Related course: Organizational Design
             The External Environment is composed of two sectors, the task and general environments. The task environment includes sectors with which the organization interacts directly and that have a direct impact on the organization's ability to achieve its goals. Task environment sectors include the international, industry, raw materials, human resources, and market sectors. The general environment includes those sectors that might not have a direct impact on the daily operations of a firm but will indirectly influence it. General environment sectors include the financial resources, technology, economic conditions, government, and socio-cultural sectors.
             Airbus operates in an unstable, extremely complex environment. So, there is a high level of uncertainty. To discuss this uncertainty we first have to describe the environment. First, we will discuss the task environment. The first sector is the industry sector. Airbus has one major competitor, Boeing. Boeing has an advantage over Airbus in that it utilizes a massive, complex manufacturing process. Its assembly line system is second-to-none.
             Second is the raw materials sector. There are currently 500 suppliers of airplane parts and materials. However, there are only 3 main engine suppliers in the industry, GE, Pratt and Whitney, and Rolls Royce. Therefore, Airbus is highly dependent on these suppliers. More will be discussed about this dependence in the resource dependence part of this paper.
             Third, the market sector is comprised of the airlines and their consumers (passengers). Currently there are 8 airlines that have placed orders for the A380. Airbus must satisfy the needs of these airlines and the needs of the passengers. Market trends estimate the growing preference of non-stop service. Can the A380 handle non-stop service or is the trend leading to smaller aircrafts?
             Fourth, the human resource sector is a g...