SWOT analysis

In strategic planning and strategic management, SWOT analysis (also known as the SWOT matrix, TOWS, WOTS, WOTS-UP, and situational analysis)^[1] is a decision-making technique that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of an organization or project.

SWOT analysis evaluates the strategic position of organizations and is often used in the preliminary stages of decision-making processes^[2] to identify internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving goals. Users of a SWOT analysis ask questions to generate answers for each category and identify competitive advantages.

SWOT has been described as a "tried-and-true" tool of strategic analysis,^[3] but has also been criticized for limitations such as the static nature of the analysis, the influence of personal biases in identifying key factors, and the overemphasis on external factors, leading to reactive strategies. Consequently, alternative approaches to SWOT have been developed over the years.

^ Nutt, Paul C.; Backoff, Robert W. (Summer 1993). "Transforming public organizations with strategic management and strategic leadership". Journal of Management. 19 (2): 299–347 (316). doi:10.1016/0149-2063(93)90056-S. The SWOTs perspective is often used to pose questions for strategic management (e.g., Ansoff, 1980). Steiner's (1979) 'WOTS' approach, Rowe, Mason and Dickel's (1982) WOTS-UP, and Delbecq's (1989) 'TOWS' framework identify three of many derivations. See also: Weihrich 1982, p. 54: "For convenience, the matrix that will be introduced is called TOWS, or situational analysis"; Sevier 2001, p. 46.
^ Silva, Carlos Nunes (2005). "SWOT analysis". In Caves, Roger W. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the city. Abingdon; New York: Routledge. pp. 444–445. doi:10.4324/9780203484234. ISBN 978-0415862875. OCLC 55948158.
^
Examples of the "tried-and-true" trope:
- Sevier, Robert A. (2001). "Not SWOT, but OTSW". Thinking outside the box: some (fairly) radical thoughts on how colleges and universities should think, act, and communicate in a very busy marketplace. Hiawatha, Iowa: Strategy Pub. p. 46. ISBN 0971059705. OCLC 48165005. Few people realize that there is an inherent danger in conducting a situational analysis using the old tried and true SWOT. The danger is this: When you look inside the organization first, you create a set of glasses through which you will look at the world. In doing so, you are highly likely to overlook significant opportunities and threats. See also Minsky & Aron 2021.
- Staples, Lee (2004). Roots to power: a manual for grassroots organizing (2nd ed.). Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 0275969975. OCLC 56085984. The tried and true SWOT Assessment examines positive and negative factors as does a Force Field Analysis, but a SWOT has a particular focus on the upsides and downsides for the action group itself.
- Lambert, Ron; Parker, Tom (2006). Is that your hand in my pocket?: the sales professional's guide to negotiating. Nashville: Nelson Business. p. 132. ISBN 0785218777. OCLC 63125604. Before you as a salesperson can develop a strategy, you have to assess the situation. We recommend the tried-and-true SWOT analysis. You start by taking a look at your Strengths and Weaknesses, your Opportunities and any Threats. Then you do exactly the same thing from the perspective of each of your competitors.

[1] Nutt, Paul C.; Backoff, Robert W. (Summer 1993). "Transforming public organizations with strategic management and strategic leadership". Journal of Management. 19 (2): 299–347 (316). doi:10.1016/0149-2063(93)90056-S. The SWOTs perspective is often used to pose questions for strategic management (e.g., Ansoff, 1980). Steiner's (1979) 'WOTS' approach, Rowe, Mason and Dickel's (1982) WOTS-UP, and Delbecq's (1989) 'TOWS' framework identify three of many derivations. See also: Weihrich 1982, p. 54: "For convenience, the matrix that will be introduced is called TOWS, or situational analysis"; Sevier 2001, p. 46.

[2] Silva, Carlos Nunes (2005). "SWOT analysis". In Caves, Roger W. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the city. Abingdon; New York: Routledge. pp. 444–445. doi:10.4324/9780203484234. ISBN 978-0415862875. OCLC 55948158.

[3] Examples of the "tried-and-true" trope:
Sevier, Robert A. (2001). "Not SWOT, but OTSW". Thinking outside the box: some (fairly) radical thoughts on how colleges and universities should think, act, and communicate in a very busy marketplace. Hiawatha, Iowa: Strategy Pub. p. 46. ISBN 0971059705. OCLC 48165005. Few people realize that there is an inherent danger in conducting a situational analysis using the old tried and true SWOT. The danger is this: When you look inside the organization first, you create a set of glasses through which you will look at the world. In doing so, you are highly likely to overlook significant opportunities and threats. See also Minsky & Aron 2021.

Staples, Lee (2004). Roots to power: a manual for grassroots organizing (2nd ed.). Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 0275969975. OCLC 56085984. The tried and true SWOT Assessment examines positive and negative factors as does a Force Field Analysis, but a SWOT has a particular focus on the upsides and downsides for the action group itself.

Lambert, Ron; Parker, Tom (2006). Is that your hand in my pocket?: the sales professional's guide to negotiating. Nashville: Nelson Business. p. 132. ISBN 0785218777. OCLC 63125604. Before you as a salesperson can develop a strategy, you have to assess the situation. We recommend the tried-and-true SWOT analysis. You start by taking a look at your Strengths and Weaknesses, your Opportunities and any Threats. Then you do exactly the same thing from the perspective of each of your competitors.

[4] Sevier, Robert A. (2001). "Not SWOT, but OTSW". Thinking outside the box: some (fairly) radical thoughts on how colleges and universities should think, act, and communicate in a very busy marketplace. Hiawatha, Iowa: Strategy Pub. p. 46. ISBN 0971059705. OCLC 48165005. Few people realize that there is an inherent danger in conducting a situational analysis using the old tried and true SWOT. The danger is this: When you look inside the organization first, you create a set of glasses through which you will look at the world. In doing so, you are highly likely to overlook significant opportunities and threats. See also Minsky & Aron 2021.

[5] Staples, Lee (2004). Roots to power: a manual for grassroots organizing (2nd ed.). Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 0275969975. OCLC 56085984. The tried and true SWOT Assessment examines positive and negative factors as does a Force Field Analysis, but a SWOT has a particular focus on the upsides and downsides for the action group itself.

[6] Lambert, Ron; Parker, Tom (2006). Is that your hand in my pocket?: the sales professional's guide to negotiating. Nashville: Nelson Business. p. 132. ISBN 0785218777. OCLC 63125604. Before you as a salesperson can develop a strategy, you have to assess the situation. We recommend the tried-and-true SWOT analysis. You start by taking a look at your Strengths and Weaknesses, your Opportunities and any Threats. Then you do exactly the same thing from the perspective of each of your competitors.

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