SWOT ANALYSIS

Karishma Nair
Week 5
Session 2
SWOT ANALYSIS

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SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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SWOT ANALYSIS
 Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the company --
reputation, patents and location. You can change them
over time but not without some work.

 Opportunities and threats are external to the company --

suppliers, competitors and the economy. They are out
there in the market, occurring whether you like it or not.
You cannot change them.

 Existing organizations can use a SWOT analysis at any

time to assess a changing environment and respond
proactively. New organizations should also use a SWOT
analysis as part of their planning process.
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STRENGTHS (internal, positive
factors)
 Strengths describe the positive attributes, tangible and
intangible, internal to your organization. They are entirely
within your control.

 What do you do well as an organization?

 Which internal resources do you possess? Think about the

following: Positive attributes of your staff, such as
knowledge, expertise, education, credentials, networks,
reputation, or skills.

 What advantages do you have over your competition?

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STRENGTHS
 A strength could be:

 Your specialist technical expertise.

 A new, innovative product or service.
 Location of your organization.
 Quality processes and procedures.
 Any other aspect of your organization that adds value to
your product or service.

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STRENGTHS

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WEAKNESS (internal, negative
factors)

Weaknesses are aspects of your business that

detract from the value you offer or place you at a
competitive disadvantage

Which factors that are within your control detract

from your ability to obtain or maintain a competitive
edge?

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WEAKNESS

A weakness could be:

Lack of technical expertise.

Undifferentiated products or services
(i.e. in relation to your competitors).
Location of your organization.
Poor quality goods or services.
Damaged reputation.

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WEAKNESS

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OPPORTUNITIES (external, positive
factors)
Opportunities are external, attractive factors that
represent reasons your business is likely to prosper in the
future.

Which opportunities exist in your market that you can benefit from?

Is the perception of your organization amongst the public positive?

Has there been recent market growth or have there been other
changes in the market that create an opportunity?

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OPPORTUNITY (external, positive
factors)

An opportunity could be:

A developing market such as the Internet.

Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances.
Moving into new market segments that offer improved
profits.
A new international market.
A market vacated by an ineffective competitor.

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OPPORTUNITIES

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Threats (external, negative factors)
Threats include external factors beyond your control
that could place your strategy, or the organization
itself, at risk. You have no control over these
factors, but you may benefit by having contingency
plans to address them if they should occur.

Who are your existing or potential competitors?

Which factors beyond your control could place your organization at

risk?

What about shifts in consumer behavior, the economy, or

government regulations that could threaten you

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Threats (external, negative factors)

A threat could be:

A new competitor in your home market.

Funding wars with competitors.
A competitor has a new, innovative product or service.
Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution.

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THREATS

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SIMPLE RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL
SWOT ANALYSIS
Be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of your organization when conducting
SWOT analysis.

SWOT analysis should distinguish between where your organization is today, and where it
could be in the future.

SWOT should always be specific. Avoid grey areas.

Always apply SWOT in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your
competition.

Keep your SWOT short and simple.

Avoid complexity and over analysis.

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CONCEPT OF SYNERGY
 The concept of synergy recognizes that in the organizational context, the
combined effect of certain parts is greater than the sum of their
individual effects.

 For instance, if produced separately, the contribution of product A may be

x and product B's contribution may be y. The concept of synergy, implies
that if produced jointly, their contribution may be x + y + z instead of x +
y alone.

 This extra contribution i.e. 'z' is called the synergistic effect of A and B
together.

 Thus 'z' represents positive synergy.

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NEXT WEEK
CLASS QUIZ 2

REFLECTION ESSAY 1 (Online)

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