SWOT

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SWOTs Corner

• An interactive tutorial on SWOT analysis

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So we all know what SWOT is?

• Right!
• We all know that a SWOT analysis is a scan of the
  internal and external environment as part of the
  strategic planning process and that SWOT stands
  for Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and
  Threats.

• But actually!
• Most people miss the important second half of the
  process which involves transforming the initial
  analysis into change strategies AND not everyone
  appreciates that Strengths-Weaknesses relate to
  the Internal environment and Opportunities-Threats
  to the External environment

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A SWOT Analysis answers

• What are the key issues that face us today?
• How do we address these issues?
• Most people use SWOT for question 1 but it is
  often overlooked for question 2.

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Let us demonstrate!

• You are Library Services Manager for Glamchester
  NHS Trust. Your mission (whether or not you chose
  to accept it!) is to positively contribute to the
  health of the community by providing current,
  comprehensive, quality, accessible, timely
  information for all Trust healthcare
  professionals and their customers.
• The Trust Library serves all employees of the
  Trust and staff of local general practices. By
  addressing professional practice, education and
  research, the Library fits within the mission of
  the Glamchester NHS Trust which is to provide
  modern high quality health care for the people of
  Glamchester.
• To fulfil this mission, the Library must
  prioritise the needs of its user community. This
  community comprises disparate groups with very
  different interests, requiring diverse services.
  Such services must be provided within a
  cost-effective framework.

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Key Strategic Objectives

• To improve library services for non-medical
  professional groups
• To foster co-operative initiatives with other
  library services within Glamchestershire and
  within the Acme, Glamchestershire and Northern
  Wellshire Education Purchasing Consortium
• To promote Trust-wide awareness of library
  services and resources
• To collaborate with other NHS library managers to
  plan effectively for countywide changes to
  library services
• To deliver value-added services to the desktop
  and to assist in transition to the virtual
  library
• To develop a needs-led staff development programme

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The SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
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We start by analysing our Strengths
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Strengths

• - 24 hour access to specialist resources -
  Expertise and experience of Library staff -
  Strong links with other departments within the
  Trust - Enhanced IT facilities - Wide-ranging
  support for the Library from various professional
  groups - Networked resources enabling home and
  work-based access to evidence - Well-used
  Library web site - Co-operative links with other
  health librarians in the county, consortium area,
  region and UK - Sharing and mutual support
  through library networks- Pleasant, comfortable
  environment for staff and users

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Then we turn attention to our weaknesses
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Weaknesses

• Complex funding mechanisms
• Lack of funding to support nurses and PAMs
• Underdeveloped skills amongst library staff
• Poorly maintained and out-of-date stock
• Low awareness of services across potential user
  base
• Staff-intensive manual systems
• Inequalities in service provision
• Lack of user involvement in service development

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Note

• Our weaknesses may be linked to our strengths
• So, for example, we have expertise and experience
  of library staff but we also find that there are
  underdeveloped skills amongst library staff

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That completes our scan of our INTERNAL
environment

• We now turn our attention outwards to the
  EXTERNAL environment to see how our organisation
  is positioned with regard to current developments
  and initiatives

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Our EXTERNAL Environment

• You will notice that our STEP/PEST analysis has
  already identified these external factors.
• What we are adding here is to turn these from
  factors to which we passively respond into active
  stimulants on our service. We therefore add a
  value according to whether they are potentially
  positive or negative.

Negative aspects of PEST become THREATS Positive
aspects of PEST become OPPORTUNITIES
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Now consider our Threats
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Note

• There is no dogmatic reason why you have to look
  at your Threats before your Opportunities.
  However we find it helpful to conclude on a
  positive note and thus allow thinking on
  Opportunities to be stimulated by the results of
  the other three cells.
• Python, M. Always look on the bright side of
  life

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Threats

• Internet and IT enable potential users to bypass
  the Library
• Competition from Higher Education libraries and
  other service providers
• Low profile and low credibility of libraries in
  general
• Size and complexity of catchment area
• Rising costs of resources, in particular,
  journals
• Lack of protected time for users to search for
  information and to use the Library during opening
  hours
• Underdeveloped IT infrastructure within the NHS

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Finally - let us consider our Opportunities
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Opportunities

• Acme, Glamchestershire Northern Wellshire
  Education Purchasing Consortium Library Review
  project
• Reorganisation of NHS services within
  Glamchestershire
• Information for Health and resulting initiatives
  e.g. National Electronic Library for Health
• Investors in People and NHSU
• Focus on clinical governance and evidence-based
  practice
• Developing knowledge base within nursing and
  allied health professions
• Training opportunities for library staff
• New technology and the information revolution
• Regional working group on library management
  software

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Note

• The Opportunities cell will comprise both macro
  level (national) trends and micro level (regional
  and local) initiatives

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Finally the piece that everyone misses out the
TOWS analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities S-O strategies pursue opportunities that are a good fit to strengths W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities
Threats S-T strategies use strengths to reduce vulnerability to external threats W-T strategies establish defensive plan to prevent weaknesses susceptible to external threats
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Example S-O strategy

• Strength Range of networked resources enabling
  access to evidence from home and from the
  workplace
• Opportunity Focus on clinical governance and
  evidence-based practice
• Strategy Why dont we package together those
  electronic resources that we already hold that
  support evidence-based practice and market them
  as a specialised service (evidence gateway) to
  home and workplace users?

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Example W-O strategy

• Weakness Manual systems are staff-intensive
• Opportunity Regional working group on library
  management software
• Strategy Why dont we use the results of the
  working groups report to help us prioritise
  purchases for library automation?

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Example S-T strategy

• Strength Well-used Library web site
• Threat Internet and IT enabling potential users
  to bypass the Library
• Strategy Why dont we develop a Library portal
  as an access point for users to access external
  resources?

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Example W-T strategy

• Weakness Lack of user involvement in service
  development
• Threat Rising costs of resources, in particular,
  journals
• Strategy Why dont we involve our users in
  selecting and endorsing the Librarys choice of
  electronic journals?

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Now you have a go!

• Choose a pair of characteristics from the S-O,
  W-O, S-T, W-T cells of the matrix and suggest a
  resulting strategy

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What we have covered

• The meaning and true purpose of the SWOT analysis
• Its application to a factionalised NHS Trust
  Library
• Typical factors influencing change in a Trust
  setting
• Four types of strategy to effect change

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Thats all folks