The value of SWOT analysis

The purpose of SWOT analysis

When the new CEO of Tesco was appointed in 2014 he did a SWOT analysis. He wanted to gain insight into the business as quickly as possible. The analysis seeks to understand where "the business is at". Once you have discovered the strengths and decisions for the business you can then take direction for the business. 

How to conduct a SWOT analysis 

There are two main ways of conducting a SWOT analysis. The first is a top down process. It will be controlled by the boss and carried out by management consultants, answerable only to the boss. This method is likely to be dispationate, unaffected by emotion. The ideal SWOT anaylsis will be consulative and involve the boss going into every functional department. Often it can be conducted by an outside body that way employees are less likely to say what the bosses want to hear. This can lead to a true picture of the business with which the managers can analyse. 

SW looks at internal factors.

OT looks at external factors.

Strenghts and weeknesses

A key starting point for a business is analysing strengths and weaknesses to discover those that are and those that matter. Things such as environmental attitudes might be a strength but may not actually matter. 

To adress this issue business are likely to use what is…