The swot analysis technique allows. Strengths and weaknesses of a SWOT analysis: Useful tips for conducting
Accordingly, the question “how to do a SWOT analysis” is of particular importance in the life of an entrepreneur. It is about how to do a SWOT analysis that we will talk about today. Rather, we will develop such a step-by-step instruction - a questionnaire, after which the same question () will be permanently closed for you.
First, let's look at what a SWOT analysis is (I apologize in advance to those for whom this is superfluous). SWOT analysis is a planning tool and four comparative business elements. These elements are: Strengths (strengths), Weaknesses (weaknesses), Opportunities (opportunities) and Threats (threats). A properly done SWOT analysis provides an entrepreneur with a huge amount of useful information needed to make the right business decisions.
Learning to do swot analysis
SWOT analysis - 4-step instruction
For greater clarity, we will divide the SWOT analysis process into steps, each of which is represented by several questions. The answers to these questions are, in fact, the process of conducting a SWOT analysis. So.
Step 1 — Scanning the Business Environment
In this step, looking at our business environment, we must identify the factors that affect or may affect our business. All factors can be divided into internal and external. To determine these factors, answer the following questions:
1. What legal factors (laws and other regulations) affect (or may affect) my business?
2. What environmental factors affect (or could affect) my business?
3. What political factors influence (or can influence) my business?
4. What economic factors affect (or could affect) my business?
5. What geographic factors affect (or could affect) my business?
6. What social factors influence (or can influence) my business?
7. What technology factors affect (or could affect) my business?
8. What cultural factors influence (or can influence) my business?
9. What market factors affect (or could affect) my business?
The answers to the first 9 questions give you information about external factors, that is, about those impacts on your business that are in your environment, regardless of the existence of your business. All these questions, one way or another, are worth asking yourself in order to fully understand what can have any impact on your business. Of course, different factors will have a different impact in different business areas, but that's exactly what you'll understand by answering these questions.
10. Does (or could) my business be affected by competition?
11. Does (or can influence) my business the factor of management and business management?
12. Does the chosen business strategy influence (or can influence) my business factor?
13. Does (or can influence) my business the business structure factor?
14. Does (or can influence) my business factor employees?
15. Does (or can influence) my business factor affect my business goals?
16. Does (or can influence) my business the factor of leadership?
17. Does (or can it) affect my business the operational management factor?
18. Does (or can) technology affect my business in business?
The answers to questions 10 to 18 will give you information about how the factors associated with the entry of your business into the market will have in general. The list may not be exhaustive, much depends on the field of activity, but these are the main points.
And so, having answered the above questions, you will have an almost complete set of factors on which your business depends to one degree or another. Then you should analyze them and draw the right conclusions for yourself. In this regard, we proceed to the next step of our instructions on how to do a SWOT analysis.
Step 2. Analysis of the business environment
In this step of the SWOT analysis, we must analyze in more detail all the factors listed above and understand what they actually represent for us and our business. Let's do this, as you can guess, in a few questions. Here they are:
19. What legal factors for our business can be a threat, and what an opportunity?
20. What political factors for our business can be a threat, and what an opportunity?
Starting a business is hard work. It is necessary to pay attention to such a large number of little things that you can simply get lost in them.
The only way to make sure your business lasts is to periodically step back and look at things from a broader perspective.
This is what SWOT analysis is all about. A SWOT analysis will allow you to take a look at the potential of your online business. You will not only learn how your company works today, but you will also be able to plan its development for the next week, month, and even year.
What is a SWOT analysis?
SWOT analysis sounds like the name of some scary accounting process. But it's not. SWOT analysis does not involve complex operations, but is very useful.
The abbreviation SWOT stands for:
- S - Strengths (strengths)
- W - Weaknesses (weaknesses)
- O - Opportunities (opportunities)
- T - Threats (threats)
This is a list of what needs to be evaluated during the analysis. SWOT analysis makes you think about the future. Do you know how your business works today, but have no idea what will happen to it tomorrow? SWOT analysis will allow you to understand this and plan your development process.
SWOT analysis shows the strengths and weaknesses of your online business, both internally and externally.
Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, while opportunities and threats are external. Internal factors relate directly to your business, while external factors relate to the environment that surrounds it.
Strengths and weaknesses allow you to see the present course of affairs, while opportunities and threats focus on the future. What is happening and what can happen.
Strengths and weaknesses in the SWOT analysis are under your control. They can change over time.
For example:
- company culture
- reputation
- list of clients
- geography
- employees
- partnerships
- intellectual property
- assets
Conversely, the opportunities and threats of a SWOT analysis are usually out of your control. You can try and plan for them or influence positive changes, but in the end it is not up to you.
For example:
- regulation
- suppliers
- competitors
- economy
- market size
- trends
- financing
What is a SWOT analysis for?
In any online business, both new and old, it is necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis.
Whether you are just starting a business or are still in the planning stages, a SWOT analysis will give you a competitive edge. Doing it will allow you to conduct a break-even analysis and see a more realistic picture of the entire process. Both are necessary in order to receive funding.
