SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Wea

knesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business ventu

re. A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or object
ive. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model.
- Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving t
he objective.
- Weaknesses: attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving
the objective.
- Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective
.
- Threats: external conditions which could do damage to the business’s performance
.
Identification of SWOTs is essential to identify internal and external factors t
hat are favorable and unfavorable to achieving company business objective and su
bsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected object
ive may be derived from the SWOTs.
And this spreadsheet just one sample about identifying business objective from S
WOT analysis.
How to Perform a SWOT Analysis in Employee Training and Development
By James Lemoine
eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating: (4 Ratings)
Along with recruiting and retaining, training is one of the three key aspects of
effective employee management. Before you sit down to work out just what your e
mployee training program should involve, however, it s helpful to run an employe
e SWOT analysis and look at the business s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats.
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Instructions
1. Step 1
First, assemble your team to create the SWOT analysis. This may be a cross-funct
ional team of managers from different areas of the company, all of whom have som
e stake in developing a great employee training program. The team might include
employees who have been through the training, successful team members who know w
here opportunities lie or the company s training experts. Or the SWOT team might
be a smaller group, maybe even just one person, who is intimately familiar with
both the employees and the company s training needs. A larger team is generally
better (without getting too big), as more ideas will be brought to the table.
2. Step 2
Before beginning, it s important that every team member understand what you re d
oing and why you re doing it. All team members should be familiar with not only
the SWOT process, but also the specific desired result of the process and the ov
erall employee training initiative. Give everyone background, and begin.
3. Step 3
Most SWOT groups find it simplest to begin with strengths. These are the strengt
hs of your current employee base, the things that, although they could always be
improved, your employees currently do very well. If your employees are all outg
oing and friendly, that s strength. If they consistently submit required reports
on time, that s a strength. Strengths are items that probably do not need to be
given a high priority for training in your new employee development program, be
yond what is already being done to train those skills. Make a comprehensive list
of the strengths of your employees, and make sure all team members agree that t
hese are indeed strengths.
4. Step 4
After strengths, the logical place to move is weaknesses. These are the areas wi
th the most need for improvement in your employees; probably the areas that made
your company decide to examine the employee training and development process in
the first place. If a customer service team is unable to entice canceling custo
mers to stay with your business, that s a weakness. If an operations manager can
 t read a profit and loss report, that s a weaknesses. Weaknesses are items that
your team will eventually want to place as high priorities in the employee trai
ning process. Again, create a comprehensive list of employee weaknesses, and be
frank.
5. Step 5
In SWOT analyses, where strengths and weaknesses are generally internal, opportu
nities and threats are found by looking outside the group. Although strengths an
d weaknesses are what you ve seen in the past and are seeing now, opportunities
and threats are what you re starting to see now but will see more of in the futu
re. An opportunity for a sales team, for instance, might be a new product, featu
re or price point coming that reps will be able to sell (which, in this case, wo
uld obviously provide an employee training opportunity). An opportunity for an a
ccounting division could be new tax software or new online filing availability,
which would again create a training opportunity.
6. Step 6
Finally, a realistic and thorough examination of external threats should be cons
idered to finish the SWOT. Threats are those programs, qualities or events appro
aching your employees that could hamper the effectiveness or efficiency of the b
usiness. That new tax software that was an opportunity for more efficient accoun
ting could also be a threat, for instance; after all, if the accountants don t a
dequately understand how to use it, it could slow them down. A competitor offeri
ng a new, lower price point can create a threat for sales employees, as they cou
ld lose sales if they re not adequately trained to sell against that lower price
.
7. Step 7
After you have the SWOT completely assembled and your team agrees on it, the har
dest part begins: you actually have to use the document to realign and rebuild y
our training program. The SWOT looks great on paper, but it s worthless if it s
not used properly to align employee training with the company s most pressing ne
eds. Strengths are areas to be reinforced but not trained as a priority, while w
eaknesses can be used to generate your most important training topics. Although
the strengths and weaknesses show what training your employees do and don t need
now, opportunities and threats should indicate what training should be implemen
ted to keep your business in a proactive, rather than a reactive, role
SWOT Analysis
What is SWOT analysis?
The SWOT analysis was originally arrived at by Andrews Christiansen, Guth and Le
arned in 1969 and its basic organising principles have remained largely unchange
d in the field of strategic management. It is a systematic framework which helps
managers to develop their business strategies by appraising their internal and
external determinants of their organisation’s performance. Internal environmental
factors include leadership talent, human resource capabilities, the company’s cult
ure as well as the effectiveness of its policies and procedures. External factor
s include competition, government legislation, changing trends and social expect
ations.
The SWOT analysis framework involves analysing the strengths (S) and weaknesses
(W) of the business’s internal factors and the opportunities (O) and threats (T) o
f its external factors of performance. Through this analysis “strengths and weakne
sses within an organisation can be matched with the opportunities and threats op
erating in the environment so that an effective strategy can be formulated”. There
fore an organisation can derive an effective strategy by taking advantage of its
opportunities by using its strengths and neutralise its threats by minimising t
he impact of its weaknesses. Moreover, SWOT analysis can be applied to both a wh
ole company as well as a specific project in order to identify new company strat
egies and appraise project feasibility.
The strengths and weaknesses of a company relate to its internal elements such a
s resources, operational programs and departments such as sales, marketing and d
istribution. More specifically, a strength is an advantageous skill or competenc
y that a business or project possesses that allows it to create competitive adva
ntages, such as its strong research and development capabilities. A weakness on
the other hand is a strategic disadvantage such as a skill that the business or
project lacks which limits it and creates potential risks in negative economic c
onditions.
