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SWOT Analysis (Department Specific) SWOT: SWOT is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These elements are crucial in assessing your strategic position with your organization. You want to build on your company’s strengths, shore up the weaknesses, capitalize on the opportunities, and recognize the threats. Internal: Strenths and Weaknesses The upper two sections (STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES) originate internally. These are things internal to your organization over which you have some control and can change. STRENGTHS: List of your capabilities and resources that can be the basis of a distinct competitive advantage. Ask: What are the most important strengths? How can we best use them and capitalize on each strength? Strengths might include: a new and/or innovative service capabilities or cost advantages cultural connections extraordinary reputation other aspects that add value special expertise and/or experience superior location or geographic advantage WEAKNESSES: What areas need improvement (or should be avoided)? Ask: What would remove or overcome this weakness? Weaknesses can sometimes be the absence of certain strengths, and in some cases, a weakness may be the reverse side of one of your strengths. Weaknesses might include: absence of marketing plan damaged reputation gaps in capabilities or service areas lagging in technology management or staff problems own known vulnerability poor location or geographic barriers undifferentiated service lines External: Opportunities & Threats The lower two sections (OPPORTUNITIES and THREATS) both originate externally. These are things external to your organization (in the larger market) that you cannot control. Opportunities are helpful; threats are harmful. OPPORTUNITIES: In addition to new or significant trends, what other external opportunities exist and how can we best exploit or benefit from each? Opportunities might include: a market vacated by a competitor availability of new technology changes in population profile or need competitor vulnerabilities lack of dominant competition new market segment that offer improve profit new vertical, horizontal, or niche markets THREATS: Can include anything that stands in the way of your success. No practice is immune to threats, but too many people miss, ignore, or minimize these threats, often at great cost. Ask: What can be done to mitigate each threat? Can a threat become an opportunity? Threats might include: a competitor has an innovative product or service a new competitor(s) in your home market adverse changes in reimbursement or regulations changing insurance plans and/or contracts for major area employers competitors have superior access to channels of distribution economic shifts loss of key staff or associates new or increased competition seasonality shifts in market demand or referral sources