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Swot Analysis

SWOT analysis:
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. The technique is
credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at
Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from
Fortune 500 companies.

Strategic and Creative Use of SWOT Analysis:
If SWOT analysis does not start with defining a desired end
state or objective, it runs the risk of being useless. A SWOT
analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model.
An example of a strategic planning technique that incorporates
an objective-driven SWOT analysis is SCAN analysis. Strategic
Planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the
subject of much research.

Strengths: attributes of the organization that are helpful
to achieving the objective.
Weaknesses: attributes of the organization that are harmful
to achieving the objective.
Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to
achieving the objective.
Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the
business's performance.
Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent
steps in the process of planning for achievement of the
selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

First, the decision makers have to determine whether the
objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective
is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected
and the process repeated.


Creative Use of SWOTs: Generating Strategies:
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...