Strategic Analysis

This is a term often used with an assumption that the people hearing it understand its meaning.

Strategic Analysis is said to be:

‘… the process of conducting research on the business environment within which an organisation operates and on the organisation itself, in order to formulate strategy.’

BNET Business Dictionary

What is meant by the term “strategic analysis” differs from academic to academic and business o business, however there are some common factors. These are typically:

1. Identification and evaluation of data relevant to strategy (a plan, method, or series of maneuvers for achieving a specific goal or result: a strategy for gettingahead in the world) formulation

2. Definition of the external and internal environment to be analysed

3. A range of analytical methods that can be employed in the analysis

Examples of analytical methods used in strategic analysis include:

• SWOT analysis
• PESTLE analysis
• PRIMO-F analysis
• Porter’s five forces analysis
• Value chain analysis

 

 

SWOT Analysis Assignment – the basics & method

SWOT Analysis Assignment – the basics

What is a SWOT analysis?

In simple terms a SWOT is a look at the factors and influences which may be considered a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat to an organization, its mission or goal or its current business plan/ objective.

Assignments on SWOT & Business

When studying management, marketing, business or human resources, it is not uncommon to be asked to complete a SWOT analysis assignment. What often makes this difficult is that it is also typically one of the first assignments students get assigned early on in the course so it is doubly difficult.

As you look around the web you are looking for an example to base your assignment on – for example you may have been asked to do a SWOT analysis on:

Amazon, American Airlines,  Apple,  ASDA,  Best buy, BMW, Body Shop, Bose, British Airways, Burger King, Cadbury’s, Cafe Nero, Coca-Cola, Dell, EasyJet, EBay, English National Opera, Ericsson, Ford, French Connection (Fcuk), Google, Harley-Davidson, Heinz, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Home Depot, B & Q, HTC, IKEA, KFC, Krispy Kreme,  Lenovo, LG, Marks and Spencer (M&S), McDonalds, Mercedes Benz,  Microsoft, Morrisons, Nike, Nissan, Nokia, O2, Orange, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, RadioShack, Reebok, Renault, Rolls Royce, Ryanair, Samsung, Sony, Starbucks, Talktalk, Tata, Tesco, Three, T-Mobile, Toshiba, Toyota, Trebor Bassett, Vauxhall, Virgin, Vodafone, Walmart, Wella, Yumm Foods

….. or indeed 1000′s of other companies, colleges, groups, industries and sectors.

The one danger of looking for such “ready made” SWOT analysis is that before they get to the web they are out of date – and may indeed contain significantly out of date materials. For example a SWOT may have been done before the banks needed finance to survive, or on retail before the recession hit and changed many of their strengths.

Using the work of previous people may seem like it is giving you an advantage – it is not.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats of the SWOT analysis are very much transient. Some factors may well be stable for years, or at least financial quarters, other factors may be less predictable. For example HMV for the past 2 years have been developing and branching out into new areas to satisfy shareholder and customer expectations, however as I write this piece they are in discussions with banks regarding funding to manage a difficult cash-flow situation. n just 6 months HMV may not exists.

This means copying research from others done months if not years earlier is in fact one of the most dangerous things you could do – I hope that tutors penalise students for doing this. SWOT is a greatly undervalued and under-used management tool which deserves to be a core skill. the more you do (and dynamically) the better you will get at it.

SWOT Analysis the basics

A SWOT analysis just one of the tools available to managers and organizations to frovide a framework to help understand and analyise its market position or markets where it sells its products. SWOT can also be used to look at processes and product (or service) ranges it offers.

SWOT as we know stands for the Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats which the organization perceives.

Strengths and weaknesses consider the internal (controllable) factors and Opportunities and Threats are external from the organization and to a greater or lesser extent are not controllable. They are the environment or context in which the organization operates.

Using the data gathered in the SWOT process, this information can be prioritised and a judgement made as to the likelihood and impact on the organization and its business.

SWOT is a tool to help structure the data collection to aid the decision making process. SWOT is actually an audit tool, rather than an analysis tool.

How to do a SWOT

Much like the saying – How do you eat an elephant – one bite at a time, a SWOT can be approached in much the same way:

Much like good practice brainstorming, the best way is for any individual involved in the SWOT to work on their own and to brainstorm Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (use of the PRIMO-F & PESTLE frameworks can help). Then after researching on the internet, company accounts, industry reports etc – add more factors.

When this is done then a group activity should take each of the factors identified under Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats and build a complete table.

When this is done groups should look at each part of the table (S, W, O or T) and prioritise factors based on the likelihood and severity of impact (risk assess). When this is complete the assignment/ business plan can be written to recognise these factors and identify plans or strategies for dealing with the critical factors.

 

A SWOT review on SWOT:

Strengths – simple, flexible, quick, can be in-depth

Weaknesses – relies on those doing it to cover all factors, appears simplistic, too simple?, appears weak/ not robust

Opportunities – helps to see a business or organization from different perspectives, to review the “current state” on a regular basis

Threats – significant risks to the business, organization or plan may be ignored,  Politically managers may not like what they see

 

For more information see our main page on SWOT Analysis

Marketing plan for a training company

How to develop a marketing plan for your training company

What is a marketing plan?

A Marketing Plan is sometimes called a marketing strategy, in essence it is an action plan of what it is you are going to do to promote your business. Like any SMART goal  it is a written plan that states the marketing goals and the objectives to be achieved over a specified period of time.

So if you are currently in business or looking to set up a training company or starting out in freelance training, the one thing you need is a clear plan – well in fact two plans… a business plan (a simple one page plan will do) and a marketing plan.

A marketing plan looks at three factors:

1. Where is your business now?
2. Where do you want/ need your business to be? (and why)
3. How are you going to get your business there?

Jumping straight to step (2) or three is a waste of time without REALLY understanding (1) – where is your business now (are you now)? What do you do? Who do you do it with? For how much?

We need to follow some sound principles…

Knowledge -> Understanding -> Action

We need Knowledge of where we are – we need to understand or make sence of this in order to take appropriate Action

 

A  Marketing Plan Template (example)

 

Executive Summary - What is the plan about – one or two simple paragraphs

Business Overview 

- What do you do – be specific (to say you run management training courses is too vague)

Target market - who do you do it do/ with? The narrower & more specific the better

Vision – what do you want to be ?

