Abstract

This essay will explain the importance of a SWOT analysis for a business. It will research Apple, Inc., and explain their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The paper will show how these aspects impact the company. It will provide methods that management can use to overcome their weaknesses and threats, as well as how to take advantage of opportunities and strengths.

The importance of a SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis is important to an organization because it analyzes the climate of the company overall. It provides a candid look at the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This allows management teams to decide how to best use the strengths of the company, and how to improve the weaknesses. When goal setting and long-term planning, these are areas that either can be exploited, or need improvement. When reviewing opportunities and threats, an organization must look at its corporate environment. The opportunities are aspects of the environment that a company can take advantage of such as a way to expand or grow customers. Threats to an organization can come in many forms. A company must make every effort to avoid or minimize threats to its bottom line, or even its mere existence. A SWOT analysis helps to identify what is good and what needs improvement in a company. While strengths and weaknesses are the internal indicators of an organization’s need for improvement, opportunities and threats are the external forces that determine needed changes within a company (Jurevicius 2013).
Explanation of Apple, Inc.’s SWOT and its impact Apple, Inc. is a company that creates and provides computer hardware and software, as well as other consumer electronics around the world. They had revenues near $180 billion as recently as 2013 (Jurevicius 2014). Apple’s greatest strengths are its marketing and advertising capabilities. The