THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

FACULTY OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

OME 212: BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND STRATEGIES

COURSE OUTLINE

2016

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 INTRODUCTION

This course focuses on the external and internal environment in which companies
operate. The course aims at creating more understanding of the different types of
responses that companies have to their environments and to the types of competition they
are facing. The main objective of the course is to enable the students to have a clear
understanding of the theories and models that provides a fundamental building block of
business as well as blending theory with practical scenarios at different levels. The course
will also equip you with interrelated environmental forces that may act upon business
organizations and hence influence business performances. The course will further help
you to identify the nature and complexity of the competitive environment, technological
environment, dynamic and multifaceted social environment, political issues that may
have a potential impact on business organization and the nature of changes in any
business environment and organizational. This course will also introduce you the
dynamic inter-relationships between businesses. Furthermore, this course will introduce
you the nature of market freedom beginning with an outline of the historical emergence
of free market ideology and its progress towards globalization. The course is an
interesting to you for understanding the dynamic environment and how to cope with for
business success.

General Objective

The broad objective of this course is to familiarize you with policy issues, forms of
business in business environment, gender issues in relation to business and
communication in business organizations within and outside.

Specific objectives

At the end of studying this course students should be able to:

· Define the term business environment and understand a number of models of the
contextual environment of organizations
· Compare environmental forces that may act upon a variety of circumstances
within and outside the organizations
· Identify the stakeholders of the business environment
· Diagnose the range and complexity of the external and internal influences on
business activities
· Explain the nature and theory of free markets
· Explain varieties of contemporary dilemmas relating to market liberalization and
constraint
· Discuss broad range of contemporary economic and political perspectives on
business and society
· Integrate knowledge, theory and practice into a strategic and dynamic overview of
the organisation in its environmental context.
· Develop and defend coherent and persuasive arguments for the adoption of
innovative strategies for a range of business and organizational situations.

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· Demonstrate strategic management concepts, strategic thinking and process of
strategic management of company in global environment
· Apply various theories in explaining gender relations in a Business Society.
· Explain and discuss the causes and spread of HIV/AIDS and how to overcome the
disease.
· Evaluate the nature and importance communication skills in effective
communication within and beyond organizations
· Identify the importance of communication barriers and how to overcome them
· Explain the relationship between organizations, inter-organizational networks and
today’s communication process.
· Identify the principles of persuasive communication.

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 LECTURE ONE: NATURE AND SCOPE OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

1.1 Overview
In this lecture you will learn about business environment and its components. Business
organizations are integral part of social system; hence business organizations are direct
interacting with its environments. In this lecture you will be introduced with the key
elements of business environment and how managers prepare organization direction for
the purpose of achieving set of goals.

1.2 Key Learning Objectives

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
· Explain the meaning of business environment
· Explain the importance of business environment to managers and other
stakeholders.
· Explain the relationship between the components as described in business
environment models
· Discuss the general approach of studying Business Environment.

1.3 Key Sub topics

· Definition of Basic Terms used in Business Environment
· Scope of the Study of Business Environment
· Importance of Business Environment
· Interplay of Business Environment and Models of society and business

LECTURE TWO: BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND THE SOCIETY

2.1 Overview

In this lecture you will learn how the business environment imposes several constraints in
organization and its considerable effects and influence on the scope of its activities. On
the other hand, the organization has limited control of activities. The primary task of an
organization is to identify and understand the environment in which it operates and
devise policies in accordance with dynamic and is uncertain.

2.2 key Learning Objectives

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
· Define Business environment and its components
· Discuss the factors that influence business
· Draw the features of business environment
· Explain the environmental factors of a business
· Describe the environmental analysis of a business

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2.3 Sub-topics
· Business, Government and Society
· Feature of business environment
· Factors influencing business
· Environmental scanning and consideration factors

LECTURE THREE: BUSINESS OBJECTIVES AND THE STAKEHOLDERS

3.1 Overview
In this lecture you will learn how Modern organizations need to have clear sense of their
objectives which place strong priority on stakeholders who are the owners of the
business. It is necessary to take consideration of various stakeholders in establishing
business objectives.

