Extend Activity #1 – Misunderstood the SWOT tool

A response to the Misunderstood Activity
created by Oday Aswad (@odayaswad)

Number of views: 118

When using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities, and Threats) analysis tool, my students often disconnect Opportunities (Os) from Threats (Ts) factors. The students usually tend to identify Os and Ts independently. Although relevant, such tendencies do not help develop long-term and short-term strategies.

To fix such misunderstandings, students should identify associated Ts and Os, i.e., identify opportunities associated with the identified threats and vice-versa.

For example, during the pandemic, schools closed, and students were disconnected from each other and their educators. Such isolation represented a threat (T) to the social skills development of different age categories. However, the advancement in information communication technologies (ICT) provided a means to bridge this gap. There was an opportunity to develop new virtual meetings and e-classroom platforms to help students and educators proceed with their educational journey; more online training opportunities became available for both students and educators.

Steps:

  • Please choose a topic from their experience or specialty.
  • Identify threats (Ts)
  • Look for (Os) that are associated with the (Ts)
  • Use color-coded text inside the SWOT matrix to represent Os associated with Ts and vice-versa.
  • Prepare to discuss the opportunities.