PESTLE Analysis the Faculty of Computer Science

PESTLE Analysis The Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering faces a complex external environment. The PESTLE analysis can help explain the external environment by analyzing the different political, economic, social, technological, legal and ecological factors that comprise the external environment (QuickMBA, 2010). By analyzing the external environment, an organization can better understand the role it plays in the community and can set better strategy to meet its objectives.

Many of the factors in the external environment have a direct impact on the Faculty's mandate and its ability to carry out that mandate. Political factors include tax policy, employment laws, trade restrictions and political stability (Ibid). For state-funded universities, political factors can affect the level of funding and even the school's mandate, which in turn will affect each of the different departments. A mandate to increase the number of computer science and engineering graduates could result in more funding, but funding could be decreased during a budget crunch.

The current environment is oriented towards the latter. Although the precise implications are unknown at present, the risk of funding reductions is one that the department will have to take into consideration with its planning. The economic environment can also impact on the faculty. Economic factors typically include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation. For the faculty, the most important economic factor is probably the unemployment rate. During challenging economic times, where there is slow growth and high unemployment, the number of applicants to universities tends to increase.

This puts pressure on departments, particularly ones that are oriented towards vocational studies, and this includes computer science and engineering (Donaldson, 2010). Social factors include health consciousness, demographic changes, attitudes towards careers and other trends (QuickMBA, 2010). Certainly the recession has focused more people towards career re-training, especially in fields where demand is expected to be strong. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2009) emphasizes that demand for computer professionals will increase between 13-53% depending on the job type between now and 2018.

In addition, today's students have grown up with computers, and are therefore more oriented towards studying computers and having a greater understanding of the subject matter. Technological innovation is a prime driver of demand for the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering. It is also a prime cost factor as well, as the faculty must make constant investments to ensure that the education being delivered is a modern one, relevant to the students.

The technological environment will also dictate the course offerings of the Faculty, and can also contribute to human resources decisions, as the Faculty must have instructors capable of meeting the needs of the curriculum. The legal environment is not one of the more significant elements of the external environment for the Faculty.

There are only a handful of laws that govern the operations of a university department and in the normal course of department business it would not be expected that legal issues would play a significant role, especially not in strategic decision-making. Likewise, the ecological environment is not especially relevant to the discussion of the faculty. The biggest issues are probably to do with the recycling of computer paper or computers.

There may be some opportunity to teach environmental engineering courses, however, adding some greenness to the curriculum on the engineering side, but the total impact of ecological issues in going to be relatively small. Overall, the technological, social and political environments are likely to be the most significant for the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering.

The strategic decisions that the Faculty must make with respect to investment, human resources and curriculum are directly related to the demand for classes, the types of classes demand and the funding levels that are provided by government are all among the most important decisions that the Faculty must make. The Faculty must also consider its role in the community. The Faculty provides education to.