The Ins and Outs

With new ideas and new standards comes the reasons why we can or cannot get them done. An internal constraint is something that happens within the group dynamic or function that keeps you from performing at the level needed for success. An external constraint is something outside of the groups control that hinders success or creates a challenge. They are both challenges a group faces, but one is created or is a result of the group itself, and the other not. An example might be; my company wants to increase the number of enrollments this year. An internal constraints would be the space we have in the building, the number of teachers we have to take on more students, the credentials of each teacher to take on more classes, the budget we have for hiring and the ratings we get from alumni. External constraints would be the number of competitive schools in the area, the economic demand for the graduates in our industry, the max salary that our graduates make in the US, the federal funding limits given by the government, the rates of the other schools in the area. They are all challenges, but they are not all ones that we can do anything about. We work with what we have and hope that the external constraints are in our favor when new ideas and challenges arise.