SWOT Analysis Essay: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

This essay presents a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, a strategic tool used to evaluate internal and external factors within the healthcare sector. The introduction defines SWOT analysis and highlights its importance in identifying strategic directions, mitigating risks, and allocating resources effectively. The main body delves into the components of SWOT, including strengths (internal advantages), weaknesses (internal limitations), opportunities (external chances), and threats (external risks). The essay then applies the SWOT model to a self-evaluation, identifying personal strengths such as effective teamwork and decision-making, as well as weaknesses like time management and public speaking anxiety. It explores opportunities for career development and addresses threats related to competition and workload. Furthermore, the essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the SWOT model, emphasizing its role in strategic planning and core competency identification, while acknowledging its limitations in prioritizing issues and providing solutions. Finally, the essay concludes with a discussion of continuous professional development (CPD), outlining a plan to improve identified weaknesses and achieve specific goals within a defined timeframe.

SWOT Analysis Essay
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
What is SWOT analysis and importance of SWOT analysis model................................................
Self evaluation with SWOT.............................................................................................................
Advantages and disadvantages of SWOT analysis model...............................................................
Continuous professional development.............................................................................................
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES-...............................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
SWOT which means Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. So it can be said that
SWOT is the model which is helpful in evaluating these four factors of the business. Health and
social care sector can use this model in order to find out above four factors of the SWOT.
Through swot analysis this sector can lower or eliminate chances for failure by improving their
weakness. Strengths will help companies to know about what good they are with. They are the
advantage to company. Weakness will tell company with what they are lacking, opportunities
will tell company about chances and threat are the negativity which company can face (Vlados,
20190. Swot analysis is helpful in getting strategic direction as company is aware about the
internal and external factors which can aware their business. By getting aware of threats
companies in healthcare sector can take necessary actions to mitigate them. When business is
aware of threats and chances then for them it gets easier to adapt them. Swot analysis helps in
quickly taking opportunities and business can work on their weaknesses. With the help of this
model resources can be allocated effectively because company have information that where they
are lacking and so that they can start working on such areas.
This framework can be also used for competitive analysis. As companies like NHS will
come to know about new market opportunities and can prepare themselves to take competitive
advantages. This report will discuss in detail about swot analysis and why it is used. Further it
will evaluate uses of swot analysis along with its importance to individual. This report will
evaluate swot which will show my positive and negative which can influence my academic and
professional development. It will also analyze advantages and disadvantage of swot along with
ccontinuous professional development.
MAIN BODY
What is SWOT analysis and importance of SWOT analysis model?
SWOT analysis is one of the best renowned tools for analysis of overall strategic position of
business as well as for its environment. The main aim of making use of this tool is identifying
strategies that can create an organization’s capabilities. In another words it can be said that it is
the foundation for evaluating internal potential as well as limitations, likely opportunities of
people and companies (GURL, 2017). It can help in knowing people’s as well as organizations’
internal strengths, capabilities, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. By evaluating all these,
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health and social care sector and people can improve themselves by improving strengths. In
detailed manner, I can discuss all these such as:
Strengths: It refers qualities that make us able to accomplish our own goals and
organization’s mission. These are basis on which continued success that can be made sustained.
Strengths can be both tangible and non-tangible. As it includes all areas in which people are
expertise. These are skills that can help companies in taking opportunities.
Weaknesses: Weaknesses are qualities that create barriers in accomplishing goals. These
weaknesses deteriorate influences on the organizational success and growth. It includes all those
factors that do not meet standards that we feel that they should meet. But these are areas that can
be improved and are controllable (Phadermrod, Crowder and Wills, 2019).
Opportunities: Opportunities are presented by the environment within which
organization operates. These arise when people or companies can take benefit with their core
skills and competencies. It makes companies profitable and people more competitive.
Threats: It arises when conditions in external environment jeopardise the reliability of
organizations. They compound the vulnerability. When threats come then it leads instability and
people. It can affect people and companies.
So, on the basis of above discussed SWOT model, it can be said that it plays a vital role in
evaluation of own skills and weaknesses (Büyüközkan and Ilıcak, 2019).
Self-evaluation with SWOT
I want to evaluate or analyse my own skills, weaknesses and threats. On the basis of previous
experience in health care sector and feedbacks that I got from my peers and colleagues, I can
discuss all strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths
 One of the main strength that I have is an effective team working ability. This strength
makes me able in improving performance, learning new things and improving relation
with others. I identified this skill while working in a team on group projects.
 Other main skill that I possess and can help me out is an effective decision making skill.
This ability also makes me stressed free as I take better decision in a timely manner.

