- 06/04/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The ultimate goal of internal and external analyses is formulation and evaluation of strategies for the organization, and choosing an optimal combination of these strategies in order to fulfill organizational mission. There exist different methods, models and matrices which can be used to determine strategies basing on the results of internal and external analysis. The most popular of these methods are SWOT-TOWS matrix, SPACE matrix and grand matrix.
SWOT matrix allows to reduce the large number of factors affecting the organization to a reasonable profile, and allows to outline four types of strategies. However, the classification of factors into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is to a certain extent arbitrary, and it is not recommended to develop strategies basing solely on the results of SWOT analysis. SPACE matrix is based on evaluation of factors and allows to choose the best type of strategy from four key types. Basically, this matrix allows to determine the best type of strategies from key 4 types of strategies. Furthermore, grand matrix uses a layout similar to SPACE matrix, with only two dimensions – competitive position and market growth, and should be applied to determine alternative strategies. The QSPM matrix is applied to evaluate the strategies and to prioritize between them. The whole sequence of matrices represents a powerful business methodology for strategic planning.
B. SWOT analysis
Overall, TOWS matrix built on the basis of SWOT analysis allows to suggest four types of strategies: SO strategies use organizational strengths in order to maximize opportunities, ST strategies are focused on minimizing threats with the help of strengths; WO strategies are aimed at taking advantage of opportunities for the purpose of minimizing weaknesses, and WT strategies are defensive practices aimed at minimizing weaknesses and avoiding threats.
SWOT matrix for ACF International can be constructed by merging the results of external and internal analysis; Table 1 contains the SWOT matrix for ACF International.
Strengths:
1. Strong set of shared values and principles
2. Flexible and efficient organizational culture
3. Devoted and professional staff
4. Diversified revenue and support portfolio
5. Valuable reputation
6. Partnerships with many influential organizations
7. Active use of innovative technologies
8. Leading role in advocacy on hunger and malnutrition
9. Good financial position and liquidity Weaknesses:
1. Overreliance on government grants
2. Lack of internal sources of revenue
3. Ineffective use of resources
4. Inability to respond to growing customer needs in humanitarian sector
5. Weak use of opportunities for growth
6. Large share of temporarily restricted revenues
7. Absence of financial leveraging
8. Lack of integrity between different projects
Opportunities:
1. Partnership with other NGOs
2. Improving access to water and sanitation
3. Launching educational and health care centers
4. Forecast-based emergency help and prevention
5. Promotion using social networking
6. Mobile donation programs
7. Growing number of volunteers Threats:
1. Lack of funding
2. Poor infrastructure in target regions
3. Lack of qualified professionals in target regions
4. Existence of two strong competitors
5. Bureaucracy obstacles
6. Criminal groups in the target regions
7. Ineffective implementation
8. Gap in the need for help and actual possibilities
Table 1. SWOT matrix for ACF International
Basing on this matrix, it is possible to suggest several strategies for each of four directions of TOWS analysis. With regard to SO strategies, the following strategies can be recommended:
 Launching educational and health care centers included into the network of ACF International and sharing the unique culture and values of ACF International with new centers in order to initiate long-term changes;
 Using staff devotion and shared values in order to facilitate marketing and to increase awareness of global problems in the developed countries;
 Use of innovative technologies in order to develop own forecasts or emergency situations and to create a network for early tracking of possible crises;
 Creating information resource, legal database and knowledge base devoted to malnutrition and hunger which could be promoted in social networks and easily assessed using mobile applications;
 Using partnerships with well-known organizations to attract more volunteers (and perhaps launching joint programs to eliminate malnutrition);
 Investing part of available liquid assets into creating a powerful program of mobile donations;
Possible SW strategies include:
 Use of existing financial resources and other assets to start own revenue-generating programs
 Applying innovative technologies and modern means of performance assessment to improving the effectiveness of resource usage;
 Establishing strong links to partners and other NGOs in order to create one powerful humanitarian network instead of single projects.
With regard to defensive WT strategies, the following actions can be suggested:
 Avoiding restrictions on the user of resources in order to reduce the lack of funding threat;
 Creating more connections between existing and new humanitarian projects in order to reduce bureaucracy obstacles;
 Using detailed analysis of customer needs and expanding the use of growth opportunities in order to avoid the inability to respond to customer needs and to cross the gap between available services and actual needs of customers.
Finally, for the WO group of strategies, the following approaches might be effective:
 Developing partnerships with other NGOs and establishing financial connections in order to minimize the overreliance of government grants;
 Using social networking and mobile donation programs in order to create internal sources of revenue;
 Applying forecast-based analyses to improve efficient use of resources within the organization;
 Using the help of volunteers in order to establish connections between existing projects and to address new customer needs;
 Utilizing new educational and health care centers as a means of strengthening the network of ACF International and creating integrity between projects.
The choice of particular strategies provided by SWOT analysis should necessarily be refined using more precise methods, such as SPACE matrix and grand matrix, which allow to choose the most appropriate types of strategies and to formulate functional
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