“The overall evaluation of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is called SWOT analysis. It’s a way of monitoring the external and internal marketing environment.” (Kotler, Keller, 2012)

1. SWOT analysis by Mohamed Anwr
“SWOT is an acronym used to describe the particular Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that are
strategic factors for a specific company.” ) Thomas, Wheelen and Hunger, 2012)
“The overall evaluation of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is called SWOT analysis.
It’s a way of monitoring the external and internal marketing environment.” (Kotler, Keller, 2012)
“SWOT analysis came from the research conducted at SRI from 1960-1970. The research was funded by the
Fortune 500 companies to find out what had gone wrong with corporate planning and to create a new system for
managing change. Led by Robert Stewart, the Research Team also included Marion Dosher, Dr. Otis Benepe, Birger
Lie, and me.
By 2004 the system had been fully developed, and has proven to cope with today’s problems of setting” (Humphrey,
2005)
“SWOT analysis has proven to be the most enduring analytical technique used in strategic management.
For example, in a 2007 McKinsey & Company global survey of 2,700 executives, 82% of the executives stated that
the most relevant activities for strategy formulation were evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the
organization and identifying top environmental trends affecting business unit performance over the next three to
five years.
In a 2005 survey of competitive intelligence professionals found that SWOT analysis was used by 82.7% of the
respondents, the second most frequently used technique, trailing only competitor analysis.” (Thomas, Wheelen and
Hunger, 2012)
“A SWOT exercise can generate very long lists of apparent strengths, weaknesses,
Opportunities and threats, whereas what matters is to be clear about
What is really important and what is less important” (Johnson, Scholes, 2008)
A swot analysis should be to build organizational strength on order to exploit opportunities and counter
threats and to correct organizational weaknesses.
Evaluate various alternatives against each other with respect to their ability to achieve major goals.
Swot it's not strategy it only provides a platform for planning for the future. (Riston, 2013)
“The first step in carrying out a SWOT analysis is to identify (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats).
It is important to note that strengths and weaknesses are intrinsic (potential) value creating skills or
assets, or the lack thereof, relative to competitive forces.
Opportunities and threats, however, are external factors: they are not created by the company, but
emerge as a result of the competitive dynamics caused by (future) ‘gaps’” (have, have and Stevens, 2003)

2. Internal factors – the strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization - We can control
External factors – the opportunities and threats presented by the environment external to the
organization - We cannot control but we can impact
Strengths
Here we are identifying our strength through answers
a few questions
What are our strengths?
What is the company really good at?
Manufacturing efficiency?
Skilled workforce?
Good market share?
Strong financing?
Superior reputation?
Weaknesses
What are our Weaknesses?
Outdated facilities?
Inadequate research and development?
Obsolete technologies?
Weak management?
Past planning failures?
Opportunities
Here we are identifying our opportunities through
answers a few questions
What are our Opportunities?
Possible new markets?
Strong economy?
Weak market rivals?
Emerging technologies?
Growth of existing market?
Threats
What are our Threats?
New competitors?
Shortage of resources?
Changing market tastes?
New regulations?
Substitute products
Internal assessment of the organization
External assessment of the environment
SWOT
Analysis

3. In Below the action for SWOT analysis structuring:
(SWOT Matrix, n.d.)
Reference
Have, S., Have, W., Stevens, F. (2003), Key management models, Edinburgh, PEARSON. 2003 pg. 202-205
Humphrey, A. , (2005), SWOT Analysis for Management Consulting, SRI newsletter [Online] Available at:
https://www.sri.com/sites/default/files/brochures/dec-05.pdf [Accessed 2April. 2017].
Johnson, g., Scholes, k., (2008), EXPLORING CORPORATE STRATEGY, 8th Ed. , Edinburgh, Pearson, pg. 127
Kotler, P., Keller, K., (2012), Marketing Management, 14th Ed., new jersey, Pearson, pg.48
Ritson, N., (2013), Strategic management, bookboon.com, 2th ed., [Online] Available at: http://bookboon.com/en/strategicmanagement-ebook
[Accessed 24 March 2017]. Pg73-76
Renault, V., (n.d.), SWOT Matrix. [Online] Available at: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-
resources/swot-analysis/main [Accessed 5 April. 2017].
Thomas L. Wheelen, J. and Hunger, D., (2012), Strategic management and business policy: toward global sustainability, 13th ed., Person, pg.
176