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SWOT Analysis

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Click HERE to find papers containing SWOT analysis

 

SWOT has a long history as a tool of strategic and marketing analysis. No one knows who first invented SWOT analysis. It has features in strategy textbooks since at least 1972 and can now be found in textbooks on marketing and any other business disciplines. It advocates say that it can be used to gauge the degree of “fit” between the organisation’s strategies and its environment, and to suggest ways in which the organisation can profit from strengths and opportunities and shield itself against weaknesses and threats (Adams, 2005). However, SWOT has come under criticism recently. Because it is so simple, both students and managers have a tendency to use it without a great deal of thought, so that the results are often useless. Another problem is that SWOT, having been conceived in simpler times, does not cope very well with some of the subtler aspects of modern strategic theory, such as trade-offs (De Witt and Meyer, 1998).

 

Strengths

 

Determine an organisation’s strong points. This should be from both internal and external customers. A strength is a “resource advantage relative to competitors and the needs of the markets a firm serves or expects to serve”. It is a distinctive competence when it gives the firm a comparative advantage in the marketplace. Strengths arise from the resources and competencies available to the firm.

 

Weaknesses

 

Determine an organisation’s weaknesses, not only from its point of view, but also more importantly, from customers. Although it may be difficult for an organisation to acknowledge its weaknesses it is best to handle the bitter reality without procrastination. A weakness is a “limitation or deficiency in one or more resources or competencies relative to competitors that impedes a firm’s effective performance”.

 

Opportunities

 

Another major factor is to determine how organisations can continue to grow within the marketplace. After all, opportunities are everywhere, such as the changes in technology, government policy, social patterns, and so on. An opportunity is a major situation in a firm’s environment. Key trends are one source of opportunities. Identification of a previously overlooked market segment, changes in competitive or regulatory circumstances, technological changes, and improved buyer or supplier relationships could represent opportunities fro the firm.

 

Threats

 

No one likes to think about threats, but we still have to face them, despite the fact that they are external factors that are out of our control, for example, the recent economic slump in Asia. It is vital to be prepared and face threats even during turbulent times. A threat is a major unfavourable situation in a firm’s environment. Threats are key impediments to the firm’s current or desired position. The entrance of new competitors, slow market growth, increased bargaining power of key buyers or suppliers, technological changes, and new or revised regulations could represent threats to a firm’s success.

 

Because SWOT is such as familiar and comforting tool, many students use it at the start of their analysis. This is a mistake. In order to arrive at a proper SWOT appraisal, other analyses need to be carrier out first.

 

• Since opportunities and threats mostly arise from the environment, SWOT analysis needs to take account of the results of a full environmental analysis.

• It is impossible to gauge what an organisation’s real strengths are until you have assessed its strategic resources – in fact, strategic resources and strength are the same thing. There is a tendency for students to put down anything vaguely favourable that they can think of about a company as a strength. This temptation needs to be resisted - a strength is not a strength unless it makes a genuine difference to an organisation’s competitiveness. The same is true of weaknesses.

 

For example, look at Southwest Airlines and Amazon.com. Both companies have important groups of potential customers to whom they offer poor service. Southwest ignores business passengers, and will not accept transfers from other airlines. Amazon makes people wait days to receive books that they can obtain instantly from their neighbourhood bookstores, and pay a delivery charge for the privilege. Surely, these are major threats. Southwest and Amazon have chosen not to give those customers priority. Serving them would divert resources from the firm’s core markets, and dilute service to their main customers. Not serving them is certainly not a weakness; in a paradoxical way, it may be a strength.

 

The wizardry of SWOT is the matching of specific internal and external factors, which creates a strategic matrix and which makes sense. It is essential to note that the internal factors are within the control of organisation, such as operations, finance, marketing, and other areas. On the contrary, the external factors are out of the organisation’s control, such as political and economic factors, technology, competition, and other areas. The four combinations are called the maxi-maxi (strengths/opportunities), maxi-mini (strengths/threats), mini-maxi (weaknesses/opportunities), and mini-mini (weaknesses/threats). Weihrich (1982) describes the four combinations as follows:

 

1. Maxi-maxi (S/O). This combination shows the organisation’s strengths and opportunities. In essence, an organisation should strive to maximise its strengths to capitalise on new opportunities.

2. Maxi-mini (S/T). This combination shows the organisation’s strengths in consideration of threats, e.g. from competitors. In essence, an organisation should strive to use its strengths to parry or minimise threats.

