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SWOT Analysis (Strategy)

SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

SWOT analysis is an important tool for auditing the overall strategic position of a business and its environment.

Once key strategic issues have been identified, they feed into business objectives, particularly marketing objectives. SWOT analysis can be used in conjunction with other tools for audit and analysis, such as PEST analysis and Porter's Five-Forces analysis. It is also a very popular tool with business and marketing students because it is quick and easy to learn.


The Key Distinction - Internal and External Issues

Strengths and weaknesses are Internal factors. For example, a strength could be your specialist marketing expertise. A weakness could be the lack of a new product.

Opportunities and threats are external factors. For example, an opportunity could be a developing distribution channel such as the Internet, or changing consumer lifestyles that potentially increase demand for a company's products. A threat could be a new competitor in an important existing market or a technological change that makes existing products potentially obsolete.

it is worth pointing out that SWOT analysis can be very subjective - two people rarely come-up with the same version of a SWOT analysis even when given the same information about the same business and its environment. Accordingly, SWOT analysis is best used as a guide and not a prescription. Adding and weighting criteria to each factor increases the validity of the analysis.


Areas to Consider

Some of the key areas to consider when identifying and evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are listed in the example SWOT analysis below:

SWOT Analysis – 4 Steps

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research.

        * Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving the objective.
        * Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving the objective.
        * Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective.
        * Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the objective.

Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.

The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development.

 SWOT analysis is a tool for planning, especially strategic planning. It is used for assessing Strengths and Weaknesses as the internal elements of the business, Opportunities and Threats as external elements of the business. SWOT analysis has a wide range of usefulness especially using particular information obtained after such an analysis. However, often SWOT analysis begins and ends with the SWOT matrix (quadrant in which fields are listed the elements of SWOT). In this way, we cannot achieve the full benefits of this analysis. In the following graphic is presented a full diagram of the SWOT analysis which begins with the scanning of internal and external environment of business.

Step 1: Scanning External and Internal Environment

One thing that is obvious for each business is that they have external and internal Environment. SWOT analysis begins by evaluating the current situation in respect of the internal and external environment of the business. This evaluation of the current situation will lead to identification of internal and external factors that affecting business. The internal factors can be strengths, but can also be some type of weaknesses of the business, while external factors can be opportunities or threats to the business. In this section, it is necessary to identify all factors and rang them according to importance of business for which is performed the analysis.

The questions that must be answered here are:

   1. What are Legal factors that influence my business?
   2. What are Ecological factors that influence my business?
   3. What are Political factors that influence my business?
   4. What are Economic factors that influence my business?
   5. What are Social factors that influence my business?
   6. What are Technological factors that influence my business?
   7. What are Competitive factors that influence my business?
   8. What are managerial factors of my business?
   9. What are strategically factors of my business?
  10. What are structural factors of my business?
  11. What are goals of my business?
  12. What are operational factors of my business?
  13. What are technological factors of my business?
  14. What are cultural factors of my business?
  15. What politics was implemented in my business?
  16. What are leadership factors of my business?

As you can see through answering this 16 question we can identify the most crucial factors from the external and internal environment of a business. First seven questions are about the external environment using LE PEST C acronym whilst next 9 questions are about the internal environment (formal and informal subsystem of a business). Formal subsystem questions are questions from 8 to 13 whilst informal subsystem questions are questions from 14 to 16.

Step 2: Internal and External Analysis

In this step, we analyze internal and external environmental factors that influence our business. The purpose is to determine whether an internal factor is strength or weakness of our business and whether an external factor is opportunity or threat for our business.

The questions that must be answered here are:

   1. Which Legal factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   2. Which Ecological factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   3. Which Political factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   4. Which Economic factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   5. Which Social factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   6. Which Technological factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   7. Which Competitive factors are our Opportunities and, Which are our Threats?
   8. Which Managerial factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
   9. Which Strategically factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  10. Which Structural factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  11. Which Goals are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  12. Which Operational factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  13. Which Technological factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  14. Which Cultural factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  15. Which Politics are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?
  16. Which Leadership factors are our Strengths and, Which are our Weakness?

Step 3: Constructing SWOT Matrix

Until now we have already listed influential factors from inside and outside our business and classified them as strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Now we can make SWOT matrix. SWOT matrix is a simple quadrant constructed from SWOT acronyms and in each quadrant is noted each factor. This is an excellent graphic presentation of what is good and bad in business, and what we can expect as an opportunity or threat..

Step 4: Defining Strategies

What’s next? Whether this is sufficient to complete the SWOT analysis? Any analysis must give us future directions for treatment. If we stop here we can not say that we made a successful analysis. Therefore, for each combination of quadrants in the matrix we must determine strategies. From the SWOT matrix, we can extract 4 strategies:

    * S-O Strategies (Strength-Opportunities Strategies). These strategies should take advantage of opportunities that fit the strengths of the business.
    * W-O Strategies (Weaknesses-Opportunities strategies). These strategies should enable it to overcome the weaknesses of the business while we utilize the opportunities.
    * S-T Strategies (Strength-Threat Strategies). These strategies should allow the use of strength sides, while eliminate or reduce the threats from the environment.
    * W-T Strategies (Weaknesses-Threats Strategies). These strategies should allow the elimination of weaknesses and preventing external threats to reach exact those weaknesses of the business.

