Question

In SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses are most easily identified by looking:

a.At the firm's product.
b.Outside the firm from a consultant's perspective.
c.Inside the firm at its specific resources.
d.At the firm's competition.
e.At the firm as a potential customer.

Answer 1

Strengths and weaknesses in a SWOT analysis are most easily identified by looking inside the firm at its specific resources. Therefore, the answer is c. Inside the firm at its specific resources. This involves evaluating internal factors such as the company's assets, skills, capabilities, and operational aspects to determine strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 2

To identify strengths and weaknesses in SWOT analysis, it is best to look inside the firm at its specific resources. These internal factors are crucial for revealing the firm's core competencies as well as areas that may require improvement to prevent performance issues.

Step-by-step explanation:

In SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses are components that represent the internal environment of a firm. Strengths are characterized as enduring talents that allow for consistent, near-perfect performance. Weaknesses, on the other hand, are areas where the organization may lack proficiency or resource advantages. To identify these factors, the best approach is to look inside the firm at its specific resources. A firm's product can symbolize a strength if it's indicative of the company’s core competencies, which aligns with business patterns where focus on core products often leads to success. However, it is also critical to balance the discovery of strengths with awareness of weaknesses to avoid overreliance on the former, which may hinder performance as found by Kaiser & Overfield (2011).