An opportunity is a desirable condition which can be exploited to consolidate an
d strengthen a strategic position, such as growing demand for a trendy new produ
ct which it could consider selling. A threat on the other hand, is a condition t
hat creates uncertainties which could potentially damage an organisation’s perform
ance and market share. Threats include the introduction of new competing product
s or services, foreign competition, technological advancements, and new regulati
ons. Therefore, the company needs to develop strategies to overcome these threat
s in order to prevent the loss of its market share. It must be noted, however, t
hat opportunities and threats exist in the environment and therefore are often b
eyond the control of the organisation but they do offer suggestions for strategi
c direction. The SWOT analysis, as a result, demands a great deal of research in
to an organisation’s present and future position. Its results provide a useful sou
rce of information from which an organisation can go on to develop policies and
practices which allow it to “build upon its strengths, minimise its weaknesses, se
ize
SWOT analysis is widely used by managers because of its simplicity as a planning
tool as well as being adaptable to any situation or project. Whilst it is not t
he only technique available to managers, it can often be the most effective if u
sed properly. The basis for a SWOT is usually drawn from the audit review as wel
l as from independently carried out interviews with staff and customers. Data is
then analysed to arrive at a list of issues which can be categorised into stren
gths, weaknesses and opportunities and threats. The key issues and company activ
ities are then reassessed through great discussion between managers and reduced
further to identify the most important issues and the potential impact they coul
d have on the organisation. If too many issues are included in the analysis, the
re will be a lack of focus in the development of a new company strategy. Additio
nally, the issues considered should be made in view of the customer opinions and
perceptions which would therefore require objectivity. Ideally, a company shoul
d carry out a SWOT analysis on a regular basis in order to assess its situation
against its competitors in a constantly evolving market environment. According t
o Stalk et al. “the essence of strategy is not the structure of a company’s products
and markets but the dynamics of its behaviour”.
It is also recommended that an organisation develop a SWOT on its competitors so
that it may be able to take into account consumer perceptions and determinants
of their buying behaviour. This is particularly the case with issues such as qua
lity in which perceptions are more powerful than the reality. In today’s highly co
mpetitive and fast changing market environment, “the greatest mistake managers mak
e when evaluating their resources is failing to assess them relative to competit
ors”. A competitive analysis as part of the SWOT framework is always necessary in
order to determine its position in the market. For example, if a project or busi
ness strength is the amount of capital it has to invest in improved IT functiona
lity, it may not be the case if its competitor is investing double this amount t
o improve its own IT functionality. Therefore it is no longer a strength but rat
her a weakness for the company. The same competitive analysis should be taken
into account when assessing opportunities and threats. “Whether an issue is a thre
at or an opportunity depends on the relative strengths of the competing business
es.”
McDonald states that the “SWOT device…whilst potentially a very powerful, analytical
device is rarely used effectively”. Moreover, he recommends using a summary from
the marketing audit to arrive at a good SWOT as well as keeping it focused on th
e critical factors only and to maintain a list of differential strengths and wea
knesses in comparison to competitors, focusing mainly on competitive advantages.
Additionally, only critical external opportunities and threats should be listed
with a focus on the real issues. Finally, the reader of the SWOT analysis shoul
d be left with the main issues encompassing the business to the extent that they
are able to derive and develop marketing objectives from them. “A good SWOT analy
sis is characterized by the rigorous process of analysis, which reduces the numb
er of external and internal issues to those that are of paramount importance.” At
the end of the analysis, the organisation is left with reasons behind their choi
ces as well as their potential impacts, which provides them with a stronger basi
s from which to form future strategic decisions.
Below is an example of a SWOT analysis of the McDonald’s Corporation (MD):
Strengths
• Open door policy to the press
• CERES guidance and co-ordination & active CSR
• Selective supply chain strategy
• Rigorous food safety standards
• Affordable prices and high quality products
• Nutritional information available on packaging
• Decentralised yet connected system
• Innovative excellence program
• Promoting ethical conduct
• Profitable Weaknesses
• Inflexible to changes in market trends
• Difficult to find and retain employees
• Drive for achieving shareholder value may counter CSR
• Promote unhealthy food
• Promoted CSR meat imports in error
Opportunities
• Attractive & flexible employment
• Positive environmental commitments
• Higher standards demanded from suppliers
• Corporate Responsibility Committee
• Honest & real brand image Threats
• Fabricated stories about the quality of our chicken
• Unhealthy foods for children
• Health concerns surrounding Beef, Poultry & Fish
• Labour exploitation in China
• CSR at the risk of profit loss
• Contributor to global warming
• Local fast food restaurants
Strengths
Open door policy to the press
During loss of public confidence arising from the safety of beef and poultry the
MD had an open door, allowing the press into a limited number its restaurants a
nd suppliers. In March 2001, MD opened its doors to both TV and printed advertis
ement with a view to seeing how the company was being managed.
CERES guidance and co-ordination & active CSR
MD co-ordinates with investors, environmental and Corporate Social Responsibilit
y (CSR) organisations, such as CERES, to continuously improve its social and env
ironmental programs.
Selective supply chain strategy
MD works to ensure that its suppliers meet safety and quality standards as well
as sustainable food supply and animal welfare.
Rigorous food safety standards
MD works hard to ensure its high food safety standards are met through training,
food, safety and quality and menu development in each restaurant. This filters
through to its partners ensuring that they operate ethically and meet social res
ponsibility standards.
Affordable prices and high quality products
MD is an efficient provider and always seeks to offer the best value to its cust
omers.
Nutritional information available on packaging
MD is one of the first fast food restaurants to disclose its nutritional informa
tion on its packaging and continues to seek new ways in which it can provide nut
rition and balanced active lifestyles for its customers.
Decentralised yet connected system
MD provides a core system of values, principles and standards which managers adh
ere to in combination with its “Freedom within the framework” program which provides
them with the flexibility to respond to the diversity of its customers and loca
l markets.
Innovative excellence program
MD has mystery shoppers which shop unannounced and inspect the premises as custo
mers and rate it accordingly. Many restaurants provide customer comment contact
numbers and employee satisfaction surveys.
Promoting ethical conduct
MD works hard to maintain its integrity with its shareholders through a
Profitable
MD is profitable with sufficient capital which allows it to grow and realise gai
ns on its investments. This allows MD to offer help to charities as well as itse
lf when in need.
Weaknesses
Inflexible to changes in market trends
If customer trends move towards eating Eco-friendly or Bio foods, MD would be un
able to follow this trend without changing suppliers and incurring significant f
inancial losses. MD could consider the introduction of new product with the aid
of market research, over the coming years to prepare them for such an inevitable
change.
Difficult to find and retain employees
MD has had hostile relationships with workers rights unions and although this ha
s been controlled, the company does find it difficult to find and retain good em
ployees. The company can build on its reputation for developing top level manage
rs to motivate entry level employees to remain.
