The advancements in information and communication technologies enabled  employees work as members of virtual project teams that are networked  globally. Doing business in real time may create instances for cultural blunders  and misunderstandings. On the other hand, a global organization means managing diversity, which is increasingly seen as an asset for organizations.

Managers today need to be fully aware of the current and profound changes; moreover they need to be equipped with hard and soft skills and competencies for effectively managing complex business organizations.

Business environments can be divided into two broad categories: external environment and internal environment.

External environment affects organizations indirectly while the internal environment has a direct impact.

The general environment includes those factors that might not have a direct impact on the daily operations of a firm but will  indirectly influence it. The general environment includes political, sociocultural, economic conditions, global  and technological environments. These factors eventually affect all businesses.

The economy influences directly all the sectors and suppliers, producers of goods and services, wholesalers and retailers, nongovernmental organizations operating in those sectors, people, and even the government.

The sociocultural component is concerned with societal and cultural factors such as  values, attitudes, trends, traditions, lifestyles, beliefs, tastes, and patterns of behavior.

Global factors are outcomes of changes in international relationships, changes in a nation’s economic, political, and legal systems, and changes in technology.

The task environment is the set of forces and conditions that originate with suppliers, distributors, customers, and competitors; these forces and conditions affect an organization’s ability to obtain inputs and produce outputs.

Customers are the individuals or groups who buy the goods and services that a business produces. Customers can be not only individuals but also business organizations or non-government organizations, or institutions. They can consume the products and services by themselves or resell them.

The internal environment includes leadership and management styles, organizational culture, human resources, organizational structures, business assets, financial strength, and operational and managerial processes. These are environmental factors that directly affect and shape the managerial decisions and operations in organizations as well as business entities.

Organizational culture is described as the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act.

Organizations with employees who subconsciously know the shared assumption; consciously know the values and beliefs; and behave as expected are called strong cultures.

Assumptions are accepted as they are without questioning; they reflect the beliefs concerning human nature and reality. The middle layer includes values, which are principles, standards, and goals. On the surface are artifacts that anyone can easily observe.

Utilitarianism is an ethical philosophy in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in the society is considered the greatest good.

Managerial ethics emphasizes the crucial necessity for ethical approach in management practices starting with the decision-making process.  It refers to the responsibility of managers as suppliers of ethical values to all stakeholders including employees, customers, shareholders, and the society.

The chief ethics officer’s function in a company is to ensure the integration of organizational ethics and values into daily decisions. They are expected to be objective; understand the structure of the organization that they work for; communicate clearly and concisely; deal with conflict; and keep silence about confidential matters.

Ethics training programs reinforce the idea that ethical and socially responsible behavior is both morally right and good for business. The company’s code of ethics is usually incorporated into the training. Knowledge of relevant legislation, such as antidiscrimination laws, is essential. A recent approach is to address ethics issues through e-learning, videos, and small-group discussion led by managers.

Many people believe that businesses have an obligation to care about outside groups affected by an organization. Corporate social responsibility is the idea that firms have obligations to society beyond their economic obligations to owners or stockholders and beyond those prescribed by law or contract. Corporate social performance is the extent to which a firm answers to the demands of its stakeholders to behave in a socially responsible way. After stakeholders have been satisfied with the returns, they may turn their attention to the behavior of the corporation as a good citizen in the community.

Carroll proposes that the managers of business organizations have four responsibilities: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic.

1. Economic responsibilities: Producing goods and services of value to society so that a firm may repay its creditors and shareholders.

2. Legal responsibilities: The laws and regulations that are enacted by governments to which businesses are expected to conform.

3. Ethical responsibilities: They are general beliefs about right/accepted and wrong/unaccepted behaviors in a society.  

4. Philanthropic responsibilities: They are voluntary obligations a business firm assumes. Among them are contributions, training the unemployed, and providing day-care centers. 

A sustainable organization has the ability to meet its present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. In building a sustainable organization, management should strive to make the organization sustainable in three areas: the economy, the environment, and society.