Organizations do not exist in isolation. They interact with, and are affected by$,$ many different factors. When analyzing the climate in which an organization operates, it is helpful to understand how a particular element fits into the big picture.

The external environment consists of everything affecting an organization from the outside, which includes the general environment $($broad for affecting the overall context for conducting business$)$ and the task environment $($factors of specific interest to an organization$).$

An organization's internal environment relates to conditions, events, and factors affecting the organization from within.

For each example in the following table, choose whether it belongs in the general, task, or internal environment.

Example

Environment

The increasing number of elderly people in the United States, Japan, Italy, and Germany

For a public university, the pool of new PhD graduates seeking jobs as professors

One employee telling another, "It's just the way we do things around here$-$it's our organizational culture."

The introduction of tablet computers

High job$-$satisfaction ratings from current employees