[ORDER SOLUTION] Ford Motor Company
SWOT Analysis, is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involvesspecifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. Thetechnique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at StanfordUniversity in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.MY TOPIC: FORD MOTOR COMPANYStrategic and Creative Use of S.W.O.T AnalysisStrategic Use: Orienting SWOTs to An ObjectiveIf SWOT analysis does not start with defining a desired end state or objective, it runs therisk of being useless. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planningmodel. An example of a strategic planning technique that incorporates an objectivedriven SWOT analysis is SCAN analysis.Strategic Planning, including SWOT andSCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research.If a clear objective has been identified, SWOT analysis can be used to help in the pursuitof that objective. In this case, SWOTs are: Strengths: attributes of the organization that are helpful to achieving theobjective. Weaknesses: attributes of the organization that are harmful to achievingthe objective. Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving theobjective. Threats: external conditions that are harmful to achieving the objective.Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planningfor achievement of the selected objective are to be derived from the SWOTs.First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given theSWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and theprocess repeated.Creative Use of SWOTs: Generating StrategiesIf, on the other hand, the objective seems attainable, the SWOTs are used as inputs to thecreative generation of possible strategies, by asking and answering each of the followingfour questions, many times:1. How can we Use each Strength?2. How can we Stop each Weakness?3. How can we Exploit each Opportunity?4. How can we Defend against each Threat?Internal and external factorsThe aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that areimportant to achieving the objective. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of informationinto two main categories: Internal factors The strengths and weaknesses internal to theorganization. External factors The opportunities and threats presented by the externalenvironment.The internal factors may be viewed as strengths or weaknesses depending upon theirimpact on the organization’s objectives. What may represent strengths with respect to one objective may be weaknesses for another objective. The factors may include all of the4P’s; as well as personnel, finance, manufacturing capabilities, and so on. The externalfactors may include macroeconomic matters, technological change, legislation, and sociocultural changes, as well as changes in the marketplace or competitive position. Theresults are often presented in the form of a matrix.SWOT analysis is just one method of categorization and has its own weaknesses. Forexample, it may tend to persuade companies to compile lists rather than think about what is actually important in achieving objectives. Italso presents the resulting listsuncritically and without clear prioritization so that, for example, weak opportunities mayappear to balance strong threats.It is prudent notto eliminate too quickly any candidate SWOT entry. The importance ofindividual SWOTs will be revealed by the value of the strategies it generates. A SWOTitem that produces valuable strategies is important. A SWOT item that generates nostrategies is not important.For this project, please complete the following requirements: A Research Paper (APA Format) that is 5 to 8 pages long (single spaced, 12pts,Times New Roman), which contains the following sections:o Company Introductiono Main Competitive/Absolute Advantageo Description of 1 Technology Systemo Value Chain Analysiso 4 parts of SWOT Analysis Model? At least 1 item in each SWOT Categoryo 1 TOWS Analysis Strategyo Summary/Conclusion
