Influences of the Environment on Woodright Industries

A. Influences of the Environment on Woodright Industries

1. Effects and possible future effects of all external environmental factors.

DIRECT - These are the parts of the environment that can directly affect the organisation from reaching its goals.

Public Pressure Groups - The first incidence from an environmentalist group in 1978 was when they blew up a bulldozer in protest of Woodright Industries logging native rimu. This had a direct affect on Woodright as it had to turn to logging Pinus and this necessitated the building of a tantalising plant which also incurred extra labour costs, this proved to be the beginning of the end for them with the extra financial burdens.

These types of pressures make for a more dynamic than stable environment.

Customers - Woodright Industries initially started out as a small saw milling business selling directly to local builders and handymen and prices were negotiated with a hand shake. These customers could directly affect the business with their fluctuating demands on product which will also have a direct affect on the price paid and makes the financial environment more dynamic than stable.

Suppliers - These can be providers of plant, office supplies or any of the home related products that Woodright Industries sold from there mill or at their Christchurch Branch and can have positive or adverse effects on the organisation with fluctuations in their ability to supply goods. For instance when their bulldozer was blown up, if their supplier was not able to provide one in a short time it would have a direct effect of holding up the logging process.

Under normal circumstance it is a relatively stable environment.

Competitors - They are of great consequence and can affect the pricing of product to be competitive in the market, and the improvement and diversity of products offered. Competitors must be monitored so the organisation can respond to stay ahead in the market. Woodright Industries did this by expanding its product line in the Christchurch branch which proved to be an advantage.

The more competitors a company has the more uncertainty there is in its environment and makes it more dynamic.

Shareholders - In the beginning Russell was the sole proprietor of Woodright Industries, it wasn't until 1956 when his wife and father in-law were nominated shareholders and Russell became the Managing Director. Shareholders are needed to generate funds for expansion and Russell's reluctance to do that cost Woodright Industries dearly. This shown when Malcolm said "We've got to go public and raise the capital to grow bigger" and Russell's reply was "Perhaps we will do that one day".

Shareholders provide a company with a share of capital this can be monitored and more shares made available if necessary and this makes for a more stable environment.

Government and local bodies - Woodright Industries were not too bogged down by government regulations, they paid the exact Award wages no more or no less than they had to. But these days government regulations can cost an organisation time and money. Consider the implications of Russell's behaviour when he sacked Simon without notice from Monday. These days the employment laws and regulations put limits on how what an employee can do.

Laws and regulations make a more stable environment.

INDIRECT - These are the parts of the environment that can have an indirect effect on the organisations goal.

Global - Woodright Industries was not initially affected by globalisation as this environment was quiet stable in 1951 when it only supplied to local builders. But as the years past it could have been affected by imported timbers causing competitive price wars.So its global environment was more stable at the beginning but could have become more dynamic later on.

Economic - Woodright Industries was in a fairly stable environment in the beginning as the global economy had more stability up to 1983. But indicated it had to cope with the downturn in business and the downturn in building, stimulated by the Roger Douglas deregulation and was glad it had diversified its product line to cushion that blow when the environment became more dynamic.

Political - This is about how government laws and policies can influence what an organisation can and can not do. Other than complying to the Award wage at the beginning, the government had little impact on its business. But later on, as new legislations and policies were introduced it would have had more impact on its resources of its time and money to comply with them and implement them.

Overall government policies make the environment more stable as it is predictable.

Social - This is how the changing expectations of society can influences organisations. Woodright Industries now Homecare could be expected to accommodate more flexible work hours or onsite childcare facilities for mothers or even on site facilities for worship if they had muslim employees for instance.

As sociocultural aspects change companies therefore managers need to be aware of ways to adapt and provide for those changes. Recognising this and acting accordingly will have little impact on a stable environment.

Technological - Woodright Industries now Homecare would be affect by the rapid changes in technology with faster and even computerised mills and also the technological advances in computer systems for orders and cost of inventory management. This affects the ways organisations are structured and managed.

Keeping up with technology will make the environment more stable.

2.The internal culture between 1951 and 1956 in Woodright Industries a small sawmilling company was strong.

It was an Informal Bureaucracy with unartrist culture headed by Russell Willerton, with a defined hierarchy, strict rules and had impersonal relationships with its employees.

Management was primarily focused on high productivity and high returns regardless of the impact on its employees.

The employees were expected to follow the rules at all times and never question management. Russell wanted the environment to be predictable.

Risk was not tolerated and in fact was be penalised by being fired.

Russell