Critically discuss 'SWOT analysis is deeply flawed and should not be Essay

Critically discuss 'SWOT analysis is deeply flawed and should not be applied as a modern marketing tool.' - Essay Example The paper also analyses the relevance of SWOT analysis for the purpose of marketing analysis and concludes in dismissing the use of SWOT for strategic decision making process and establishes it as a mere information guideline for managers. The SWOT analysis method is not, by any means, a process that can carry forth any strategic analysis, competitive analysis or an opportunity analysis. The tool is used to represent a structure that calls for extensive brainstorming while making any strategic decisions. As a result of such structure of the SWOT tool, it is possible that the problem being analysed or identified is broken down into life stages and phases. Such brainstorming and breaking down of a problem into phases allows for gaining a huge collection of possible ideas that might have cause the problem or offer solutions to the issue at hand. Such SWOT tool can also be used multiple times (Symes, n.d.). The paper identifies that the SWOT tool is merely a step in the process of business plan or marketing initiative. For issues that need a deeper understanding an evaluation, the SWOT tool appears largely incapable and this is why it is considered to be a broad overview of all the possible factors that might affect a marketing decision. The paper begins with a discussion on the drawbacks of the SWOT analysis tool as a base for modern marketing decisions and discusses its applicability flaws in relation with the marketing objectives. It concludes in stating that the SWOT is a presentation of facts and not a decision making tool. For the purpose of deeper understanding of issues, the SWOT lacks largely and needs to be assisted by other marketing tools (Queensland Government, 2013). It has been argued that the theoretical base for SWOT analysis is very weak. The analysis has been accused of being very superficial and not running deep into the analysis of the context. For example, the SWOT analysis states the facts just like a