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Swot Analysis : Organizational Growth And Development

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Organizational growth and development is contingent on the ability of the organization to adapt to its environment. The organization’s adaptation is formed around its internal (controllable) and external (non-controllable) variables. These variables are a part of the open systems theory that influence how and when the system grows. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a useful tool used to assess the impact these variables have on the organizational development. According to Virtualstrategist (2008), strengths and weaknesses are internal variables that are controlled by the organization and are considered primary points of data while opportunities and threats are considered secondary sources of data and …show more content…

2). To this, SWOT analyses are particularly useful in most types of organizational model systems planning and evaluations (e.g. six box model, political, or open systems). For instance, in open systems planning, the concept is that “participants actively identify gaps between current conditions and desired future states, and they move gradually toward planning ways to attain these desired futures” (Harrison & Shirom, 1999, p. 96). These gaps can easily be eradicated through the understanding and implementation of the SWOT analysis as it pertains to a specific open system. Since the core concept behind the SWOT analysis is to evaluate the internal and external environment of an organizational system and the open systems theory is fundamentally described as consistent flow of energy between internal and external influences, these two concepts can be uniquely combined based on the specific organization in order to properly evaluate and assess the performance of the organization for the purpose of improving goals and objectives. Virtualstrategist (2008), suggested that an organization’s strengths and weaknesses (i.e. – internally controlled variables) are factors that seek capabilities, resources, and processes and suggested that these primary sources of information are purposed enhance the organization. To this, Berry (2016) added that these variables are flexible and can be changed over time with proper implementation, dedication, and

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