Entrepreneurs of different business organizations are fond of setting goals in order to move their businesses forward daily irrespective of the challenges on the ground. This is the reason why they have a target, aims, or objectives for whatever they have decided to produce at the end of a trading session either quarterly, half a year, or yearly as the case may be. For better understanding, let us consider the meaning of the following i. e. the meaning of simple business goals. To understand what business goals are all about, you must understand and be able to analyze the letter’s SWOT.
SWOT Analysis
Contents
SWOT means strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. They are products of the environment. Business organizations do not operate in isolation but in an environment that is dynamic, multi-faceted, and has far-reaching imputes. This environment could be internal or external. Internal environments are environments that are within the reach of an organization. This internal environment has strengths and weaknesses as its characteristics. An external environment is an environment that is outside the reach of an organization. An organization has to adjust appropriately to the external environment because they do not have any control over it. This offers both opportunities and threats.
Strengths
These are good attributes of an organization that is as a result of the organization being able to manage and coordinate its activities well. These include the ability of an organization to recruit and retain well-trained staff, produced highly qualitative and improved products, sound human and customer relations, the situation of the organization in a good area, ability to build strong customer confidence, ability to acquire the most recent and sophisticated equipment, sound financial management system and so on.
Major areas of strengths in business
Strengths of a business refers to internal and external factors, power, or capacity that make such a business stand out and forge ahead of other competitors in the markets i. e. a kind of added advantage over other entrepreneurs. It also refers to what the workers do well or where their skills shine above others.
Leadership competence: Before a business can be strong, the workers in the establishment must be capable of the work in the organization. They are to be men and women of qualities in each of their areas of work or schedule.
Communication skills: Whosoever will succeed while others are failing are to be men and women with good communication skills. They must know how to listen to the customers and pacify anger and annoyance, especially during complaints, suggestions and package themselves to satisfy the needs of consumers and use the principle of customers are always right.
Self-motivation: They should be men and women of self or personal courage even in the time of hopelessness when nobody is around to cheer them up or encourage them on the present condition especially when a great loss occurred in the business.
Service competence: They must have the ability to serve the customers right as far as the interpersonal relationship between a producer and a consumer is concerned.
Self-determination: They are to men and women of single purpose, aim, goal, and objective. They must be ready never to give room to any discouragement or defeat come what may.
Teamwork: They are to cultivate the attitude of working together as a man, having the same voice towards one goal for efficiency and effectiveness in the production of goods and services at hand.
Intelligence: They must have the ability to always think fast and right especially during challenges and rectify whatever negatives are on the ground in order to protect the good image of the business.
Hard work: They should be people who can work very hard at all times even when the schedule is right or during overtime or one challenge or the other in the business and so on.
Weaknesses
These are negative characteristics of an organization that is as a result of an organization not being able to manage and coordinate its internal environment. These may include the loss of key management staff, as a result of a bad welfare package, bad after-sales services, poor customer relations, and so on.
Major areas of weaknesses in business
This is an area of business that is set back as a result of some negative factors such as credit sales, lateness, insufficient training, or limited resources. All these qualities make a business to be a disadvantage compared to others in the field of business. It causes businesses not to grow as it is expected and targeted, or goals set are unfulfilled as a result of such weaknesses. They serve as the weak point of an organization. Examples of weak factors are as follows:
- Poor location
- Bad administrators
- Incompetent marketers
- Insufficient funds
- Credit sales
- Lack of standard equipment
Opportunities
These may include a steady supply of electricity in areas where the business is situated, special loan facilities offered by the government, and a reduction in the duties payable on raw materials used by the organization.
Major areas of opportunities in business
There are a lot of businesses in different sectors of the economy that a student can pursue based on choice and decision. Some of the are Agro-allied business, Forest and future business, catering business, baby items, education services, Internet-based business, Telecommunication business, Information technology business, Fashion and style business, etc. But there is a chance of internal and external factors that a business has over others in accumulating more wealth or profit. It also means improving one’s performance and advantage in a market setting for more profits. The following are some of the opportunities:
- Good location
- Good planning
- Sufficient funds
- Availability of experts
- Proper attitude
- Good communication skills
Threats
These are negative things posed by the external environments which are inimical to the survival of the business organization. In order to remain in business the organization must react sharply and timely to those threats. Examples are when the government reviews upward, wages and salaries, the embargo on the importation of key raw materials used by the organization, upwards review of the tax rate payable by companies, epileptic and kiotic supply of power, etc.
Major areas of threats in business
Threats are internal and external factors that can cause trouble or setback for the business anytime anywhere if quick action is never taken to correct or prevent it. They ruin the business venture and can negatively affect its performance or achievement of its goals. In fact, they are real troubleshooters and dangerous zone for the business. Some of these threats are the following:
Poor location: This can serve as a threat if there is no good location for the business where people can patronize them very well.
Poor planning: In situations where there is poor planning, it may be very difficult to strife well and the expectation of the organization may be defeated.
Po0 or management: If the management is weak in their operations and is not all that capable of handling some sensitive issues with the customers, they are likely to be negatively affected in the business.
New government laws and regulations: This is a situation where there are negative laws and regulations from the government that affects the business negatively. This type of negative laws and regulations usually serves as a threat to any business.
New Competitors: You can think of competitors in business such as viju milk and Vigo, five alive by coca cola, peak milk, etc.
Political instability: At times, there can be political instability in a state or a country which is likely to affect a business. A government that is in power today may powerfully approve a project which may be abandoned by another government in power tomorrow. Such way of administration instability may affect the business negatively sometimes.
Bad debt: Situations where there are a lot of unclaimed debts as a result of nature or natural disasters such as death, storm, earthquake, war, etc can serve as a threat to business anywhere in the part of the world.
Misuse of Technology: Misuse of technology renders your product useless g. g. computer (instead of a typewriter), ATM card, e-commerce, etc, An introduction of new equipment or instrument as a result of fast growth in the development of technology can serve as a threat to business also, etc.
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