M8A1: SWOT Analysis: Final Paper

We are at the final point in the SWOT process. Everything is basically complete, now you need to put it all together and submit your final paper. Over the last two months you have completed the vast majority of your SWOT analysis, including the basic background information about your organization along with its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In the last module, you completed the summary portion of the analysis by concluding your paper with recommendations and suggestions for the future.

SWOT Analysis Paper Structure

Analyze the internal and external environments of the organization along the following terms:

Section I:

• Write a company history, including a mission statement if available.

Section II:

• Thoroughly explain at least two major strengths and two major weaknesses of the organization. For each strength, discuss why it can be considered a distinctive competence for the organization. For each weakness, discuss what the organization could do to minimize it. You should have a minimum of a full paragraph for the discussion of each strength and weakness.
• For each strength and weakness, ensure you use relevant business theories, concepts, and practices that are aligned to support the statements and findings. Note that bullet points are not acceptable.

Section III:

• Thoroughly research and analyze two opportunities and two threats that this organization is facing. Each of these opportunities and threats must come from a force or forces occurring within a dimension of the general environment within the organization’s external environment (keep in mind an opportunity or threat can stem from more than one dimension within the general environment). Be sure to include in your discussion the relevant dimension of the general environment from which each of these forces is derived.
• Include in your analysis an explanation of how each of the opportunities and threats will likely impact the company and why. Include other companies or industries which may also be affected. Include a TOWS analysis and be ready to make recommendations and suggestions as though you were the manager. A TOWS analysis involves the same basic process of listing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, but with a TOWS analysis, threats and opportunities are examined first and weaknesses and strengths are examined last. After creating a list of threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths, managers examine ways the company can take advantage of opportunities and minimize threats by exploiting strengths and overcoming weaknesses. You should have a minimum of a full paragraph for the discussion of each opportunity and threat.
• For each opportunity and threat, ensure you use relevant business theories, concepts, and practices that are aligned to support the statements and findings. Note that bullet points are not acceptable.

Section IV:

• Summarize your SWOT analysis by discussing how the organization can capitalize on the opportunities presented in the analysis along with ways it can limit or neutralize identified threats before they happen. Some questions that you will want to consider when summarizing your SWOT are:
• Opportunities:
  • What opportunities exist in your market or the environment that you can benefit from?
  • Is the perception of your business positive?
  • Has there been recent market growth or other changes in the market that create an opportunity?
  • Is the opportunity ongoing, or is there just a window for it? In other words, how critical is your timing?
• Threats:
  • Who are your existing or potential competitors?
  • What factors beyond your control could place your business at risk?
  • Are there challenges created by an unfavorable trend or development that may lead to deteriorating revenues or profits?
  • What situations might threaten your marketing efforts?
  • Has there been a significant change in supplier prices or the availability of raw materials?
  • Have there been shifts in consumer behavior, the economy, or government regulations that could reduce your sales?
  • Has a new product or technology been introduced that makes your products, equipment, or services obsolete?
• Discuss how the organization can capitalize on the opportunities that are occurring from the dimensions from within the general environment. How can the organization neutralize the threats that are occurring from the dimensions from within the general environment?
• Ensure you use relevant business theories, concepts, and practices that are aligned to support the statements and findings. Note that bullets points are not acceptable.

Paper Format:

• Include correctly formatted parenthetical citations and a reference list, following APA guidelines. You must have a minimum of three external research sources.
• Be sure to check for correct spelling, grammar, and organization.
• Your paper should be a minimum of 1000 words.

Compose your work in a .doc or .docx file type using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word, etc.) and save it frequently to your computer. For those assignments that are not written essays and require uploading images or PowerPoint slides, please follow uploading guidelines provided by your instructor.

Check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Upload Submission.” Enter the submission title and then click on “Select a file to upload.” Browse your computer, and select your file. Click “Open” and verify the correct file name has appeared next to Submission File. Click on “Continue.” Confirm submission is correct and then click on “Accept Submission & Save.”

Turnitin®

This course has Turnitin® fully integrated into the course dropbox. This means that you should only submit your assignments to the dropbox below. Please do not submit your assignment directly to Turnitin.com.

Once submitted, your assignment will be evaluated by Turnitin® automatically. You will be able to view an Originality Report within minutes of your first submission that will show how much of your work has been identified as similar to other sources such as websites, textbooks, or other student papers. Use your Originality Report as a learning tool to identify areas of your assignment that you may not have cited appropriately. You may resubmit your assignment through this dropbox as many times as you need to check to see if you have made improvements, until the due date of the assignment.However, once you have made your first submission, you will need to wait 24 hours after each subsequent submission to receive a new Originality Report. Plan accordingly as you draft your assignment. Once the due date has passed, your assignment submission will be considered fina