Page 60 - CL How to Read a Case Study
P. 60
• Does the organisation have bad debt or cash-flow
problems?
• Could any of the organisation’s weaknesses seriously
threaten its business?
Originated by Albert S. Humphrey in the 1960s, the tool is as
useful now as it was then.
Strengths and weaknesses are often internal to your
organization, while opportunities and threats generally
relate to external factors.
It can be used in two ways –
1. as a simple icebreaker helping to "kick off"
strategy formulation, or
2. in a more sophisticated way as a serious strategy
tool.
Make sure that options generated by SWOT are carried
through to later stages in the strategy formation process.
Where appropriate use SWOT, but also other tools such as,
product life cycle, value chain, resources and capabilities,
financial ratios, Ansoff Matrix, etc.
