What is Business Environment ? Scope & Goals of Business

Business is the product of technological, political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, global and natural factors amidst it functions. There is symbiotic relationship between business and its environment which Simply put, business is influenced by its environment and in turn, the environmental factors. forces. Similarly among to some extent it will influence the external  political legal environment influences economic environment and vice The same is the relationship between other environment factors too.

The environmental factors are dynamic. They keep on changing as years roll by so does business. One should also know that a particular business firm, by itself, may not be in a position to change its environment. But along with other firms, business will be in a position to mould the environment in its favour, to a great deal. It is for the above reasons that an understanding of business and its environment is worth an attempt.

WHAT IS BUSINESS?
Business may be understood as the organised efforts of enterprises to supply consumers with goods and services for a profit. Businesses vary in size, as measured by the number of employees or by sales volume

Large organisations such as Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO) count their employees in the hundred thousands and their sales revenues in crores. But most business units in our country are small units independently owned and managed and employing fewer than twenty employees each.

Whether a business unit has one or two people working at home, 10 operating in a retail score, 1000 employed in a factory, or 100,000 operating in multiple units spread across the Jountry, all businesses share the same purpose: to earn profits.

The purpose of business goes beyond earning profit. It is an important institution in society. Be it for the supply of goods and services; creation of job opportunities; offer of better quality of life: or contributing to the economic growth of the country and putting it on the global map: the role of business is crucial. Society cannot do without business. It needs no emphasis that business needs society as much.

SCOPE OF BUSINESS
The scope of business is indeed vast. Let us assume that you have decided to buy an automobile. Behind your purchase, there is the supplier of raw material there is the manufacturer who converts these raw materials and other inputs into usable vehicles; there is the dealer who makes the vehicles available at places convenient to you: there is the transport agent who assists in moving materials to the manufacturing plant and vehicles from plant to the market there is the banker to finance various activities: there is the advertising agency which tells you about the vehicles, where and how they can be procured: there is the insurance agent who assumes risks on your behalf and a host of other activities. Not only an automobile, even a simple item such as a ball pen necessitates a long chain of activities so as to make your purchase The multitudinous activities involved in bringing raw materials to the factory and the end product from there to the market constitute a business. In other words, business includes all activities connected with production, trade, banking, insurance, finance, agency, advertising. and numerous other related activities. Business also includes all efforts to company packaging  with legal restrictions and government requirements and discharging obligations to consumers. employees, owners and other interest goups which have stakes in business directly or indirectly.

What is ant and what needs emphasis in the term business is that all the above activities are bes s organised and carried on with an important purpose, viz earn profit by supplying goods and services to consumers to satisfy their felt needs. Thus. People occupy a central place around whom, by whom and for whom business is run. Business is people.

BUSINESS GOALS
Before we discuss business objectives, it is desirable to be clear about the meaning of three concepts, viz., vision, mission and objectives.

Vision
Vision refers to the goals that are broadest, most general, and all inclusive. A vision describes aspirations for the future, without specifying the means necessary to achieve those desired ends. The most effective visions are those that inspire, and this inspiration often takes  the form of asking for the best, the most or the greatest. It may be the best service, the most rugged product, or the greatest sense of achievement, but it must be inspirational. The vision statement of Birla 3M is: “To be the most innovative enterprise and the preferred supplier”.

Mission
A vision becomes tangible as a mission statement. Writing such a statement specifies a leader’s belief about an organisation and the direction in which it should move. It can also identify what is unique about the character of the organisation. The mission statement of Ford Motor Company is a typical illustration of the mission. Ford’s mission statement reads thus: “Ford Motor Company is a world leader in automotive and automotive-related products and services as well as in newer industries, such as aerospace, communications, and financial services.

Our mission is to improve continually our products and services to meet our customers’ needs, allowing us to prosper as a business and to provide areasonable return for our stockholders, the owners of our business.”Many organisations develop both a vision statement as well as mission statement. whereas the vision statement answers the question “what do we want to become?”, the mission statement answers “what is our business?”