SWOT analysis
Internal and external diagnosis, the four boxes of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, common sorting mistakes and crossing the boxes to choose an option.
- 22 cards
- 4 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Questions
- Sort and link
- Understand
A few cards from the deck
Strength: what is it?
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An internal asset of the organisation, coming from its resources or skills, that puts it ahead of its competitors.
A strength belongs to the company and depends on it. A growing market is not one: it is open to competitors too.
For an independent bookshop, the price of paper rises 20% in one year. Which box of its SWOT matrix does it go in?
- Threat
- Weakness
- Strength
- Opportunity
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Threat
The rise comes from the market and the bookshop does not decide it: it is external. People file it as a weakness by mistake when they confuse what hurts us with what belongs to us.
SWOT stands for …, …, Opportunities and Threats.
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SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths and weaknesses come from the internal analysis, opportunities and threats from the external one.
Weakness: what is it?
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An internal handicap of the organisation, due to its resources, skills or organisation, that puts it at a disadvantage against competitors.
It is internal, so the company can fix it. A competitor entering the market is a threat, not a weakness.
Why should an SME whose SWOT matrix lists fourteen strengths and a single weakness distrust its own analysis?
- A matrix must hold the same number of items in each box to be valid
- Strengths only count if they answer a threat
- A strength is judged against competitors; without comparison, it gets overrated
- A cautious analysis must list more weaknesses than strengths
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A strength is judged against competitors; without comparison, it gets overrated
A skill is a strength only if it beats competitors'. A list of assets with no weaknesses betrays an analysis done among ourselves: fixing it means asking customers or outsiders to review it, and comparing with competitors.