Business Studies

This week focuses on external environment scanning.

• Consider a company with which you are familiar.
• Discuss what might be in the organization’s external, general, or industry environment that would influence strategic planning for that company.

ANSWER

External Environment That Would Influence Strategic Planning for Nikon

Nikon Corporation is a multinational company with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. The company specializes in optics and imaging products (Hagen, 2017). Nikon’s strategic planning is affected by various external factors including the political, economic, social, and technological landscape. Technological factors determine the type of strategic decision that Nikon makes. Camera technology is often dynamic and changing. Nikon has to keep up with competitors like Canon, Sony among other top performers. Therefore, Nikon has to make decisions to strategically place its technological invention on top of its competitors and offer customers the best services in the market. The installation of innovation centers and investment in research and development at Nikon depends on the technological landscape of the industry. For instance, Nikon has to increase research to get ahead of competitors on the potential of advanced technology like 16k or further. The current widespread camera technology is 4K but 8K has also taken a foothold in the industry.

Environmental factors affect strategic planning at Nikon. Nikon intends to reduce its carbon footprint by embracing green energy. Nikon also intends to embrace recycling so that its business is sustainable for generations. Many customers today are concerned about a company’s environmental conservation decisions. Nikon must therefore have such strategies in place to assist its progress. Nikon’s business is affected by economic factors in the world because it is a multinational corporation. People use Nikon products all over the world. Deteriorating economic outcomes such as those witnessed in 2020 and now in 2021 reduce the sales of Nikon products. Nikon, therefore, has to reconsider its strategic plans to incorporate more marketing or produce more affordable products. Also, Nikon has to find out a strategic plan to counter the proliferation of mobile phone cameras that are eating into the professional camera industry.

References

Hagen, M. (2017). The Nikon Autofocus System: Mastering Focus for Sharp Images Every Time.             Rocky Nook, Inc..