What is environmental scanning and how does it contribute to the strategic planning process?

Environmental scanning is a phase in the strategic management creation where the corporation conducts a scan of the external and internal environments. Environmental scanning provides a flash scan of the internal environment (i.e. organizational structure, culture, etc.) and the external environment (i.e. competition, globalization, etc.). An environmental scan provides a report letting the management know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the internal and external environment. All organizations conduct environmental scans to create a strategic plan, and a corporation must continuously conduct scans so the strategy can be constantly updated to match the situation internally...