How to Use SWOTs
SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as they pertain to an organization or company. The strengths are those activities or competencies that a company performs well. The weaknesses are the activities that a company does not perform well. Both strengths and weaknesses are internally focused. Opportunities are external factors that the company can capitalize on, and threats are external factors that have the potential to harm an organization. Companies use SWOTs to determine where they are compared to where they could be and to identify what factors influence that progress.
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Instructions
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Narrow down the list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to those most important to the business.
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Create specific statements for each strength, weakness, opportunity and threat.
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Determine the departments, products or services that are most affected by each statement in each component of the SWOT.
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Discuss with stakeholders the recommended changes to the department, product or service that will build strengths and increase opportunities. The discussions help determine the variables and unintended consequences of proposed changes, and they encourage stakeholders to get involved.
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Formulate strategies to achieve the recommended changes.
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Implement the strategies.
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Monitor progress toward goals and adjust where necessary.
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Tips & Warnings
SWOTs can also be used to take an inventory of your personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Do not use the SWOT analysis as the only tool to audit the organization's business environment.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image courtesy of Microsoft Office online