Existing businesses should conduct a SWOT analysis annually. This will allow you to keep your business running smoothly, anticipate problems, work on necessary changes or improvements, and make smarter decisions throughout the year. Basically, an annual SWOT analysis will keep you in touch with your business, customers, and production.
How to do a SWOT analysis?
There is no objective way to measure how well you do a SWOT analysis. It depends on your ability to notice and remember the internal and external factors that can affect your business. SWOT analysis is needed not to make accurate predictions, but to properly plan business development.
Step 1. Gather the right people
Although important business decisions should normally be made by the founders and managers of the company, SWOT analysis involves the participation of the maximum number of employees. Having more data, even from people who don't fully understand your business, will make your planning even more accurate.
You will also find that many employees have good ideas and useful skills. Even your clients can provide valuable information.
Step 2. Brainstorm
Once you have your team together, organize a brainstorming session with everyone involved. You can either list Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats together (for smaller teams) or ask participants to create the respective lists individually (for larger teams).
Consider everything that belongs to each category. At this point, don't worry about how important each observation is. The idea is to not miss anything. Just write it all down.
Step 3. Fill in the gaps
Once you've exhausted all the ideas and written four big lists, it's time to start filling in the gaps where more explanation is needed. This is an opportunity for you and your team to ask questions that will determine how important each item on the list is.
Ask everyone in the group to choose the three most important items on each of their lists. Most likely, a pattern will appear that will show you what to focus on.
Even if you are working on the analysis alone, don't worry. In this case, you are involved in all parts of the business and should have a good idea of what needs to be considered.
31 Sample Questions for a Strategic SWOT Analysis
Whether you're working alone or in a group, starting a brainstorming session can be difficult. The following questions will help you move forward. We recommend asking yourself these so you don't miss important factors to consider.
Questions to identify strengths in SWOT analysis
These are positive internal factors that affect how your business operates. Although they can be difficult to change, they should be under your control:
- What are we good at?
- What do we do better than anyone else?
- What is our competitive advantage?
- What do we do that no one else does?
- What resources are available to us?
- What are the advantages of our online business?
- What are the benefits for our employees?
- What valuable assets does our company have?
- What do our clients like about us?
How to determine weak sides in the analysis
These are negative internal factors affecting the operation of your business. Although they can be difficult to change, they should be under your control:
- What are we doing wrong?
- How are our competitors better than us?
- What complaints do our customers have?
- What are the shortcomings of our team?
- What is holding us back?
- What resources are we missing?
- What can we improve?
Example questions for analysis opportunities
These are external factors that can affect your business in a positive way. They may be largely out of your control, but you can use them:
- What potential regulatory changes could help our business?
- Are market trends favorable for us?
- Can the current economy affect us in a positive way?
- What possibilities have we not considered yet?
- What new features are becoming available?
- Is the cost of our goods going down?
- Can we purchase additional resources that we lack?
Questions for analysis threats in SWOT analysis
These are external factors that can negatively impact your business. These may be largely out of your control, but you can consider them to minimize damage:
- Who is our competitor?
- Which new market entrants could threaten our business?
- Is our market shrinking?
- Could industry trends negatively impact our business?
- Is the cost of our goods increasing?
- Are the offers of our partners enough for us?
- Are rules changing that could harm our business?
- Is our manufacturer reliable?
How to effectively use the results of a SWOT analysis
As a business owner, you constantly need to decide what to focus on. Tough decisions about resource allocation are inevitable. No matter how successful you are, you always have to choose where to direct your attention. A SWOT analysis will help you determine where you need to focus your energy and resources.
Step 4Pruning Lists
Take the lists made during the brainstorming session. Now work on shortening these lists so that they can fit in the table on one page (as in the example below). Reduce lists based on two assumptions: how important the factor is, and how likely it is.
For example, if you get the bulk of your income from one large client, this is a big weakness that leaves you in a vulnerable position, even if you are sure that this client will not leave you.
Even when you've created a table like the example below, save your lists. Right now you are not going to focus on those factors that are not included in the table, but you can be sure that you will not miss any important issues if the situation changes. What is less important now may become critical in the future, and you should be aware of this possibility. You can always change the list and come back to it later.
Step 5: Create Strategies
For each of the factors on your final list, create a strategy to capitalize on the strengths and opportunities, and address the weaknesses and threats. These initial strategies do not need to be particularly complex or reliable, although you can refine them later. For now, just create a plan of action.
Also, keep in mind that different factors can work together to balance each other out. How can you use your strengths to address your weaknesses? How can you use opportunities to neutralize threats? Can you use your strengths to make better use of opportunities? Do you have any weaknesses that could prevent the threat from being prevented?
Example of a SWOT analysis table
Below is an example of a SWOT analysis table for an online t-shirt store. While many other factors came up during the brainstorming, these were the most important.
Strengths:
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Weak sides:
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Opportunities:
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Threats:
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Think about what strategies the business owner can implement based on this information. Remember that there is no right or wrong answer here.
6 Examples of SWOT Analysis Strategies
The most important part of the SWOT analysis is how you use the information received. Here are six examples of problems (with potential solutions) to help you start thinking strategically.
