SWOT Analysis BY ANEEK GUPTA

2. Maximizes The Potential Of The Strengths And Opportunities While Minimizing The Impact Of The Weaknesses And Threats?

3. The SWOTS Are Employed To Derive Possible Strategies, By Asking And Answering Each Of The Following Four Questions, Many Times:

5. A Product Or Brand

6. A Business Idea

7. A Strategic Option, Such As Entering A New Market Or Launching A New Product

8. Potential Partnership

9. Outsourcing A Service, Activity Or Resource

10. Investment Opportunity

11. Known Market Opportunities

12. Un-Contested Market OpportunitiesA SWOT Analysis Is A Subjective Assessment Of Data Which Is Organized By The SWOT Format Into A Logical Order That Helps Understanding, Presentation, Discussion And Decision-Making. It Enables Proactive Thinking, Rather Than Relying On Habitual Or Instinctive Reactions. SWOT Analysis Has 3 Distinct Phases: The First Phase A Thorough Analysis Takes Place. The Emphasis In On Being Complete Honest And Think Of Everything Pertaining To: Strengths – This Is An Area Where We Will Do Well. List Them All As These Would Be Obvious And Should Be Ranked In Order – From Strongest To Weakest. Weaknesses – List Down Any/All Flaw Or Weak Point. The Best Way To Do This Complete This Exercise Is By Having A Brainstorming Session And Taking All Suggestions And Inputs. Opportunities - These Are Areas Where We Think We Might Have A Shot At The Competition. Maybe We Provide Better Service, Or We Can Sell Our Products For Less. Threats - A Threat Is An Indication Of Impending Danger Or Harm To The Company. These Are Things Such As New Competitors Or Price Wars. Strengths And Weaknesses Are Internal Factors. For Example, Strength Could Be Our Specialist Marketing Expertise. A Weakness Could Be The Lack Of A New Product. Opportunities And Threats Are External Factors. For Example, An Opportunity Could Be A Developing Distribution Channel Or Changing Consumer Lifestyles That Potentially Increase Demand For A Company's Products. A Threat Could Be A New Competitor In An Important Existing Market Or A Technological Change That Makes Existing Products Potentially Obsolete. Second Phase: Once You've Identified And Specifically Defined These Areas, Comparisons Can Be Made Between Them To Generate The Following Four Areas Of Focus: Leverage – Compare Strengths And Opportunities, And Then We Will Be Able To See What Type Of Leverage We Have. This Will Show Us What Type Of Advantage We Might Have Over Other Companies, Allowing Us To Act More Effectively. Problems - Problems Are Aggravated When One Compares The Weaknesses With All External Threats. These Situations Often Present Themselves As The Main Reasons For Failure And This Is What We Need To Get Them Under Control. Vulnerabilities - These Are Produced When We Compare Our Strengths With Any Outside Threats. This Is Useful In Showing Us Any Areas Of Our Business Which Might Be Susceptible To Attack From The Competitors. Constraints - Constraints Are Formed By The Comparison Of Our Company's Weaknesses And Any External Opportunities Available. These Constraints Will Restrict And Limit The Effectiveness Of Our Company. By Eliminating Our Weaknesses, Constraints Disappear, And Opportunities Appear. Third Phase: It’s Putting Our Learning Into ACTION. Rate The Problems In Order Of Importance To Our Company And Attack Them. Rate Our Constraints By What We Can Fix First. Every Company Has Weaknesses Of One Kind Or Another, Once They Are Identified However, These Areas Can Be Improved Upon. Vulnerabilities Are Handled By Using Our Leverage And Adding To Our Strengths. The Key Is To Be Proactive. Once We Know Where Our Company Stands And What Areas Need Improvement, Fix Them; But It Shouldn't End There. It Is A Never Ending Process Where We Should Continue To Analyze Our Company On A Regular Basis Because There Is Always Room For Improvement And That Is How We Can Become Truly World Class. Thanking You, Aneek Gupta Mayaneer South Bharat Nagar Siliguri 734004 India India 0091 9932405800 {Out Of Country}