3.2 key Learning objectives

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
· Discuss the effective business objectives
· Identify the organization stakeholders
· Discuss the driving objectives of a business organization
· Explain the determinants of business objectives

3.3 Sub-topics
· Effective objectives for an organization
· Organization stakeholders
· Driving objectives for business existence
· Determinants of organization objectives

LECTURE FOUR: THE EFFECT OF ECONOMICS ON BUSINESS

4.1 Overview
In this lecture you will learn the challenge of macroeconomics to determine what makes
some countries relatively wealthy and other countries relatively poor, in order to
implement policies and programs that lead to increase prosperity for everyone in all
countries. As well as business, some do prosper in a desired trend while others do not.
This lecture is about different economic setups of economies and their effect to business
management.

4.2 key Learning objectives

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
· Explain the benefits of business to community

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 · Explain the concept of free market
· Explain the trends of mixed economies
· Discuss different theories of trade and the impact to business development

4.3 Sub-topics
· Business and its importance to society
· Importance of free markets economies and their limitations
· Trends of mixed economies and the business
· Comparative and absolute advantages concepts

LECTURE FIVE: COMPETING IN THE GLOBAL MARKETS

5.1 Overview

In this lecture you will learn how competing in a global market require technology
development. The production of goods and services no longer recognizes political
boundaries and corporate task-based, nor geography-based. The flat world phenomenon
used to be perceived as a threat, but it is now being embraced as an opportunity.

5.2 Key Learning objectives

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
· Explain the global markets
· Discuss the importance of global markets
· Explain the involvement of global trade
· Explain the factors that affect global markets

5.3 Sub-topics
· Global markets
· Why global markets
· Export and imports of goods and services
· Factors affecting global business

LECTURE SIX: ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITIES

6.1 Overview
In this lecture you will learn how organization ethics begin at the top. Any trust and
cooperation between workers and managers should base on fairness, honesty, openness

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and morally integrity. The same can be said about relationship among businesses and
among nations.

6.2 Key Learning objectives

· Define ethics in organization set up
· Explain the importance of ethics
· Describe the role of management in setting ethical standards
· Describe corporate social responsibility
· Evaluate corporate responsibility to various stakeholders

6.2 Sub- Topics

· Definition of ethics
· Ethics and its importance
· Ethical standards for business undertaking
· Social responsibility and the business
· Corporate responsibility to various stakeholders

LECTURE SEVEN: EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES TO SATISFY CUSTOMERS

7.1 Overview
In this lecture you will learn how Managers are supposed to practice the art of getting
things done through other organization resources, employees being the key. At one time
managers used to be called bosses, and their job consisted of telling people what to do
and inspecting over them to be sure they did. Today management is becoming more
progressive, the managers do prepare human resources as a key resource for achieving
organization goals/objectives.

7.2 Key learning objectives

· Explain how the changes that are occurring in the business environment
affects management
· Describe the functions of management
· Explain the planning process and relate with customer satisfaction
· Discuss the motivators of employees towards performance
· Describe the leadership styles
· Explain how job can be designed to satisfy customers

7.3 Sub-topics
· Managerial challenges and the environment
· Functions of management
· Planning- creating a vision based on value
· Employee motivation and customer satisfaction
· Leadership styles
· Job design

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 LECTURE EIGHT: BUSINESS POLICY & STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
PROCESS

8.1 Overview
Business Policy focuses on the efficient utilization of resources of the corporate assets
and emphasizes the formulation of guidelines that help in accomplishment of firm’s
mission and objective. Strategic management is a set of managerial decisions and actions
that determine the short and long run performance of an organization. This lecture
introduces you on internal and external environment of an organization including
formulation, implementation, strategies evaluation and control.

8.2 Lecture objectives

At the end of the lecture, you should be able to:
· Define Policy and strategic management.
· Describe the strategic management process.
· Show the internal and external analysis of an organization.
· Understand the terms used in strategic management process.

8.2.1Sub topics
· Meaning of Business Policy and strategic management
· Strategic management process
· Environmental scanning and the tools used
· Formulation of Strategies
· Implementation of Strategies
· Evaluation and control of Strategies

LECTURE NINE: ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SCANNING

9.1 Overview
Organizations do not operate in vacuum; they are part of dynamic environments which
management must continually be aware of. The external environment focuses on the
factors outside the organization which have influence on the operation of the
organization. The internal environment consists of in-depth understanding of factors that
are within the organization.