Mission – Why are you in business? what is your purpose?

Current Analysis - where are you now ? what do you do? who to? for how much?

External Analysis – What is happening in the environment in which you are, or want to operate? 

Conduct a PEST/ PESTLE analysis

Internal Analysis

Conduct a PRIMO-F analysis

Use the PESTLE & PRIMO-F data to complete a comprehensive SWOT analysis. Use this to consider where you are, where are you going and how are you going to get there?

 

Marketing Strategies – your plan

Consider what approaches (strategies) are required to achieve your desired goals. Look at:

• Marketing Mix (4 ps – product, place, pricing, promotion)
  • Your target market
  • Service/ product strategy
  • Pricing  approach
  • Promotional strategy- how do people know you exist?
  • Customers – acquisition, maintain – also see Ansoff matrix

  

Implementation Plan

What needs to be done. What actions.. by who… by when

Resourcing requirements

• How much money/ cash you need for your business plan
• Investment from you ?
• The people involved – is this just you? associates? partners?

This template will work equally well for a coaching or consulting company.

Hidden Dangers of 25% budget cuts

In tough times we need to make tough decisions

How to cut 25% budget without spiting your face.

With public sector organisations all over the UK (and others) facing mandatory cuts of 25% budget cuts across the board, many are going to make mistakes they will live to regret.

Whether we like it or not the target has been set. The goal for leaders now is to make appropriate cuts.

A couple of weeks ago I ran a leadership and change management programme for a group of senior leaders in Dubai from the Central Bank of Nigeria (don’t ask!) and while discussing change I heard a phrase from my past which struck fear in my heart – “Project EAGLE”.

What is “Project EAGLE”?

Project EAGLE was a change project which was led by a major consulting firm which resulted in losses of jobs – many inappropriately and in an ill conceived way. Now I had come across this approach “Project EAGLE” many years ago in the private health-care sector, now in the banking industry in Nigeria, and research has shown that there are many other such projects around the world. I cannot be sure if they are all from the same stable – but it looks like it.

Project EAGLE was said to stand for:

• Efficiency
• Accountable
• Goal orientation
• Leadership
• Effectiveness

And note the total lack of focus on ordinary people!  No wonder why that so many times when people talk about change management or change strategy, they do so with dread. Indeed, in the health-care company it took many years and a dedicated (people based) change strategy just to recover from the “trauma” that was left behind.

Managing change is more than project management

If less than 50% of you plan is about people, the impact on people and the psychological changes individuals are expected to make – then your change programme is bound to failure.

Shortly after running this leadership programme I was facilitating a Train the Trainer course for the NHS and found out that due to cuts they were closing a dedicated meeting and training venue. NUTS! This venue was close to running at cost recovery with less than 20% of its activity from outside the NHS, with just a small about of growth this could have been an income generator. Unfortunately the managers saw this as an easy cut in spend – without looking at the whole picture. Worse – they were planning to put the resources and furniture in storage costing many £100s a months for the foreseeable future.

Making cuts in budgets is one thing, but looking at this in a holistic way must happen if UK PLC is not to throw lost of time, effort and money down the drains. Who are these incompetent managers that lack vision and basic business abilities? I hope that they are the first to go in any cuts. Services which can stand on their own are potential income generators, while they may not make private sector style margins, they should be at cost recovery plus – so that the facilities are available but without the cost.

Threat or Opportunity?

I honestly hope that all senior managers don’t just get the accountants in, but actually use people with good solid business/ entrepreneurship experience to help identify the real short and medium term threats and opportunities, and build on internal strengths – not just further develop weaknesses.

SWOT and PPCO

What is PPCO?

Pluses, Potential, Concerns (Fears) & Overcomes Concerns (or Options/ Opportunities)

Recently on twitter, having posted a tweet about SWOT, I was asked about PPCO. I had heard of it but had not done much research on it, or its applications or history.

A simple Internet search will bring up a wide variety of options for this model. It is one of the attempts to find a more positive approach to the development of solutions. the most common form for this is “PPC – Pluses Potential Concerns“

So when is PPCo best used?

When reviewing ideas or during creative thinking activities, using a SWOT can be taken to be an overly negative approach, so many now look at reviewing creative ideas with a different perspective. PPCO is one such approach.

Using the PPCO technique it is an approach to judge ideas affirmatively.

• Pluses: What are (at least) three things you like about the idea?
• Potentials: What are (at least) three good things that might result if the idea were implemented?
• Concerns: What are some concerns you have about the idea (phrased as a question starting with “How to…” or “How might…”)
• Options or Overcome the concerns: What are some ideas you have for how to fix the concerns you just noted?

 

Three popular affirmative idea evaluation techniques

Any of these will explore more about an idea.  They complement how different people think, but all deliver similar results.

• PPCo – Pluses, Potential, Concerns, …brainstorm what might overcome the concerns
• LCOb – Likes, Concerns, Opportunities…brainstorm the possibilities
• ALUo - Advantages, Limitations, Unique connection criteria, brainstorm what might overcome the limitations
• POINt -  Pluses, Opportunities, Issues and New thinking

In an engineering context PPCo is often used when a decision has been made and data is required in preparation for the action phase of a project, looking to take the concepts into feasible ideas. This seems a reasonable approach providing a full SWOT had been undertaken on the concept and business case in the first instance. PPCo is often used in association with a root cause analysis.

Authors view

There is a place for frameworks like this, however I believe that when done properly a SWOT or SOFT is just as valid. Whilst there is a tendency for many to be biased in developing a SWOT – it is a rounded view – internal and external pluses and minuses. My concern is that with many of the mostly positive based methodologies it is more about helping the proponent to feel good than it is to carry out an honest review.

References
Ruggiero, V. R. (2004 – 7th edition). The Art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative thought. Pearson: Longman.
Firestien R, (1989). Why Didn’t I Think of That? A Personal and Professional Guide to Better Ideas and Decision Making. (developed by Bob Moore, at Pfizer into POINt)
Patricia Elwell, Donald J. Treffinger (1993) CPS for Teens: Classroom Activities for Teaching Creative Problem Solving

PRIMO-F model for business development

PRIMO-F the Business Growth Model

Often in organizations we use a SWOT analysis as a way of identifying priorities and areas for improvement. While the SWOT is a wonderfully flexible tool, it is too easy to miss out key elements. We tend to use a SWOT based on our experiences, rather than the actual situational needs.

