SWOT Analysis:
Good strategy, plus good strategy execution, equals good management. A winning strategy must fit the enterprise’s external and internal situation, build sustainable competitive advantage, and improve company performance.
SWOT analysis is a simple but powerful tool for sizing up a company’s resource capabilities and deficiencies, its market opportunities, and the external threats to its future well-being.
A SWOT Analysis is usually done in a matrix format, as shown, but you can include the info in outline form. Include 3-4 sentences for each, that describes in greater detail the company situation.
Include the following in your outline, and tell about each one in a few sentences:
Identify company resource strengths and competitive capabilities. (3-4 strengths)
Identify company resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies. (3-4 weaknesses)
Identify the company’s market opportunities. (3-4 opportunities)
Identify external threats to the company’s future business prospects. (3-4 threats)
Analyze in detail each of the items you include in the SWOT table. Cite sources to verify the facts you state in the table.
Personal opinion is not enough. You can have personal opinion, but verify it with reliable sources that agree with you. For the Internal analysis (Strengths and Weaknesses), you can cite family, friends, or coworkers.
For the External analysis (Opportunities and Threats) you can cite various business journals containing economic data and employment data. There are many web sites that list this information. Be sure to cite them to add credibility and reliability to your analysis.
