1. Page 1 of 8
A SWOT analysis for schools is a tool that can provide prompts to the governors,
management teachers and staff involved in the analysis of what is effective and less
effective in the schools systems and procedures. Often used in preparation for a plan
of some form (that could be an audit, assessments, quality checks etc.). In fact
a SWOT can be used for any planning or analysis activity which could impact future
finance, planning and management decisions of the school or establishment. It can
enable you (the governors and management) to carry out a more comprehensive
analysis.
A technique that enables a group or individual to move from everyday problems and
traditional strategies to a fresh prospective.
It is a scanning for the internal and external environment of the business.
Environmental factors internal to the firm (within your control) usually can be
classified as strengths ( S ) or weaknesses ( W ), and
Those external to the firm (you can’t control) can be classified as opportunities ( O )
or threats ( T ).
2. Page 2 of 8
The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's
resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it
operates.
As a basic tool its mastery is a fundamental requirement for the marketer,
entrepreneur or business person.
It is a very important and useful tool to use in marketing Management,
strategy formulation and selection.
Also in other business applications.
3. Page 3 of 8
To help decision makers share and compare ideas.
To bring a clearer common purpose and understanding of factors for success.
To organize the important factors linked to success and failure in the business
world.
To provide linearity to the decision making process allowing complex ideas to
be presented systematically.
If there is anything that is steadfast and unchanging, it is change itself. Change is
inevitable, and organizations that don't accept change and that make adjustments to
their business model to keep up with changes are doomed to fail. There are events or
situations that occur that affect the way a business operates, in a positive or negative
4. Page 4 of 8
way. These events or situations can have either a positive or a negative impact on a
business and are called environmental factors.
There are two types of environmental factors: internal environmental
factors and external environmental factors.
Internal environmental factors are events that occur within an organization.
Generally speaking, internal environmental factors are easier to control than external
environmental factors. Some examples of internal environmental factors are:
Management changes
Employee morale
Culture changes
Financial changes and/or issues
External environmental factors are events that take place outside of the organization
and are harder to predict and control. External environmental factors can be more
dangerous for an organization given the fact they are unpredictable, hard to prepare
for, and often bewildering. Some examples of external environmental factors are:
Changes to the economy
Threats from competition
Political factors
Government regulations
The industry itself
5. Page 5 of 8
A valuable step in your situational analysis is assessing your firm’s strengths,
weaknesses, market opportunities, and threats through a SWOT analysis. This is a
very simple process that can offer powerful insight into the potential and critical
issues affecting a venture.
What is an Action Plan? Generally, it’s a proposed strategy or course or action. it’s a
document that lists the steps needed to achieve a goal. That is, an action plan clarifies
what resources you’ll need to reach that goal, make a timeline for the tasks to get to
that goal and determine what resources you’ll need to do it all.
6. Page 6 of 8
Responsible for creation of large Human Resources.
Skill set with English proficiency and quantitative has resulted in
international demand of students.
Presence of Government run initiatives and NGO’s have provided a strong
base to the system.
New education reforms has made education more lucrative.
According to World Bank, 3.6 million teachers are working on full time basis.
It’s easier to write down overall strengths, then narrow to the specifics. To
prevent thought-block, consider if these strengths are relevant to your school.
o An abundance of co-curricular activities.
o Highly-trained teachers/professors.
o Strong funding/financial backing.
o High graduation percentages.
o Great location for families.
You need to know existing strengths to keep them as strengths. And plan how
to enhance them to see more benefits.
Lack of investment in infrastructure leading to misadministered
universities.
Heavy dependence on government funding.
Political interference in the university administration.
Lack of market orientation in designing curriculum.
Inadequate collaboration among professional organizations.
Little scope in extracurricular activities.
When we acknowledge weakness, we’re one step closer to creating a plan of
attack. The plan will eliminate or reduce any impact the weakness may
have on the school.
Here are a few weaknesses to consider for this SWOT analysis:
o Not enough co-curricular and sports activities.
o Lack of funding for specific sports/programs.
o Enhanced reports of cyberbullying.
o Not enough staff/faculty members.
o Staff unable to meet with parents.
o Lack of proper training for faculty.
o An overabundance of students.
7. Page 7 of 8
o Poor internal communications.
o Poor testing scores.
o Bad reviews online.
To parents, this can have a big impact on their child’s grades. But for the
school it’s a minor inconvenience. Especially compared to not
having enough staff for every position in the school. Finding appropriate
staffing is an issue requiring immediate attention.
Inflow of foreign students resulting in huge revenues.
Increased competition resulting in improved efficiency and quality.
FDI in education is helping the students to get education at cheaper cost.
Admission of diverse field of students will result in sharing of new ideas
and thoughts.
Threats aren’t weaknesses. Weaknesses already exist and must be dealt
with. Threats might lead to complications… but they might not.
We acknowledge threats to create a plan. Because if we don’t understand
the threat, it can’t be dealt with accordingly.
Let’s look at some threats:
o Poor planning of curriculum/activities.
o Too much internal communications.
o Lack of internal communications.
o New high school development.
o Plumbing complications.
o Parent complaints.
o Employee/work strikes.
o Lack of funding.
o Pulled funding.
Threats are to be on your radar at all times. If you can create a plan of
action to address these threats, hop to it.
But if you can’t — such as the risk for strikes or labor disputes — being
aware is a good first step. Because you can create a plan of response if
these threats manifest into reality.
Private institutions may not indulge in social responsibilities.
8. Page 8 of 8
Marketing techniques by universities may promote courses which are
irrelevant to students.
High growth in number of colleges may focus on profit making rather than
quality education.
Donation on admission process.
A realistic recognition of the weaknesses and threats that exist for your effort is the
first step to countering them with a robust and creative set of strengths and
opportunities. A SWOT analysis identifies your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats to assist you in making strategic plans and decisions.
SWOT is a simple yet comprehensive way of assessing the positive and negative
forces within and without your organization, so you can be better prepared to act
effectively. The more stakeholders you involve in preparing the SWOT, the more
valuable your analysis will be.
Whatever courses of action you decide on, the four-cornered SWOT analysis prompts
you to move in a balanced way throughout your program. It reminds you to:
build on your strengths
minimize your weaknesses
seize opportunities
counteract threats
A SWOT analysis will be most helpful if you use it to support the vision, mission, and
objectives you have already defined. The SWOT will at least provide perspective, and
at best will reveal connections and areas for action.