As SWOT analysis is made up of two internal elements (SW) and two external elements (OT) it is helpful to use a structure to give us a guide for what should be included.

• PRIMO-F model provides the structure for SWot
• PESTLE analysis model provides the structure for swOT

 

The PRIMO-F model was developed by the RapidBI team as part of a SWOT analysis of an organization. It helps to provide a consistent framework for comparison and benchmarking either from within the organization or to benchmark against a previous analysis or benchmark against other organizations.

The PRIMO-F model was derived out of some work from Durham University Business School (DUBS), and research into what makes an organization and its management effective. This research demonstrated that an effective organization needed to fulfil the following equation:

 

Organizational Growth Effectiveness = Performance to date * Potential for the future.

 

Where Performance to date (FiMO) included:

• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations

and Potential for the future (RECoIL) included:

• Resources,
• Controls and Systems
• Innovation and
• Leadership

This was sometimes called FiMO/ RECoIL.

One of the problems with this method was the lack of consistent application, as a tool or framework it is fine, however many managers, consultants and business advisor’s have their own priorities. For example a person who has a financial background will major on finance, a person with marketing will focus on marketing etc. After all we are all human. One of the problems with the model in the ‘field’ is that often key issues were missed. The BIR was developed to take these factors and review them consistently.

In many situations it is difficult for managers to differentiate between performance to date and potential for the future, as several areas overlapped, for example resources, operational leadership and management. In addition FiMO RECoIL was seen as too complex for many managers to use on a day to day basis. To solve this problem we developed the PRIMO-F. A simplified way of showing strengths and weaknesses in the relevant areas.

The PRIMO-F Model:

PRIMO-F

• People
• Resources
• Innovation & Ideas
• Marketing
• Operations
• Finance

Mapping PRIMO-F to FiMO RECoIL

Performance of the business:

How good is it in terms of its Finance, Marketing & its Operations?

Potential for Growth

People in terms of their experience, their leadership and the controls in place in the organization.

Experience: Age of the business, Management experience of:

• borrowing
• product development
• different types of market
• use of external agents
• moving sites
• managing growth

Leadership:

• Involving a senior management
• age of owner manager
• occupational base of owner manager
• personal objectives and ambition in line vision of the future
• education and training

Operations – Control: Adequacy of information and control systems

• Ability to use information
• Degree of professionalism and Responsibilities of management
• Adequacy of planning and monitoring
• Level of delegation
• How performance is assessed

Resources: Availability, utilization and appropriateness (fit for purpose)

• Liquidity and availability of finance
• Technology level and capability
• Physical assets: age and state
• Product range and life
• Use of and access to appropriate external agents

Innovation & Ideas:

• Number and source of ideas innovation is being considered
• How they are assessed
• Level of development or market testing of these ideas
• Level of market planning of these ideas
• How creative they are.

The PRIMO-F model is not in itself a solution – but a tool to enable that powerful too the SWOT to work more effectively.

PRIMO-F is © Mike Morrison & RapidBI 1998 - you may quote the model - but please include a link back to this site.

SWOT analysis for schools and education

SWOT analysis for teachers, schools and education

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threads in an educational environment.

A SWOT analysis is a tool that can provide prompts to the governors, management teachers and staff involved in the analysis of what is effective and less effective in the schools systems and procedures, in preparation for a plan of some form ( that could be an audit, assessments, quality checks etc.). In fact a SWOT can be used for any planning or analysis activity which could impact future finance, planning and management decisions. It can enable you (the governors and management) to carry out a more comprehensive analysis.

Definitions

• Strengths – Factors that are likely to have a positive effect on (or be an enabler to) achieving the school’s objectives
• Weaknesses – Factors that are likely to have a negative effect on (or be a barrier to) achieving the school’s objectives
• Opportunities – External Factors that are likely to have a positive effect on achieving or exceeding the school’s objectives, or goals not previously considered
• Threats – External Factors and conditions that are likely to have a negative effect on achieving the school’s objectives, or making the the objective redundant or un-achievable.

Before starting any planning or analysis process you need to have a clear and SMART goal or objective. What is it that you need to achieve or solve? Ensure that all key stakeholders (relevant to the issue being explored) buy into this objective or goal.

Then undertake a PESTLE analysis (or PESTLE in Schools), this will provide you with the external factors (OT).

Use the PRIMO-F model to ensure all internal factors are considered

Conducting a SWOT analysis in a school

One of the most effective ways to conduct a SWOT analysis is not in isolation, but with a team effort. When the goal is shared, then a brainstorming session can be run.

Ensure than when running such a session it is facilitated by a person not involved with the content – this is best with an independent person. If budgets do not allow this – then talk to another establishments head, and arrange a contra deal.

Do this activity in a number of phases:

1) Share the goal

2) Data collection (no filtering or comments – record verbatim) consider all areas of PRIMO-F

3) Take a break of at least 1 hr

4) Filter, sort and analyse into the 4 areas – SWOT – be critical and SMART avoid ambiguous statements or ideas at this stage

5) Prioritise the elements

Have a second session where the planning phase takes this data and puts it into a realistic plan.

IMPORTANT TIP,do not hide or underestimate threats or weaknesses – if you ignore them or underplay them now they will come back to haunt you at some stage – probably when they can do most damage!

The goal of any session like this is not necessarily to neutralise any weakness or threat – that is impossible – but to have it on your radar – and where possible take avoiding action. To some extent it is all about risk.

What sort of tasks and issues can this be used for?

At its most complex and comprehensive, it can be used for business planning, however it is also of value to solving localised issues and challenges.

An Example

We will use an example of a teacher working within a first school who want to improve the relationships with parents of his pupils.

TASK Define the goal and measurable outcomes – i.e. to have more than 50% of parents spending one day in class per term Consider the current activities you have in place to encourage parent-partnerships within your class/ school. Complete a SWOT analysis, identifying your current strengths and realistically appraising your current weaknesses. This can only be done involving other teachers, pupils and parents. From the current analysis identify factors which could be improved Identify opportunities that could be created Put a plan and set of measures in place.

