II.

Guide Card
This material intends to learn by illustrating and generating SWOT Analysis.
This learning experience is designed to help you develop a practical understanding of core marketing concepts.

At the end of this, you are expected to:

1. Construct your own personal SWOT Analysis.
2. Generate SWOT of an organization.
3. Assess one particular business that could potentially impact the success of a new project.

SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool created by Albert Humphrey to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
involved in a project or business venture. It involves specifying the objective and then identifying the internal and external factors that are
favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective:
 Note that there are four factors in the SWOT analysis:

o Helpful Strengths and Opportunities

o Harmful Weaknesses and Threats
o Internal The Strengths and Weaknesses are internal to the organization
o External The Opportunities and Threats are external to the organization

Below is an example SWOT analysis of a market position of a small management consultancy with specialism in HRM.

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

Reputation in marketplace Shortage of consultants at Well established position with a Large consultancies operating at a
operating level rather than well-defined market niche minor level
partner level

Expertise at partner level in HRM Unable to deal with Identified market for consultancy Other small consultancies looking
consultancy multidisciplinary assignments in areas other than HRM to invade the marketplace
because of size or lack of ability
III. Activity Card
ACTIVITY 1
Direction: Create your own personal SWOT Analysis. Give at least 5 examples each category.
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

1. 1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3. 3.
4. 4. 4. 4.
5. 5. 5. 5.

ACTIVITY 2
Direction: Analyze and create a SWOT Analysis on the one of the biggest coffeehouse in the world given that the business is strong but
constantly faces major threats in various markets and explain why you came up with the idea. Write your answer on the box.

Starbucks Coffee Company stands as the biggest coffeehouse business in the world. The firms competitive advantage is based on its strengths,
as shown in this SWOT analysis.
In SWOT analysis, business strengths are evaluated to determine the ability to address weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT
analysis of Starbucks Coffee presents the internal factors and external factors significant to the firm. Even though Starbucks is already a strong
global brand, various factors threaten the business. As such, the firm must improve its approaches to overcome these threats. The result of this
SWOT analysis shows that Starbucks is strong, but it constantly faces major threats in various markets around the world.

Strengths: Weaknesses:

SWOT
Opportunities: Threats:
ACTIVITY 3

Westfields Leisure Center has hired you to help them with their marketing decision making.

Direction: Perform a SWOT analysis on Westfields Leisure Center, based upon the following issues:
Write your answer on a bullet form.
1. The Center is located within a two-minute walk of the main bus station, and is a fifteen-minute ride away from the local railway station.
2. There is a competition standard swimming pool; although it has no wave machines or whirlpool equipment as do competing local
facilities.
3. It is located next to one of the largest shopping centers in Cebu.
4. It is one of the oldest centers in the area and needs some cosmetic attention.
5. Due to an increase in disposable income over the last six years, local residents have more money to spend on leisure activities.
6. There has been a substantial decrease in the birth rate over the last ten years.
7. In general people are living longer and there are more local residents aged over fifty-five now than ever before.
8. After a heated argument with the manager of a competing leisure center, the leader of a respected local scuba club is looking for a new
venue.
9. The local authority is considering privatizing all local leisure centers by the year 2000.
10. Press releases have just been issued to confirm that Westfields Leisure Center is the first center in the area to be awarded quality
assurance standard BS EN ISO 9002.
11. A private joke between staff states that if you want a day-off from work that you should order a curry from the Centers canteen, which
has never made a profit.
12. The Center has been offered the latest sporting craze.
13. Westfields Leisure Center has received a grant to fit special ramps and changing rooms to accommodate the local disabled.
14. It is widely acknowledged that Westfield has the best-trained and most respected staff of all of the centres in the locality.
IV. Assessment Card
ACTIVITY 1
Direction: Use the resource material to take the students through an example SWOT analysis. It would be worth providing background material
about rheumatoid arthritis. Then answer the questions that follow, write your answer on a one whole yellow sheet of pad paper.
Case Study: Bioburp Limited

Bioburp Ltd were set up in 1995 as a 'spin off SME' from Cambridge University and are now situated
in one the larger units on the Biotechnology Business Cluster on the outskirts of the city. Through his
research at the University, Dr James Bradshaw has developed a range of treatments for rheumatoid
arthritis. Having worked in research at the University since graduation James felt there was an
opportunity to commercialise his ideas and set up a business with fellow researcher Chuck Keeble.

The company currently has 35 employees many of whom they have directly recruited from
Cambridge University. The company has a three strong management team comprising James as
CEO, Chuck heading up R&D and Jude Marsh who they recruited from a local therapeutics Biotech
firm to lead their new sales and marketing team of 4 people.

Although the company has a number of UK patents for their products only one of them is on the
market and generating a moderate sales income although this has not superseded their initial setup
costs for the project and the business. Their leading product Exactosis is a new Non Steroidal Anti-
Inflammatory Drug (NSAID), was launched three years ago and is not widely recognized by the
medical profession, although is has been accepted by the FDA. It is manufactured by Klumps Ltd., a
small, local tablet pressing firm, and they are currently marketing it under their own brand name
Bioburp through the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation and key London Hospitals.

The 25 personnel work in the laboratory developing a range of new products to combat arthritis
based on COX-2 blocker principle. Their two most successful formulations are in the early stages of
clinical trials and are being tested on animals.

