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SWOT ANALYSIS
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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 favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective.
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When structuring any business objective a strategic planning model should include both SWOT Analysis and Financial Diagnosis. SWOT Analysis should identify the following organisational attributes and conditions:
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Strengths:
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Attributes that are deemed helpful to achieving the objective.
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Question 1: (How can we Use each Strength?)
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Weaknesses:
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Attributes that are deemed harmful to achieving the objective.
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Question 2: (How can we Stop each Weakness?)
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Opportunities:
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External conditions that are deemed helpful to achieving the objective.
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Question 3: (How can we Exploit each Opportunity?)
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Threats:
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External conditions which could do damage to business performance.
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Question 4: (How can we Defend against each Threat?)
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Creative Use of SWOTs: Generating Strategies
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A.
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If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.
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B.
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If, on the other hand, the objective seems attainable, the SWOTs are used as inputs to the creative generation of possible strategies, by asking and answering each of the following four questions, many times!
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