The school identified the following objective:

• To improve parent-partnership by encouraging parents to visit the school and become active members of the community.
• Outcome – to have more than 50% of parents spending one day in class per term

Currently, the school holds an open day once each year. It uses this as a way to encourage parents to visit the school and engage with school staff. The following is the initial SWOT Analysis.

Strengths Highly-skilled teachers. History of successful Open day events School has a strong ethos of openness, sharing and commitment to increasing parental confidence Parents wanting to get involved PTA willing to participate	Weaknesses Teachers not available to meet parents often enough Current open days events not increasing voluntary activity Not enough staff time to plan more events Staff not clear of their role in the parent relationship Narrow focus on open events not partnership activities Curriculum too stretched for additional activity
Opportunities Active volunteer committee willing to plan and organise events Pupils active in the school’s Pupil Participation Project can be asked for their opinions and suggestions. Head Teacher is willing flex curriculum to free up teacher time Use parents to contribute to curriculum delivery	Threats Confidentiality is at risk Pupil coercion to do things they do not wish to do

The next step is to develop a plan with interested stakeholders

SWOT Analysis templates for schools & education

SWOT Analysis Template/ Worksheet – use these templates to start your SWOT process

	SWOT Analysis on ____________________ (organisation name or product/ service/ project) School/ establishment/ organisation Background/ situation ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ (usual business partners, relationships, channels to market, assumptions etc…) Date PESTLE completed ____________________ Date of SWOT Analysis ____________________ ____________________v
		INTERNAL
	Under each of the PRIMO-F factors list the relevant strengths and weaknesses. List the Opportunities and threats from your PESTLE analysis below. Then considering the combination of these factors generate some options or alternative strategies for action.	Strengths (PRIMO-F) People (teachers, parents, PTA etc) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Resources ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Innovation & Ideas ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Marketing (communications) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Operations (day to day running) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Finance ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________	Weaknesses (PRIMO-F) People (teachers, parents, PTA etc) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Resources ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Innovation & Ideas ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Marketing(communications) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Operations(day to day running) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Finance ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________
E X T E R N A L	Opportunities ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________	SO Alternatives / Strategies ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________	WO Alternatives / Strategies ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________
	Threats ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________	ST Alternatives / Strategies ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________	WT Alternatives / Strategies ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Try our business SWOT analysis tool for free NOW – Or return to our main SWOT analysis page

SWOT Analysis Template / Worksheet 2

	SWOT Analysis on ____________________ (School/ establishment organisation name or product/ service/ project) Background/ situation________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________                   __________________________________________________________________________________________   (usual operational partners, relationships, channels to market, assumptions etc…) Date PESTLE completed ____________________ Date of SWOT Analysis ____________________v
		INTERNAL
	Under each of the PRIMO-F factors list the relevant strengths and weaknesses. List the Opportunities and threats from your PESTLE analysis below. Then considering the combination of these factors generate some options or alternative strategies for action.	Strengths	Weaknesses
E X T E R N A L	Opportunities	SO Alternatives / Strategies	WO Alternatives / Strategies
	Threats	ST Alternatives / Strategies	WT Alternatives / Strategies

Try our business SWOT analysis tool for free NOW - Or return to our main SWOT analysis page

SWOT Analysis Template / Worksheet 3

SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats
Date
Company/ Department name
Internal Factors
Our Strengths	Ways to exploit	Our Weaknesses	Ways to reduce
External factors
Our Opportunities	Ways to exploit	Our Threats	Ways to reduce

Try our business SWOT analysis tool for free NOW – Or return to our main SWOT analysis page

A SWOT analysis in a school, college or other educational establishment can be a simple and yet effective tool for ensuring that all appropriate factors are considered. In this environment it is particularly important to use the PRIMO-F template to ensure that all elements have been considered. Indeed ensure that under People – teachers, support staff, parents and children are considered along with third party people (police, local health etc that can form a part of your community.

Teachers, Tutors, PTA (Parent Teacher associations) management committees etc all have a valuable contribution to make

Under Resources, remember to include IT, and consumables that can be used as part of the process

You reap WHAT you sow – what does this mean in marketing?

Social media marketing – tips for success in 2010

Read my 9 top tips for social media marketing  below.

As entrepreneurs and smaller businesses marketing is a vital yet difficult concept for many of us. Many of us hate it and want to find the “quick fix”.

What prompted me to write this article was receipt this morning of a ‘newsletter’ I get that goes straight to my junk mail. It is from Kenneth Yu ”the Puppet Master” (take care with his sites as they take a lot of processing power and clever pop ups). To be honest I liked the hype he created but his newsletter are for me are too frequent and contain little of depth or value. Is he a one trick pony? His latest however caught my eye. He included the message:

---

“You reap what you sow…”

In other words, the more time, resources and energy you put into something, the bigger the harvest you’ll reap — be it financially, relationally or spiritually. So if you put in your elbow grease and late nights, you’re guaranteed success right? WRONG!

Or more rather, the Sowing and Reaping analogy is only a half truth.

You see, we followed this principle to the tee… We “slaved like dogs”, yet we were “rewarded” with disappointment, stress and relationship strain.

Have you ever wondered why sometimes you work so hard, and yet don’t seem to reap the bountiful harvest you deserve?

Here’s something that may come as surprise for you…

There’s a missing dimension to the concept of sowing and reaping. If you miss this, you’re potentially setting yourself back months, even years from where you’re supposed to be.

In one of the Biblical parables, Jesus talked about the parable of the sower.

The gist of it was that the farmer was scattering seed across the land. However, he was rather indiscriminate about it and the seeds fell on stony paths, thorny soil, shallow earth and fertile ground.

The seeds that fell on the former 3 types of soil ended up with stunted growth, or worse… Not growing at all.

Here’s the awesome part…

The seed that fell on fertile ground produced a magnificent harvest of tenfold, hundredfold… and even a thousand-fold!

What made the difference?

It’s about WHERE the sower threw his seed.

That’s right. WHERE you sow is probably more important then HOW MUCH you sow.

It’s a principle we call STRATEGIC SOWING. And we believe it’s the single most important trait of mega-successful entrepreneurs.