Use this and the supporting data on Rheumatoid arthritis:

1. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation, now and in the future.
2. Identify the opportunities and threats in the environment.
3. Draw up a SWOT analysis matrix and determine key strategies in each of the four quadrants.
ACTIVITY 2
Direction: Read the question carefully and circle the letter of the correct answer.
1. Why is it important for companies to evaluate managerial decisions using a SWOT Analysis?
a) It analyzes strengths, weaknesses, obligations, and threats.
b) It analyzes strong points, weak points, opportunities, and threats.
c) It analyzes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
d) It analyzes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and time.
2. When assessing an organizations external environment a manager is concerned with:
a) Opportunities and Threats
b) Weaknesses and Threats
c) Strengths and Weaknesses
d) Strengths and Opportunities
3. When assessing an organizations internal environment a manager is concerned with:
a) Strength and Weaknesses
b) Strengths and Opportunities
c) Opportunities and Threats
d) Weaknesses and Threats
4. Jessica has just conducted a SWOT analysis of her firm. What should her next steps be?
a) Making sure that weaknesses are offset by the strengths and threats are turned into opportunities.
b) Making sure that weaknesses are offset by opportunities and threats are turned into strengths.
c) Making sure that strengths are offset by weaknesses and opportunities and turned into threats.
d) Making sure that opportunities are offset by threats and strengths are turned into weaknesses.
5. The first steps management should consider determining the feasibility of a new project or expansion project is to determine:
a) External strengths and threats.
b) External weaknesses and opportunities.
c) Internal opportunities and threats.
d) Internal strengths and weaknesses.
ACTIVITY 3
Direction: Read and analyze carefully a short overview on each company. After reading, answer each question and choose the correct answer.
Put a check on the box beside your answer.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ (GS): AAPL )

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the
Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and
professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes
online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

What Apples says about its iPhone

It works like no other phone.

With iPhone, Apple combined innovative hardware features with the worlds most advanced mobile operating system to redefine what a mobile
phone can do. Applications work together seamlessly and they sync with your computer whether youre on a Mac or a PC. From its
revolutionary Multi-Touch display to its intelligent keyboard to its smart sensors, iPhone is years ahead of any other mobile phone.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ (GS): GOOG )

As with its technology, Google has chosen to ignore conventional wisdom in designing its business. The company started with seed money from
angel investors and brought together two competing venture capital firms to fund its first equity round. While the dotcom boom exploded
around it and competitors spent millions on marketing campaigns to "build brand," Google focused instead on quietly building a better search
engine.

The word quickly spread from one satisfied user to another. With superior search technology and a high volume of traffic at its Google.com site,
Google's managers identified two initial opportunities for generating revenue: search services and advertising.

Android
Android delivers a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications.
Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has
to offer. It was built to be truly open. For example, an application can call upon any of the phone's core functionality such as making calls,
sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on
the open Linux Kernel. Furthermore, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that was designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a
mobile environment. Android is open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The
platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications.

1. July 2005, Google acquired Android, Inc. Android, Inc,. was a small start-up company that made software for mobile phones. Rumors
began that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market.
Is this new acquisition a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat for Google?

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITY THREATS

2. January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs, Apple CEO announced the iPhone, Apple's entry into the Mobile Phone market.
Is this new market entry a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat for Google?

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITY THREATS
 3. On June 29, 2007, at 6pm, the Apple iPhone went on sale in the US. Hundreds of customers lined up outside of stores across the country
to be one of the first to own an iPhone.
Is this demand a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat for Apple?

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITY THREATS

For numbers 4-5

On November 5, 2007 - the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google, was formed. The Open Handset Alliance is a group of technology and mobile
companies who came together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience.
Google released most of the Android code it owned to be open source (free to developers to use).

4. Is this new alliance a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat for Apple?

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITY THREATS
 5. Is this alliance a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat for Google?

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITY THREATS

V. Reinforcement Card
ACTIVITY 1
Direction: Answer what is asked in each question. Write your answer on the space provided or follow the instruction in a particular number.

1. What does the W stand for in the SWOT Analysis?

____________________
2. Match the following:
A B
a. Internal Opportunities and Threats
b. External We look at advantages
c. Strengths We look at disadvantages
d. Weaknesses Strengths and Weaknesses
3. What is the importance of doing a SWOT Analysis?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 2
A key tool in the strategic planning process can also be applied to career planning. This tool is a marketing analysis using the SWOT Technique. A
SWOT analysis focuses on the internal and external environments, examining strengths and weaknesses in the internal environment and
opportunities and threats in the external environment.

Direction: Imagine your SWOT analysis to be structured like the table below. Use what you learned in the SWOT analysis to focus on the part
you have control over: your weaknesses. Also use it to be aware of external threats in your career field and to clarify your strengths and
opportunities. Write your answer on the blank space provided.

Strengths Weaknesses
What do you do well? What could you improve?
What unique resources can you draw on? Where do you have fewer resources than others?
What do others see as your strengths? What are others likely to see as weaknesses?

Opportunities
What opportunities are open to you?
What trends could you take advantage of?
How can you turn your strengths into
opportunities?
Threats
What threats could harm you?
What is your competition doing?
What threats do your weaknesses expose you to?
ACTIVITY 3

Direction: Answer each question in a form of an essay. Write at least 5 sentences in each question on the space provided.

When the desired objective has been deemed attainable, the SWOTs are used as inputs to the creative generation of possible strategies, by
asking and answering each of the following four questions:

How can we Use each Strength?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

How can we Stop each Weakness?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

How can we Exploit each Opportunity?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

How can we Defend against each Threat?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
VI. Reference Card
Humphrey, Albert (December 2005). "SWOT Analysis for Management Consulting"(PDF). SRI Alumni Newsletter. SRI International.

Armstrong. M. A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th edition) 2006, Kogan Page, London ISBN 0-7494-4631-5

SWOT ANALYSIS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis

Dann & Gaskell, 2006, https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/downloads/In-class%20exercise.pdf

http://www.cvccworks.edu/Downloads/SWOTanalysis.pdf