 An ability to adapt new things is my main weakness that is vital for being productive in
this modern competitive world (Leiber, Stensaker and Harvey, 2018).
Weaknesses
 The main area in which I want to make improvement is time management. When I was
given some individual tasks then I found that I am not good in managing time and delay
in submission in projects made me depressed.
 I have fear in speaking in front of numbers of people with whom I am not aware and to
whom I do not know. It lowers my confidence and self-morale.
Opportunities
 An ability to work in a group in an effective manner can help me out in staying at
workplace with improved relations with patients.
 Improved decision making and other skills can give me opportunities of getting better job
and career development.
Threats
 Some weaknesses and areas in which I am lacking behind can increase threat of
competition.
 Increasing frustration at work can lead poor quality of products and performance as well.
So, on the basis of self evaluation, I can say that I need to improve my weaknesses in order to
take opportunities and decreasing threats as well.
Advantages and disadvantages of SWOT analysis model
On the basis of above discussion, it can clearly be said that SWOT is one of the effective tool
that helps in analysing own skills, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Some numbers of
advantages and some disadvantages of this tool include:
Advantages
 One of the main effectiveness of this tool is it is a source of information that helps in
better strategic planning.
 It helps in maximizing responses to opportunities for increasing them and taking
advantages of them.
 It helps in identifying core competencies or abilities that all we have.
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 It helps in knowing all areas in which we are lacking behind in order to improve
ourselves in better manner (Teoli and An, 2019).
 Another main advantage or effectiveness is it helps in knowing all about past, present and
future.
Disadvantages
 One of the main limitation or disadvantage of this tool is it does not priorities issues.
 It only helps in knowing limitations but does not give solutions for mitigating them.
 It helps in generating too many ideas but does not help people in choosing the best one by
which people can improve their skills.
 Some information are being generated hypothetically.
Continuous professional development
As with the name itself, it can be said that continuous professional development is an
ongoing process that is being performed by people in order to develop, maintain and
documenting professional skills. On the basis of above discussed self evaluation and areas in
which I am lacking behind, I can say that this professional or continuous development plan can
help me out in improving my skills (Cook and et.al., 2017). It will help me out in career
development and making myself able to get better employment opportunity in my desired field.
Areas need to
be improved
Scheduled
event to meet
goals
Time scale Skills/ Knowledge you
will have gained
Measure of
success
Time
management
skills
By attending
seminars or
taking an
active
participation
in numbers of
activities.
3-4 months  Building a
rapport
 It boosted my
confidence
 Comparing
completed
projects in
last month
with
present
month.
 Monitor
team

morale.
Public
speaking
By taking
participation
in group
discussion in
meeting and in
team working
I can improve
this skill.
4-5 months  Improved oral
communication
.
 Building
confidence that
would help me
out in satisfying
patients.
 By taking
feedbacks
from
colleagues
or seniors
regarding
improved
skills
 Re-self-
evaluation
and
measuring
patients’
satisfaction
rate.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that swot analysis is very helpful for the company as it provides
understanding about their strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat. In order to attain
competitive advantages company uses this framework. So that they can know about the
opportunities which is present in the market and can grab them to make more profits. My
strength is I am good with teamwork because I realised that I can work properly and can attain
goals when working with team. As through teamwork an individual can get help from other team
members to get solution for the problem. I also have decision making skill. So that is why I can
take small or big decisions easily. I am even fast in taking decisions. I am weak in time
management and also do not have courage to speak in front of public. If I will improve my
decision making skills then I can get good job in the future. I believe that threat for me will be
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the growing competition and also excessive workload. Although swot analysis helps to know
about problems but it does not provide solution to the issue. Report has also discussed CPD with
strategies and timescale.

REFERENCES-
Books and journals
Büyüközkan, G. and Ilıcak, Ö., 2019. Integrated SWOT analysis with multiple preference
relations: Selection of strategic factors for social media. Kybernetes.
Cook, D.A. and et.al., 2017. Factors influencing physicians' selection of continuous professional
development activities: a cross-specialty national survey. Journal of Continuing
Education in the Health Professions. 37(3). pp.154-160.
GURL, E., 2017. SWOT analysis: A theoretical review.
Leiber, T., Stensaker, B. and Harvey, L.C., 2018. Bridging theory and practice of impact
evaluation of quality management in higher education institutions: a SWOT
analysis. European Journal of Higher Education. 8(3). pp.351-365.
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R.M. and Wills, G.B., 2019. Importance-performance analysis based
SWOT analysis.International Journal of Information Management. 44. pp.194-203.
Teoli, D. and An, J., 2019. SWOT analysis.
Vlados, C., 2019. On a correlative and evolutionary SWOT analysis. Journal of Strategy and
Management.
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