SWOT Analysis Reflection Report for Business Development Course

This reflection paper discusses a student's understanding of SWOT analysis, a strategic planning tool used to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The paper details the student's learning experience, including lectures and learning modules, and explains the application of SWOT analysis in both business and personal contexts. The student explores the internal and external factors of SWOT, providing examples like a supermarket chain, and highlights the importance of accurate information and understanding the limitations of the tool. The paper concludes with the student's opinion on the usefulness of SWOT analysis for entrepreneurs and their career goals, emphasizing the tool's significance in understanding the business environment. The student also reflects on the interactive session where career goals were discussed. The paper references several sources on SWOT analysis and its applications.

SWOT Analysis
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SWOT ANALYSIS 1
Topic: SWOT Analysis
Introduction
Strategic tools can be used to analyze the strategic and business environment of the
organization. There are many strategic tools that can be used by the companies to examine the
business environment (Lannon, 2018). In the lecture, SWOT Analysis was also discussed which
is also one of the strategic tool. The study of SWOT analysis assists me for my future
experience. I was unaware about the strategic tools and SWOT analysis which is also one of the
tools. In the lecture, topic of SWOT Analysis was discussed deeply by containing its usefulness,
advantages and disadvantage. The advantages and usefulness aspects of SWOT Analysis
astonished me. It is an important topic for me to learn as it helps me to grow in my career. Apart
from the lectures, there are also some learning modules that contain the depth information of
SWOT Analysis. The study of SWOT analysis in lecture clears many doubts regarding the
business environment. In this reflection paper, I would like to share my knowledge that I learnt
in my lecture and from the learning modules.
Discussion
The definition of SWOT Analysis clearly defines its uses. But during the lecture, I came
across different factors of SWOT Analysis. SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool that can
be used to examine the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to business or
project planning (Gürel, & Tat, 2017). Moreover, SWOT Analysis provides me clear and
measurable goals for future. SWOT stands for strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat that
help me to understand the strength and gaps in the products or services and in the personal
experience. This tool is designed as the decision making tool for the examination of the strategic

SWOT ANALYSIS 2
position of the organization, city and an individual. During the lecture, I found that the main use
of SWOT Analysis is to study a service system. Analysis of service system means the strength of
the services that attracts the consumers towards its or its qualities that makes it different from the
others; weaknesses defines the factors that an organization has to improve in its services to make
it perfect and different from the others to gain the competitive advantage, opportunity of service
system contains the options that an organization use for service system to expand it or to improve
it and the last threat refers the degree of threat that a service system have and it directly affects
its services (Mind Tools, 2020). The four factors of SWOT Analysis states the whole service
system in depth that an organization required to understand.
In lecture, I identified the two main factors of SWOT Analysis. External and Internal
Factors are the two factors of SWOT Analysis in which the whole analysis is based. Strength and
weaknesses are the internal factors of the framework and opportunities and threat are the external
factors of SWOT Analysis. The lecturer took the different examples to define the SWOT
Analysis as a strategic tool. Example- Services of supermarket Chain Company have various
strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat. Strength of the supermarket chain is its high
brand image, wide range of services, strong financial position, strong strategies and its different
services which is unique from the others. Weaknesses of the supermarket chain are the strategies
those are similar from its competitors, weak financial position and many others as these affect
the business. Opportunities of the supermarket chain are expansion in domestic market or global
market, grasping market share, competitive advantage and many other that helps the company to
gain advantage. Threats of supermarket chain are competitors, low brand value, political
regulation, weather change and unfavorable decision of government (Suttle, 2019). This example
helps me to gather information about the framework and its techniques to use it. It is necessary

