It seems to be impossible to survive in a modern business without performing a deep analysis of company position in internal and external environment, strengths and weaknesses, a number of factors that are said to have either direct or indirect influence on business performance. It is impossible to run business with your eyes closed without being aware where you’ll be in the near future. Of course, it is impossible to envision all problems and challenges that business owners, shareholders and top managers may face. However, it is quite possible to evaluate company position and to present time and thus make forecasts as to possible problems that the company will face in future. Solving problems before they occurred is a part of strategic planning to which is impossible without performing thorough analysis. There are various analysis types that are used for different purposes. Some of them evaluate current performance in order to a few immediate goals while others work in the long term. In this article will talk about analysis that covers most important aspects and environments any company is operating in. STEEPLED analysis is an extended version of PEST and PESTEL analysis types that a quite popular throughout various industries. Now let’s analyze STEEPLED analysis and give a brief characteristic of its each element.
STEEPLED is abbreviation for Social, Technological, Education, Ethnic, Political, Legal, Economic and Demographic factors. As already said above, this is an extended modal of PEST and PESTEL analysis, and thus, it covers more factors, consequently offering top managers and business owners and more complete information. What do these factors mean?
Social factor is focused on following social trends and tendencies, as well as attitudes and contact patterns. Every business is an inseparable part of the society and thus it should function according to social rules and norms. Companies should take advantage of social trends to make profits. Technological factor perhaps requires no explanation. It is evident that in order to achieve success in any business and industry it is imperative to make an effective use of the latest technologies and innovation. The recent success of world famous IT companies is a vivid example. Education factor covers all training and coaching issues. It means that company personnel should be constantly developing and improving knowledge and skills. Company top managers and owners must understand that qualified and loyal personnel is the most valuable capital they have. Ethnic factors are extremely important in multinational societies. It also plays a great role in human resource management were discrimination must be avoided. As to political factor when she did meet that politics plays a great role in social live and influences economic performance of the country. That’s why it is imperative to keep track of political developments and events in order to forecast possible economic changes. Economic factor is probably the most important and substantial since every business operates in a certain economy. Weak economies do not offer great opportunities for business growth. Finally, demographics factor is to be properly evaluated when launching a product or a service in a new market. Population density, average age and social background matter a lot for businesses looking to sell products and services.
