Editing SWOT analysis (section)

=== Internal and external factors ===
Strengths and weaknesses are usually considered internal, while opportunities and threats are usually considered external.<ref name=Minsky2021>{{cite web |last1=Minsky |first1=Laurence |last2=Aron |first2=David |date=23 February 2021 |title=Are you doing the SWOT analysis backwards? |website=[[Harvard Business Review]] |url=https://hbr.org/2021/02/are-you-doing-the-swot-analysis-backwards |access-date=7 November 2021 |quote=The results of a SWOT analysis can be (and almost always are) presented simply as a 2&nbsp;×&nbsp;2 grid, with one dimension representing the internal versus external factors, and the other depicting positive versus negative valence.&nbsp;... To improve the inventory collection, you should start with the external factors, then turn your attention to the firm's internal ones.}} See also {{harvnb|Sevier|2001}}.</ref> The degree to which an organization's internal strengths matches with its external opportunities is known as its [[strategic fit]].<ref name=Learned1965/><ref>{{cite book |last=Andrews |first=Kenneth R. |author-link=Kenneth R. Andrews |date=1971 |title=The concept of corporate strategy |location=Homewood, Ill. |publisher=Dow Jones–Irwin |page=[https://archive.org/details/conceptofcorpora00andr_0/page/37 37] |isbn=0870940120 |oclc=151781 |url=https://archive.org/details/conceptofcorpora00andr_0/page/37 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=Mintzberg1998/>

Internal factors may include:<ref name="CTB">{{cite web |title=Community Toolbox: Section 14. SWOT analysis |url=https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/swot-analysis/main |access-date=2014-02-22 |website=[[Community Tool Box]] |publisher=Center for Community Health and Development at the [[University of Kansas]]}}</ref>
* Human resources—staff, volunteers, board members, stakeholders
* Physical resources—location, building, equipment, plant
* Financial—revenue, grants, investments, other sources of income
* Activities and processes—projects, programs, systems
* Past experiences—reputation, knowledge

External factors may include:<ref name="CTB" />
* Future trends in the organization's field or society at large (e.g. [[macroeconomic]]s, [[technological change]])
* The economy—local, national, or international
* Funding sources—investors, foundations, donors, legislatures
* Demographics—changes in the age, race, gender, culture of those in the organization serviceable area
* Physical environment—growth of location in which organisation is situated, access to location
* [[Legislation]]
* Local, national, or international events

A number of authors advocate assessing external factors before internal factors.<ref name=Minsky2021/><ref name="Weihrich1982">{{cite journal |last=Weihrich |first=Heinz |date=April 1982 |title=The TOWS matrix—a tool for situational analysis |journal=Long Range Planning |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=54–66 |doi=10.1016/0024-6301(82)90120-0 |s2cid=154914972}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Watkins |first=Michael D. |author-link=Michael D. Watkins |date=27 March 2007 |title=From SWOT to TOWS: answering a reader's strategy question |website=[[Harvard Business Review]] |url=https://hbr.org/2007/03/from-swot-to-tows-answering-a-readers-strategy-question |access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref>