 Small Group Exercise:

SWOT and Issue Analysis

 For this exercise, an opportunity is an uncontrollable external
condition or development that, if acted on, would enable a company
to increase its chance to meet its objectives (e.g., profitability).

 For this exercise, a threat is an uncontrollable external condition

or development that could prevent a company from meeting its
objectives.

 For this exercise, a strength is a controllable element (e.g.,

resources, competencies) in your company that gives you
advantage over your competitor.

 For this exercise, a weakness is a controllable element in your

company that gives you disadvantage when compared with your
competitors.

 For this exercise, an issue is a question resulting from

considering opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses that
needs to be answer. It will become a guide for your objectives and
marketing strategy formulation.

Read the cases in the next page and conduct the exercises that
follow. Note that you are the division head of one of BigTech’s
three divisions.
Case: BigTech
BigTech is a large ($12 billion in revenues), multi-national company. Big Tech has a strong
corporate brand image. It is a company that has a reputation for providing high quality and reliable
products and services at a premium price. Its brand image also tends to connote stodginess. It
offers a full line of hardware, software, peripherals, and service solutions to both businesses and
consumers.
The CEO has outlined certain strategic objectives to the following divisions:

PC Products
Due to its experience in manufacturing and the economies of scale that it enjoys, the PC division
believes it has the capability to produce a very low priced computer. Traditionally, this is not a
price point in which BigTech has operated. The proposed computer would offer a bare bones set
of features, suitable for basic desktop software applications and Internet access.
While the corporate image is one of high quality, to the technologically savvy, its PC line has never
been among the best of breed.
The Senior Vice-President (SVP) in charge of the PC division has established as a goal for this
business short term profits and market share growth.

Internet
This is a relatively new endeavor for BigTech, they have very little experience competing in this
market. They have very good technology due to recent acquisitions, which they believe will enable
them to offer an Internet access product for the home that is easy to use and simple to install. This
product is hardware and enabling software that utilizes the high speed capabilities of cable
television systems with fiber optic trunk lines. Operating through a standard television set, it will
offer consumers web access at commercial speeds.
As this is a start up business for BigTech, they expect to have high production and operating costs
in the first 3-5 years.
The SVP has established as a goal for this business long term market share growth. It is currently
estimated that slightly over 70% of households have cable access and that approximately 70% of
cable systems have invested in fiber optic trunk lines.

Software
This division has performed well over the years. BigTech is a recognized leader in software
solutions for businesses and consumers. Its word processing program and spreadsheet programs
are currently number one. BigTech seeks to protect its leadership in word processing and
spreadsheet programs by offering a state of the art graphics program that could be sold as a stand
alone application, or packaged with its existing desktop solutions.
While BigTech is currently the undisputed market leader, a number of smaller competitors have
flooded the market with low priced software packages and have many of the same features as the
BigTech programs.
Their software products generate a high margin.
The SVP of the division has established as a goal for this business to protect BigTech’s current
position as the number one in desktop applications. Costs are not an issue.
 Trends in Uncontrollable Elements
(First Part of a SWOT and Issue Analysis)

Below is a preliminary list of ten current environmental trends in your country or

region that may be relevant to your division (personal computers, internet
service, or software business).

1. Aging population. The baby boomers are turning 60.

2. High oil prices.
3. More educated and more informed population.
4. Additional information on products, services, and companies available
on the Internet.
5. Growing congestion in urban markets.
6. People are working longer hours; blur between work time and
personal; loss of personal time.
7. Limited federal government antitrust regulation.
8. Slow, but steady, growth in disposable personal income.
9. Increased power of middlemen in channels of distribution.
10. Shortening of product life cycles.

Work individually and then in a group, please identify a minimum of ten current
environmental trends to add to the list. The trends should be real, observable
trends. Don’t speculate about what might happen.

11. Emerging technologies

12. Overall economic situation
13. Rising labor costs / wages
14. Tax rates
15. Currency exchange rates
16. Social Networking
17. Outsourcing the work
18. Growing Internet usage and its applications
19. Growing usage and applications of computers. Ex: Grocery stores,
manufacturing units.
20. Growing awareness of carbon footprint
21. Globalization impact.
 Grouping Trends by Uncontrollable Elements
Working in a small group, place each of the 20 trends into one of the
categories of uncontrollable elements discussed earlier.
This is an organizational exercise that will lead you to the development of
a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and issue
analysis.

Demographic Economic
Trends
Trends
Aging population. The baby boomers are High oil prices.
turning 60.
More educated and more informed Slow, but steady, growth in disposable
population. personal income.
Overall economic situation

Rising labor costs / wages

Tax rates

Currency exchange rates

 Technological Political/Legal
Trends Trends
Shortening of product life cycles. Limited federal government antitrust
regulation
Emerging technologies Growing awareness of carbon footprint
Growing Internet usage and its
applications
Growing usage and applications of
computers. Ex: Grocery stores,
manufacturing units.

Social/Cultural Competitive
Trends Trends
Additional information on products, services, Growing congestion in urban markets.
and companies available on the Internet.
People are working longer hours; blur Increased power of middlemen in channels
between work time and personal; loss of of distribution.
personal time.
Social Networking Outsourcing the work

Globalization impact. Shortening of product life cycles.

 Opportunity and Threat Identification
(First Part of a SWOT and Issue Analysis)

Working in small groups, place ALL of the twenty trends (specified

above as well as identified by your group) in the uncontrollable
elements that you believe are either opportunities or threats for your
division (personal computer, internet, or software business).

Please be prepared to provide your group’s rationale for assessing

how each identified trend represents an opportunity or a threat.

Note that this part of SWOT and Issue Analysis is to be conducted

at division level (i.e., one division at a time) because a trend may
be an opportunity for a division but may be a threat for another
division. So you need to prepare a set of SWOT and Issue
Analysis for each division.
PC Division

Opportunities Threats
Aging population. The baby boomers
are turning 60.
 Strengths and Weaknesses Analysis
(Second Part of a SWOT and Issue Analysis)

Working in small groups, based on the cases you read earlier, what
are your division’s strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths Weaknesses
 Issue Analysis
(Third Part of a SWOT and Issue Analysis)

Working in small groups, identify issues that your division needs to

address in your objectives and marketing strategy formulation.
Keep in mind that issues are generally in the form of questions that
come from SWOT Analysis. You only need to identify issues.
There is no need to provide the answers.
1. Depending on the changing population demography, which age range to
be targeted at?
2. Whether to avoid the middleman by doing direct to customer selling?
3. Is increasing literacy really affecting PC penetration?
4. How to tackle the competition?
5. How to automate the manufacturing the process?