9.2 Lecture Objectives

After completion of the lecture, you should be able to:
· Describe the elements of business environment.
· Explain the importance of analyzing the element of business environment.
· Explain the tools used to analyze the environment

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 · Explain the factors that are considered in environmental scanning

9.2 Sub topics

· External environment of an organization
· Internal environment of an organization
· Tools used to analyze the environment
· Environmental factors for an organization

LECTURE TEN: FORMULATION OF STRATEGIC DIRECTION OF AN

ORGANISATION

10.1 Overview
There is a saying that, if you do not know where you are going, any road can take you.
The business must have a written statement to show the direction where they want to go.
Knowing where the company is going a vision and mission statement must be
developed and shared by all stakeholders.

10.2 Key learning objectives

· Develop vision and strategic mission
· Develop organization philosophy
· Develop organization policies and strategic objectives
· Discuss the organization strategies

10.3 Sub-topics
· Vision and mission
· Organization philosophy
· Policies and strategic objectives
· Strategies of an organization

LECTURE ELEVEN: CREATING EFFECTIVE ORGANISATION DESIGN

11.1 Overview

The wrong organisation structure will hinder the success of the business. Organisational
structures aim at maximizing organisation efficiency. An effective organisational
structure will facilitate working relationships between various sections of the
organisation. It will retain order and command whilst promoting flexibility and creativity.
The set organizational structure may not coincide with facts, evolving in operational
action. Such divergence decreases performance, when growing. E.g. a wrong
organizational structure may hamper cooperation and thus hinder the completion of
orders in due time and within limits of resources and budgets. Organizational structures
shall be adaptive to process requirements, aiming to optimize the ratio of effort and input
to output.

11.2 Key learning objectives

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 · Explain what is organization structure
· Explain different organization structures
· Explain different hierarchy organization structures
· Discuss the importance of organization structures
11.3 Sub-topics
· Organization structure
· Organization hierarchy of structures
· Structure designs
· Advantages and disadvantages of traditional organization structure

LECTURE TWELVE: ORGANISATION STRATEGIES

12.1 Overview
In this lecture you will learn how strategic objectives of an organization are prepared; the
next step is to determine the organization strategies. There are four levels of strategies to
be developed and monitored by an organization management.

12.2 Key learning objectives

· Explain the techniques for analyzing corporate strategy
· Explain the BCG Growth-Share Matrix
· Explain Business Portfolio Matrix
· Analyze the Business strategies
· Discuss the generic strategies
· Discuss the competitive strengths and the product life-cycle stages
· Explain the functional strategic analysis
· Examine the methods for choosing organization strategy

12.3 Sub-topics
· Corporate strategies
· BCG Growth share-Matrix
· Business portfolio analysis
· Generic Business strategies
· Competitive strength and product life-cycle
· Functional strategic analysis
· Choosing organizational strategies

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 LECTURE THIRTEEN: IMPLEMENTATION OF ORGANISATION
STRATEGIES

13.1 Overview
Strategic implementation is a crucial issue because any good strategy provides
organization efforts to move forward. Successful strategy implementation requires
support, discipline, motivation and hard work from all managers and employees. It
requires a suitable organization structure to translate ideas into concrete action plan.

13.2 Key learning objectives

· Explain the value of effective strategic control
· Discuss the imperative for contemporary control systems
· Explain the key participants to corporate governance
· Explain the role of corporate governance mechanism in ensuring the interest of
managers are aligned to those of stakeholders

13.3 Sub topics

· Effective strategic control
· Importance of strategic control
· Participants to corporate governance
· Corporate governance, Managers and stakeholders in strategy control

LECTURE FOURTEEN: ANALYSING STRATEGIC ALTENATIVES

14.1 Overview
The process of strategic choice is essential in a decision making process. Decision
consists of setting objectives, generating alternatives, choosing one or more alternatives
that will help the organization achieve objectives. The final stage in the process is the
implementation of strategies. To make choice from among alternatives a decision maker
has to set certain criteria on which to accept or reject.

14.2 Key learning objective

· Explain the steps in the choice of the alternatives
· Analyze the situation to determine when to diversify
· Explain factors that signal a company to diversify
· Explain justification for diversification
· Explain the entry strategies for a firm
· Identify diversification strategies

14.3 Sub topics

· Choice of alternatives
· Factors for diversification
· Strategies for entering new business
· Joint venture strategies

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 · Choosing the diversification path
· Merits of related and unrelated diversification

LECTURE FIFTEEN: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS

15.1 Overview
In today’s complex business organizations, you will encounter people from many
backgrounds, whose life experiences are different. The context in which you
communicate is also likely to be fairly complex and unfamiliar. You will not only need
an open mind, understanding of the broad principles of communication, a flexible set of
practical tools and some experience in applying them in different situations. The main
aim of this course is to enable you acquire knowledge, develop skills and changed
attitude in communicating in Business organizations.

