5.7 Writing a paragraph of a SWOT analysis

(Allow 1 hour)

Activity 5.12

Look again at Table 5.3.

Table 5.3 SWOT of Brompton Bike

Strengths	Weaknesses
Debt-free firm Best quality folding bike Design covered by copyright Investment in manufacturing already made Reduced costs due to outsourcing non-core manufacturing Engineering ethos/attention to detail Niche product Spares and aftercare revenue Effective word-of-mouth marketing Waiting list reduced	Slow inefficient production methods Limited capacity to manufacture enough bikes to meet demand Market growth 20–25% per year; losing share Patents expired Based in London, high running costs Unwilling to relocate Lack of development of product Growth constrained through its manufacturing capability
Opportunities	Threats
Growth potential in a rapidly expanding global market Increase marketing presence	Competition from other manufacturers Price undercutting from competitors Competitors’ R&D departments are improving their products Seasonal demand issues

Choose one section from the completed SWOT table for Brompton Bicycle and expand the information to write a paragraph of approximately 150 words.

Organise the points you want to include in a way that will make the information easy to understand for your reader. This means starting with more general information and moving on to more specific information. You can omit points that you consider to be very minor to keep to the word limit and remember to check that you are using formal language. You do not need to include recommendations at this stage.

When you have finished, post your paragraph to the Tutor Group Forum and read one of the other paragraphs posted there. Comment on the other student’s paragraph and discuss any challenges you experienced while writing your paragraph.

Draft your paragraph here:

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Comment

This activity has involved transforming the notes you made on the text into a paragraph to make up part of your analysis. This is a process of organising the information, expanding it and using your own words to provide an analysis. How did you find the process? You will need to follow this process for any case study analysis drawing on different sources. If you need more general advice on academic writing, visit the Developing academic English page of Skills for OU Study.

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