Example 1: Your lease is nearing the end of its term and you need to renegotiate the terms. Since the price of the neighboring premises has risen, you are afraid that the same will happen to yours.
Strategy as a result of the analysis: Start selling online to reduce your floor space.
Example 2: You rely on raw materials that are in high demand and prices rise rapidly as they become more scarce.
Strategy: Take part in a five-year contract to guarantee delivery at a lower price.
Example 3: You have an excess of cash.
Strategy: Set aside a fixed amount for emergencies and invest the rest in growth.
Example 4: Your employees are inefficient.
Strategy: Hire a work culture consultant to help you sort things out.
Example 5: Most of your website traffic comes from search engines. If the algorithm changes and your site stops ranking, you could lose a lot of new customers. You need to diversify your traffic.
Strategy: Start leveraging other traffic sources like social media or paid ads.
Example 6: Your entire business fits in your laptop, and if it gets stolen, you lose everything.
Strategy: Get a program to automatically backup your files daily.
Working through SWOT analysis on a regular basis will keep you from losing touch with your business, your team, and your clients. More importantly, it will help you stay successful in an ever-changing marketplace.
Once you have time to think of the most important things on your list, make an action plan and get to work!
SWOT analysis: what is it and examples of how to do it correctly
5 (100%) - 13 ratingsSituational, or SWOT (SWOT) analysis(the first letters of the English words strengths - strengths, weaknesses - weaknesses, opportunities - opportunities and threats - dangers, threats), can be carried out both for the organization as a whole and for individual types of business. Its results are further used in the development of and .
Analysis of strengths and weaknesses characterizes the study of the internal environment of the organization. The internal environment has several components, each of which includes a set of key processes and elements of the organization (types of business), the state of which together determines the potential and the opportunities that the organization has. The internal environment includes financial, production and personnel and organizational components.
Since it does not have a clear manifestation, its analysis on a formal basis is very difficult. Although, of course, one can try to expertly evaluate such factors as the presence of a mission that unites the activities of employees; the presence of certain common values; pride in your organization; a motivation system that is clearly linked to the results of the work of employees; psychological climate in the team, etc.
- S- strenghts - strengths;
- W- weaknesses - weaknesses;
- O- opportunities - opportunities;
- T- threats - dangers, threats;
SWOT analysis is an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company, and an assessment of the opportunities and threats in the way of its development.
SWOT Analysis Methodology involves first identifying strengths and weaknesses, as well as threats and opportunities, and then establishing chains of links between them, which can later be used to formulate organizational strategies.
First, taking into account the specific situation in which the organization is located, a list of its weaknesses and strengths is compiled, as well as a list of threats (dangers) and opportunities.
Next, a connection is established between them. For this, a SWOT matrix is compiled. On the left, two sections are distinguished (strengths and weaknesses), in which, accordingly, all the strengths and weaknesses of the organization identified at the first stage of the analysis are entered. At the top of the matrix, there are also two sections (opportunities and threats), in which all identified opportunities and threats are entered.
SWOT matrix
SIV- Power and opportunity. A strategy should be developed to use the strengths of the organization in order to capitalize on opportunities. For those couples who ended up on the field SLV, the strategy should be built in such a way that, due to the emerging opportunities, try to overcome the weaknesses in the organization. SIOUX(Power and Threats) - develop a strategy that should use the strength of the organization to overcome threats. SLN(Weakness and threats) - develop a strategy that would allow the organization to get rid of weaknesses and prevent the impending threat.
For the successful application of the SWOT methodology, it is important to be able not only to uncover threats and opportunities, but also to try to evaluate them in terms of how important it is for the orientation to take into account each of the identified threats and opportunities in the strategy of its behavior.
To assess the opportunity, the method of positioning each specific opportunity on the opportunity matrix (Table 2.1) is used.
This matrix is built as follows: the degree of influence of the opportunity on the organization's activities (strong, moderate, small) is postponed from above; on the side - the probability that the organization will take advantage of this opportunity (high, medium, low). Within the matrix, the ten opportunity fields have different meanings for the organization. Opportunities that fall into the fields "BC", "VU" and "SS" are of great importance for the organization, and they must be used. Opportunities falling on the fields "SM", "NU" and "NM" practically do not deserve attention. With regard to opportunities that fall into the remaining fields, management should make a positive decision on their use if the organization has sufficient resources.
Table 2.1 Capability MatrixA similar matrix is compiled for hazard assessment (Table 2.2). Those threats that fall on the "VR", "VC" and "SR" fields pose a very great danger to the organization and require immediate and mandatory elimination. Threats that have fallen into the "BT", "SK" and "NR" fields should also be in the field of view of senior management and be eliminated as a matter of priority. As for the threats that are on the fields of "NK", "ST" and "VL", a careful and responsible approach to their elimination is required here.
Table 2.2 Threat MatrixIt is advisable to conduct this analysis by answering the following questions in relation to opportunities and threats in three areas:
- Determine the nature of the opportunity (threat) and the reason for its occurrence?
- How long will it exist?
- What power does she have?
- How valuable (dangerous) is it?
- What is the extent of its influence?
