ls

e s e a rch Too SWOT Analysis

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A Guide
Eva Chen
Paul Bruneski

SWOT Analysis Table of Contents

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

History of 1
SWOT

Definition of 1
SWOT

History of SWOT Internal and 2

External Factors
In the 1960’s and 70’s, vant to an organization in ers can help make in-
Albert Humphrey is said to a new venture. A SWOT formed decisions.
Guides for using 2
have developed this stra- Analysis is a tool which
SWOT
tegic planning tool using allows users to look at
data from the top compa- the direction a company
Potential Uses of 3
nies in America at the or organization may wish
SWOT
time. A SWOT Analysis to move towards in the
looks at the strengths, future. A SWOT Analy-
Strengths & 3
weaknesses, opportunities sis is a useful tool, which Weaknesses of
and threats that are rele- in conjunction with oth- the method

Example: SWOT 4
of British Airway

Definition of SWOT
By specifying clear objectives and identifying internal and external factors that
are either helpful or not, a short and simple SWOT analysis is a useful resource
which may be incorporated into an organizations strategic planning model. A SWOT Analysis Can
be Used for:
Strengths- Internal attributes that are helpful to
the organization to achieving its objective
 Workshop sessions

 Brainstorming
Weaknesses – Internal attributes that are harmful
meetings
to the organization to achieving its objective
 Problem solving

Opportunities – External factors that help the or-  Product evaluation

ganization achieve its objective
 Strategic planning

 Competitor evalua-
Threats - External factors that are harmful to the tion
organization to achieving its objective
 Personal develop-
ment planning
After identifying the SWOT’s, identification of the factors and their interdepend-
ence helps clarify the steps needed to achieve the ending objectives.
 Internal and External Factors

The aim of any SWOT analysis is The internal factors may be viewed as strengths or The external factors may
to identify the key internal and weaknesses depending upon their impact on the or- include macroeconomic
external factors that are impor- ganization's objectives. What may represent matters, technological
tant to achieving the objective. strengths with respect to one objective may be weak- change, legislation, and
SWOT analysis groups key pieces nesses for another objective. The factors may include socio-cultural changes, as
of information into two main cate- all of the 4P's; as well as personnel, finance, manufac- well as changes in the mar-
gories: turing capabilities, and so on. ketplace or competitive
position. The results are
often presented in the
 Internal factors – form of a matrix.
The strengths and
weaknesses internal
to the organization.

 External factors –
The opportunities
and threats pre-
sented by the exter-
nal environment.

Figure 1: SWOT Analysis Matrix

Source: Wikipedia

Guidelines
Before carrying out a SWOT analysis, consider the following guidelines...

 Be realistic about  Consider answers from the  Distinguish between where

strengths and weak- company’s point of view and the organization is today and
nesses. When performing from the point of view of where it could be in the fu-
a SWOT analysis on your customers, vendors, distribu- ture.
business, be neither mod- tors, and others who do busi-  Note that the SWOT is sub-
est nor overly optimistic. ness with them. jective. No two people will
come up with the same
SWOT.

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SWOT Analysis
Potential Uses of SWOT Analysis

 Set Objectives– defining what the organization is intending to do

 Environmental Scanning– internal appraisals of the organizations SWOT, this needs to include an assessment
of the present situation as well as a portfolio of products/ services and an analysis of the product/ service
life cycle
 Analysis of existing strategies, this should determine relevance from the results of an internal/external
appraisal. This may include gap analysis which will look at environmental factors.
 Strategic issues defined– key factors in the development of a corporate plan which needs to be addressed
by the organization
 Develop new/revised strategies– revised analysis of strategic issues may mean the objectives need to
change
 Establish critical success factors– the achievement of objectives and strategy implementation
 Preparation of operational, resource, projects plans for strategy implementation
 Monitoring results– mapping against plans, taking corrective action which may mean amending objec-
tives/strategies

 Low cost
Simplicity
g t h s
ren



Flexibility
Collaborative
St
 Quickness
 Since its qualitative, it can be used as a discussion tool
 A good first step before a more in-depth analysis or a good sum-
mary of detailed findings
 Takes into consideration of external business environment as
well as internal capabilities

 It may tend to persuade companies to compile lists rather than

think about what is actually important in achieving objectives
 No suggestions for solving disagreements
 Can become too focused on the short term
 No obligation to verify statements or aspects based on the data
or the analysis

e s s e s  It also presents the resulting lists uncritically and without clear

n prioritization

Weak
Page 3
SWOT Analysis
 A Guide to
m ple British Airways
Research Tools
Exa
Vancouver Island
SWOT Analysis
University
Recreation Tourism
Research Institute
Strengths Weaknesses
 International operation  Declining profitability
 Employee productivity  Unfunded employee
Paul Bruneski  Strong presence at London post retirement benefits
Eva Chen Heathrow International  Sluggish revenue growth
Airport from key geographic region

Opportunities Threats
 Global airline market  Rising aviation fuel prices
 Increase in trans-pacific  Increasing competition from
cargo low cost airlines
 Growing Asia Pacific mar-  Weak economic outlook for
ket the US and Eurozone
(Source: British Airways PLC)

References and Additional Resources

Chapman, A. (2007). SWOT analysis. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from

http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm

JRC European Commission. (2007). SWOT (strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats) analysis. Re-

trieved October 19, 2007, from http://forlearn.jrc.es/guide/2_design/meth_swot-analysis.htm

SWOT analysis.(2007). British Airways, PLC SWOT Analysis, , 5.

Tuckwell, K. J. (2007). Strategic planning principles. Integrated marketing communications: Strategic plan-

ning perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 47-51). Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.

Wikipedia. (2007). SWOT analysis. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_Analysis