SWOT Analysis | PDF | Example

 What is the meaning of SWOT Analysis?

→ SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in SWOT Analysis.

→  As our business grows, we need to face various challenges, obstacles, opportunities, and new projects.

→ This is the best tool for handling all challenges.

Table of Content

• What is the meaning of SWOT_Analysis?
• What is SWOT_Analysis?
• How To Conduct a SWOT_Analysis
• Example of SWOT_Analysis
• Tips for Conducting a Good SWOT_Analysis
• Benefits of SWOT_Analysis
• Advantages of SWOT_Analysis
• Disadvantages of SWOT_Analysis

What is SWOT Analysis?

→ The SWOT_Analysis is a strategic planning & decision-making management technique that is used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

→ This technique is widely used for any company, organization, business, product, project planning, marketing, development, market research, etc.

→ Strengths are characteristics of the business (or an organization) that give it a benefit over others.

→ Weaknesses are characteristics of the business (or an organization) that give drawbacks as compared to others.

→ Opportunities are the elements in the environment (or we can say external factors) that the business could utilize for its benefit and also can give a competitive advantage as compared to others.

→ Threats are the external factors that could cause trouble for the business.

→ This tool is an excellent decision-making tool and it helps an organization achieve its goals.

→ It is a well-defined structure to evaluate the business's or an organization's competitive position as compared to competitors.

→ This tool is not only used for businesses or organizations but also used for development purposes such as personal development, employee development, business process management, etc...

→ This is a very effective tool for any Lean Six Sigma Project.

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The SWOT Analysis can be used for:

• Workshop sessions 
• Brainstorming meetings
• Problem-solving
• Product evaluation
• Employee development
• Strategic planning
• Competitor evaluation
• Personal development planning
• Business Process Management
• Marketing, etc

Internal and External Factors of SWOT Analysis

→ The main objective of the SWOT analysis is to identify the relevant internal and external factors that have a direct impact on the organization's goal.

→ We can divide the SWOT analysis into two main groups as mentioned below:

• Internal factors - Strengths and Weaknesses
• External factors - Opportunities and Threats

→ The internal factors may be strengths or weaknesses of the organization based on their impact on the organization's objectives.

→ The positive impact leads to strength and the negative impact leads to weakness.

→ The external factors may include macroeconomic indicators like technological change, legislation change, socio-cultural changes, political change, environmental change, changes in the marketplace, or change in competitive position, etc.

→ The above-mentioned al factors can be mentioned in the 2X2 matrix for easy tracking and working on that.

Guidelines for Conducting Good SWOT Analysis

→ We can refer to the below-mentioned guidelines.

→ Be realistic when performing a SWOT analysis.

→ Consider answers from the organizations and their stakeholder's points of view.

→ Distinguish between where the organization is today and where it could be in the future. 

How To Conduct a SWOT Analysis?

→ Refer to the below 10 Steps for conducting an analysis

1. Preparation and Driving Forces of the Organization
2. Note down Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
3. Clarification of SWOTs for all Team Members
4. Categorization into a sub-category
5. Prioritization
6. Desired State & Implications to Unit
7. Strategy Development
8. Strategy Selection
9. Implementation of the right strategies
10. Documentation

→ Some other key points are mentioned below.

→ As many as possible people need to take part in this analysis.

→ We can also conduct this analysis for ourselves but it is better to include all cross-function team members into this for better effectiveness of this analysis.

→ One of the best methods is brainstorming for conducting this analysis.

→ We can use a flip chart, a whiteboard, or a piece of paper to note down all points, or we can store data in MS Excel, MS Word, or PowerPoint as a digital file.

→ We can also use different software or tools for this analysis as per the organization's need.

Example of SWOT Analysis

→ Refer to the below example for a better understanding of the SWOT_Analysis.

→ We will take one generic example that suits all organizations for this analysis.

→ The main four parts of this analysis are mentioned below.

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

→ Now we learn all the above points in detail.

1. Strengths

→ The Strengths mean that give us benefits over others.

→ Or we can understand what we are doing well

→ Also from other people's perspectives, we need to note down our strengths.

→ During this analysis we need to be realistic.

→ Refer to the most common strengths of any business or organization.

• Overall Experience of an Organization
• People Skill, Experience, Knowledge, and Data
• Strong Financial Condition
• Transparency
• Reputation
• Capabilities
• Strong Relationships with all stakeholders
• Lessons learned from past experiences
• Low-cost Products and Services with Higher Quality
• Simplicity
• Strong brand recognition
• Good relationships with customers
• Flexibility
• Collaborative Efforts
• Quick responsiveness
• Competitive Advantage
• Intellectual property
• Proprietary technologies
• Granted patents
• Our USP (Unique Selling Point)
• Innovative aspects
• Geographical Location

→ For better understanding refer to the below example of strengths of the ABL Limited

→ Example: ABL Limited, a leading pharmaceutical company, points out its strengths as various patents granted, a highly talented R&D team, strong customer relationships, and a global distribution network, etc.

