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Cases

Ohjelma
Bike Lease Finland

Bike Lease Finland

Leasing and maintenance of employee bicycles, digital services.

Ohjelma
Excelence Solutions

Excelence Solutions

Consulting and data analytics, expert services and consulting.

Ohjelma
Finnish Timber Oy

Finnish Timber Oy

Ecological log buildings and construction site processes, project business.

Ohjelma
Green Scape

Green Scape

Customized green wall services for B2B clients, service business.

Ohjelma
Marine Craft

Marine Craft

Customized motorboats, project delivery, manufacturing industry.

Ohjelma
Scandinavian Design

Scandinavian Design

Leasing and maintenance of company bicycles, digital services.

Task

Strategic SWOT Analysis



In this task, the student will conduct a strategic SWOT analysis for a case company and examine the company's situation from both internal and external perspectives. From the SWOT analysis, three key strategic conclusions will be derived, indicating the direction the company should take in the future – what strengths to leverage, what weaknesses to address, what opportunities to pursue, and what threats to prepare for.

Learning objectives

After completing the task, the student:
1. Can create a strategic SWOT analysis for the case company based on the case description.
2. Understands how internal strengths and weaknesses relate to external opportunities and threats.
3. Can derive 3 key strategic conclusions from the SWOT analysis that guide the company's future choices.

Step by step

  1. Strategic SWOT analysis

    Assignment name: Strategic SWOT analysis

    Objective:
    The objective of the assignment is that the student is able to examine the case company’s situation at a strategic level using the SWOT framework and derive key strategic guidelines from the analysis.

    Materials:

    • The case description of your selected case company from the learning material.

    • The assignment is based on the information in the case description and the well-grounded assumptions made on the basis of it.

    Assignment steps (instructions for the student):

    1. Choose the case company and summarise the situation
      Choose one case company.
      Write a short situation overview (5–10 sentences):

      • what the company does

      • what kind of market it operates in

      • what key objectives or challenges arise from the case description.

    2. Prepare a strategic SWOT analysis
      Create a SWOT table for the case company with 3–5 items in each of the four areas:

      • Strengths: internal factors in which the company is better than others or can rely on (e.g. expertise, reputation, customer relationships, an efficient operating model).

      • Weaknesses: internal shortcomings or limitations (e.g. lack of resources, narrow customer base, outdated processes).

      • Opportunities: external opportunities the company could utilise (e.g. new customer segments, trends, partnerships, digitalisation).

      • Threats: external factors that may make it difficult to achieve objectives (e.g. competition, legislation, economic situation, shortage of skilled labour).

      Write a short sentence for each item: what it means and which observations from the case description it is based on.

    3. Draw conclusions from the SWOT (cross-analysis)
      Examine the SWOT as a whole and especially consider:

      • how strengths can be used to take advantage of opportunities

      • how strengths can be used to counter threats

      • how weaknesses can be reduced so that threats do not materialise

      • which opportunities may be missed if weaknesses are not addressed.

      Write a few paragraphs describing key observations about these cross-relationships.

    4. Formulate three strategic conclusions
      Finally, based on the SWOT analysis, formulate three as clear and concrete strategic conclusions or guidelines as possible.
      For example:

      • which customer segment, service, or market the company should focus on

      • which key weakness should start being systematically corrected

      • which threat requires particular preparation or a plan.

      Write a short justification for each conclusion:

      • which SWOT findings it is based on

      • how the guideline supports the company’s long-term success.

    Submission and evaluation:

    • Submit a 1–2-page text (or a clear table + short explanation) showing:

      • the situation overview of the case company

      • the SWOT analysis (4 areas)

      • the observations made from the SWOT

      • three strategic conclusions with justifications.

    • In the evaluation, attention is paid to how well:

      • you utilise the case description to build the SWOT

      • you understand the relationships between internal and external factors

      • you are able to derive clear, strategic conclusions from the analysis.

    • Recommended working time: about 60 minutes, alone or in pairs.

Tasks by audience and theme

University of applied sciences

Polytechnics and higher education studies.

68 tasks