Welcome to the course

A warm welcome to this course which explores company cultures and responses to environmental challenges.

Please watch the video above, in which we encounter four organisations: AGN Corp, Mechanical Solutions, Coffee Corner and Spotlight, and explore the environments in which they operate. The video mentions two frameworks – SWOT and PESTLE (also known as PESTEL) – that are used to analyse their operating environments. We will look at these frameworks in greater detail next week.

This week, you will analyse the micro and macroenvironmental factors that affect organisations. In particular, you will:

• Consider the importance of organisational culture
• Compare the internal and external environment

Meet the team

Your lead educator is Claire Garrick, business course leader at Coventry University, Scarborough.

You can follow Claire by selecting the link to her FutureLearn profile page and selecting ‘follow’. That way, you’ll be able to see all the comments that she makes.

Your task

Pick one company featured in the video and think about how you would handle and approach the prospect of any external threats facing it. With whom should this responsibility sit, and how could that person monitor the environment?

Share your thoughts in the comments area.