Drive for achieving shareholder value may counter CSR
When MD’s profits fall, its stock price often falls as well and is often forced to
take drastic actions to resolve the problem. This can oftentimes be at the cost
of being socially and environmentally irresponsible. MD could be more proactive
in finding more long-term CSR suppliers and processes that provide low costs an
d higher profit margins, rather than being reactive.
Promote unhealthy food
Despite providing healthier product varieties, MD continues to sell burgers that
have 850 calories as well as other unhealthy products. This could continue to h
arm its reputation as an unhealthy fast food provider. MD could research ways to
reduce the calories in its products whilst still maintaining their taste, or at
the least provide low calorie burger options.
Promoted CSR meat imports in error
MD claimed to provide meat from socially and environmentally responsible sources
, but a court case found that meat had been imported from Latin America where ra
inforests are cleared to create green fields for cattle. Where MD carries out CS
R processes or investments it may wish to consider carrying out random checks to
ensure their standards are continually met, to minimise embarrassing press.
Opportunities
Attractive & flexible employment
MD offers a variety of job opportunities and is proud to say that 42% of its top
managers first started by serving customers. It is also helpful to society in b
eing always able to hire even in times of recession, helping to keep jobless rat
es lower.
Positive environmental commitments
MD incorporates environmental commitments in its daily operations, from maintain
ing daily drive-thru cleanings to providing sustainable fish sources to using re
cycled packaging.
Higher standards demanded from suppliers
MD sets the standards it demands from suppliers for low cost high quality, socia
lly responsible supplies, in return for a long-term business commitment.
Corporate Responsibility Committee
MD has a standing Corporate Responsibility Committee that acts as an advisor to
its Board of Directors.
Honest & real brand image
MD has built and maintains a trusting relationship with its shareholders and cus
tomers through truthful marketing and communications.
Threats
Fabricated stories about the quality of our chicken
E-mails and websites have published fabricated information that MD is using ‘monst
er-chickens’ in its products. MD could build on its open door policy with the pres
s and apply it to the web, to combat false distribution of information.
Unhealthy foods for children
If competitors begin to offer premium healthy alternatives for children with sma
ll gifts to encourage them to eat healthy, this would be a significant threat to
MD. MD’s positive strategy to provide a range of healthy products could include h
ealthy products for children.
Health concerns surrounding Beef, Poultry & Fish
There are various initiatives working against hormone induced cows and other iss
ues such as bird flu epidemics and heavy metal levels in fish could reduce MD’s sa
les and cause profits and its share price to fall. MD could use its purchasing p
ower to its advantage to source supplies that are healthy and at low prices.
Labour exploitation in China
Chinese manufacturers exploit labour in their production of ‘Happy Meal’ toys. MD co
uld use its purchasing power to its advantage to demand that manufacturers provi
de a toys without exploiting labour.
CSR at the risk of profit loss
If share prices and profitability are under pressure, managers will inevitably s
eek to resolve it at the risk of a CSR issue.
Contributor to global warming
MD is the largest consumer of beef. Greenfields used to supply this beef comes a
t the expense of rainforests, heavy use of chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides
. MD could use its purchasing power to its advantage to source CSR suppliers.
Local fast food restaurants
Local restaurants which are less environmentally threatening than MD and have le
ss purchasing power may have better reputations with local suppliers and custome
rs.
From the above SWOT of McDonald’s and the summary that follows it, it can be seen
how an organisation by highlighting its position it can identify areas that coul
d be strengthened, opportunities seized and threats and weaknesses minimised or
prevented completely.
In summary, a SWOT analysis provides a systematic framework for appraising an or
ganisation’s internal and external position in its environment and their potential
impact on performance. It is a useful tool as it can form the basis from which
a range of strategies can be developed by taking advantage of its opportunities
through the use of its strengths and neutralising its threats by minimising the
impact of its weaknesses. In order for it to be most effective, it must also be
constantly updated to compensate for changes in the company’s environment and also
assessed in relation to the position of its competitors in the market. Whilst i
t may be difficult for management to resolve all of the weaknesses and threats h
ighlighted the company is at least made aware of them and can bare them in mind
when implementing future strategies. The McDonald’s SWOT analysis highlighted seve
ral CSR threats and weaknesses and its strengths highlighted its strong purchasi
ng power which could potentially be used to demand socially responsible producti
on from its Chinese manufacturers and meat suppliers. It also showed how a more
proactive and longer-term approach to its strategies can help it to anticipate c
hanging consumer tastes and demands.
SWOT Analysis Example Essays
• SWOT Analysis Essays - Example 1: SWOT Analysis Essay - The Toddler Warehouse wi
ll be a full-service child care/development facility in the city of Perth that c
ares for toddlers from age three to five. The Toddler Warehouse will be concentr
ating on the upper end of the market, two income professional parents. These per
sonally ambitious parents are typically eager in terms of their children s devel
opment and are willing to pay to have their children attend the best facilities.
Through specialized training of the support staff and innovative learning syste
ms, The Toddler Warehouse is cutting edge in terms of child development. This cu
rriculum, coupled with a custom designed facility and a low teacher/student rati
o ensures a top-shelf service for the children and the parents. The Toddler Ware
house expects to become profitable by month 11, and has projected $43,000 as the
revenue for year three. Read more...
• SWOT Analysis Essays - Example 2: SWOT Analysis Essay - Motor Store is a newly e
stablished company in the auto industry situated in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Its
objective is to satisfy local demand for auto parts and to sell products to loc
al garages as well as to the general public. Chairperson Brendan McAnulla will b
e in charge of the start-up of the store, its daily operations and also be respo
nsible to the board. Financial resources for the company will be supported by th
e business program run by the Bank of Ireland. In terms of human resources avail
able a skilled workforce drawn from the local and surrounding areas will contrib
ute to the success of the business in terms of both its management and operation
functions. Read more...
• SWOT Analysis Essays - Example 3: SWOT Analysis Essay - This report will provide
a detailed analysis of BMW s current corporate appraisal analysis. This will he
lp to identify the company s current strength, weaknesses, opportunities and thr
eats. This will help the companies decision makers understand where the organisa
tion is now. The report will also critically evaluate BMW s human resources poli
cy as a key area of the organisation. We will highlight how BMW has strategicall
y responded to the drivers for change in terms of its structure, conduct and per
formance. Finally, offer recommendations for the future development and improvem
ents in human resource management, and how those will impact on its organisation
al structure, conduct and performance. Read more...