Once you master this, you’ll get a return on investment that’ll blow your socks off. Because every ounce of blood, sweat and tears is going to give you a windfall.

One of the biggest bittersweet lessons we learned is that Laura and I may be world-class marketers, but we’re still newbies in terms of building a long-term sustainable business.

The single most vital trait that separates entrepreneurs from marketers is the ability to effectively allocate one’s limited resources. Unfortunately, it’s an ability that comes from hard-worn experience rather than any $997 home study course.

---

This was as a reflection to his own business performance over the last few months, Insightful – yes – accurate – no!

The saying “You reap what you sow” actually is a little different from the account given here.

Lets look at the phrase – what it is saying is you get back from WHAT you sow. Sure the location (WHERE) is important – but more so is the quality of the seeds you sow – sow seeds that are dead and nothing will grow no matter how much hard work you put in. What we agree on is the effort in terms of hours is not the key here.

Kenneth was right about the location – like any good marketing strategy we need to understand the environment in which we operate, the strengths and weaknesses of our service and marketing messages, we also need to look at the detail and quality of what we are sowing.

In social media marketing it is common for volume to rule the day (HOW we sow), but it is the content (WHAT) and location (WHERE which site/ social media vehicle) we put our messages that count.

The social media “marketing gurus”

Without exception all of these ‘marketing gurus’ talk glibly about keywords and other technical terms, yet all fail to inform the reader of HOW to go about identifying these things. Keywords and search engine optimisation is not that difficult, however what is more difficult it really identifying your niche. Many of the web based marketing sites talk about finding your niche – what they fail to tell you is YOU  & I are their niche! – people trying to sell or promote their business on the internet. They have their niche – and on the web it is one of the easiest groups to find! We all want quick fix solutions.

So the next time you work extra long hours, look at WHAT you are doing and WHERE you are doing it. If you are a regular contributer on more than 3-5 forums or communities – then it suggests that you are spreading yourself too thinly – over the holiday period cut some out…

9 Top tips to focus your social media marketing strategy:

1. Identify 5 keywords which your customers will use to find you
2. Identify 1 site where your peers are (for CPD & networking) – stay with them for up to 12 months & evaluate
3. Identify 2 (max) physical networking groups and get active – remember networking is about relationships NOT sales – stay with them for up to 12 months & evaluate
4. Identify 3 sites where your customers are (for sales) – stay with them for up to 12 months & evaluate
5. Using your 5 key words only contribute to those that use and focus on the keywords
6. On twitter identify 5 search keywords and set your twitter app to look at those – ignore your time line
7. Find up to 10 blogs that add value to you and add them to your outlook/ RSS feed reader
8. Turn Google off being your home page
9. Print a sheet of paper listing this information, put a heading on it: If I’m doing anything other than these STOP NOW and put it up in a place you can read it while working

Do we reap what we sow? – well only if we are careful with what, where and how we sow

Wishing all my readers a wonderful and successful 2010 and beyond

Mike

DEEPLIST Analysis – marketing acronym

DEEPLIST analysis – an alternative to the PESTLE analysis

Is DEEPLIST better than PEST or PESTLE? or more of the same?

DEEPLIST – Demographic, Economic, Ecologic/ Environmental, Political, Legal, Informational, Social and Technology

In 2000  Paul N Finlay had a book published called “Strategic management: an introduction to business and corporate strategy”. In this book Finlay used the Acronym DEEPLIST as a way of prompting readers of the key areas that needed to be explored when looking at the “remote environment for the business” or the environment in which the business operates, which it cannot control or influence. Constraints if you like.

Traditionally marketing and business strategists have used PEST or PESTLE analysis.

In DEEPLIST the factors to be explored are:

• Demographics
• Economic
• Environmental/ Ecological
• Political
• Legal
• Informational
• Social
• Technological

 Where all but Informational are directly included in PESTLE. Demographics is an important element, but can it really be separated from social? many supporters of the ‘original’ PEST say that differentiating between Legal and Political is also difficult in some situations. Having more is not always better. Knowing how to use a model, theory or tool is far more important. I suspect that if increasingly long acronyms are created this will only lead to increased confusion by students trying to understand how to apply it in the first place.

 I wonder if many courses are starting to use this model as it is ‘new & sexy’ compared to PEST or PESTLE, or is it that people need handholding more in terms of the areas that they need to research and explore as part of the strategic planning process.

 In summary:

Deeplist – Demographics:

• Where people live
• Who they are – Age, sex, race etc..
• Social circumstances – Education, income and lifestyle

dEeplist – Economic:

• The extent to which the markets in which you operate is prosperous (or not) and the competitive environment
• Factors such as taxation, monetary and competition policies of your target markets.

deEplist – Environmental/ Ecological:

• What is the perception of the environment in your sector? What are customers attitudes to environmental or green issues. What about availability of materials? Sustainability

deePlist – Political

• In the political landscape in which you operate (both source materials & deliver product) – what will help/ hinder operations and products

deepList – Legal

• What are the limits or constraints on what you do. What may change?

deeplIst – Informational

• What data do you have?
• How do you use it?
• How is it protected?
• As the connected world changes with ever increasing use of the internet and social media what is being said about you, your market and your competitors?
• It is about access a to information and what you can and cannot control.

deepliSt – Social

• The needs and wants of both target markets, social attitudes to the types of products and services you offer.
• How your organisation is seen by the outside world
• CSR – Corperate Social Responsibility

deeplisT – Technology

• What is changing in the world of technology which will impact your products or services.?
• New innovations, adaptations and adoption rates of new technologies. What is changing and how fast?

Personally I prefer PESTLE, we know and understand the model. Maybe we need to change PESTLE to iPESTLE (or iPEST) where I is Information.

iPESTLE or DEEPLIST can be used to best effect when the results of this analysis are used in a SWOT analysis.

 

Footnote

One of the reasons why DEEPLIST is becoming popular in the UK is its adoption by CIMA in its course content.

One disadvantage of DEEPLIST over PESTLE is that DEEPLIST is © Finlay and this may cause organisations that promote it difficulties in the future, this is in addition to increasing the separation of some element’s that may well create difficulties in application (Political/ Legal, Demographics/ Social etc).

