MGMT303 Principles of Management
Week 3 SWOT
Analyze the internal and external environments of the organization along the following terms. You must use the mandatory outline located in Doc Sharing to organize
your paper. You do not need to turn in your outline. Your analysis should a minimum of 1000 words.
Section Description Points
Section I
• Write a brief company history, including a mission statement if available. 15Points
Section II • Thoroughly explain at least two major Strengths and two major Weaknesses (review Chapter 9) of the organization.
• For each strength, discuss why this strength can be considered a distinctive competence for the organization.
• For each weakness, discuss what the organization could do to minimize that weakness.
• You should have a minimum of a full paragraph for each discussion of each strength and weakness.
• Note: Bullet points are NOT acceptable. 45Points
Section III • Thoroughly research and analyze two Opportunities and two Threats that this organization is facing. Each of these opportunities and threats
must come from a force or forces occurring within a dimension or dimensions of the general environment within the organization’s external environment (Keep in mind an
opportunity or threat can stem from more than one dimension within the general environment.). Be sure to include in your discussion the relevant dimensions of the
general environment from which each of these forces is derived that are creating the specific opportunity or threat for the organization.
o PLEASE NOTE: The dimensions of the general environment are outlined in Chapter 2 and in Week 1′s Lecture.
• Include in your analysis an explanation of how each of the opportunities and threats will likely impact the company and why. Include other companies/industries
on which this may also have an effect. You should have a minimum of a full paragraph for each discussion of each opportunity and threat.
• Note: Bullet points are NOT acceptable. 55Points
Section IV • Briefly summarize your SWOT analysis.
• Discuss how the organization can capitalize on the opportunities that are occurring from the dimensions from within the general environment and how the
organization can neutralize the threats that are occurring from the dimensions from within the general environment.
• Note: Bullet points are NOT acceptable. 15Points
Paper Format • Correctly produced APA parenthetical citations and reference list. You must have a minimum of three external research sources in addition to
the Robbins and Coulter text.
• Spelling, grammar, organization 5Points
5Points
A few other notes:
• To help you better understand how to complete a SWOT Analysis, please review the section titled, “The Strategic Management Process” in Chapter 9, reread Weeks1
and 2’s Lectures, and review the SWOT Analysis article that is loaded in Doc Sharing.
• Please refer to the Library link within The HUB and the APA resources posted in Doc Sharing (to find these documents in Doc Sharing, use the drop down menu) to
properly cite your paper using APA.
• Your topic is due in Week 1, posted for me to review in the Q&A Forum topic of the Discussions. This is not graded, but required.
• The entire SWOT case paper is worth 140 points.
• Please name your paper “LastName FirstName_303SWOT.”
Please let me know if you have any questions!
I HIGHLY recommend that you watch the presentation on APA Citation located in the HUB.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments & Exams” for due date information.
SWOT Analysis
By Stacy Collett
(Jul. 19, 1999) In order to swat the competition you need to understand SWOT. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It’s a way to analyze a
company’s or a department’s position in the market in relation to its competitors. The goal is to identify all the major factors affecting competitiveness before
crafting a business strategy.
SWOT Breakdown
SWOT identifies the internal and external factors that affect an organization. Here’s the breakdown of SWOT by internal and external variables:
Internal factors
(Strengths and weaknesses)
• A corporate structure, culture and resources
• Shareholders
• Customers
• Competitors
External factors
(Opportunities threats)
• Politics
• Technology
• Society
• Economics
“It comes from an old term from the strategic planning field,” says Fred Wiersema, co-author of The Discipline of Market Leaders. Marketing gurus have taken familiar
terms from old “situation analysis” principles — like core competencies (your company’s main business), liabilities (weak points that need improvement), customers and
competitors — and simply given them a catchy new acronym, according to Wiersema.
“The purpose of strategy is to be really clear before you take the direction. The point of a SWOT analysis is to have the best shot at a grounded plan,” says Rashi
Glazer, co-director of the Center for Marketing and Technology at the University of California at Berkeley.
For example, an information technology department needs to determine the strengths and weaknesses of its people and its technology. It also needs to make sure the IT
strategy complements the company’s business goals. The department head needs to ask: What is each staff member good at? What are they not good at?
Project leaders also must consider opportunities and threats — or customers and competitors. How attractive is the market or direction they’re considering? What’s
their market share and cost structure?
Delta Air Lines Inc., for example, chose to invest in a multibillion-dollar customer service system that addresses the flight delay problems experienced by 20% of its
passengers. Although some companies might think the move was excessive considering 80% of customers have no problems, Delta believed customer service was an important
area for increasing market share and that competitors could pose a threat if Delta didn’t address the problem.
Another example is Dell Computer Corp., which is a great example of how an IT company can use a SWOT analysis to carve out a strong business strategy, according to
Glazer.
Dell recognized that its strength was selling directly to consumers and keeping its costs lower than those of other hardware vendors.
As for weaknesses, the company acknowledged that it lacked solid dealer relationships.
Identifying opportunities was an easier task. Dell looked at the marketplace and saw that customers increasingly valued convenience and one-stop shopping and that they
knew what they wanted to purchase. Dell also saw the Internet as a powerful marketing tool.
On the threats side, Dell realized that competitors like IBM and Compaq Computer Corp. had stronger brand names, which put Dell in a weaker position with dealers.
Dell put together a business strategy that included mass customization and just-in-time manufacturing (letting customers design their own computers and custom-building
systems). Dell also stuck with its direct sales plan and offered sales on the Internet.
“Clarity in strategy works. Fuzzy strategies fail. Most strategies fail because they don’t have a clear direction,” Glazer says.
________________________________________
Analyze This
To help you do a SWOT anaysis, use these sample questions as a guideline
STRENGTHS:
Define areas you excel in, such as the company’s core competency and resource analysis
• What does your company do well?
• How strong is your company in the market?
• Does your company have a clear strategic direction?
• Does your company’s culture produce a positive work environment?
WEAKNESSES:
Evaluate your liabilities
• What could be improved at your company?
• What does your company do poorly?
• What should be avoided?
• Is your company unable to finance needed technology?
• Do you have poor debt or cash flow?
OPPORTUNITIES:
Analyze your customers and market attractiveness
• What favorable circumstances are you facing?
• What are the interesting trends? Is your company positioned to take on those trends?
• Is your company entering new markets?
• Is your company advanced in technology?
THREATS:
Check out what your competitors are doing and assess other potential challenges
• What obstacles do you face?
• What is your competition doing?
• Are the required specifications for your products or services changing?
• Is changing technology threatening your position?
• What policies are local and federal lawmakers backing? Do they affect your industry?
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