15.2 Key learning Objectives

By the end of this course you should be able to:-
· Develop and use skills of arguing persuasively in communication.
· Distinguish the relationship between organizations, inter-organizational network
and today’s communication process.
· Explain the impact of poor communication in business
· Discuss the communication barriers and how to overcome them

15.3 Sub topics

· Simple model of communication process
· Key dimensions of organizational communication
· Different perspectives on communication
· Challenges of communication in organization
· Communication Barriers and how to overcome them

LECTURE SIXTEEN: BUSINESS INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

16.1 Overview

Internal communications is a generic expression for all communication (formal and

informal) that an organization undertakes with its close stakeholders. The main purpose
of formal internal communications is to inform employees or members of the direction
and performance of the organization to which they belong.

16.2 Key learning objectives

· Explain the methods used in internal communication
· Discuss the internal communication strategies
· Discuss the internal communication channels
· Explain the audiences of internal communication

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16.3 sub-topics
· Internal communication methods
· Internal communication strategies
· Internal communication channels
· Audience to internal communication

LECTURE SEVENTEEN: PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION

17.1Overview
Sales as a tool to support of communication can enhance their success by improving
persuasive communication skills. Sometimes we fall into the habit of saying things the
same way we have said them for years. By doing so, we often miss opportunities to be
more persuasive. Without realizing it, we may even put another person on the defensive
or create a negative image of our business.

17.2 Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course you should be able to:-
· Explain the importance of advertisement in communication
· Explain the process of communication
· Discuss the promotion mix
· Examine the future trends of communication

17.3 Sub topics

· Public Communication process in business
· Media relations and press releases
· Trade fairs, exhibitions and events
· Promotion mix as communication firm’s products
· Reports, meetings, circular and sales letters, advertisements
and Leaflets

LECTURE EIGHTEEN: DECISION MAKING - MANAGING INFORMATION

18.1 Overview
Businesses now operate in a rapidly evolving market and have become increasingly
dependent on Information systems (IS) and the deployment of Business Information
Technology to support them. In order to be effective, organizations have realized the
importance of developing an IT strategy that fully supports the business strategy. It is
difficult to think of a situation where businesses can do without technology and
computers today. It is extremely difficult to say whether businesses depend on computers
or computers created business opportunities.

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18.2 Key learning objectives
· Outline the changing role of information technology
· Explain how information technology can support business
· Discuss the use of internet as compared to intranet as a tool of business success
· Discuss the ways that IT can support in data collection
· Explaining the importance of using computers in business

18.2 Sub-topics
· Role of information technology in business today
· IT as competitive advantage tool
· Internet and intranet
· Research and the IT
· Importance of computer in business

LECTURE NINETEEN: GENDER ISSUES IN BUSINESS

19.1 Overview
The term gender and the economy have been in debate for long time. Gender and
activities constituting the economy of any business society, the position of women under
each structure of the economy, the economic policies on Gender, Gender planning and
Business Development will be considered in this lecture. In this lecture, furthermore, you
will learn Gender and Structural Adjustment Policies and the Globalization.

19.2 Key Learning Objectives:

After completing this lecture you should be able to:
· Explain the composition of the three levels of the economy.
· Explore and understand the Economic Policies on Gender in Tanzania whether
they are creating Gender Balance or not.
· Explain Gender Planning and Economic Development.
· Understand Gender and Structural adjustment Policies and Globalization.

19.3 Subtopics:
Analysis of the levels of the structure of the economy in relation to gender:
· The Micro level of the Economic Structure.
· The Macro level of the Economic Structure
· Analysis of the Activities constituting the economy in relation to gender
· Economic Policies on Gender in Tanzania
· Gender Planning and Business Development
· Gender and Structural Adjustment Policies and Globalization

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 LECTURE TWENTY: THE IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS IN BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT

20.1 Overview
HIV/AIDS is a disease which until recent days has no cure or treatment, which affects the
workforce and business community. This lecture introduces to students the causes of
HIV/AIDS and its impacts on business and economy and how to combat the disease.

20.2 Lecture Objectives:

After completing this lecture you should be able to:
· Explain the causes and spread of HIV/AIDS
· Assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on business operation

20.3 Subtopics:
· Meaning of HIV/AIDS and its causes/spread.
· Impacts of HIV/AIDS on the Economy and Business.
· How to control the spread of HIV/AIDS.

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