The questions that must be answered here are:

   1. What are my S-O Strategies?
   2. What are my W-O Strategies?
   3. What are my S-T Strategies?
   4. What era my W-T Strategies?

SWOT analysis that gives us results in the form of strategies for dealing with the current situation and prepare for the future and which covers both internal and external factors is a good defense mechanism for each business.

SWOT ANALYSIS | TOWS ANALYSIS | A Note on Marketing Planning

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a popular framework for developing a marketing strategy. A Google search for “SWOT” and “planning” turned up almost 93,000 hits (August 2004), most all of which laud the use of SWOT Analysis. Some students have said that it is the most important thing they learned at the Wharton School.

Although SWOT is promoted as a useful technique in numerous marketing texts, it is not universally praised: One expert said that he preferred to think of SWOT as a “Significant Waste of Time.”

The problem with SWOT is more serious than just wasting time. Because it mixes idea generation with evaluation, it is likely to reduce the range of strategies that are considered. In addition, people who use SWOT might conclude that they have done an adequate job of planning and ignore such sensible things as defining the firm's objectives or calculating ROI for alternate strategies. I have observed this when business school students use SWOT on cases.

What does the evidence say? Perhaps the most notable indication is that I have been unable to find any evidence to support the use of SWOT.

Two studies have examined SWOT. Menon et al. (1999) asked 212 managers from Fortune 1000 companies about recent marketing strategies implemented in their firms. The findings showed that SWOT harmed performance. When Hill and Westbrook (1997) examined the use of SWOT by 20 companies in the UK in 1993-94, they concluded that the process was so flawed that it was time for a “product recall.”

One advocate of SWOT asked: if not SWOT, then what? Borrowing from corporate strategic planning literature, a better option for planners is to follow a formal written process to:

(1) set objectives, (2) generate alternative strategies, (3) evaluate alternative strategies, (4) monitor results, and (5) gain commitment among the stakeholders during each step of this process.

I describe this 5-step procedure in Armstrong (1982). Evidence on the value of this planning process, obtained from 28 validation studies (summarized in Armstrong 1990), showed that it led to better corporate performance:

20 studies found higher performance with formal planning, 5 found no difference, and 3 found formal planning to be detrimental.

This support was obtained even though the formal planning in the studies typically used only some of the steps, the steps were often poorly implemented, and the conditions were not always ideal for formal planning.

Given the evidence, SWOT is not justified under any circumstances. Instead use the comprehensive 5-step planning procedure.

References

Armstrong, J. S. (1982) “The Value of Formal Planning for Strategic Decisions,” Strategic Management Journal, 3, 197-211. Available in full text at http://jscottarmstrong.com

Armstrong, J. S. (1990), “Review of Corporate Strategic Planning," Journal of Marketing, 54, 114-119 also found in full text at http://jscottarmstrong.com.

Hill, T. & R. Westbrook (1997), “SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall,” Long Range Planning, 30, No. 1, 46-52.

Menon, A. et al. (1999), “Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making,” Journal of Marketing, 63, 18-40

SWOT ANALYSIS: How to Reboot Your Life with the SWOT MATRIX

We often see, when the computer locks up and nothing functions, there is a convenient option: you can reboot it. There are times when our life gets locked up as well. At those times we feel paralyzed and if we stay in the feeling of paralysis, we can end up with depression or other health problems.


When we’re stuck, we need to reboot our life. Unfortunately there isn’t a convenient button to push. But it’s possible all the same. The first thing we need to look at is why and where our life has got stuck. A great tool to get this overview is the SWOT matrix. SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The first two, Strengths and Weaknesses, are our personal attributes that we bring to our life. The second two, Opportunities and Threats are what the outside world brings to us.


The way to reboot our life with the help of the SWOT matrix is to look at each of the seven areas of life and check out where we may be stuck and how to move forward. The important point here is that stuckness can result from internal forces, that is from our own personal attributes and how we bring them to bear on the various areas of our life. Stuckness can also result from external factors, that is from forces that impinge on our life from outside.

Here are seven areas of life that we need to consider:

• Mental
• Physical
• Spiritual
• Social
• Professional
• Recreational
• Creational

If we take each one and investigate it in terms of the SWOT Matrix, we can see how to reboot our life.

1. Mental

This area includes our emotional, as well as our intellectual well-being. Right now, what are your strengths and weaknesses in this particular area? Are you involved in learning something new? Learning is important for our intellectual well-being. We need to use our brain, in order to develop it. After all, the good news is that we can develop intelligence at any age. What threats or opportunities to you see in regard to your mental wellbeing?


