAJEED-0244366156-MBA PGSM

Technology's Impact on Businesses

The impact of technology has been most evident on business within the last 20 years with the growth of the microchip and the adoption of personal computers, as well as the retooling of old systems and the development of new systems that rely on computer technology.

Globally, we are in the Age of Technology, a time that history will no record as a period of when businesses made giant strides in creating smart machines, smarter processes, and perhaps even smarter business people.

Technology in the OfficeMass adoption of the word processor and, later, the personal computer brought office productivity out of the dark ages. Gone were the days of using carbon paper and mimeograph machines to make a few duplicates. High-speed printers are capable of producing hundreds of pages of collated and stapled documents in 256 colors. Technology Out of the OfficeCell phones beam from satellites positioned in a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above our heads, allowing sales professionals on the road to communicate with customers, the office, or home. Wireless Internet lets businesspeople access their mailbox from a cell phone or manage their calendars. PDAs (personal data assistants) now keep contact numbers and appointment dates, and provide the latest updates on the stock market.

Technology in Manufacturing

The impact of technology on business is especially evident in the manufacturing sector. There are few mass-produced products that are manufactured without the aid of computer automation. Computers integrated with processing machines in manufacturing companies have greatly increased the number of widgets a company can produce. Computer sensors can scan finished products and detect defects that might be missed by the human eye. Technology Expands MediaMedia outlets for business marketing have increased as both broadband and wireless Internet adoption has exploded among all consumer groups. The fear that multicultural groups were being left behind in a so-called digital divide was only recently refuted when an April 2009 study by Pew Internet and American Life revealed that minorities were using wireless devices like mobile phones to access the Internet rather than through broadband access. Technology in BiotechTechnology in the science sector has revolutionized biotech and pharmaceutical industries as they peer deeper into the cause of diseases like cancer and HIV. Patents for new drugs and additional indications for existing drugs have been a boon to industry and have positively affected people's health and life expectancy.

Environmental Scanning & Monitoring- Techniques

SWOT (Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat)

Identification of threats and Opportunities in the environment (External) and strengths and Weaknesses of the firm (Internal) is the cornerstone of business policy formulation; it is these factors which determine the course of action to ensure the survival and growth of the firm.

PEST Analysis

A scan of the external macro-environment in which the firm operates can be expressed in terms of the following factors:

Political

Economic

Social

Technological

1.Political Factors:-

tax policy

employment laws

environmental regulations

trade restrictions and tariffs

political stability

2.Economic Factors:-

economic growth

interest rates

exchange rates

inflation rate

3.Social Factors:-

health awareness

population growth rate

age distribution

career attitudes

emphasis on safety

4.Technological Factors:-

R&D activity

rate of technological change

Porter's Approach to Industry Analysis:-

*A corporation is most concerned with the intensity of competition within its industry.

*The level of this intensity is determined by basic competitive forces.

*In scanning its industry, the corporation must assess the importance to its success of each of the six forces.

Competitive Structure of Industries:

*Threat of substitutes.

*Threat of new entrants.

*Rivalry among existing firms.

*Bargaining power of suppliers.

*Bargaining power of buyers

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