To analyze the environment, the method of compiling its profile can also be used. This method is convenient to use for compiling a profile of the macroenvironment, the immediate environment and the internal environment. Using the method of compiling a profile of the environment, it is possible to assess the relative importance for the organization of individual factors.
The environment profiling method is as follows. Separate environmental factors are written out in the environment profile table (Table 2.3). Each factor is given by expert way:
- assessment of its importance for the industry on a scale: 3 - strong importance, 2 - moderate importance, 1 - weak importance;
- assessment of its impact on the organization on a scale: 3 - strong, 2 - moderate, 1 - weak, 0 - no effect;
- assessment of the direction of influence on a scale: +1 - positive influence, -1 - negative influence.
Further, all three expert assessments are multiplied, and an integral assessment is obtained, showing the degree of importance of this factor for the organization. From this assessment, management can conclude which of the environmental factors are relatively more important to their organization and therefore deserve the most serious attention, and which factors deserve less influence.
AT Have you ever wondered what a good military leader does before a fight? He studies the field of the upcoming battle, looking for all the winning hills and dangerous swampy places, assesses his own strength and the strength of the enemy. If he does not, he will doom his army to defeat.
The same principles work in business. Business is an endless series of small and large battles. If you do not assess the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise before the battle, do not identify market opportunities and threats (the very uneven terrain that becomes of great importance in the heat of battle), your chances of success will decrease dramatically.
In order to get a clear assessment of the strength of your enterprise and the situation in the market, there is SWOT analysis. It is a special kind of expert method, which is very popular. It got its name from the first letters of four English words, which in Russian translation mean: Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The abbreviation is made up of the first letters of the English words:
Strength - strength; Weakness - weakness; Opportunities - opportunities; Threats - threats.
SWOT analysis- this is the definition of the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, as well as the opportunities and threats emanating from its immediate environment (external environment).
This methodology can be used as a universal one. It has a special effect in the study of processes in the socio-economic system, which is characterized by dynamism, controllability, dependence of internal and external factors of functioning, cyclical development.
According to the methodology of this analysis, the distribution of factors characterizing the subject of research is carried out according to these four components, taking into account whether this factor belongs to the class of external or internal factors.
As a result, a picture of the correlation of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and dangers appears, which suggests how the situation should be changed in order to have development success.
The allocation of factors to these quadrants or sectors of the matrices is not always easy. It happens that the same factor simultaneously characterizes both the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. In addition, factors act situationally. In one situation, they look like a virtue, in another - a disadvantage. Sometimes they are disproportionate in their significance. These circumstances can and should be taken into account.
The same factor can be placed in several quadrants if it is difficult to unambiguously determine its place. This will not adversely affect the study. After all, the essence of the method is to identify factors, place them in such a way that their concentration suggests ways to solve the problem, so that they become manageable.
In each quadrant, the factors do not have to have the same weight, but they must be presented in their entirety.
The completed matrix shows the real state of affairs, the state of the problem and the nature of the situation. This is the first stage of the SWOT analysis.
The second step is to conduct a comparative analysis of strengths and opportunities, which should show how to use the strengths. At the same time, it is necessary to analyze the weaknesses in relation to the existing dangers. Such an analysis will show how likely a crisis is. After all, the danger increases when it arises in conditions of weakness, when the weak sides do not make it possible to hinder the danger.
Of course, it is very useful to make a comparative analysis of strengths and existing dangers. After all, strengths can be poorly used in preventing a crisis, strengths must be seen not only in relation to favorable opportunities, but also in relation to dangers.
In the study of control systems, the subject of this method can be various problems of control development. For example, efficiency, personnel, style, distribution of functions, structure of the management system, management mechanism, motivation, professionalism, information support, communications and organizational behavior, etc.
The use of specially trained and selected experts or internal consultants makes this method more effective.
There are many modifications of the SWOT analysis method. The most interesting of them method of development and analysis of goals.
It is known that the goal of management is a decisive factor in success, efficiency, strategy and development. Without a goal, it is impossible to develop a plan or program. But this concerns not only the goal of management, but also the goal of research. After all, it is also not easy to formulate this goal correctly. The research program, the use of research methods depend on the purpose.
The goal should be developed according to the criteria of Attainability, Specificity, Evaluability (measurability), taking into account the Place and Time. These criteria reflect the English words - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timed, in the abbreviated name it is SMART. That's what this method is called.
The method assumes a consistent assessment of goals according to a set of criteria arranged in a matrix form. Here is a set of comparable factors reflecting the characteristics of the goal: difficult to achieve - easy to achieve, high costs - low costs, has staff support - does not have staff support, has priorities - does not have priorities, takes a lot of time - takes little time, has a wide impact - has a limited impact , focused on high technologies - focused on low (conventional) technologies, associated with a new management organization - not associated with a new management organization.
The next step is to create a problem definition matrix. To achieve the goal, a number of problems must be solved. But for this they must first be defined.
The distribution of problems is carried out according to the following criteria: the existing situation, the desired situation, the possibility of achieving the goal. These criteria characterize the horizontal of the matrix. The following criteria are considered along the vertical: problem definition, problem evaluation (quantitative parameters), organization of the solution (who, where, when), costs of solving the problem.