Strategic development: Are we missing the point?

As developers, consultants and change agents, we often talk about strategic programmes and actions, but are we taking the appropriate first steps?

This article looks at the steps we take and explores if we can be more strategic and add more value.

 

Introduction

Often we know where we want to get to, or at least have a good idea, but often as the old saying goes: “If I was going there, I would not start from here.”

That is a very logical reply, even if it is not advice that is of much immediate practical value to the questioner. If you don’t know where you are going, you are not likely to get there.

It is sound advice to know where you are and where you want to end up before starting the journey. Is this why many of the tourist maps have a “you are here” marker?

Where are we now? Where do we want to be?

This is a simple yet basic step in any intervention, at any level within our respective organisations. Yet what is the extent to which we really do it? Where is the ‘you are here’ marker in our organisations? Sure, some of us have tools like customer satisfaction and staff engagement data (as well as the basic business financial measures), but holistic, strategic data?

In the 2007 survey, Develop the Developers (by Morrison & Ritchie), responders to the survey provided the following answers in response to development activities:

Use of diagnostic approaches:

Always (8%); usually (33%); sometimes (46%); rarely (10%); never (4%)

Use of evaluation approaches:

Always (37%); usually (43%); sometimes (15%); rarely (2%); never (2%).

This highlights why much of what we do in organisational development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) fails, on a regular basis, to make the desired (and recognised) strategic impact.

“How can we ever hope to evaluate any intervention effectively if we do not know where we started from?”

We have read many threads on community forums such as HRZone.co.uk and TrainingZone.co.uk about the difficulties of evaluating activity. How to calculate a return on investment (ROI) or show value for money is a commonly recurring theme.

How can we ever hope to evaluate any intervention effectively if we do not know where we started from? We will only know this by having the same measures at the beginning of an intervention as we want to use for measuring success after the event.

In business we do it – we look at the financial position (profit, turnover etc), we set a plan to achieve it and then we measure after an agreed period of time. In medicine, before a person starts treatment we have some measures – pulse, respiration, blood pressure and so on – we measure before and after (often on going) treatment. Why, in HR and HRD, do we not do the same? Often we do for things like retention, sickness and attendance – but not for the more strategic elements.

What is a diagnostic process?

It is often simpler than it sounds. It is a tool that identifies ‘where you are now’, the dot or arrow on the map if you like. Tools like SWOT and PESTLE are OK to start with, but often these tools are not used as effectively (or broadly) as they were originally intended.

Diagnostic tools that only look at the area of the business you are interested in, for example culture surveys, have their place, but how do you know that culture is the issue – where is the diagnosis to show that a specific tool like a culture survey is the right one? There may be a need with a higher priority.

“A regular, yet effective organisational diagnostic process not only evaluates previous actions but the same data can be used to identify future needs”

It’s like going to your doctor – they will not send you for a special test or scan, until they have undertaken a more general diagnosis. In HR and OD we need to do the same. We need to use holistic diagnostic tools to help us orientate to real needs – often we react to the symptoms. It is easy to treat the cut to the hand from a fall, but if we miss the reason for the person falling – for instance, a minor stroke – sure the hand will get better, but in the mean time the stroke can do more damage.

Making evaluation easier

The more robust the diagnostic process, the easier the evaluation. Some would argue than an evaluation is just a repeat of the diagnostic but with different analysis on the results. The diagnostic is looking for an action plan; an evaluation is looking for change since the last measure. So a regular, yet effective organisational diagnostic process not only evaluates previous actions but the same data can be used (in association with a business plan) to identify future needs. Here is a simple strategic cycle:

• Holistic diagnosis
• Analysis
• Plan
• Action
• Diagnosis

Insanity in our world?

As the saying goes, the first sign of madness is doing the same thing as before and expecting different results. It can be a bit like watching a replay of a race and expecting someone else to win. Obvious when we think about it, but why do we do this with our business activity?

Looking back at the results from the Develop the Developer survey, I wonder why many interventions are evaluated, but with little or no formal diagnostic processes undertaken at all; then we wonder why evaluation is so difficult.

Do we, as professionals, not learn? Do we keep doing the same things (evaluation but no initial diagnosis) and wonder why we do not add as much value as we expect? Are we ‘mad’? Maybe we are just reluctant learners?

Mike Morrison is director of RapidBI Ltd, a consultancy specialising in helping individuals and organisations improve their business performance through people and organisation effectiveness.

This version first published: – HR Zone, 1st April 2008
Categories: HR Strategy

SWOT or SOAR? – Strategy and tools in business

Strategy and tools in business – To SWOT or SOAR?

Strategy and tools in business - Over the years a lot of good and bad stuff has been said about SWOT. Sure it is not the most robust of tools but when used in the way it was originally developed – it is a powerful tool. Some people have argued that it is time to move on from SWOT to other things – in this piece we explore SOAR an Appreciative Inquiry tool.

An interesting article on this topic was published in Ai Practitioner magazine ( http://preview.tinyurl.com/2bvobg ) (it is available here http://preview.tinyurl.com/26wk4v – or here) for those that are not subscribers). SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results.

The authors propose it as:

Indeed many proponents of the SOAR method talk of it as being a “positively re-framed SWOT analysis”.

Having read the article (and several others), the SOAR approach to my mind makes the same mistake (in the context of strategic planning) that many using the SWOT analysis do – and that is they miss the context. When the (highly researched) SOFT was changed to SWOT the new authors missed the point which is why the tool is often miss-understood. It (SWOT/ SOFT) was never designed to stand on its own, nor was it ever to be part of the direct action phase – it was a diagnosis and data capture tool.

The authors of this article article on SOAR to my mind make two fundamental mistakes:

1) They assume that all applications of SWOT are in the way they describe
2) They appear to ignore weaknesses and threats – apparently believing that their solution will soar (pardon the pun) over any difficulties.

Evidence of the authors assumptions can be seen in the way they describe SWOT:

It is biased towards what they can do rather than consider what areas they should avoid. The completely miss the point about opportunities being created by the omission of others or changes in customer patterns. Weaknesses are supposed to be internal weaknesses, things that may inhibit the organization form delivering its promise – not a look externally at “who might out perform us”.