• SWOT Analysis Essays - Example 4: SWOT Analysis Essay - The NHS was set up on 5t
h July 1948 to provide healthcare for all citizens, based on need, not the abili
ty to pay. (www.nhs.uk) Prior to this date access to treatment depended on eithe
r the ability to pay, or the goodwill of doctor s in hospitals funded by charita
ble donations. The latter was a very strained resource and often it was only the
working parent, usually the man, who was able to access such treatment, which h
e often paid for by way of deductions from salary to schemes such as the Hospita
l Saving Association ( www.hsa.co.uk ). Today the health service is formed of ma
ny trusts, reporting into the department of health, consisting of community serv
ices Trusts, Ambulance Trusts to Hospital Trusts
NHS Resource Profile
The essence of developing amarketing strategy for a company is to ensure that th
e company s capabilitiesare matched to the competitive market environment in whi
ch it operates, notjust for today, but into the foreseeable future. At the heart
of strategy liesthe need to assess critically both the organisation s resource
profile (opftenreferred to as its strengths and weaknesses s) and the environmen
t it faces(Hooley, Saunders and Piercy, (2004).)
With reference to academicliterature and to the National Health Service as an or
ganisation, criticallyevaluate the mechanisms available to management by which i
t can assess:
The organisations resource profileand
The marketing environment itfaces.
Background to the NHS
The NHS was set up on 5thJuly 1948 to provide healthcare for all citizens, based
on need, not theability to pay. (www.nhs.uk) Prior to this date access to treat
ment depended oneither the ability to pay, or the goodwill of doctor s in hospit
als funded bycharitable donations. The latter was a very strained resource and o
ften it wasonly the working parent, usually the man, who was able to access such
treatment, which he often paid for by way of deductions from salary to schemessu
ch as the Hospital Saving Association ( www.hsa.co.uk ). Today the healthservice
is formed of many trusts, reporting into the department of health,consisting of
 community services Trusts, Ambulance Trusts to Hospital Trusts.Care is made ava
ilable for all who need it. Current government statedpriorities, as quoted on ww
w.nhs.uk are given in National Service Frameworks are
• Cancer
• Paediatric Intensive Care
• Mental Health
• Coronary Heart Disease
• Older People
• Diabetes
• Renal services
• Children s services
• Long Term Conditions
The launch of the health servicewas very high profile (www.bbc.co.uk) and still
often shown within healthcaretelevision coverage today. Over the last fifty year
s, many changes have beenmade to the service (www.nhs.uk/history) to enhance it
sofferings to the public, yet today the NHS is often in the news for negativerea
son s. Despite the obvious good work that the NHS does, it is the longwaiting li
sts, MRSA and occasional health problems that come to the forefrontin the eyes o
f the media. Again, marketing can play a big part in theperception of the servic
e in the eyes of the public.
Organisations resource profile
At the heart of strategy lies theneed to assess critically both the organisation
s resource profile (oftenreferred to as its strengths and weaknesses) and the e
nvironment it faces(Hooley, Saunders and Piercy).) In the 1990 s the inside-out
approach tomarketing, the resource based view (RBV) became popular with strategi
sts suchas Grant, for it s new approach which looked inside the firm to assess i
t score competencies and to determine which competencies should be used for comp
etitiveadvantage. A neo-classical approach, the resource view was that the exter
nalenvironment was constantly changing and that it would be difficult forcompani
es to keep changing with it, rather they ought to stick with what theyknow best
and concentrate on their core offerings. The value chain approachoffered by Mich
ael Porter, reaffirmed by Johnson and Scholes, also emphasisedthe importance of
understanding how the internal organisational factors addvalue to and impact on
the external environmental influences affecting thefirm. The value chain activit
ies are split into primary activities (inboundand outbound logistics, operations
, marketing, sales and customer service) andsecondary activities (infrastructure
, human resource management, technologydevelopment and procurement). All of the
above chain linkages will need tobe assessed for the NHS in trying to ascertain
the organisations resourceprofile.
Taking the Value Chain approachand applying it to the NHS
The value chain will now be takenand applied to what is known about the NHS in t
he public domain. (newspapers,media and www.nhs.co.uk)
Primary activities
Inbound and outbound logisticsrelate to the receiving and distribution of goods
and services. Within the NHSlogistics would consist of the following
• Patients, who would either be transported by their own methods or by ambulances
in order to receive the treatment.
• Drugs, dressings and other pharmaceutical supplies
• Staff who may travel to and from hospitals, to and from other medical establishm
ents and from either of the former to a patients home/ destination and so on
• Medical equipment, such as surgical instruments and monitors
• Non medical equipment such as beds, linen, catering requirements, cleaning equip
ment and stationary
• Warehousing of goods
From the above, it is noticeablethat there are a range of logistical activities,
notably many of these aremanaged by different departments and others outsourced
, such as catering andcleaning. Obviously where outsourcing has taken place, NHS
Managers have takenthe decision that such services do not come under it s core
competencies andplaced the management of such activities in external hands. Non
the less,outsourced activities are still very much an integral part of a company
 s valuechain, but where control of activities is outsourced there is a chance o
f aweak link (Porter) and notably much of the bad publicity (regularly reference
don national and regional news) surrounding the hospitals is indeed as a resulto
f questionable cleanliness (such as MRSA) and poor quality nutrition. Poorpublic
ity has an impact on public perception of service quality and the waythat the NH
S counteracts this by efficient use of marketing is of importance.
Operations transforms these variousinputs into the final product or service (Joh
nson and Scholes) by pulling allthe operational activities together, be they con
trolled directly oroutsourced. It is therefore a key link in the chain to ensure
servicedelivery.
The marketing and sales activitiesare responsible for raising awareness of the s
ervices provided by the NHS andthe perception of the quality of service it suppl
ies to the public. Doctors waiting rooms are full of adverts for services to pro
long life, enhance healthand therefore use the service less such as those that t
arget smokers to stop,heart disease campaigns to encourage the public to eat 5 o
r more portions offruit and vegetables per day, well man and well woman clinics
and so on. Manyof these adverts run into national advertising, such as the daily
newspaper,whilst local initiatives are often mentioned on the regional news. In
additionthe NHS has an informative website www.nhs.uk which gives advice offeri
nga section on your health (to include self help guidance) and information onc
urrent national health campaigns such as help a heart week and everymanmale c
ancer campaign . Just how much the website is referenced is unknown andone must
question whether indeed the public even know of it s existence.