Stages of conducting a SWOT analysis:
Stage 1 . Taking into account the specific situation in which the enterprise is located, a list of its strengths and weaknesses is compiled, as well as a list of threats and opportunities .
Strengths enterprise - something that it excels in or some feature that gives you additional opportunities. Strength may lie in your experience, access to unique resources, advanced technology and modern equipment, highly qualified staff, high quality of your products, brand awareness, etc.
Weak sides enterprise is the absence of something important for the functioning of the enterprise or something that you have not yet succeeded in comparison with other companies and puts you in a disadvantageous position. As an example of weaknesses, one can cite a too narrow range of manufactured goods, a bad reputation of the company in the market, lack of funding, low level of service, etc.
Market Opportunities are favorable circumstances that your business can take advantage of. As an example of market opportunities, we can cite the deterioration of the position of your competitors, a sharp increase in demand, the emergence of new technologies for the production of your products, an increase in the level of income of the population, etc. It should be noted that the opportunities from the point of view of SWOT analysis are not all the opportunities that exist on the market, but only those that can be used by the enterprise.
Market Threats- events, the occurrence of which may have an adverse impact on your enterprise. Examples of market threats: new competitors entering the market, tax increases, changing consumer tastes, declining birth rates, etc.
Please note: the same factor for different enterprises can be both a threat and an opportunity. For example, for a store that sells expensive products, the growth of household income may be an opportunity, as it will lead to an increase in the number of customers. At the same time, for an economy store, the same factor can become a threat, as its customers, with rising salaries, can move to competitors offering a higher level of service.
Stage 2. Links are established between the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, as well as threats and opportunities.
To establish these links, a SWOT matrix is compiled, which has the following
On the left, two sections are distinguished (strengths, weaknesses), in which, respectively, all the strengths and weaknesses of the organization identified at the first stage are entered. In the upper part of the matrix, two sections are also distinguished (opportunities and threats), in which all the identified opportunities and threats are entered.
At the intersection of sections, four fields are formed. On each of these fields, the researcher must consider all possible paired combinations and select those that should be taken into account when developing an organization behavior strategy. In relation to the tex pairs that were selected from the "SIV" field, a strategy should be developed to use the strengths of the organization in order to get a return on the opportunities, which are For those pairs that ended up on the "SLV" field, the strategy should be built in such a way that, at the expense of the emerging opportunities, try to overcome the weaknesses in the organization. If the pair is on the SIS field, then the strategy should involve the use of the strength of the organization to eliminate threats. Finally, for couples who are on the field of "SLU", the organization must develop such a strategy that would allow it to both get rid of weakness and try to prevent the attack.
9.2 Specific methods for investigating the interaction of facts
In the study of management, which is designed to harmonize the joint activities of people, ensure the integration of activities, a large role plays the method of studying the interaction of factors that determine the behavior of objects, the nature of situations, the content of problems.
This is one of the famous and important methods. Any problem or situation can be represented in the totality of factors of its manifestation and existence. All factors do not exist individually. They are in interaction, which reveals the essence of the problem and suggests its solution. But these interactions are not always noticeable, understandable, structured and ranked in the mind of the researcher. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the composition and nature of interactions. The method is based on this.
Its use is as follows. A clear identification of factors according to certain criteria and clarity in understanding the interaction are necessary. Further, on this basis, an interaction matrix is built, which should show a picture of existing and possible interactions between various factors. These interactions can be ranked by groups: interactions are essential, insignificant, desirable, undesirable, stable, unstable. Another gradation of interactions and a quantitative assessment of their importance are possible.
A matrix compiled in this way can show the existing picture, new facets of the problem, and possible ways to solve it. In many cases, this method can be quite effective in management research.
In management systems using this method, it is possible to study the interactions of functions and links of the management system, factors for improving efficiency or innovative development, the interaction of constraints in the implementation of the strategy, informal interactions in management processes, etc.
Lecture 10 Research diversification. Methods of intuitive search. Brainstorming method.
10.2 Composition and system of diversified research methods.
10.3 Methods of intuitive search in the study of control systems.
10.4 Brainstorming
10.1 Research diversification processes: need, present,
Diversification- one of the notable phenomena of our time. It is a combination of various phenomena, processes or trends that allows you to make the best use of available resources and achieve goals. .
It is known that diversification in production is manifested in the transformation of many firms and corporations into diversified complexes that combine the production of products for various purposes and use various technologies. Under these conditions, the effect of better use of resources is achieved, the ability to vary products when demand changes, and increase competitiveness. But there is another benefit of diversification. It consists in creating conditions for the mutual enrichment of one technology with another, the use of related principles and approaches, and the provision of a variety of types of products due to the "transfer effect" of an idea or approach. This is reminiscent of the principle of external complementarity known in quantum methodology, which begins to manifest itself and act when the external and the internal are connected, when it becomes possible to look at the internal from external or fundamentally different positions. This can be called the diversification effect.
At the same time, diversification of management is also taking place, which manifests itself in a variety of forms and types of management systems, in connecting them according to the needs of managing diversified organizations.
