Which statement about SWOT analysis is true?

Question

Options

• AStrengths can be turned into competitive advantage by aligning with opportunities.
• BWeaknesses most likely can be relieved by higher investment in technology.
• COpportunities indicate details of sales situations that the company has within their pipeline.
• DA threat indicates long-term concerns that the customer should address within a three-year

• A
  76% (31)
• B
  5% (2)
• C
  12% (5)
• D
  7% (3)

Explanation

Option A is correct because SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool - Strengths are internal capabilities, and when deliberately matched with external Opportunities, they create a basis for competitive advantage (e.g., a company with strong R&D capability exploiting a gap in the market).

Why the distractors fail:

• B is wrong because SWOT doesn't prescribe solutions like "invest in technology" - it's a diagnostic framework, not a remediation plan. Weaknesses might be addressed many ways, or not at all.
• C confuses "Opportunities" with a sales pipeline concept. In SWOT, Opportunities are external market conditions (trends, regulatory changes, competitor weaknesses) - not internal sales data.
• D is wrong because Threats in SWOT have no fixed time horizon (no "three-year rule"). They are external risks - competitive, economic, or environmental - that could impact the organization at any time.

Memory tip: Think of SWOT as two pairs - internal (Strengths/Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities/Threats). The strategic power comes from crossing them: Strengths + Opportunities = leverage; Weaknesses + Threats = danger zones.

No community discussion yet for this question.