SWOT Analysis

For this assignment, select an organization of your choice on which to conduct a thorough SWOT Analysis of the internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats for that organization. You can write about your current or former workplace or any organization with which you are familiar such as a well-known company, your church, volunteer organization, or even DeVry University. Note that you must choose an actual organization; this is not a case where you could make one up.

You must use the mandatory outline located in Doc Sharing to organize your paper. You do not need to turn in your outline. Your SWOT Analysis should be in a cohesive essay format; no bullet points.

SWOT Analysis Due Dates

SWOT Topic (your choice of company)	Week 1 in Q&A Forum
SWOT Analysis	Due Week 3 Sunday Midnight in Course Drop Box

See Syllabus "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

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

Section I:

• Write a brief company history, including a mission statement if available. (10 points)

Section II:

• Thoroughly explain at least two major Strengths and two major Weaknesses (review chapter 8) of the organization.
• For each strength, discuss why this strength can be considered a distinctive competence for the organization.
• For each weakness, discuss what the organization could do to minimize that weakness. You should have a minimum of a full paragraph for each discussion of each strength and weakness.
• Note that bullet points are not acceptable. (40 points)

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 or dimensions of the general environment within the organization's external environment (keep in mind an opportunity or threat can stem from more then 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 that are creating the specific opportunity or threat for the organization.
  • PLEASE NOTE: The dimensions of the general environment are outlined in chapter 3 and in week one's lecture.
• Include in your analysis an explanation of how each of the opportunities and threats will likely impact the company and why. Include other companies/industries on which this may also have an effect. You should have a minimum of a full paragraph for each discussion of each opportunity and threat.
• Note that bullet points are not acceptable. (50 points)

 

Section IV:

• Briefly summarize your SWOT analysis
• Discuss how the organization can capitalize on the opportunities that are occurring from the dimensions from within the general environment and how the organization can neutralize the threats that are occurring from the dimensions from within the general environment.
• Note that bullets points are not acceptable. (10 points)

 

Paper Format:

• Correctly produced APA parenthetical citations and Reference list. You must have a minimum of three external research sources in addition to the Griffin text. (5 points) 
• Spelling, grammar, organization (5 points)

• Minimum of 1000 words

• You must use the mandatory outline located in Doc Sharing to organize your paper. You do not need to turn in your outline.

• See Syllabus "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

A few other notes:

• To help you better understand how to complete a SWOT Analysis, please review the section titled "Using SWOT Analysis to Formulate Strategy" in chapter 8, reread week one and week two's lectures, and review the SWOT Analysis article that is loaded in Doc Sharing.
• Please refer to the Library link within The HUB and the APA resources posted in Doc Sharing (to find these documents in Doc Sharing, use drop down menu) to properly cite your paper using APA.
• Your topic is due in Week 1, posted for me to review in the Q&A Forum topic of the Discussions. This is not graded, but required.
• The entire SWOT Case paper is worth 120 points.
• Please name your paper "LastName FirstName_303SWOT."