There are some things that you can fully control within your business’s internal workings, and some are simply out of your control. You should do all you can to control how your business operates, but if you can’t, you will need to learn how to adapt.
Continue reading to learn what external factors could influence your business and what you can do about it.
Technological Factors
Businesses should always be looking to innovate in some way. They will be able to effectively improve how their business operates by evolving the technology they use. You should look to work with technology partners that can advise you on how to use technologies to streamline your processes.
A major technological factor that can change how a business operates is automation technology. In the end, you want to be aiming for something known as workflow automation. This means using software solutions to automate certain processes within the business.
Automation will help workers within your business to reduce the time they spend on certain processes and tasks, saving time and energy that can be better spent elsewhere. Software, in general, should be fully taken advantage of to improve a business’s productivity and be more modern in how they operate.
Political Factors
It’s important that you stay-up-to date with politics. The politics in any country will change regularly, with new policies and laws coming in and replacing the old ones. It is important to commit time to research these policies and understand them.
Politics can be volatile and can be inconsistent for businesses. For this reason, businesses will keep a careful eye on legislation changes and prepare their business for any changes. Some major changes that could affect your business come in the form of taxation and employment law. You should also be aware of any changes with your tariffs or import/export restrictions.
There may be little businesses can do to enforce change upon politics, meaning they have to modify their processes to comply with any new regulations. More recently, a major political shift led to Brexit, which changed how businesses operate across Europe.
You can learn more about how political science and the political economy can influence your business by signing up to a course. You can study for a certificate in Business, International Relations and Political Economy online at the London School of Economics and Political Science. An online certificate course such as this will help you learn how to maximise opportunities that come from changes in the global political landscape.
Global Factors
As a business leader or director, you should keep an eye on global issues. If you conduct business over the international stage, then you will need to be aware of what global issues could affect your business relationships going forward.
There may also be global factors that change cultural norms and change consumer trends. Overall, this means that the way you operate will change, and you will need to be on top of this as soon as possible.
For your product development, you will need to think about what works for the global customer profile, and what challenges are facing your business on the global scale. It’s important that you are prepared to deal with any of these global factors that could influence your business.
Economic Factors
It should go without saying that the global economy will play an important role in your business’ chances of success. For this reason, business leaders such as yourself should use data and information to analyse the state of the global economy. Be aware of the impact of challenges facing the economy so you can make more informed decisions going forward.
In general, if the economy is on a downward slope, then that could lead to fewer sales, more unemployment and downsizing of some kind. For a business to be able to counteract this, they may just have to wait it out and play it safe by minimising their risk taking. Your business may have to work harder and change the way it operates to stay afloat.
The state of the economy may not have directly affected your business, but it may have contributed to the industry in some way. It could even have affected your competitors in some way. You should be aware of what is going on with your competitors in terms of how they are dealing with the economy, so that you can adjust your business practices if needed.