Processes of diversification are also penetrating the field of research. Here they find themselves in a growing variety of approaches and methods of research and the need to combine these approaches in a particular study.
Thus, for example, the use of even traditional research methods can be combined with the psychological regulation of research activity and a special form of its organization. It turns out a fundamentally new research method, which has its own advantages and disadvantages and differs from other methods. In this regard, we can call the synectics method and many varieties of this method. It can be called a diversified research method, because it is not just a method of analysis or collective intellectual activity, it is a method of motivating collective intuition, a kind of imagination game, psychological attunement, purposeful search, etc.
An important feature of diversified research methods is the combination of original research methodologies with specific organizational forms of their implementation. This is where the effect of diversification is most clearly manifested.
Diversified research methods are gaining great development in modern conditions, and they have a great future.
10.2. Composition and system of diversified research methods
Known diversified research methods should be presented in the system, because their systemic representation allows the most successful choice of certain methods in specific conditions.
The system of diversified research methods includes brainstorming methods, systematic search methods, methods of deep immersion in the problem, methods of intensifying mental activity, methods of fantastic transformation of the problem, synectics methods, intuitive search methods, etc.
These are all different methods, but they are closely related to each other. What they have in common is that they combine different, sometimes contradictory, and this is the basis of the effect of their use.
The difference between these methods is in the combination of methodology and organization of the study, the combination of approaches and the simplest methods. Each of these methods must be characterized and considered separately.
10.3 Intuitive Search Methods in Control Systems Research
There are several research strategies that involve different degrees of using intuition: a random search strategy, a targeted search strategy, a systematic search strategy, an intuitive search strategy, an algorithmic (ordered) search strategy
Methods of random, intuitive search are to find or accumulate new ideas, regardless of the practical activities and the specific problems that are encountered here. Often such ideas arise even with the uncertainty of the purpose of the study or the realization of its need. These are methods that stem from the needs of creativity, extraordinary thinking, developed intuition, and intellectual abilities.
Collective forms of using such search methods are widely used in the form of brainstorming and all its varieties.
Method of systematic search characterized by the orderliness of all search procedures, their purposefulness, the exact criteria basis of assessments, and consistency. Matrix methods of analysis, methods of classification, and decomposition are widely used here.
Boolean search method is distinguished by a more rigid ordering, which manifests itself in the algorithmization of all search procedures aimed at a very specific subject of research or an element of the system.
Logical search methods begin with the definition of the subject of research or its adjustment, clarification, addition in the event that such a definition already exists.
These strategies differ not only in the methodology of their implementation, but also in organizational factors. They do not necessarily imply an algorithm for individual research activities, but are also used in collective research, where they can have the greatest effect. For example, intuitive and intuitive-target strategies are most effective when they are based on the division of functions between different research groups in order to accumulate and present ideas, their rigorous and thorough system analysis.
Strategies differ not only in the combination of logic and intuition, but also in the following parameters: the purpose of the study and the nature of the problem, what to do to solve it, by what means to solve it, how to solve .
An important factor in choosing a strategy is also the availability of information at the initial stage of the study, the possibility and necessity of its accumulation, forms of use (quantitative data, a systematic description, properties that characterize quality, etc.). The less initial information, the greater the need for an intuitive search strategy.
It may seem that intuitive search is completely built on random insights and is essentially the opposite of the methods of system analysis, formal logic, "mind technology". This is not entirely true. Any mental, and even more so, creative activity has two components - conscious and unconscious. Each person builds their combination differently, and for all people it manifests itself differently depending on the specific circumstances in which they find themselves.
To certain limits, this combination can be controlled and the unconscious component of thinking can be developed, its manifestation can be motivated. This is what various creative search strategies are built on.
10.4 Brainstorming
The method of "brainstorming" has a great popularity and practical distribution. Its use has shown undeniable effectiveness in the creative solution of many complex research and not only research problems. It is used in the development of management decisions of various classes. That is why it is mentioned both in management textbooks and in special textbooks on the problems of developing managerial decisions.
Study- it is always the development of the unknown, the search for the future, the explanation of the complex. Therefore, in research, the method of "brainstorming" is of particular importance. With it, you can achieve results that are impossible using traditional methods of analysis.
Brainstorming method is built on a specific combination of research methodology and organization, separate use of the efforts of dreamer and initiator researchers with analysts, systems engineers, skeptics, and practitioners.
Rice. 8. The structure of the brainstorming method
The main goal of "brainstorming" is to search for the widest possible range of ideas and solutions to the problem under study, going beyond the boundaries of those ideas that exist among specialists of a narrow profile or among people with rich past experience and a certain official position.
People of various specialties, practical experience, scientific temperament, individual qualities, as a rule, own various research methods. Combining these methods can be very helpful in solving complex research problems. This is the essence of brainstorming. His other quality is a combination of logic and intuition, scientific fantasy and scrupulous calculation.
"Brainstorming" is carried out in two stages: the stage of generating ideas and the stage of practical analysis of the ideas put forward.
Each of the stages is carried out according to specific principles, reflecting its purpose and essence, determining its effectiveness. (scheme 48).