But marketing is not all aboutadvertising campaigns, especially within the not f
or profit sector where thereis a reliance on key relationships and networks (Cae
son, Cromie, McGowan,Hill). Whilst logistics partners have already been referenc
ed, a goodrelationship between the NHS marketing departments and the outsourced
companiesis very important to ensure consistency of message on joint issues, suc
h as thecleaning contractors approach to cleanliness and the rise of MRSA. Withi
n thenot for profit sector there is a reliance on corporate support, national an
dlocal government support and the goodwill of the public, some of whom areinvolv
ed in management committees (positions are advertised within the localpress). Wi
th the NHS being split into multiple trusts, some with differingspecialisms inte
r trust relationships are key to the treatment of certainpatients, thus creating
more linkages in the chain and more marketingrelationships required.
• All Resources
• Essay help
• Free essays
• Dissertation help
• Free dissertations
• Coursework help
• Free coursework
Essay services:
• Custom essays
• Model essay writing
• Essay marking
Free Essay help:
• Essay Question
• Collecting material
• Making notes
• Developing ideas
• Planning your essay
• Write an essay plan
• Note taking
• Marking Scheme
Improve your essays:
• How to write an essay
• What is an essay?
• Essay tips
• Top 10 essay tips
• Top essay mistakes
• Upper first-class essay
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Writing to length
• Punctuation
• Grammar
Essay types:
• List of essay types
• Problem questions
• Critical evaluation
• Report writing help
Essay sections:
• Bibliography
• References
• Types of referencing
• Appendix
• Essay topics & subjects
• Final evaluation
Free essays:
• English essays
• Education essays
• Business essays
• Management essays
• Nursing essays
• Social work essays
• Free essay questions
• Free essay examples
• More free essays...
Free Essays - SWOT Analysis Essays
NHS Resource Profile
The essence of developing a marketing strategy for a company is to ensure that t
he company s capabilities are matched to the competitive market environment in w
hich it operates, not just for today, but into the foreseeable future. At the he
art of strategy lies the need to assess critically both the organisation s resou
rce profile (often referred to as its strengths and weaknesses) and the environm
ent it faces(Hooley, Saunders and Piercy, (2004).)
With reference to academic literature and to the National Health Service as an o
rganisation, critically evaluate the mechanisms available to management by which
it can assess:
The organisations resource profile and
The marketing environment it faces.
Background to the NHS
The NHS was set up on 5thJuly 1948 to provide healthcare for all citizens, based
on need, not theability to pay. (www.nhs.uk) Prior to this date access to treat
ment depended oneither the ability to pay, or the goodwill of doctor s in hospit
als funded bycharitable donations. The latter was a very strained resource and o
ften it wasonly the working parent, usually the man, who was able to access such
treatment, which he often paid for by way of deductions from salary to schemessu
ch as the Hospital Saving Association ( www.hsa.co.uk ). Today the healthservice
is formed of many trusts, reporting into the department of health,consisting of
community services Trusts, Ambulance Trusts to Hospital Trusts.Care is made ava
ilable for all who need it. Current government statedpriorities, as quoted on ww
w.nhs.uk are given in National Service Frameworks are
• Cancer
• Paediatric Intensive Care
• Mental Health
• Coronary Heart Disease
• Older People
• Diabetes
• Renal services
• Children s services
• Long Term Conditions
The launch of the health servicewas very high profile (www.bbc.co.uk) and still
often shown within healthcaretelevision coverage today. Over the last fifty year
s, many changes have beenmade to the service (www.nhs.uk/history) to enhance it
sofferings to the public, yet today the NHS is often in the news for negativerea
son s. Despite the obvious good work that the NHS does, it is the longwaiting li
sts, MRSA and occasional health problems that come to the forefrontin the eyes o
f the media. Again, marketing can play a big part in theperception of the servic
e in the eyes of the public.
Organisations resource profile
At the heart of strategy lies theneed to assess critically both the organisation
s resource profile (oftenreferred to as its strengths and weaknesses) and the e
nvironment it faces(Hooley, Saunders and Piercy).) In the 1990 s the inside-out
approach tomarketing, the resource based view (RBV) became popular with strategi
sts suchas Grant, for it s new approach which looked inside the firm to assess i
t score competencies and to determine which competencies should be used for comp
etitiveadvantage. A neo-classical approach, the resource view was that the exter
nalenvironment was constantly changing and that it would be difficult forcompani
es to keep changing with it, rather they ought to stick with what theyknow best
and concentrate on their core offerings. The value chain approachoffered by Mich
ael Porter, reaffirmed by Johnson and Scholes, also emphasisedthe importance of
understanding how the internal organisational factors addvalue to and impact on
the external environmental influences affecting thefirm. The value chain activit
ies are split into primary activities (inboundand outbound logistics, operations
, marketing, sales and customer service) andsecondary activities (infrastructure
, human resource management, technologydevelopment and procurement). All of the
above chain linkages will need tobe assessed for the NHS in trying to ascertain
the organisations resourceprofile.
Taking the Value Chain approachand applying it to the NHS
The value chain will now be takenand applied to what is known about the NHS in t
he public domain. (newspapers,media and www.nhs.co.uk)
Primary activities
Inbound and outbound logisticsrelate to the receiving and distribution of goods
and services. Within the NHSlogistics would consist of the following
• Patients, who would either be transported by their own methods or by ambulances
in order to receive the treatment.
• Drugs, dressings and other pharmaceutical supplies
• Staff who may travel to and from hospitals, to and from other medical establishm
ents and from either of the former to a patients home/ destination and so on
• Medical equipment, such as surgical instruments and monitors
• Non medical equipment such as beds, linen, catering requirements, cleaning equip
ment and stationary
• Warehousing of goods
From the above, it is noticeablethat there are a range of logistical activities,
notably many of these aremanaged by different departments and others outsourced
, such as catering andcleaning. Obviously where outsourcing has taken place, NHS
Managers have takenthe decision that such services do not come under it s core
competencies andplaced the management of such activities in external hands. Non
the less,outsourced activities are still very much an integral part of a company
s valuechain, but where control of activities is outsourced there is a chance o
f aweak link (Porter) and notably much of the bad publicity (regularly reference
don national and regional news) surrounding the hospitals is indeed as a resulto
f questionable cleanliness (such as MRSA) and poor quality nutrition. Poorpublic
ity has an impact on public perception of service quality and the waythat the NH
S counteracts this by efficient use of marketing is of importance.