How is your emotional health right now? What is strong about it and where are there weaknesses? What threats or opportunities to you see in regard to your emotional wellbeing?

2. Physical

How is your physical health? Which basket are you in: fit or flab? What are your strength or weaknesses in regard to your body? What threats or opportunities do you perceive? Threats could be health problems.


Maybe you’re out of shape, overweight, or you have other health threats to deal with. Opportunities are actions that we can take to optimize our physical condition.

3. Spiritual


Is there a spiritual component to your life? Do you have a spiritual practice, like meditation or prayer? Or are there moments in nature where you feel connected? I’m talking about natural spirituality here.



What are your strength and weaknesses in respect to spirituality? What threats or opportunities do you perceive?

4. Social

The social aspect of our life covers all the areas of connection. How are your connections? Are you in a relationship with a special person? Do you have family? Do you have strong friendships? What about colleagues – do you have strong connections? And how is your social life?



Take a look at the SWOT Matrix and consider what your strengths and weaknesses are in respect of your social connections. What threats and opportunities can you discover?

5. Professional

The professional area of life covers what we do for a living, and what we do in order to develop new areas of expertise. How is your motivation? What are your strengths and weaknesses in this area? Are there threats and opportunities on the horizon?

6. Recreational

What do you do for fun? We all need time out where problems recede and we do something that is pure enjoyment.

How easy is it for you to include fun in your life? What are your strengths and weaknesses? How to you see opportunities and threats in this area of your life?

7. Creational

We need to be creative in one way or another if we are to feel in balance and happy. How is your creativity? What are your strengths and your weaknesses?


Many people find it difficult to be creative. Creativity is something we can misplace along the way. Any creative activity can kickstart it again.

Now that you’ve looked at the various areas of your life with the help of the SWOT Matrix, you’ll have a better understanding about how to reboot your life. Even if you just choose one area of your life and look for opportunities, your life will start to open in a new way.m If you focus on all areas of your life and focus on opportunities, your life will reboot completely.

What did you notice about your life when you looked at the various areas with the help of the SWOT Matrix?

SWOT analysis definition

According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia the definition of SWOT analysis:

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research.

    * Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving the objective(s).

    * Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving the objective(s).

    * Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective(s).

    * Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the objective(s).


Identification of SWOTs are essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.

The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development

TOWS Analysis for Decision Making Strategy

How does a firm decide to pursue one course of action over another? Along with SWOT analysis, TOWS analysis is a process that requires management to think critically of its operations. By identifying several action plans that could improve the company's position, TOWS analysis allows management to choose those strategies that most effectively capitalize on the available opportunities.

For companies to develop adequate and successful business strategies, they must sufficiently analyze their internal and external environments.
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One helpful strategic development tool entails SWOT analysis, which identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing a company.

However, a major shortcoming of this method involves its focus on the company's internal environment at the expense of its external situation. Subsequent to the SWOT model, organizations should conduct a TOWS analysis, a procedure that focuses more on the external environment. Although the acronym is simply SWOT reversed, TOWS analysis takes a different approach to linking a company's internal strengths and weaknesses with its external opportunities and threats. This approach allows a business to clearly identify and evaluate the options it could pursue.

To perform a proper TOWS analysis, the company must first conduct a SWOT analysis to identify its internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. The rest of the procedure involves dividing and linking the appropriate classifications into four categories:

    * Maxi-Maxi

    * Maxi-Mini

    * Mini-Maxi

    * Mini-Mini


Creating a TOWS matrix is an easy and visually helpful way to aid in this process.

"Maxi-Maxi" Strategy

Under the Maxi-Maxi classification, an organization identifies the appropriate strengths it can use to take advantage of its opportunities. The firm needs to distinguish and list the strengths that could aid in the maximization of each one of its listed opportunities. For example, possible strengths that could help a company penetrate a new market could include high-brand recognition, high-brand loyalty, large levels of research and development spending, and superior customer service.

"Maxi-Mini" Strategy

The Maxi-Mini category identifies the strengths the company can exploit to minimize its external threats. For instance, a potential threat to a firm could be the loss of market share to a new competitor entering the market. One way the firm could protect its position involves developing a marketing campaign emphasizing its superior customer service or its competitor's inferior customer service.

"Mini-Maxi" Strategy

With the Mini-Maxi strategy, a company wants to use its external opportunities to minimize its internal weaknesses. To illustrate, consider a company that faces rising labor costs in its home country. Simultaneously, it has identified an attractive opportunity to outsource some of its operations to another country where the cost of labor is far cheaper. This outsourcing prospect reduces the company's threat of rising labor expenses.

"Mini-Mini" Strategy

Mini-Mini strategies attempt to minimize the company's weaknesses and prevent external threats. This section matches the firm's threats and weaknesses in order for the company to recognize the potential situations that could harm its operations. Once these possible conditions are realized, the company can conceive of ways to protect its business. For example, a firm can enter into a strategic alliance or merge with one of its competitors to protect its operations from a rival firm. Moreover, the options to withdraw from a market or suspend operations are always present.