Introduction 介绍
The global corporate world continues to experience a rise in competition among firms. In line with this, businesses no longer contents with their local rivals alone but also faces threats from multinational corporations that are seeking new markets. Therefore, the 21st century management teams have a responsibility of formulating and implementing dynamic strategies to ensure their businesses and organisations remain relevant in an environment that is constantly changing due to fierce competition among other factors. In reference to Grant (2016), strategy plays an instrumental role in strengthening the quality of decision making in organisations, enabling coordination as well as creating a platform for organisations to concentrate on their long-term goals. Speaking from this point of view, this study critically analyses and discusses two strategic concepts of analysis namely SWOT analysis and the Porter’s Five Forces model. In this regard, the study will explore the usefulness of these strategic concepts in the formulation and implementation of strategy in businesses and organisations.
全球企业界继续经历着企业间竞争的加剧。与此相一致的是，企业不再满足于只满足于本土竞争对手，还面临着来自寻求新市场的跨国公司的威胁。因此，21世纪的管理团队有责任制定和实施动态战略，以确保其业务和组织在由于其他因素之间的激烈竞争而不断变化的环境中保持相关性。参考Grant（2016），战略在加强组织决策质量、实现协调以及为组织专注于其长期目标创造平台方面发挥了重要作用。从这个角度出发，本研究批判地分析和讨论了两个战略分析概念，即SWOT分析和波特五力模型。在这方面，研究将探讨这些战略概念在企业和组织制定和实施战略中的作用。
SWOT Analysis Model SWOT分析模型
SWOT analysis is one of the widely used tools to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that an organisation have in the environment in which it operates. In reference to Grant (2016), the application of SWOT analysis to organisations is based on the evaluation of the internal factors, that is, strengths and weaknesses, and the external factors, that is, opportunities and threats, which influence their strategies. In other words, when organisations conduct a SWOT analysis of their operations, their main objectives is to gain insights on different internal and external factors that currently influence their operations, and which could have a significant impact on their strategies as far as their long-term operations are concerned. Harrison (2016) emphasises this in his argument that SWOT analysis is an antecedent to strategic planning and as such, those who are tasked with conducting it need to be able to evaluate the organisation from a critical perspective. This implies that in most organisations, the senior management, technical experts and board members are the key people who conduct SWOT analysis.
SWOT分析是一种广泛使用的工具，用于评估组织在其运营环境中的优势、劣势、机会和威胁。参考Grant（2016），对组织进行SWOT分析是基于对影响其战略的内部因素（即优势和劣势）和外部因素（即机会和威胁）的评估。换句话说，当组织对其运营进行SWOT分析时，其主要目标是了解当前影响其运营的不同内部和外部因素，以及就其长期运营而言可能对其战略产生重大影响的因素。Harrison（2016）在其论点中强调了这一点，即SWOT分析是战略规划的先决条件，因此，负责实施战略规划的人员需要能够从批判性角度对组织进行评估。这意味着在大多数组织中，管理层、技术专家和董事会成员是进行SWOT分析的关键人员。
Usefulness of SWOT analysis SWOT分析的有用性
One of the critical issues to note concerning SWOT analysis is the fact that this tool plays an instrumental role in providing organisations with a clear picture of issues that support their success as well as those that threaten their survival in their respective industries. In this regard, Helms and Nixon (2010) observe that SWOT analysis help strategic planners understand how they can leverage different strengths to create new opportunities while at the same time gaining insights on their weaknesses that magnify organisational threats. Notably, once they have gained such insights, strategic planners can formulate strategies to help enhance their strengths and as such, their opportunities, while at the same time implementing measures to address their weaknesses and as such, eliminate their threats. For example, when an organisation realises that it has a weakness because of limited finances, it can implement strategies that will reduce its costs of operations and as such, improve its efficiency levels.
关于SWOT分析，需要注意的关键问题之一是，该工具在为组织提供支持其成功的问题以及威胁其在各自行业生存的问题的清晰图像方面发挥了重要作用。在这方面，Helms和Nixon（2010）观察到SWOT分析有助于战略规划者了解他们如何利用不同的优势创造新的机会，同时了解他们放大组织威胁的弱点。值得注意的是，一旦获得了这些见解，战略规划者就可以制定战略来帮助增强他们的优势和机会，同时采取措施解决他们的弱点，从而消除他们的威胁。例如，当一个组织意识到由于资金有限而存在弱点时，它可以实施降低运营成本的战略，从而提高其效率水平。