Operations transforms these variousinputs into the final product or service (Joh
nson and Scholes) by pulling allthe operational activities together, be they con
trolled directly oroutsourced. It is therefore a key link in the chain to ensure
servicedelivery.
The marketing and sales activitiesare responsible for raising awareness of the s
ervices provided by the NHS andthe perception of the quality of service it suppl
ies to the public. Doctors waiting rooms are full of adverts for services to pro
long life, enhance healthand therefore use the service less such as those that t
arget smokers to stop,heart disease campaigns to encourage the public to eat 5 o
r more portions offruit and vegetables per day, well man and well woman clinics
and so on. Manyof these adverts run into national advertising, such as the daily
newspaper,whilst local initiatives are often mentioned on the regional news. In
additionthe NHS has an informative website www.nhs.uk which gives advice offeri
nga section on your health (to include self help guidance) and information onc
urrent national health campaigns such as help a heart week and everymanmale c
ancer campaign . Just how much the website is referenced is unknown andone must
question whether indeed the public even know of it s existence.
But marketing is not all aboutadvertising campaigns, especially within the not f
or profit sector where thereis a reliance on key relationships and networks (Cae
son, Cromie, McGowan,Hill). Whilst logistics partners have already been referenc
ed, a goodrelationship between the NHS marketing departments and the outsourced
companiesis very important to ensure consistency of message on joint issues, suc
h as thecleaning contractors approach to cleanliness and the rise of MRSA. Withi
n thenot for profit sector there is a reliance on corporate support, national an
dlocal government support and the goodwill of the public, some of whom areinvolv
ed in management committees (positions are advertised within the localpress). Wi
th the NHS being split into multiple trusts, some with differingspecialisms inte
r trust relationships are key to the treatment of certainpatients, thus creating
more linkages in the chain and more marketingrelationships required.
Order Now. It takes less than 2 minutes.
1. * Email
2. * Phone
1. * Your essay question (please give as much detail as possible)
Submit
All of the above impact on bothinternal and external customer service and perce
ption of service.
Secondary activities
Secondary activities are sometimescalled support activities as they support the
primary activities mentionedabove.
Procurement is the processes foracquiring the various resource inputs to the pr
imary activitiesoccurs in manyparts of the organisation. (Johnson and Scholes).
Within a complexorganisation, such as a trust, there are many ways to procure g
oods andservices from both the physical approach to the electronic methods.
Technology development ranges fromthe hospital Consultant s know how, to compute
r systems used for medicalrecords, to pharmacy systems linked to drugs. All of t
hese will be managed byhuman resources some directly employed by the trust, some
contracted to thetrust and some working for contract companies contracted to th
e trust. Allstaff will report directly to their line manager, and ultimately the
y to thetrust manager, advised by a committee, and that manager to the Secretary
ofState for Health. Non-the-less, each member of staff employed by or within at
rust is an internal marketer (Gummesson) and who they interact with bothinside a
nd outside of the trust gains an impression of the trust by associationwith them
.
This is all held together by thefirm s infrastructure, the systems of planning,
finance, quality control,information management (Johnson and Scholes).
Marketing environment facing theNHS
Successfulcompanies take an outside-inside view of their business. They recognis
e thatthe marketing environment is constantly spinning new opportunities and thr
eatsand understand the importance of continuously monitoring and adapting to the
changing environment. (Kotler)
Analysing theenvironment for any organisation will involve a review of the polit
ical,economic, social and technical (PEST) environment it is in or faces. For th
eNHS, it is a UK based healthcare provider for the public, funded bycontribution
s made from taxes distributed by the government to each of thetrusts. It operate
s within a politically stable economy with funds pledged byboth the current and
previous governments to the service for improvements inhealthcare and salaries f
or staff. The economic environment facing the NHS isa growing economy with a ris
ing elderly population and less working people tosupport them. In addition, it h
as become increasingly difficult to recruitmedical staff (national press) and sh
ortages have often been counteracted byemploying staff from other EU countries,
which in turn increases the populationwithin the UK. This again has been a subje
ct of press attention, againnegative for the NHS. The social/ cultural environme
nt shapes beliefs, valuesand norms (Kotler). Belief in the core values of the he
alth service and theservices it offers was high on the publics list of concerns
during the lastgeneral election, as if the NHS is an integral part of the UK and
it s culture. The technological environment is moving fast within the health ca
resector, as well as drugs being continually developed, techniques for operation
sare being advanced and the use of technologies for both medical andadministrati
ve procedures. Such are rarely mentioned in the press.
Traditionally,before formulating a marketing strategy a company would usually un
dertake aSWOT analysis, that is to understand its strengths and weaknesses and r
ealiseopportunities and steer clear of known and potential threats. The keyeleme
nts, in the authors opinion are listed below.
Strengths
• Although not a monopoly, there is no real competitor for the NHS.
• Whilst private hospitals are available throughout the UK, the Accident and Emerg
ency service is unique to the NHS.
• The fact that there is continual monitoring of waiting lists is proof that the d
emand outstrips supply
• The NHS has been established since 1948 and continues to grow and expand upon it
s services.
Weaknesses
• Unable to cope with the demand due to the increasing population
• Possibly the management of the linkages of the chain, per the resource analysis
Opportunities
• To use marketing strategies to raise the profile of the NHS
• Increase of private investment
Threats
• Image of the NHS being affected by the work of contractors
• Staff turnover high
Of course, theabove SWOT is written down by the author with no first hand workin
g knowing ofthe NHS trusts. As with most SWOT s, the above is based on perceptio
n which,in turn, is based on the interpretation of information in the public dom
ain,based on regular articles in the media. So in effect, marketing has alreadyh
ad an impact on this view. It is likely that many people will all havedifferent
perceptions of the NHS, depending on their outlook and any personalexperience th
ey may have. However, given the number of NHS trusts in operationand the number
of different operating units even an employee working for onebusiness unit is li
kely to have a different perception to another.
