SWOT ANALYSIS - ITS TIME FOR A PRODUCT RECALL

The attempt to improve the corporate strategy development process has fostered a range of approaches which have enjoyed different levels of support and popularity over time. One of the most popular is the SWOT analysis. This article reports on an in-depth review of its use by con sultants who included this as part of their approach to understanding a business from a corporate perspective and as part of the Department of Trade and Industry's Manufacturing Planning and Implementation Sche me. Of the 50 companies reviewed within the scheme, over 20 companies used a SWOT involving 14 consulting companies. All the applications sh owed similar characteristics-long lists (over 40 factors on average), general (often meaningless) descriptions, a failure to prioritize and no attempt to verify any points. But the most worrying general charact eristic was that no-one subsequently used the outputs within the later stages of the strategy process. The continued use of the SWOT analysi s, therefore, needs to be questioned. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier S cience Ltd.