2. Weaknesses

→ Weaknesses give drawbacks to the business or an organization.

→ Also we can find weaknesses by asking a simple question as: 'What the organization can improve?' or 'What business should avoid?'

→ Also from other people's perspectives, we need to note down our weaknesses as well.

→ Refer to the below-mentioned most common Weaknesses of any business or organization.

• Lack of Skill and Experience 
• Financial Crisis
• Poor Marketing 
• Low Public Awareness 
• Weak management
• Communication Gap across the organization
• Things our competitors do better than us
• Resource Limitations
• Unclear or Unidentified USP (Unique Selling Point)
• Disagreement on Business Strategy
• Unfocused on Goal
• No online presence
• Decision Making without any data or statistics

→ For better understanding refer to the below example of weaknesses of the XYZ Limited

→ Example: XYZ Limited, a Manufacturing Company, points out its weaknesses as outdated machinery, high employee attrition, inconsistent product quality, higher breakdowns, higher manufacturing cost, not meeting on-time delivery, etc.

3. Opportunities

→ Opportunities are the external factors that the business could utilize for its benefit and also can give a competitive advantage as compared to others.

→ Organization has no control over the opportunities but businesses can take positive benefit of it.

→ Refer to the below-mentioned most common opportunities of any business.

• Change in lifestyle
• Market Developments
• Influential connections
• Good community response
• Support from media
• Expansion into new markets
• Development of new products or services
• Underserved markets for specific products
• Less Competition
• The emerging need for your products or services
• Press/media coverage of our companion
• New Government Policy that gives benefits to the business
• New grants available

→ For better understanding refer to the below example of Opportunities for the XYZ Enterprise

→ Example: XYZ Enterprise, a retail company, identifies opportunities in online selling to various e-commerce platforms, and also found the increased consumer demand for their organic products, etc.

4. Threats

→ Threats are the external factors that could cause trouble for the business.

→ Maybe we can understand that the economic slowdown might create difficulty for business.

→ The organization has no control over the threats but needs to protect itself from all kinds of threats to the business.

→ Refer to the below-mentioned most common threats to any business.

• Rising raw material and labor cost
• Security problems
• Lack of interest at the customer level
• Lack of access to an expansion of the market
• Emerging competitors
• Changing regulatory requirements
• Negative social media coverage
• Changing customer's perception
• Competition from new entrants
• Economic downturn
• Political change
• Environment change
• Legislative change

→ For better understanding refer to the below example of Threats for the BBB Transport LTD

→ Example: BBB Transport LTD, a transport company, identifies threats such as rising fuel prices, increasing competition from other low-cost transporters, driver strikes, etc.

Tips for Conducting a Good SWOT Analysis

→ Before starting the SWOT Analysis team should be aligned with the organization's Goals and Objectives.

→ Collect all the information such as internal information, market research, and information related to employees, customers, suppliers, etc.

→ Prioritize the agenda points.

→ Be realistic and transparent.

→ Keep ready a structured framework for analysis and give training to all participants before starting the analysis.

Benefits of SWOT Analysis

→ Refer to the below benefits of this tool

→ It is very easy to scale and flexible

→ This model is very simple to use

→ This model has huge benefits with very low-cost

→ We can improve our decision-making power with this tool

→ We can optimize our resources and better allocate for a specific task

→ With the help of this tool we can make a better business strategy

→ This tool is very helpful during ISO 9001 Certification.

Advantages of SWOT Analysis

→ This tool has many advantages, some of the advantages are mentioned below.

→ This tool is very easy to understand.

→ It is very flexible for use, we can use this tool for an individual person, for a team, for a business unit, for a division, etc...

→ With the help of this tool we can identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of any business.

→ We can improve our communication at the personal as well as organizational levels with this tool.

Disadvantages of SWOT Analysis

→ Apart from the above-mentioned advantages of this tool it has some disadvantages that are explained below.

→ This tool uses subjective or qualitative data rather than quantitative data.

→ This tool is more depends on the perception of the person, the personality of the person, and the preference of the person so we can say it might a biased tool.

→ SWOT_Analysis is a static tool so it does not consider the dynamic nature of the business.

→ This tool is very time-consuming.

→ It is very difficult to involve all people in this analysis at a time.

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