Another tool toassess the NHS would be to undertake a marketing audit, a compreh
ensive,systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a company s marketin
genvironment.with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities(Kotler)
. This would indeed be a complex affair. Each trust is strategicallyresponsible
for itself, so it may be presumed that it is responsible for it smarketing activ
ity, but with one NHS website indications are that it iscentrally controlled. In
cluded within the audit would need to be an audit ofthe outsourced companies and
their way of representing the NHS. With differentcompanies and indeed trusts op
erational throughout the UK there are bound to be different corporate cultures a
nd core values which would need tobe considered and addressed if possible.
Resource basedview resume v marketing based strategies - recommendations
From theresource based critique, it was seen that marketing affects every part o
f theNHS. Having evaluated the NHS against the resource based view, using theval
ue chain model; it can be observed that the NHS is indeed a complex organisation
.Over the years, it has gone from being a totally autonomous organisation whichd
oes everything for itself, to one that now out sources various functions suchas
technology, hygiene, and distribution and so on. Of course it hasrecognised that
it s core competencies lie within the medical services itprovides to it s custo
mers, patients, and has concentrated on this side.However, despite the obvious g
ood work it undertakes and millions of livestreated, there is not much awareness
made of this important achievement in thenational press, rather it is the down
side that is much advertised, much ofwhich is as a result of losing control by o
utsourcing activities such ashygiene. The NHS does not appear to use marketing a
s a way of counter attackingsuch reports with headlines such as Doctor saves x
many lives in one year. . The resource based view takes very much the relational
approach of the notfor profit sector, relying on goodwill, government interacti
on, committees,initiatives and letting the public know via a website. Probably t
he marketingfunction is not prominent within the NHS Trust.
Whilst the traditional 4P s (price,product, place, promotion) approach to market
ing may not necessarily be thebest approach for the NHS Trust, given it s unique
prominence in healthcarewithin the UK, there is a definite need to promote the
success stories, ofwhich there are most likely to be numerous. Key recommendatio
ns for futuremarketing and development are to
• Place marketing at the centre of the management function
• Enhance PR activities to both feed positive information into the government as w
ell as out to the various publics in the country.
• Appoint marketing oriented representatives on each of the trusts managing commit
tees.
• Internally market successes to staff and try and retain staff for longer. (A sep
arate exit interview exercise will need to be taken for this)
• Encourage more private investment to grow the service and it s core staff.
Bibliography
Brassington, F, Pettitt, S (2000) Principles of Marketing (2nd Edition) (Essex,P
earson Education Limited: 2000)
Caeson, D., Cromie, S., McGowan,P., Hill, J. (1995) Marketing and entrepreneursh
ip inSME s: An Innovative Approach (Harlow: Financial Times, Prentice Hall)
Donaldson, B (1995) Customer Service as a Competitive Strategy Journal ofStrateg
ic Marketing, Vol.3 No.2: June 1995
Doyle, P (1998) Marketing Management and Strategy (2nd Edition)(Hemel Hempstead,
Prentice Hall: 1998)
Drummond, G, Ensor, J, Ashford, R (2003) Strategic Marketing: Planning and Contr
ol (2ndEdition) (Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann: 2003)
Egan, C (1997) Creating Organisational Advantage (3rd Edition)(Oxford, Butterwor
th Heinemann: 1997)
Grant, R (1992) Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2nd Edition)(Cambridge Massachus
etts, Blackwell Publishers: 1992)
Gummesson, E (1998) Implementation Requires a Relationship Marketing ParadigmJou
rnal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol.26, No.3, pages 242 - 249
Johnson, G. Scholes, K (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy (6th edition) (Harlow
, Financial Times, Prentice Hall: 2002)
Kotler, P (1997) Marketing Management - Analysis, Planning, Implementationand Co
ntrol) (9th Edition) (New Jersey, Prentice Hall: 1997)
Lynch, R (2003) Corporate Strategy 3rd edition. (London, Financial Times Pitman:
2003)
Porter, M (1985) Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Perform
ance (New York, Free Press: 1985)
Whittington, R (1997) What is Strategy and does it Matter? (London, Internationa
lThompson Business Press: 1997)
www.bbc.co.uk
www.hsa.co.uk

Where am I?
Marketing
SWOT Analysis – Understanding Your Business
Last Updated
August 22, 2009
• Bookmark
o Google
o Live
o Delicious
• Share
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Email
o MySpace
• Print
Introduction
It has always been important for a business to know and understand how it fits i
n and interacts with the surrounding environment on both an internal (office/fac
tory/shop environment) and external view (how your business operates with the ou
tside world).
Researching your environment will benefit you and/or your management team by put
ting you in a position to develop a strategy for both the long and short term.
Analyzing the Business
The most influential way of doing this is to perform a SWOT analysis of the comp
any. It is a common phrase used to abbreviate Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportuniti
es and Threats.
Each term is a heading for a separate analysis of the business but they can be r
elated as seen below:
Strengths provide an insight to your business opportunities & weaknesses in your
business can cause immediate threats
A guideline of how to carry out the analysis is explained in the next section, b
ut it is important to know that the SWOT analysis is only based upon information
that is known by the assessors (you), and is seen as perhaps the more basic app
roach of analyzing a business’ position: but SWOT is still a powerful tool when lo
oking for immediate benefits.
Performing SWOT
Recognizing the Strengths and Weaknesses before tackling the Opportunities and T
hreats is the best way to approach the analysis: the more Strengths and Opportun
ities the better they can both be seen as the bigger influences for the success
of your company. You need to be aware that the most important rule is not to lea
ve anything out no matter how small the issue may be.
There is no fixed way of doing a SWOT analysis, but it should be done in a way t
hat you feel most comfortable with, and more importantly that you understand it.
The objective is to be in a position where you can determine a strategy for the
future to improve your company’s overall performance (or maintain it if you are h
appy with your final analysis).
