Categories of the SWOT - Essay Example

The essay aims to address the following concerns: (1) provide a list of at least five sources you will use to obtain information about the firm’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Discuss what categories of the SWOT elements of information are readily available on the Internet. What categories of data are difficult or impossible to find on the Internet? (When using the Internet, be sure to provide specific websites or URLs.) (2) To rate, from the best to the worst, each of the sources you indicated in #1 above as being sources you will use in your analysis in terms of its probable reliability. Discuss the steps and/or actions you can take to validate the reliability and accuracy of the information you obtain. And (3) as a manager, determine how confident would you be in basing strategic decisions on the information that has been obtained online for the SWOT. What other sources of information can you use to effectively complete the SWOT analysis?

List of SWOT sources and Ranked from Best to Worst

A lot of information on SWOT analysis in general is readily available and accessible online. For the specific details pertaining to the company one is trying to research, one can actually avail from various market research organizations for expensive fees. To enable one to work on the details of the analysis particular to the identified organization, one needs to make the research using the organization’s official website and other relevant authoritative sources.

Validity of Sources

To verify the validity of the information provided in the abovementioned sources, one needs to conduct supporting research from other scholarly and academic references on the subject. The contentions must be balanced and information should not only come from the official website of the organization being evaluated. Information from other stakeholders, like customers, employees, or even stockholders could be researched to provide information on their points of view and perspectives regarding the organization.

Confidence Level

As a manager, aside from online sources, one could validate the veracity of the information by conducting interviews with various stakeholders of the organization: customers, employees, other managers, stockholders, and suppliers, among others. One could also try to find secondary scholarly sources written about the organization from journals and publications. Therefore, to complete the SWOT analysis, diverse sources of balanced information could provide a comprehensive picture and analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the company currently faces.