First stage(generation of ideas) involves the following principles:
1. The principle of forming a group according to the ability to scientific imagination and developed intuition, anti-dogmatic thinking, intellectual looseness, diversity of knowledge and scientific interests, positive skepticism.
2. The selection of a group for generating ideas can be done based on the results of special testing, which will identify and take into account the criteria for this principle. In addition, it is possible and very useful to take into account other socio-psychological characteristics of a person, such as enthusiasm, sociability, independence.
3. All this is necessary in order to create an atmosphere of ease, creativity, and mutual acceptability in the work of this group.
4. The principle of strictly prohibiting any criticism. It can limit the flight of fantasy, create fear in the expression of ideas, worsen the socio-psychological atmosphere, force people to analyze ideas, constrain thinking, switch attention and concentrate it on any one idea, and thereby reduce their number and variety. After all, the main task of the first stage of "brainstorming" is to find as many different options for solving the problem, ways to achieve the goal, ideas and thoughts as possible. And all the work of the group should be directed only to the search for ideas, and not to their criticism. explanation, justification. Therefore, one more principle should be formulated.
5. The principle of prohibition of substantiation of put forward ideas. It is necessary to eliminate this natural need of human communication. You can only offer additional ideas that differ from those expressed. You can not "join the opinion" or "decipher" your own or other people's ideas.
6. The principle of motivating a variety of ideas, removing restrictions on the field of knowledge, wealth of experience, official status, age, social status. You can express absolutely unrealistic and fantastic ideas, moreover, this is exactly what should be motivated in the work of the group.
7. Such motivation is determined by the selection of the group and the organization of its work. The group may include specialists in various fields of knowledge, different experience and scientific and practical status. The diversity of participants in the work contributes to the generation of ideas.
8. The principle of the time limit for putting forward ideas. It is desirable that ideas be put forward on the basis of insight, eureka, therefore, for putting forward ideas, a time limit for reflection is set in order to exclude the possibility of "looping" in contradictions, fears, to remove uncertainty, psychological complexes.
At the second stage"brainstorming" (analysis stage) also operates a number of principles that reflect the purpose and essence of this stage.
1. The principle of completeness of the analysis of ideas and their generalization. No idea expressed, no matter how skeptically it may be initially evaluated, should not be excluded from practical analysis. All submitted ideas should be classified and summarized. This helps free them from possible emotional moments, external distractions. It is the analytical generalization of ideas that sometimes gives very successful results.
2. The principle of analytical potential. The group should consist of analysts who have a good understanding of the essence of the problem, the goals and scope of the study. These should be people with a sense of increased responsibility, tolerance for other people's ideas, and clear logical thinking.
3. The principle of criterial clarity in the evaluation and analysis of ideas. To ensure the objectivity of the evaluation and analysis of ideas, very clear criteria should be formulated, which should guide all members of the analytical group. The main ones should be: compliance with the purpose of the study, rationality, reality, availability of resources, including - and sometimes mainly - the resource of time.
4. The principle of additional development of the idea and its concretization. Many of the originally expressed ideas need to be clarified, concretized, and supplemented. They can be analyzed, accepted or excluded from the analysis only after appropriate revision.
5. The principle of positivism in the analysis of ideas. It is possible to carry out the analysis on the basis of different approaches: negativism and positivism. The first is carried out on the basis of critical assessments, skepticism, and the rigidity of practical criteria. The second is to search for the rational, positive, constructive in any of their manifestations.
6. The principle of constructivism, which involves orienting ideas towards building a concept, reality, a program of action, and linking ideas.
In the practical use of the "brainstorming" method, the personality and activities of the leader are of great importance. After all, the work of both the first and second groups should be properly organized and regulated in the process of their implementation. This role is played by the leader. Various options are possible: the leader can be the same for the first and second groups, or the leaders can be differentiated. But in both cases, the leader should be a person with great creative activity, goodwill, a deep understanding of the problem being solved, the ability to organize and support the intellectual process.
The expediency of using the "brainstorming" method is determined by the assessment of the complexity and originality of the research problem and the availability of specialists who can effectively participate in the "brainstorming" processes. Most often, these are people who are selected according to special tests and have undergone the necessary training.
Of great importance in the success of "brainstorming" is the formulation and formulation of the goal of the study, as well as its subject - the problem.
The problem can be posed in a generalized form, or in a concrete-practical one. It is also possible to state the problem in the form of a problem - an analogue (anti-problem) or from a related field of activity, or in an "inverse" formulation (change, shift or rearrangement of accents to disrupt habitual thinking, highlight new facets of the problem, stimulate its creative understanding).
The formulation of the problem also implies a different degree of its specificity. It can also be useful to ensure the "freedom" of the creative process, the looseness of thinking.
The choice of the form of posing the problem and the formulation of its content depends on the professional composition of the group, its structure according to psychological data, existing or non-existent human relations (strangers), the organizational conditions of the group’s work, the goals of the study (the first approach to the problem or its specific solution, the time factor and etc.).
When selecting a group for generating ideas, it should be borne in mind that people differ in their abilities for creative generation. There are three types of personalities.
An active generator quickly reacts to the problem, shows a noticeable interest in solving the problem, responds positively to criticism, does not "eat" into the content of the problem, and claims leadership.
