Key Terms
Sociocultural
Generational values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, language, religion, education. Millennials (now the largest adult gene
Technological
Speed, price, service, and quality are now competitive advantages. No organization survives without Internet, social med
Economic
Exchange rates, wages, employment stats, inflation, recessions. Globalization has grown the world economy overall; but t
Government and Political
Trade policy, health care reform, immigration, international conflicts -- all increase uncertainty while creating opport
Natural Disasters and Human-Induced Problems
Hurricanes, rising CO2 emissions, water and food crises, biodiversity loss, large-scale migration. These are ranked high
Globalization
Development of an integrated global economy characterized by free trade, capital flows, communication, and access to che
Digital technologies and AI
59% of organizations were collecting data to develop AI strategies (as of this chapter's writing). AI automates value ch
Blockchain
An architecture allowing disparate users to make transactions and creating an unchangeable, time-stamped record of those
Sharing-economy models
Platforms that use information technology to connect buyers and sellers directly, removing middle-management layers. Cut
Shifts in learning credentials
Rising tuition and student debt are creating pressure on traditional higher education. Online platforms (Khan Academy, U
Advantages
Cost savings; faster customer response; access to diverse labor force across time zones; lower environmental impact (tel
Disadvantages
Unclear communication lines for assignments and deadlines; heavy dependence on technology; no central physical location
Two key characteristics
Clustering (degree of tightly knit groups) and path length (average distance between any two nodes in the network)
Input
Resources taken in from the environment (raw materials, information, students, etc.) Throughput: Internal processing and
Open systems
Sensitive and responsive to environmental changes; adaptive Closed systems: insensitive to external resources and possib