PESTEL Analysis - Essay Example

According to Strydom (2004), the success of every organization is based on its ability to scan the environment in which it operates or intends to set business so as to ensure viability. PESTEL analysis is an acronym for political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors that can affect the operations of any business in a given environment. As such, The Spirit of Women Magazine should scan the environment in different countries for these factors before launching its online publication.

Political

Across the globe, there are different political regimes that govern their respective nations. As such some governments put censorship laws that are meant to control the quality of information that can be accessed from or disseminated through the internet. The company should establish these factors first before launching the publication in different countries. 

Economic

Accessibility to the Internet depends on the economic status of the country. Some countries are so poor such that resources are committed to other pressing issues. In such areas, spending money on women's issues may be seen as a luxury that may not be afforded by many people living under poor conditions.

Social

In some countries, issues related to gender particularly feminism are viewed as a threat to society since they can destabilize the moral fabric. Some societies are patriarchal hence the level of tolerance of issues related to feminism is low. Therefore, it is important for the company to establish these factors in each country it intends to set up a business.

Technological factors

Since this is a global online publication, it is important for the company to establish the level of infrastructure as well as telecommunication development in each country it intends to penetrate.   Internet connectivity varies from place to place across the globe. The distribution pattern is skewed in favor of the developed countries while the developing countries still lag behind in terms of telecommunications infrastructure since the internet is the major communication tool that would be used for all activities of the publication.

Environmental factors

To a lesser extent, environmental factors have little impact on purely online business.

Legal factors

In each country, there are laws that govern the operations of the Internet. Therefore, the organization in question should comply with these laws in order to operate viably in different countries.