SWOT Analysis: Internal vs External Factors
The analysis of strengths and weaknesses focuses on the company's own strengths and its comparison with competitors, while the analysis of opportunities and threats focuses on the changes in the external environment and its possible impact on the company.
In the SWOT analysis, all internal factors (i.e., strengths and weaknesses) should be grouped together and then evaluated by external forces (opportunities and threats).
Internal Factors: The analysis of strengths and weaknesses (S-W) of internal conditions is an internal method of assessment. The main purpose is to confirm the relationship between expertise and ability of the organization’s internal conditions. The strengths and weaknesses of its internal conditions are internal factors that the organization can control, including financial resources, technical resources, research and development, organizational culture, human resources, product characteristics, and marketing resources.
External Factors: Opportunity and threat analysis is a method of evaluating the external environment. The main purpose is to determine the relationship between the organization's external industrial environment competition.
Opportunities and threats of external environment are external factors that an organization cannot control, including competition, politics, economy, law, society, culture, science and technology, population and environment, etc.
