SWOT Analysis
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The document discusses the SWOT analysis tool and provides examples of its use. SWOT is a framework for analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It can help discover opportunities, manage threats, and ensure a project aligns with its external environment. The examples provided include analyzing Walmart's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as exploring a team's strengths and how to identify opportunities that fit those strengths.
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SWOT Analysis
- 1. Analytic Tool: SWOT SWOT is an analytic tool that will help you: Discover new opportunities. Manage and eliminate threats. Make sure that your project is in step with the world around you.
- 2. Analytic Tool: SWOT SWOT Analysis is a simple but powerful framework for analyzing your company's Strengths and Weaknesses, and the Opportunities and Threats you face. This helps you to focus on your strengths, minimize threats, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available to you. SWOT identifies and helps you eliminate threats that would otherwise catch you unawares. SWOT analysis is undertaken in relation to clear goals. A team should not necessarily pursue the more lucrative opportunities. Rather, it may have a better chance at developing a competitive advantage by identifying a fit between the team's strengths and upcoming opportunities.
- 4. Analytic Tool: SWOT Wal-Mart mini-SWOT Strengths - Wal-Mart is a powerful retail brand. It has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. Weaknesses - Wal-Mart is the World's largest grocery retailer and control of its empire, despite its IT advantages, could leave it weak in some areas due to the huge span of control. Opportunities - To take over, merge with, or form strategic alliances with other global retailers, focusing on specific markets such as Europe, or the Greater China Region. Threats - Being number one means that they are the target of competition, locally and globally.
- 5. Analytic Tool: SWOT strengths In looking at your strengths, think about them in relation to your competitors - for example, if all your competitors provide high quality animation, then a high quality animation process is not a strength in the market, it is a necessity. Some questions that you should ask yourself…. What advantages does your team have? What do you do better than anyone else? What unique or lowest-cost resources do you have access to? What do others see as your strengths? Examples Advantages of proposition? Capabilities? Competitive advantages? USP's (unique selling points)? Resources, Assets, People? Experience, knowledge, data? Financial reserves, likely returns? Marketing - reach, distribution, awareness? Innovative aspects? Location and geographical? Price, value, quality? Accreditations, qualifications, etc? Processes, systems, IT, communications? Cultural, attitudinal, behavioural? Management cover, succession?
- 6. Analytic Tool: SWOT Weaknesses * What could you improve? * What should you avoid? * What are others likely to see as weaknesses? * What factors lose you marks/career advancement/etc? Again, consider this from an internal and external basis: Do other people seem to perceive weaknesses that you do not see? Are your competitors doing any better than you? It is best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible. Examples Disadvantages of proposition? Gaps in capabilities? Lack of competitive strength? Reputation, presence and reach? Financials? Own known vulnerabilities? Timescales, deadlines and pressures? Cashflow, start-up cash-drain? Continuity, supply chain robustness? Effects on core activities, distraction? Reliability of data, plan predictability? Morale, commitment, leadership? Accreditations, etc? Processes and systems, etc? Management cover, succession?
- 7. Analytic Tool: SWOT Opportunities : * Where are the good opportunities facing you? * What are the interesting trends you are aware of? Useful opportunities can come from such things as: * Changes in technology and markets on both a broad and narrow scale * Changes in government policy related to your field * Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc. * Local Events A useful approach to looking at opportunities is to look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities. Alternatively, look at your weaknesses and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them. Examples Market developments? Competitors' vulnerabilities? Industry or lifestyle trends? Technology development and innovation? Global influences? New markets, vertical, horizontal? Niche target markets? Geographical, export, import? New USP's? Tactics - surprise, major contracts, etc? Business and product development? Information and research? Partnerships, agencies, distribution? Volumes, production, economies? Seasonal, weather, fashion influences?
- 8. Analytic Tool: SWOT Threats What obstacles do you face? What is your competition doing? Are the required specifications for your job, products or services changing? Is changing technology threatening your position? Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems? Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business? Examples Political effects? Legislative effects? Environmental effects? IT developments? Competitor intentions - various? Market demand? New technologies, services, ideas? Vital contracts and partners? Sustaining internal capabilities? Obstacles faced? Insurmountable weaknesses? Loss of key staff? Sustainable financial backing? Economy - home, abroad? Seasonality, weather effects?
- 9. Analytic Tool: SWOT Carrying out this analysis will often be illuminating - both in terms of pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting problems into perspective.
- 10. Analytic Tool: SWOT Resources Businessballs SWOT with examples http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm SWOT your career http://www.quintcareers.com/SWOT_Analysis.html Wikipedia SWOT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis SWOT for MBA http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/sbc/pages/page3.html
- 11. Competitor Analysis Describe direct competitors in terms of: o Target markets served (who are they succeeding with?) o Product/service attributes (what is it and what is special about it?). o Pricing o Promotion (How are they selling themselves?) o Distribution including the distributor network How are they getting it out there. Discuss competitor’s strengths and weaknesses: May need to consider much more than just marketing issues such as: financial standing target market perception R & D capabilities Competitive trends: May need to include discussion of future competitive threats http://www.knowthis.com/tutorials/marketing/marketstudy.htm
- 12. Misc. The future Strengths and weaknesses Distribution Promotion Pricing Product/service Target markets Location Name
- 13. Project Title Scoping Document Prepared by, date Project Synopsis Aims and Objectives Key Performance Indicators 3. Markets 4. Competitors 5. Deadlines 6. Resources 7. Key Personnel and Stakeholders
Editor's Notes
- #2: What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you uncover opportunities that you are well placed to take advantage of. And by understanding the weaknesses of your project, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise catch you unawares. More than this, by looking at yourself and your competitors using the SWOT framework, you can start to craft a strategy that helps you distinguish yourself from your competitors, so that you can compete successfully in your market. The first thing to remember is that the analysis should provide you with information that helps in making decisions. As such, laundry-lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are not unto themselves helpful. It is only when the potential implications of this information on the organization is conducted that you start to get any really meaningful analysis.