Would the shareholders of Enron be in the position they are now in (extinct) if they had faced up to their threats and weaknesses, rather than focus on what they thought were their strengths?

The SOAR article clearly states in its summary

“This article has attempted to address the strategy-to-execution gap. In doing so, we have discussed SOAR, a strengths-based framework that builds on the best points of SwOt (strengths and opportunities) in order to move beyond the “as-is” state of the organization’s environment to the “to-be”.“

Yes this as a framework can be used as the authors state to take SWOT data and apply it – but SOAR in itself is not a diagnostic or orientation tool. Anyone using this as a diagnostic tool is going to make the same errors as 1000’s of people have done with inappropriate use of SWOT.

Rear view mirror?

Some proponents of SOAR go as far as to say

“The reason is that 50% of the SWOT process keeps organizations looking in the rear view mirror focusing on trying to fix weaknesses and swat away real or imagined threats. Unfortunately, it keeps most organizations stuck in the status quo and saps the energy and enthusiasm necessary to move forward.”

Is this true?  Is a SWOT really just looking in the mirror? or is it about using the forward view, taking account of the rear view and side mirrors before making  a maneuver.. there is no point “changing lanes” if there is a semi-truck right next to you – its all about context and timing. Sure SWOT for personal development is not the best tool, and maybe SOAR is a better fit – but for true strategic planning its not one OR the other but BOTH….?

Appreciative Inquiry has its place

Appreciative Inquiry is a particular way of asking questions and envisioning the future that fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, a situation, or an organization proponents. In so doing, it enhances a system’s capacity for collaboration and change.

Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a 4-stage process focusing on:

• DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.
• DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.
• DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.
• DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

The basic idea is to build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn’t. It is the opposite of problem solving. AI focuses on how to create more of what’s already working.

This method is more positive in nature than many others, however it is as a strategy naive in that it assumes success breeds success – many organizations are in fact where they now because by prioritising they did solve problems and did not just focus on what works.

Would a company that currently makes plastic carrier bags be advised to use SOAR exclusively – or look at the external factors which MAY bring about a reduction or indeed the end of the need for their product? Customer pressure, Environmental impact, Cost of provision etc…

Equally any diagnostic process needs to look holistically at the people and the processes, from an internal and external perspective – not just one or the other.

 

Is SWOT redundant?…..

No but it is sure made to be a more reliable process with additions of other models in the transition to application.

5 common mistakes in doing a PESTLE analysis

The PEST or PESTLE analysis is one of the most common diagnostic tools used in marketing and business planning. Its six basic perspectives provide a framework for understanding external factors which may impact the organization, which is easy to follow and yet the tool is so often misunderstood.

PESTLE - Political, Economic, Sociological, Ecological, Legal, Environmental.

PESTLE provides the external perspective to a SWOT analysis…

where: PESTLE + PRIMO-F = SWOT

Six simple rules for a successful PESTLE analysis

1. Be realistic about what is happening in each of the six areas
2. The Analysis should identify what is happening in the marketplace today, and where it could be in the future.
3. Be specific. Avoid grey areas
4. Always analyse in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your competition
5. Keep your PESTLE analysis short and simple to understand – but only as short and simple as the application or situation demands – it is about ‘fitness for purpose’
6. Avoid unnecessary complexity and over analysis

The Top 5 mistakes people make:

1. An unclear goal – providing the context for the PESTLE analysis
2. Maintaining too narrow a focus – you need to look broadly at the market
3. Neglecting input from others – inside and outside the organization
4. Performing an analysis only once- this needs to happen on a regular basis (monthly for technology firms – quarterly for many others)
5. Reliance on PESTLE as a holistic diagnostic strategy – it is only one tool.

A concise PESTLE Analysis

Keep your PESTLE analysis short and focused. If it becomes too long-winded, you’ll soon forget some of the more important points and it will become less effective in the long term.

 

Conclusion

The PESTLE is a valuable tool that in the right hands and with the appropriate level of effort can provide a valuable insight into current and future strategy.

Remember to consider the results of the PESTLE analysis as just one tool in a variety of analysis methods that can form together to create a more realistic analysis of your organization

5 common mistakes in doing a SWOT analysis

The SWOT analysis is one of the most common diagnostic tools used in business. Its four simple perspectives provide a framework which is easy to follow and yet the tool is so often misunderstood.

SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

The Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors, the opportunities and threats are external factors. Some advocate the use of PRIMO-F to identify Strengths and Weaknesses and PESTLE for external factors…

so PRIMO-F + PESTLE = SWOT

 

Simple rules for a successful SWOT analysis

• Be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of your organization
• The Analysis should distinguish between where your organization is today, and where it could be in the future.
• Be specific. Avoid grey areas
• Always analyse in relation to your competition i.e. better than or worse than your competition
• Keep your SWOT short and simple – but only as short and simple as the application or situation demands – it is about ‘fitness for purpose’
• Avoid unnecessary complexity and over analysis
• There is little point in listing an Opportunity (O) if the same opportunity is available to competitors
• It is pointless to say you have Strengths (S) if your competitors have the same

  

The Top 5 mistakes:

1. An unclear goal
2. Maintaining too narrow of a focus
3. Neglecting input from others
4. Performing an analysis only once
5. Reliance on SWOT as a holistic diagnostic strategy

A concise SWOT Analysis

Keep your SWOT analysis short and focused. If it becomes too long-winded, you’ll soon forget some of the more important points and it will become less effective in the long term.

Great SWOT Strengths

When considering your SWOT strengths, it’s all too easy to congratulate yourself and identify what you think it is that makes you great. Instead, flip the coin and consider what it is that your customers do/will think are your strengths.

Few Weaknesses

Having written a long list of SWOT based strengths for your organization, it’s also very easy to become a bit jaded and quickly fly over your weakness, without a critical eye. As a result, count up the number of SWOT based strengths, and then write twice as many weakness. This will force you to take a deeper look at the areas that you need to improve.

Opportunities

By considering your SWOT analysis based opportunities, you get to play god with your future. It’s all too easy to look at opportunities with rose-tinted glasses and predict opportunities that don’t actually exist. Instead, look at the opportunities that are available to you today.

Threats

Again, as with SWOT weaknesses, when you consider your SWOT threats, you have to take a cold hearted look at some of the things that you’d probably rather ignore.

