Question

describe the general environment's segments : demographic, economic, political/legal, sociocultural, technological, global, and physical

Answer 1

The general environment comprises different segments that are described as follows:

The first segment is the demographic environment that shows the age, education, family size and other characteristics of the population in a particular geographical area or country. It helps the firms to understand the audience and make suitable segmentation of the population.
The second segment is the economic environment that measures the economic activities, inflation, employment status and purchasing power of the population. A sound economic status of the country, creates an attractive proposition to the firms.
The third segment is political/legal that deals with the regulatory framework, law and order scenario and political stability in the region. A sound law & order and regulations are important to promote the private property rights and give protections to the IP rights and Patent rights. It encourages innovators also.
The fourth segment is socio-cultural environment that reflects the social practices, trend social value, cultural values and belief system. It causes the firms to make necessary modifications to the products before it is offered to the consumers.
The fifth segment is the technological environment that shows the use of technology and advancement in the economic activities. It gives an idea to the firms regarding the suitable technologies to be used in a particular market.
Global segment deals with the regional trade associations among the countries, exchange rate fluctuations and global economic issues that affect the firm is related countries. So, analysis of global environment is important to understand the global events in one particular economy.
The physical segment refers to the existing trade practices, norms and potential changes in the business practices in the wake of changing business environment. It will help the company to proactively act and adapt to the new and better practices.