Critical Thinking On Marketing Plans AND Marketing Analytical Tools

SWOT, which is the short form of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats is the study undertaken by an organization or a third party to analyze and identify the organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats to chart out the marketing and operational strategy of the organization . The ideal outcome of SWOT is value to the customer, which is achieved by converting weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities. This article focuses on the SWOT analysis of University of Maryland University College (UMUC) based on its strategic plan for 2009-2013.
UMUC, a member of the University System of Maryland, is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. UMUC specializes in providing career oriented higher education opportunities for working professionals and offers more than 95 degrees and certificates across various streams . The SWOT analysis of UMUC is represented in the table below-
UMUC is a pioneer in the area of online continuing adult education. The University has been in existence for the past may years and has earned a good reputation among its target student community. The immediate focus of the University should be to work on the weaknesses and convert them to strengths. Similarly, the University should think innovatively to convert the threats into opportunities.
Some of the areas that the University should focus on and the opportunities to go after include seeking alternate funding streams, expansion to newer geographies, effecting quality consistency across the courses and capitalizing on the legacy of the University. By addressing/implementing these concerns/opportunities, UMUC can clearly differentiate itself from the competition.

Works Cited

Friesner, T. (2014, May 8). SWOT analysis. Retrieved from marketingteacher.com: http://www.marketingteacher.com/swot-analysis/