Students must conduct a SWOT analysis of a public or nonprofit organization, department or work unit that interests them and in which you are a part of and have access to organizational information. You are not to choose a program, project, or initiative. Also, you may not choose a private company and their work units or departments. A SWOT analysis is important for planning out and making decisions in an organization. Analyzing strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T) related to an organization, decision-makers can understand their internal and external environments and develop strategies to take advantage of opportunities and mitigate risk.
When developing the paper, students should structure the assignment in the following way:
Introduction
Brief description of the organization/department/work unit
Provide a discussion of the organization/department/work unit’s mission, values, and vision statement if available
Brief description of the issues facing the organization/department/work unit as related in the media or some annual/government report
More detailed description of the specific problem the paper seeks to address within the organization/department/work unit
SWOT Analysis
Provide a SWOT analysis table (use the template provided in Blackboard)
Provide a detailed narrative to accompany the SWOT analysis table that describes each quadrant
Recommended Strategies to Address Weaknesses and/or Threats
Description of Strategy 1
Description of organizational theories used to inform the development of the strategy (students must use at least 2 theories to inform their strategy)
Describe what is the purpose of the strategy, its goals, hypothetically how will the strategy address the weakness and/or threat
Describe what external and internal stakeholders are needed to implement the strategy and make it successful
Description of Strategy 2
Description of organizational theories used to inform the development of the strategy (students must use at least 2 theories to inform their strategy)
Describe what is the purpose of the strategy, its goals, hypothetically how will the strategy address the weakness and/or threat
Describe what external and internal stakeholders are needed to implement the strategy and make it successful
Conclusion
Closing statement that summarizes the project and wraps up the paper
It is expected that in this assignment that students are using citations and properly documenting where information is coming from that informs their respective descriptions and recommended strategies for action. As such, students are required to use no fewer than 20 sources in their paper. Failure to properly cite materials or lack of citations will negatively affect students’ grades on this assignment.
