Do you ever wonder when you need to assess your market and industry and where to start? Along with Mike Thompson, co-author of the Business Diagnostics book, I recorded a series of short videos explaining the key elements of our Business Diagnostics Framework.
The following is a transcript of my video outlining the elements of a political and legal trends to be aware of when scanning the business environment you operate in. This is part of the Business Diagnostics Framework. Scroll down to find the video in this post. The rest of the YouTube videos can be found here.
How Politics and Laws Affect your Business
I’m going over the political and legal factors that you need to consider in your ‘PEST-C’ external scan which is part of the Business Diagnostics Framework.
One of the elements that we look at are political and legal elements. This is the political sphere that you’re operating in, and you’re going to want to take a good hard look at this along with the ‘PEST-C’ model so that you can understand what can potentially affect you as operate in your business.
How can pending regulations affect you?
The first thing to remember is whatever industry you operate in, governments have legal and regulatory control and can essentially control or have a major impact on your business. If you are operating in a highly regulated industry or one with pending regulatory changes, this is part of the external scan that is particularly important for you.
What effect will the election cycle have?
You also want to keep in mind the political cycles. Is there an election looming? Did you just have an election? Or is there any reasons for governments to make changes? These are all things you may want to keep your eye on.
What government trends affect business?
It is important to take a look at trends with governments worldwide. For example, there is a trend toward electronic record keeping for hours of service for commercial drivers. Is there a safety issue within your industry that you have to be aware of and get on top of? Or is it something you want to proactively be in front of, instead of waiting to be regulated? Another thing to note is whether there are influences from other governments, quasi governmental or non-governmental bodies. There are lots of things happening in the world that influences what happens in our regime, so you want to make sure you are aware of these influences and how they might influence your government to change regulation.
What government programs and assistance are available?
Finally, governments can regulate us but there may be cases where governments may also offer you assistance with grants, programs or information (which) can truly be a tremendous resource. As long as you are aware of any possible strings attached and how much time it will take to take advantage of of the government programs.
In conclusion the political environment that you operate in can have a profound effect on your business. Make sure you understand how political and legal factors can affect you.
Get your copy of the Business Diagnostics text now!
Leave a Reply