A SWOT Analysis is a tool used by business organizations to develop relevant strategies that will enable them to make profitable decisions that will enable them to outperform the competition continuously.
In this acronym S represent Strengths, W pertains to the Weaknesses, O has to do with Opportunities, and T defines the Threats that the company faces as it tries to forge ahead.
The information from these variables are taken together and used to formulate the best approach the company needs to adopt from the know position, to successfully advance and compete.
Leaders should always be cognizant of the fact that the environment the business operates in is dynamic, and as a result the decisions made today may change the next day or week or month, depending on the impact of one or all the variables at any point in time
In recent times a rise in the price of crude oil in OPEC countries had serious effects on the price of gasoline at the pump. This one change affected the share prices of several companies on the stock market. Reduction can in the short term affect the prices of several consumer products including cars, travels, and unemployment in some companies.
A business or organization is defined in the legal framework as a separate living legal entity, and as such can be sued differently from the owner of the business especially if it is a public company.
This generally accepted definition has empowered my thinking that the same way that a business conduct SWOT Analyses, individuals especially leaders and prospective executives should also conduct their own in order to assess their relevance to the organizations and their professions.
Leaders should be constantly aware of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that pertain to them from a positional standpoint.
Knowledge of their positions should enable them to strategically make adjustments that will facilitate mutual success for them and the company itself.
The business may find that it is strong in production, marketing, human resource, and inventory management but weak in organizational capability, collaborative communication, and learning systems implementations.
It may also find out after research that if it can reorganize the sales strategy it can generate millions in revenue from Africa and Asian countries due to the opportunities that existed.
The team may also discover that a new product on the market will cut significantly in their projected sales revenues for the next two quarters if a new marketing strategy is not developed and implemented within the next three weeks.
Finally it may also discover from the human resource manager that it will lose the services of the marketing manager to the competitor.
A good leader will take all these variables to the table and brain storm with his team to find a workable strategy going forward.
Meetings of this nature should then be the norm for any organization and not the exception if they are to remain competitive.
However it is not only the organization that needs to constantly conduct and apply the results of SWOT Analysis, but the leaders at all levels needs to do their own personal ones too as the organization cannot develop separately from their influences.
Appraisals should be so structured to bring out the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats pertinent to each job function.
Goals and objectives should be mutually set by managers and employees and rewards given where achievements have been realized.
Leaders, who are too autocratic, allows a free for all modes or embrace the country club management philosophy, may need to change their approaches to more progressive styles, which include giving more authority to workers and allowing them to be responsible for outcomes.
When SWOT Analyses are done simultaneously for the company and individuals at all levels, there will be flow of organizational energy outward and the organization may be able to achieve various levels of synergies.
The rewards for performances represent returns for workers that were able to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and made adjustments in a timely manner to ensure goals and objectives were met.
A good leader will ensure proper equilibriums are maintained throughout the life cycles of the organization, as it applies the this powerful SWOT Analysis tool to keep the company relevant and sustainable.
SWOT Analyses are therefore not only good for the organization but are just as vital for the staff within the organization, because both are living entities that interacts constantly to affect the environment externally and internally.
A deficiency in one entity can have inhibiting effects on the other and may manifest on the level of market share gained, the level of productivity, morale, and the future existence of both entities.
