Strategy Paper

Students: Babouris Christos & Dennis M Vrbanjac
Date: 05/09/2014
Instructor: Marie Bengtsson
Course: Classic Leadership and Organization Dilemmas

SWOT ANALYSIS: The basic strategic tool through history (?)

It is generally known that in order to be competitive in a market, one must be able to see the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that lay the fundament of success in the organization. This analysis, is one of today’s perhaps most frequently used tools when analysing a company’s possibilities to be successful in the modern market situation. Moreover, the question is; where does this tool derive from? Is SWOT analysis a natural instinct of strategy that has been used throughout mankind, or is it constructed? Out of this natural perspective on the SWOT- analysis different tactics emerge. To begin answering this question, there will initially look back on the historical, cultural and social aspects that could be traced to be the core of the SWOT concept. Then the discussion will move on, to a practical application on a historical event and also a modern example where the SWOT can be identified. We will see the evolution of it, throughout ages and time.

In order to understand our allegation, we must go back in time and see where these strategic notions “took birth”. No matter if we are in favour of religious philosophy, or the Darwin’s evolution theory, we can easily see early clues of actual swot analysis, but of course not as it is known today. On the first hand we have God as the ultimate strategist. He possessed all those virtues that a true leader has. Care, authority, genius, influence to the whole creation and much more, moreover God had a way of strategically manage his subordinates (Freedman (2013)). Another example that Freedman touches upon, are the apes, that do not actually have a proper hierarchy from the very beginning but they form one ruled by the alpha male. They saw strengths and opportunities, in terms of the good part of having a bigger number in their heard, and possible gains if they attack another ape heard. Weaknesses in terms of being outnumbered and submitted by a stronger enemy. Both of these examples show their strengths and weaknesses, but also their opportunities and threats in planning. Each one has to adjust in order to “win” and prosper and if they do not, they lose the authority over their followers.
There are continuous examples of traces linking the principals of SWOT. Throughout history, Greeks; Themistocles and Odysseus, as well as more modern strategists as Jiminy, Napoleon, Che Guevara, Lenin and Hitler used tactics that could be linked to an early version of SWOT in order to win battles (Freedman (2013)). Moreover we could wonder, how was it possible for these people, who most of them had never studied economics or even studied anything about war techniques, to apply such methods? The answer to this question is rather simple, and that is; because they were most likely strategic and planning geniuses. Their success derived from several positive leadership characteristics. Freedman (2013) stresses the importance of mastering trickery, cunningness and cleverness, and in the examples mentioned above, there is a strong possibility that these characteristics were used to achieve great strategic goals. It is evident that we are not talking about scholars, we are talking about commanders that lead their subordinates effectively. The innovation that they introduced is the art of engaging a war on the map and not purely on the field. The possible success of the actions of these leaders was accountable on judgement, careful calculation and planning.
It would be easier though, if one could get a closer view on how those brains worked and through that analyse it more thoroughly. To illustrate this and get a closer look we will make a SWOT ANALYSIS according to their strategy. The leading example illustrating this notion would be Mao Zedong, a great Chinese military and political profile, who founded the Chinese Communist Party and rebelled against the elites of the country, fought for the peasants’ independence from the elite pressure.

Mao Zedong SWOT analysis Opportunities * Extensive use of new warfare methods like Guerrilla * Highly increased rates of new allies (army force) | Threats * Death of Mao * Japanese and Kuomintang early involvement * The elites could take back the upper hand by using political and economic pressure towards the general crowd * Stronger armies | Internal Factors | Strengths * The mass on his side (peasant and labour classes * Collaboration with those forces * Great knowledge of the terrain-field * Mobile warfare * Flexibility | Weaknesses * Not military trained * Not disciplined * Limits * Dependence on human willingness to fight | External factors |

Freedman (2013) discusses Mao Zedong out of a strategic perspective. To be able to see it from a SWOT perspective, he must take a closer look out at the situation through a SWOT analysis. If the concept of SWOT had been used at the time, it would, with great probability, look something like the plan illustrated above. Of course, some may disagree and say that it would be impossible to apply the SWOT-analysis so many years before it was invented, however the suiting surroundings of Zedong’s particular situation stimulates our imagination about him, actually being capable of using that exact layout as shown above. More and more the SWOT approach could be done for many other strategists according to what we can read from different books. Does it seem heretic now to say that it was actually a natural instinct that has been used throughout mankind?

As we move forward in history and we reach today, different and new situations appeared, and they require different approaches to strategy. However new more powerful species arose from the ashes of that thriving kind that used their brains more than their hands; they are known as politicians. Of course, they existed in ancient Greece when democracy took birth but now they are the ruling together with business managers. We are talking about a new era where what once could be done by violence can now be done by argumentation and persuasion. Politicians like Martin Luther King, Bush, Nixon, Kennedy and others, tried to adapt strategy to the new circumstances so this SWOT analysis contains useful elements for their strengths as narrative, paradigm and opportunities like for example the media. We can all understand what could be the opposite factors about weaknesses and threats. The same can be assumed to happen for the businessmen. Both of which use the same tools and are facing the same threats. Their success relies strongly on the actions of the other. The decisions that each one makes, has a great impact on the prosperity of the other part. For the rest of our analysis though, it would be more convenient to associate them with today’s “leading power”. As SWOT ANLYSIS was introduced in the 1960s by a management consultant named Albert Humphrey at the Stanford Research Institute, the crowd welcomed it cheerfully. Of course, above we claimed that it already existed, but with the new “discovery” came the possibility for strategically incompetent individuals, by studying and using it properly, to be “strategic geniuses”. However it is important to know that a successful leader uses much more virtues in order to succeed, however, everyone has the formula for success now.
Great enterprises today, like Apple, General Motors, Samsung and many more economical colossi use this kind of method before they introduce a new product to the audience. In that way, they have the comparative advantage to other competitors to see their faults and threats but also capabilities. The market and the competition is harsh so their moves must be accurate and strategically methodical in order to survive and prosper. A useful example of today’s SWOT Analysis will help us generate conclusions, for that it would be preferable to take as example a prosperous organization like Apple Inc.

Are there differences and similarities with the one of Mao’s that was described above? The answer would be “yes”, a few and that’s mainly because we are talking about different strategic occasions. However, generally speaking the concept is the same; everybody takes all those factors into consideration when initially starting a new accomplishment.

Initially there was an extensive discussion on where we were and where we are right now, but where are we actually heading to? Is this the final stage of Strategic SWOT Analysis? Are we at a dead end where we cannot go any further? History shows us that we follow a radical rapid evolution that really never stops. As we keep working and invent new methods, the people using the SWOT as a tool will have to listen and study the new data more carefully. Eventually, it will have to go one step further and become something more, which really reflects the new situation – reality as well as following the new technological evolution. Nobody knows if “SWOT” will remain as it is. New situations demand new methods so SWOT could advance to a new, more efficient and comprehensive method and introduce new elements to the new “strategists”. Strategic analysis is a natural instinct but what will happen if we stop thinking and analysing the stimulations of the environment? What will happen if we rest on the laurels of technology-making decisions?

Questions:

* What will happen if we stop thinking strategically? (MAIN) * Can technology-making decision threaten critical strategic decision and the proper analysis of the data? * Can we find differences and similarities between Mao’s SWOT analysis and Apple’s? * How can SWOT analysis evolve, what elements could be included to become better?

Referencing

* Freedman, L. 2013, Strategy: A history. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press