The origins of SWOT analysis have been enigmatic, until now. With archival research, interviews with experts and a review of the available literature, this paper reconstructs the original SOFT/SWOT approach, and draws potential implications. During a firm's planning process, all managers are asked to write down 8 to 10 key planning issues faced by their units. Each manager grades, with evidence, these issues as either safeguarding the Satisfactory; opening Opportunities; fixing Faults; or thwarting Threats: hence SOFT (which is later merely relabeled to Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, or SWOT). Subgroups of managers have several dialogues about these issues with the instruction to include the needs and expectations of all the firm's stakeholders. Their developed resolutions or proposals become input for the executive planning committee to articulate corporate purpose(s) and strategies. SWOT's originator, Robert Franklin Stewart, emphasized the crucial role that creativity plays in the planning process. The SOFT/SWOT approach curbs mere top-down strategy making to the benefit of strategy alignment and implementation; Introducing digital means to parts of SWOT's original participative, long-range planning process, as suggested herein, could boost the effectiveness of organizational strategizing, communication and learning. Archival research into the deployment of SOFT/SWOT in practice is needed.
The origins of SWOT analysis have been enigmatic, until now. With archival research, interviews with experts and a review of the available literature, this paper reconstructs the original SOFT/SWOT approach, and draws potential implications. During a firm's planning process, all managers are asked to write down 8 to 10 key planning issues faced by their units. Each manager grades, with evidence, these issues as either safeguarding the Satisfactory; opening Opportunities; fixing Faults; or thwarting Threats: hence SOFT (which is later merely relabeled to Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, or SWOT). Subgroups of managers have several dialogues about these issues with the instruction to include the needs and expectations of all the firm's stakeholders. Their developed resolutions or proposals become input for the executive planning committee to articulate corporate purpose(s) and strategies. SWOT's originator, Robert Franklin Stewart, emphasized the crucial role that creativity plays in the planning process. The SOFT/SWOT approach curbs mere top-down strategy making to the benefit of strategy alignment and implementation; Introducing digital means to parts of SWOT's original participative, long-range planning process, as suggested herein, could boost the effectiveness of organizational strategizing, communication and learning. Archival research into the deployment of SOFT/SWOT in practice is needed.
The number of applications for debt management services in the Netherlands shows a steady increase of about 10 percent each year, over the last few years. Municipalities, responsible for these services, at the same need to cut back on expenditures. Our research shows that the (social) return on debt management is on average twice as high as the costs. These benefits are mainly found in the areas of social welfare and housing. Since debts are a reason for employers not to hire or not to continue employment, debt management increases the chance of (continued) employment and therefore helps reduce costs of unemployment and welfare benefits. Since housing corporations spend large sums of money on evictions, the prevention of evictions through debt management also reduces costs in that area. The ratio between the costs and benefits is only partly influenced by the quality of execution. Social structure offers a better explanation, where a weaker social structure results in greater benefits. Our findings are based on extensive research of individual files combined with interviews with professionals. Only direct if-then relations were considered. This means that in reality the cost-benefit ratio may even be more favorable. Municipalities should therefore be careful in cutting back on debt management services. On the other hand, crosslinking debt management with welfare payments and co-operating with housing corporations could open up opportunities for co-financing debt management services.