Conclusion

The SWOT is a valuable tool that in the right hands and with the appropriate level of effort can provide a valuable insight into current and future strategy.

Remember to consider the results of the SWOT analysis as just one tool in a variety of analysis methods that can form together to create a more realistic analysis of your organization

A Guide to SWOT analysis

PESTLE Analysis for Schools or Education

A PESTLE analysis is a tool that can provide prompts to the governors, management and staff involved in the analysis of the changes in the school’s environment that could impact future finance, planning and management decisions. It can enable them carry out a more comprehensive analysis.  

A PESTLE is usually used in commercial organisations as a part of the strategic development of a business and marketing plan, however a PESTLE analysis can be used as part of identifying the opportunities and threats (swOT) for operational planning within educational and school environments.

The PESTLE provides a simple framework within which to consider external factors. 
PESTLE is used as part of a SWOT for identifying the external factors (OT)

 

 

 

Political	Schools being privatised (like the NHS) A government initiative creates the risk that the school may fail to deliver the policy or be diverted away from local priorities etc. Changes to the skills required to be a teacher/ tutor Changes to curriculum with short lead times Requirement to be self managing Requirement to be self financing
Economic	Central or local government funding decisions may affect school/ establishment finances Closure of a local industry may affect fund raising plans etc. Ability of parents to raise funds for optional activities The need to run breakfast/ after schools clubs Ability to invest ‘savings/ surpluses’ Cost of providing resources: Staff – teaching & support Basics – books/ paper Technology solutions laptops etc Interest rates Shortages of materials on national/ international markets Over provision of school places in the area resulting in competition from neighbouring schools The risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more ‘up and coming’ schools/ academies
Social	Decline in birth rate, reflecting national trends Local population changes (increasing/ decreasing numbers) Demographic changes may affect likely pupil rolls or the nature of pupils needs e.g. pupils with English as a second language etc. Closure of local firms providing employment Inability to attract staff Social networking – blogs, facebook, twitter Changes to qualifications expected Integration with local community Integration of students with special needs parental preference – an increase in ‘parent power’ has allowed parents more freedom of choice over their child’s school the risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more up-and-coming establishments Information is accessible to staff anywhere in the world via the Internet Staff were not given enough training or access to effectively change their habits and how they expected information to be made available
Technological	Changes to standards/ equipment required Risk of selecting the wrong technology at times of change (i.e. windows -v- open source) New computer viruses may affect school/ college operations, Disturbing/ illegal images on the internet may affect ICT security measures etc. Move from paper based books to e-book readers Computer hardware being out of date Computer software being out of date Time to manage IT systems
Legislative	new legislation may create risks of non-compliance with the law, create new administrative burdens etc Changes to child protection legislation Raise the age of school leaving age Raise/ lower the age of starting school. Nursery/ kindergarten Change to school opening hours Changes to funding of charity based organisations Health & safety legislation
Environmental	A new highway layout near the school may create new dangers for pupils etc Waste disposal Reduction of green space available for activities Changes to local bus routes Using a significant amounts of paper and photocopier toner to produce printed information.

For a more comprehensive PESTLE article see our pain page.

A PESTLE Template:

Area being reviewed	Factor:	Is factor positive or negative?
Political		P – N P – N P – N P – N
Economic		P – N P – N P – N P – N
Social		P – N P – N P – N P – N
Technological		P – N P – N P – N P – N
Legislative		P – N P – N P – N P – N
Environmental		P – N P – N P – N P – N

Remember this is only a tool. Call it what you like – use whatever factors you feel are appropriate.  Other variations include:

• PEST analysis (STEP analysis) - Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological
• PESTLE/ PESTEL analysis- Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, Environmental
• PESTEL analysis- Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Environmental, Labour (Labor) related
• PESTLIED analysis- Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, International, Environmental, Demographic
• STEEPLE analysis – Social/Demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical
• SLEPT analysis – Social, Legal, Economic, Political, Technological
• STEPE analysis – Social, Technical, Economic, Political, and Ecological
• ETPS analysis – Economic, Technical, Political and Social – Scanning the organizational environment

Choose the acronym that most suits you or your organization.

Writing academic reports and references

Often I am asked about the references for some of the pieces I have written about on this site, for example SWOT, PESTLE & SMART, so I thought it was about time to provide an answer here rather than just in person.

Unfortunately  writing a reference for some of these is not as easy to answer as you may believe.

The Harvard (and other referencing systems) were developed for the use of academic material. On this and other more popular management models there was no public paper, it was practical research applied. In addition technically unless you had access to the original paper, your reference should be this site (page) and the company newsletter. During my research of SWOT, PESTLE & SMART, I have found many references quoited that are plain incorrect – many by established academics! Many academics seem to blindly trust the research of their colleagues – this is a dangerous thing to do. For example many quote Drucker and “The practice of management” as the source of SMART – it is not, I have been through several different editions and there is no reference to the model in any of them. Humphrey and the information provided on SWOT  is the nearest I have found to any original documentation.

The reality is with SWOT is that no one really knows, the piece I have presented is the earliest credible reference, but this does not mean he was the originator.

So to answer the question, you can only use references to sources of information you personally have used, be they modern or original.

Recently there has been a move to extend the use of the referencing system to more informal publications (see below) so technically you should reference my site and the newsletter, as these are the nearest things to the source as anyone will find (but I am still on the case but now unhopeful).

Writing Harvard references for less formal sources

Web Pages

For web pages you must include the full address of the page, not just the address of the site. This can be copied from the address bar which normally appears at the top of the browser.

Morrison, M. (2006) SWOT Analysis, http://www.rapidbi.com/created/SWOTanalysis.html, Date accessed 16/01/09.

An extra date, the date you accessed the page is included at the end of the reference, because web pages, unlike books, can be modified and even disappear entirely. Note it is recommended to print pages as paper references as the content of a page is likely to change.

Newspaper and newsletter articles

For newspaper articles the required elements for a reference are:

Author, Initials., Year. Title of article. Full Title of newspaper/ publication, day and month before page numbers and column line.

Hack, A., 2005. Corporate mergers:killing our high streets.
The Guardian, 3 Feb. p.4b.