An inert generator does not have a high level of pretensions, but has a significant capacity for creative work. He seeks to delve into the essence of the problem, to feel its depth, to understand its origins and content, he is not in a hurry to express ideas, analyzes his own thoughts, and requires a greater degree of "warming up" in generating ideas.
The use of the "brainstorming" method can be effective only in conditions of a creative attitude to this method. It is not only a method of using and stimulating creativity in research, but also involves a creative approach to the implementation of the method itself.
The brainstorming method is focused on discovering new ideas and reaching agreement in a group of experts based on intuitive thinking. Participants in the collective generation of ideas express their opinions on options for solving the problem. As many ideas as possible are expressed, preferably non-trivial ones. Evaluation and discussion of ideas takes place at the end of the whole procedure.
Using this method, you can successfully solve a number of risk management tasks, namely:
Identification of sources and causes of risk, establishment of all possible types of risks;
Choice of directions and ways to reduce risk;
Formation of a complete set and a qualitative assessment of options that use various methods of risk reduction or their combination, etc.
The disadvantages of using this method include a significant level of information noise created by trivial ideas, the spontaneous and spontaneous nature of the generation of ideas.
The third type of expert procedures allows to a great extent. Eliminate these shortcomings of the first and second types of group assessments. An example of methods of this type of examination is the Delphi method, the name of which comes from the Greek Delphic oracles.
The Delphi method consists in conducting a survey of experts in several rounds, which allows using feedback by familiarizing experts with the results of the previous round of the survey and taking these results into account when assessing the significance of expert opinions. The phased survey is continued until the maximum convergence of points of view is reached. The essence of the Delphi method can be represented as a diagram (Fig. 6.2)
The Delphi method is most appropriate for quantitative assessments of individual risks and the risk of the entire project as a whole, that is, when determining the probability of occurrence of risk events, assessing the magnitude of losses, the probability of losses falling into a certain risk zone, etc.
One of the widely used methods of examination is also the method of "scenarios". The method of "scenarios" allows you to organize information about the relationship of the problem being solved with other problems and about possible ways of development. The essence of the method is that a group of highly qualified specialists draws up a plan of scriptwriters which outlines the branches of science, technology, economics, politics that should be taken into account when formulating and solving the problem. Different sections of the script are written by different groups of specialists or individual specialists. These sections of the script attempt to represent a possible course in time, starting from an existing state or some event in the future.
Strategy development begins with an analysis of the external and internal environment. The starting point for such an analysis is the SWOT analysis, one of the most common types of analysis in strategic management. SWOT analysis allows you to identify and structure the strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as potential opportunities and threats. This is achieved by comparing the internal strengths and weaknesses of their company with the opportunities that the market gives them. Based on the quality of compliance, it is concluded in which direction the organization should develop its business, and ultimately the allocation of resources to segments is determined.
The purpose of the SWOT analysis is to formulate the main directions for the development of the enterprise through the systematization of the available information about the strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as potential opportunities and threats.
Tasks of SWOT-analysis:
Identify strengths and weaknesses compared to competitors
Identify opportunities and threats in the external environment
Associate strengths and weaknesses with opportunities and threats
Formulate the main directions of enterprise development
SWOT Analysis Basics
SWOT is an abbreviation of 4 words:
S trength - strength: an internal characteristic of the company that distinguishes this company from competitors.
W eakness - weakness: an internal characteristic of the company, which in relation to a competitor looks weak (undeveloped), and which the company has the power to improve.
O pportunity - opportunity: a characteristic of a company's external environment (i.e. market) that provides all participants in this market with the opportunity to expand their business.
T hreat - threat: a characteristic of the external environment of the company (ie the market), which reduces the attractiveness of the market for all participants.
SWOT analysis in general form is built using the following table.
Table 1. General form of SWOT analysis
Elements of the internal environment: strengths and weaknesses
Under the strengths and weaknesses can hide a wide variety of aspects of the company. The categories most frequently included in the analysis are listed below. Each SWOT is unique and may include one or two of them, or even all at once. Each element, depending on the perception of buyers, can be either a strength or a weakness.
Pricing
Promotion
Marketing Information/Intelligence
Service/staff
Distribution/Distributors
Trademarks and positioning
Manufacturing/engineering
Sales and Marketing
Processing orders/transactions
Research and development
Distributors
Marketing
After-sales service/service
Service/customer service
Marketing
Engineering and new product development. The closer the connection between marketing and technical department becomes, the more important these elements will be. For example, a strong relationship between the new product development team and the marketing department allows direct use of customer feedback in the design of new products.
Operational activities
Staff. This includes skills, wages and bonuses, training and development, motivation, working conditions of people, staff turnover. All of these elements are central to the successful implementation of a customer-focused marketing philosophy and marketing strategy. The role of personnel in the following areas is being investigated.
Management. Sensitive and often controversial, but sometimes requiring changes, management structures directly determine the success of the implementation of a marketing strategy. Such aspects should be reflected in the analysis.
Company resources. Resources determine the availability of people and finance, and thus affect the company's ability to capitalize on specific opportunities.