Select an existing company, possibly a publicly held company in order to find easily accessible information. Research the company and compile a SWOT analysis identifying a minimum of four elements under each of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Explain each element with an eye on how this affects the company overall. Once the table has been compiled, address the following questions:
1. How does this tool assist the marketing and management teams to solve problems within the company?
2. Based upon your research and this SWOT analysis, what recommendations would you make for the management team?
Your APA-formatted submission must be a minimum of three pages (not including the title page and the reference page). The table may be single spaced. References must include a minimum of two credible sources.
Attached is a template for this assignment.
References
MBA 5652, Research Methods 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
6. Conduct an environmental scan of an organization to result in an analysis of its strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
8. Summarize how a company applies research methods to solve problems within the organization.
8.1 Explain how research methods can assist in solving company problems through the use of a
SWOT analysis.
Reading Assignment
In order to access the resources below, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the
Academic Search Complete database within the CSU Online Library.
Garner, R. (2005). “SWOT” tactics. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 74(1), 17-19.
In order to access the resources below, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the
Business Source Complete database within the CSU Online Library.
Adams, J. (2005). Analyze your company using SWOTs. Supply House Times, 48(7), 26-28.
The Boston Consulting Group. (2015, December). The Boston Consulting Group SWOT Analysis, 1-7.
Sprint Corporation. (2015). Sprint Corporation SWOT analysis, 1-10.
Unit Lesson
The unit lessons for this course are presented through interactive presentations. Each slide has audio that
accompanies it. Once the narration for each slide is complete, the presentation will automatically advance to
the next slide. If you would like to stop the presentation on any slide, click the pause button on the bottom left
hand side of the presentation. When you are finished watching the presentation, simply close the browser
window.
To view the lesson, click on the link below:
http://columbiasouthern.adobeconnect.com/mba5652_unitvi/
Click here to view a video that will provide additional insight on both the SWOT analysis and the PEST (also
known as PESTEL) analysis.
The presentation contains closed captioning if needed. To learn how to enable this feature, click here to view
a guide on navigating and using the presentation. To print the presentation with a transcript for each slide,
click here.
UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE
The Use of Research Methods
in Compiling a SWOT Analysis
MBA 5652, Research Methods 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Suggested Reading
The following website provides several examples of SWOT analyses that may be helpful when you are
completing your SWOT analysis in this unit’s assignment.
Berry, T. (n.d). SWOT analysis examples. Retrieved from http://articles.bplans.com/swot-analysis-examples/
This webpage contains more information about what a SWOT analysis is and how one should be used.
NetMBA. (n.d.). SWOT analysis. Retrieved from http://www.netmba.com/strategy/swot/