Final answer:
Environmental scanning is a systematic assessment of the external environment to prepare for a range of alternative futures for an organization, helping to anticipate threats and opportunities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The systematic assessment of the external environment to prepare for a possible range of alternative futures for an organization is known as environmental scanning. This approach involves the gathering and interpretation of information about forces, events, and relationships in the external environment that may affect the future of the organization or the implementation of a marketing plan.
Environmental scanning helps organizations to anticipate potential threats and opportunities, providing them with a strategic advantage. It allows for scenario building, where various futures are envisioned, and contingency planning, which prepares the organization for those possible outcomes.
Scenario building refers to the systematic assessment of the external environment to prepare for a possible range of alternative futures for the organization. It involves using current knowledge to forecast the likely consequences if ongoing landscape change occurs and developing scenarios as a means to consider alternative future options.
For example, in the context of environmental planning, scenario building can help consider the effects of dynamic threats such as climate change and prioritize conservation actions among sites.