SWOT ANALYSIS 3
for me to study the SWOT Analysis tool but only theory did not help to understand the clear
concept that is why; uses of examples to teach the concept is the best step took by the lecturer to
clear my doubts (Ramjee, 2019). Throughout the lecturer, I found that SWOT Analysis is the
common strategic tool that is used by the company to examine the situation of the business. The
companies use the tool to measure the certain risk and grasp the opportunities for the success.
Lecturer also defines the different uses of SWOT Analysis. According to lecturer,
company uses this tool to examine the business organization but apart from it, this analysis tool
is also useful for an individual in their personal life. In the personal life, SWOT Analysis is used
to measure its own strength and weakness that should be improved by using their own ways for
future success. Identification of opportunities contains the factors that an individual have to grasp
for growth and threat contains the factors that affect its career and its personal life. Analysis of
the personal life of an individual helps to reduce the risk and opens the doors for grasping the
opportunities. According to my opinion, it can be said that SWOT framework is not only use by
the companies but it also uses by an individual to evaluate its own strength and weakness
(Phadermrod, Crowder, & Wills, 2019).
Lecturer explained all advantages and uses of SWOT analysis but apart from it, lecturer
also taught us the limitation and disadvantages of it. Lecturer told us the important points during
the lecture so that we use this tool effectively. The main factor that we have to take care is the
collection of right information. It states that it is required to have the right and subjective
information regarding the services or the product in order to get the effective results from the
SWOT Analysis. Further, it is only one stage of business planning as it does not contain the
whole process so that we have to take care while implementing it into the business plan in the

SWOT ANALYSIS 4
future (Frue, 2018). The lecturer told us that it is significant for us to determine the disadvantage
of the concept with the determination of advantage of the same concept.
The last lecture session of the lecture is the interactive session. In the interactive session
of lecture of SWOT Analysis, the lecturer asked us for our opinion, thoughts and
recommendations on the same topic. According to the study of SWOT Analysis in the lecture,
my opinion is that the entrepreneur has to use this tool for developing their strategy to attain the
success in business. In this session, I shared my dream and aim of the career, as I always want to
be an entrepreneur or a senior manager of the big organization. I am glad to learn the concept of
SWOT Analysis as it helps me to operate the business appropriately in the future. It is highly
useful for me to understand the concept of SWOT Analysis for my bright future. Apart from my
the conversation, I gave some thoughts on the same topic such as business owners has to use this
analysis tool to measure the challenges and the opportunities that they can grasp in the coming
time. The other thought that I have about this strategic tool is that the companies have to
understand the concepts of SWOT Analysis earlier instead of after implementing it in the
organization. From the study of lecture of SWOT analysis, I have also decided that I would like
to read more about the strategic tools to understand their concepts and techniques so that I can
use them in my business in future for success.
Conclusion
At the end, I am glad to attend the lecture as the overall lecture assists me in finding the
major factors and aspects of SWOT Analysis which is known for its analysis technique. In the
lecture, right options have been taken by the lecturer to teach the whole concept weather it is
advantages or its disadvantages. Examples are also given by the lecturer to explain the concept

SWOT ANALYSIS 5
that really helps me to understand the whole concept and its implementation. I am happy in the
interactive session as I am able to understand the concept and also able to connect this concept
with my own personal life. The last session of lecturer is an interactive session for us, in which I
shared my thoughts and my career goals to defines the significance of this model in my life. The
whole lecture describes that SWOT Analysis is the best tool to understand or examine the
business environment of the organization.

SWOT ANALYSIS 6
References
Frue, K. (2018). 5 Surprising Disadvantages of SWOT Analysis. Retrieved From:
https://pestleanalysis.com/5-surprising-disadvantages-of-swot-analysis/
Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International
Social Research, 10(51).
Lannon, R. (2018). Strategy Spotlight: 8 Tools & Techniques to Apply to Strategic Analysis &
Planning. Retrieved From: https://www.batimes.com/articles/8-tools-and-techniques-to-
apply-to-strategic-analysis-and-planning.html
Mind Tools. (2020). SWOT Analysis. Retrieved From:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R. M., & Wills, G. B. (2019). Importance-performance analysis based
SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 44, 194-203.
Ramjee, P. (2019). Examples of Strategic Tools. Retrieved From:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-strategic-tools-12494.html
Suttle, R. (2019). SWOT Analysis for Retail. Retrieved From:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/swot-analysis-retail-3344.html