Environmental scanning in different kinds of organisations. A comparative study of the environmental scanning in a local authority and a business company.

This master thesis deals with the differences in the design of the environmental scanning between different kinds of organisations, as well as the demands and regulations etc. in the respective environments that influence the environmental scanning. The content of the environmental scanning and the organisation of the function are outside the scope of this study. Two organisations that do not have an organised function but are scanning their environment were chosen for the investigation. A model for conducting the environmental scanning developed by Frankelius is used to analyse the practice of environmental scanning. Thus comparable material is acquired for the purpose of the study. The organisations in the study are: a local authority Marks municipality, and a company Berg Propulsion. The results of the study show that environmental demands influence the vision of the organisation, which in turn influences the environmental scanning. For the local authority this means that the obligations to the citizens and the state demand a long-time planning. Therefore the vision/goal/strategy remind a plan of handling. This influences the environmental scanning that has to meet the information needs for specific actions. The business company has a different kind of environment that demands quick actions and flexibility. Therefore their vision/goal/strategy reminds the way of conducting business, and the environmental scanning is more used for constant observation of different factors. Berg Propulsion exists in a quite stable business, which the managers know quite well. The source they use mostly is personal contacts, and they have a network of sources that they think work well. The choice of information sources of Marks municipality is related to finding information for the specific needs.Uppsatsnivå: