SWOT

Question 1

what does SWOT help us understand?

Answer 1

if a company is successfully operating in the environment it does with the characteristics it has

Question 2

which strengths and weaknesses are considered in SWOT?

Answer 2

the ones that the company can directly impact

Question 3

what data do we use for SWOT analysis?

Answer 3

data from internal and external analyses of the business environment (resource audit = KPIs and the company’s performance on them; benchmarking; pest analysis; industry and competition analysis)

Question 4

state 3 key characteristics of SWOT analysis

Answer 4

1. S, W, O, and T are all ambiguous.
   - —–S and W should be chosen depending on the differences with competitors or comparable organisations.
   - —–O and T should be directly relevant to the company and the industry
2. changes in external environment can turn S into W (and vice versa)
3. SWOT is a summary analysis (should be short)

Question 5

define the confrontation matrix (rows, columns, 4 fields)

Answer 5

rows: O and T
columns: S and W
- -> SO strategies (use S to take advantage of O)
- -> WO strategies (overcome W to take advantage of O)
- -> ST strategies (use S to avoid T)
- -> WT strategies (minimise W and avoid T)

Question 6

how is the confrontation matrix also called?

Answer 6

the TOWS matrix

Question 7

how is the confrontation matrix used?

Answer 7

e.g. for SO strategy field: each S and O are connected together and the connection between them is defined (empty means no connection, +/- low connection, ++/– strong connection)
helps to identify most important issues and formulate strategies out of them