Suppose a head of a family will acquire a housing lot in a certain place. He will surely consider numerous things from the house’s location, its environmental hazard, their would-be-neighborhood, and the structure of the house per se. This is how considerations of one’s milieu very integral. It is important to know if the place where one lives is safe from any peril and from that, one will decide on what to do next.
Having the knowledge about the environment will give the head of the family the idea of what to expect, what to improve and what to avoid. But environment does not only entail the outside arena. It also includes the interior setting of the house.
An organization’s internal environment consists of such variables as management structures, workforce development and the layout of operational processes. It is very much associated with the human resource of the organization, and the manner in which people undertake in accordance with the mission and vision of the organization. To some extent, the internal environment is controllable and changeable through planning and management process.
The external environment, on the other hand, is not controllable. The leader of an organization has no control over climate, or changes of political leaders, or general economic conditions. Considering these data about the internal and external environment, a leader can craft a comprehensive strategic plan which has innovative strategies to leverage internal strengths and take advantage of external opportunities.
Since planning is a fundamental function of a leader, understanding the environment wherein an organization operates is a key part of planning. This will allow discerning the threats and opportunities associated within the area.
For any organization to grow and prosper, leaders must be able to anticipate, recognize and deal with change in the internal and external environment. Change is a certainty, and for this reason, leaders must actively engage in the planning process to identify change and modify organizational activities to take best advantage of change.
By: Ms. Danah Mae L. De Belen | Teacher III | San Pablo Elementary School | Dinalupihan, Bataan