Strengths
The Strengths can be considered as anything that is favourable towards the busin
ess for example:
1. Currently in a good financial position (few debts, etc)
2. Skilled workforce (little training required)
3. Company name recognized on a National/Regional/Local level
4. Latest machinery installed
5. Own premises (no additional costs for renting)
6. Excellent transport links (ease of access to/from the Company)
7. Little/non-threatening competition
Weaknesses
Recognizing the Weaknesses will require you being honest and realistic. Don’t leav
e anything out as this is an important part as to realize what needs to be done
to minimize this list in the future. Here are a few examples:
1. Currently in a poor financial position (large debts, etc)
2. Un-Skilled workforce (training required)
3. Company name not recognized on a National/Regional/Local level
4. Machinery not up to date (Inefficient)
5. Rented premises (Adding to costs)
6. Poor location for business needs (Lack of transport links etc)
7. Stock problems (currently holding too much/too little)
8. Too much waste
Profit and Loss Statement
Profit and Loss Statement Exercise
Ron Thomas, Thomas Enterprises, Indianapolis.
The Profit and Loss statement is one of the main business financial statements.
Among the various financial statements, a Profit and Loss statement most closely
resembles what is referred to as "the bottom line". Since the purpose of a busi
ness is to earn a profit, both the business owner and outside entities such as b
ankers and investors have a keen interest in revenues.
A Profit and Loss Statement provides a snapshot of a firms financial viability
for a certain period of time, usually one year. Therefore, the "bottom line" rev
eals the company s net earnings or losses. Net is a key term, because after the
warm glow of sales income is felt, then comes the reality check of expenses and
other costs which eat into profits.
Among the common components found in an income statement are net sales, the cost
s of goods sold, the costs of inventory if applicable, and regular expenses such
as office rent, payroll, supplies, etc? When both negative and positive finance
s elements are revealed on an income statement, key components contributing to p
rofit or loss for the period can be identified.
The structure of a Profit and Loss Statement begins by showing income received.
Any financial impacts which reduce income, such as customer returns, must be are
reflected.After all gross sales and negative financial impacts on those sales a
re taken into account; the company arrives at a Net Sales figure.
Of course, it costs a company to set up and prepare to provide products or servi
ces. These costs are reflected in the next section of the Profit and Loss Statem
ent called the Cost of Goods Sold. Among typical costs outlined in this section
are purchases for inventory or other costs associated with preparing a product t
o sell. The cost of Inventory (minus depreciation) value purchased but not yet u
tilized is subtracted before a sum total of Cost of Goods Sold is derived.
Once all costs are associated with product preparation are accounted for, the Pr
ofit and Loss Statement subtracts this figure to arrive at the Company s Gross P
rofit. All cash flow coming into a company is not limited to that earned in actu
al sales transactions. The company may also experience increased income from the
interest paid on its accounts.After all sources of income are included, the Pro
fit and Loss Statement shows the company s Total Income.
The last stage in the development of a company s Profit and Loss Statement is to
outline a list of expenses associated with the ongoing operations of a company.
Typical items displayed include utilities, rent and salaries. Just as income in
terest earned is reflected among income items, a company should also show displa
y interest paid among its expenses. The sum of all expenses is obviously - Total
Expenses.
The final step in the Profit and Loss Statement is the resulting of calculating
the result of subtracting Total Expenses from Total Income, the result of which
is called Net Income.
BizHelp24.com
Over 1,200 in-depth articles on UK business and finance help and information
Navigation
Data Analysis
Once you have issued your questionnaire and have a number of responses that you
are happy with, you now need to analyze your data: what does it tell you? The fi
rst thing to do is to accumulate totals for each question answer for example:
1. Do you prefer…
Hamburgers: 58
Hot dogs: 37
Sandwiches: 30
Other: 25
Total: 150 people interviewed
Article Continues Below.
2. How often…
Once a month: 65
Once a week: 40
Twice a week: 25
Once a year: 15
Other: 05
Total: 150 people interviewed
From your results, you can produce analytical diagrams such as:
• Bar Charts (above)
• Histograms
• Pie Charts (above)
• Line Graphs
• Frequency Curves
• Scatter Graphs…etc
It is then down to you, or your marketing team if you have one, to decide what t
hese figures mean and what you are going to do about it. For the above example,
it shows that a majority of the people prefer hamburgers but yet there is a sign
ificant number to show a high demand for hot dogs. It would therefore be advisab
le to open a hamburger stall, which also sold hotdogs!
You may also decide to break up your analysis to find patterns by splitting your
results into the peoples age groups or location that have resulted from your qu
estionnaire. You may further split your results into the times when you issued y
our questionnaires: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…and so on. By doing so, you can ide
ntify the age groups that will bring most sales and even the locations and times
that will further bring most business.
Producing diagrams to help analyze results is ideal for numerical data but for t
hose questions that are ‘open’ are harder to interpret as they give unique and diver
se answers. There is no common way of analyzing these results and so you should
use them in a way that you will benefit from them. It may be that you use the co
mments as advice when designing the product/service or to find a link between th
e comments made and the numerical results.
Analyzing data is very intensive and by using a number of analytical tools, you
will find patterns and findings that will help you determine a marketing plan th
at is accurate and feasible to assist your future success. Take time when analyz
ing the results as this is where many people fail as they do not bother to make
detailed conclusions on their findings.
Summary
Questionnaires are commonly overlooked because businesses cannot find the time o
r the funding to implement them. The small level of understanding is also a reas
on why people avoid questionnaires, but they do not realize the unique and fresh
source of information they provide to assist with the business’ future success st
rategy.
There are several ways that questionnaires can be distributed and may be determi
ned by the type of business you are in. Do not shoot blind-folded: target those
people in the market that your questionnaire is directed at but at the same time
, be sure that your sample is as random as possible in order to obtain an unbias
ed and varied response.
The types of questions you ask should be relevant so that you can obtain results
that will be useful to you. Be fair and general with your questions and do not
lead people into giving specific answers that are not accurate and truthful: you
will only be misleading yourself. Keep the questionnaire short and have a reaso
nable balance between open and closed questions so that interviewees/recipients
will engage their interest and co-operation. Your attitude to delivering the que
stionnaire personally will be reflected in the interviewee therefore it is impor
tant you show enthusiasm and commitment to the task in order to get a good respo
nse.
Converting all responses into numerical data and further into diagrams and chart
s, will help analyze the data in which you can draw conclusions on your findings
. Analyzing the data is a task that requires good analytical skills so that you
can interpret data accumulated from the questionnaire and turn it into a propose
d strategy for the marketing plan.