3. Mini-maxi (W/O). This combination shows the organisation’s weaknesses in tandem with opportunities. It is an exertion to conquer the organisation’s weaknesses by making the most of any new opportunities.

4. Mini-mini (W/T). This combination shows the organisation’s weaknesses by comparison with the current external threats. This is most definitely defensive strategy, to minimise an organisation’s internal weaknesses and avoid external threats.

SWOT analysis papers


C/B/4965. ICT penetration into travel and tourism industry

C/M/2996. Brand audit and marketing strategies of Lexus

C/M/2988. Marketing research for launch of new teenager clothes range by John Lewis

C/B/4961. Self-analysis and personal development in hospitality services

C/B/4959. Personal development in business and management

C/B/4957. Competition in retail industry: case study of Marks and Spencer in UK

C/M/2973. Potential effects of Olympic Games 2016 Brazil

C/M/2960. Review of “Organized Retail in India – Drivers Facilitator and SWOT analysis” by Jhamb and Kiran

S/B/712. Dissertation. Role and Function of Students' Unions in China and UK

C/E/947. Price Function in Organic Agriculture

C/T/231. Destination marketing: tourist potential of Canterbury

S/B/701. New Zealand toy company's expansion to China

S/M/735. M?rketing of children's educational toys

C/M/2883. Performance analysis and public relations management of Sainsbury's

C/B/4862. SWOT analysis of Clinton Cards

C/B/4841. Mexican Eagle Oil Company and their acquisition by Royal Dutch Petroleum

C/B/4840. Divine Chocolate: SWOT and marketing mix analysis

C/B/4835. Political situation in Europe and SWOT analysis of Elite Hotel Group

C/B/4827. Burberry: corporate strategy and SWOT analysis

C/M/2843. Service Marketing in Luxury Fashion Clothing Sector: Case of Burberry

C/E/914. Organic Agriculture vs. Conventional Farming

C/B/4811. SWOT analysis of Virgin Atlantic Airways

C/B/4810. SWOT analysis of the John Lewis Partnership

C/B/4809. SWOT analysis of Red Bull

C/B/4808. SWOT analysis of Boots

C/B/4788. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of Microsoft

C/B/4787. SWOT analysis of Microsoft

C/B/4786. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of Microsoft

C/B/4783. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of Microsoft

C/B/4779. SWOT analysis of Zurich Insurance

C/B/4778. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of Accor Group

C/B/4777. SWOT analysis of Accor Group

C/B/4776. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of Accor Group

C/B/4773. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of Accor Group

C/B/4766. Presentation notes. Elite Hotel Group: political issues and SWOT analysis

C/B/4751. Expansion of Evolution Gifts to Bulgaria

C/B/4736. Can PlayStation 3 enable Sony to regain market leadership?

S/B/687. SWOT analysis of Apple Inc.

C/B/4731. Software development for Wizz Kids

S/B/679. Strategic analysis of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

C/B/4730. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of Vodafone

C/B/4726. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of Vodafone

C/B/4725. SWOT analysis of Vodafone

C/B/4724. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of Vodafone

C/B/4707. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of SABMiller

C/B/4706. SWOT analysis of SABMiller

C/B/4705. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of SABMiller

C/B/4702. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of SABMiller

C/B/4698. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of EasyJet

C/B/4697. SWOT analysis of EasyJet

C/B/4696. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of EasyJet

C/B/4693. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of EasyJet

C/B/4689. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of British Airways

C/B/4688. SWOT analysis of British Airways

C/B/4687. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of British Airways

C/B/4684. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of British Airways

C/N/732. Notes on clinical practice

C/M/2739. Theoretical underpinnings of effective marketing

C/B/4677. Approaches of Arnold Palmer Hospital to service quality and supply chain management

C/C/378. Dissertation. Enterprise Data Architecture for Westminster City Council

C/B/4661. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of Starbucks

C/B/4657. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of Starbucks

C/B/4656. SWOT analysis of Starbucks

C/B/4655. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of Starbucks

C/B/4652. PESTEL, Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analyses of Apple

C/B/4648. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of Apple

C/B/4647. SWOT analysis of Apple

C/B/4646. PESTEL and SWOT analyses of Apple

C/B/4634. SWOT analysis and market position of Miss Sixty

C/B/4628. SWOT analysis of HSBC

C/M/2680. Marketing Plan for HMV

C/M/2671. Apple's Marketing Channels and Logistics

C/B/4591. SWOT and Value Chain Analyses of Thornton's

C/B/4590. SWOT analysis of Thornton's

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