What is primarily assessed in environmental scanning?

Environmental scanning primarily focuses on assessing organizational and external environmental factors that could influence the organization's strategy and operations. This process involves collecting and analyzing information about trends, opportunities, threats, and factors outside the organization that may impact its performance.

By engaging in environmental scanning, leaders can identify changes in market conditions, competitive dynamics, regulatory environments, and social factors that may affect their organization. This understanding helps in strategic planning and decision-making, enabling organizations to adapt to changes and seize opportunities in their external environment.

The emphasis on external factors distinguishes environmental scanning from other assessments that might focus more on internal processes, employee performance, or resource allocation. Those elements, while important in their own right, do not capture the broader context in which an organization operates, making them less relevant to the specific purpose of environmental scanning.