Organisational Audit

Conduct an environmental and organisational audit for the company by applying:

PESTEL (BPP Learning Media (Firm), 2010, Page 24-25)

Define PESTEL

Organisations do not exist in isolation; they depend on the environment in which they exist, from which the draw materials and customers, and to which they supply goods and services.

Good knowledge of the external environment can help to improve planning. Analysis of the external environment, and the trends which lead to changes in it, can identify threats and opportunities more quickly, decrease the likelihood of major surprises and shorten the firm’s reaction time to events.

The external environment can be spilt into three elements, although these are often interrelated in practice.

• The physical environment

• The social environment

• The competitive environment

The physical and social environment can be further divided into PESTEL factors.

• Political

• Economic

• Socio-cultural

• Technological

• Environment/ecological

• Legal

Politics affects organisations in several ways: changes in political control can influence public priorities and funding arrangements. Organisations operate within a broad framework of laws which are set by Parliament, and therefore depend upon political considerations.

Criminal law will also affect an organisation. Examples of offences may include insider dealing, theft or even corporate manslaughter.

Of increasing importance