This week's assignment will allow you to generate content that you will incorporate into the Market Analysis section of your Final Project. To prepare for this assignment, read Chapter 4 of the course text and the article by Simoneaux and Stroud (2011). You may also want to review the recommended article by Valentin (2001).

During the analysis stage, you consider external factors that pose possible threats to or provide opportunities for your organization and compare these factors against your HCO's internal operation to diagnose its strengths and weaknesses. Many HCOs have found it useful to conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses refer to elements that are internal to the organization; opportunities and threats are external to the organization. An effective SWOT analysis helps the marketing team determine the healthcare organization's position in a particular market place as well as the positions of its competitors. By analyzing the current market and the deficiencies of the HCO's competitors, and by assessing the HCO's internal strengths and weaknesses, the marketing team can reposition the organization to meet and exceed the needs of its customers.

For this assignment, you will conduct a detailed SWOT analysis of your chosen healthcare organization for your Final Project. Discuss your selected organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and possible threats.

The SWOT analysis should include the following five components:

Strengths - An organization's resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage.

Weaknesses - Limitations of an organization to meet the needs of its determined customer base.

Opportunities - External conditions that may reveal certain new opportunities regarding profit and growth.

Threats - Factors or changes in the external environment that may present threats to the organization.

Summary/Recommendations - After conducting your SWOT analysis, write a paragraph in which you provide your recommendations to the CEO of your chosen healthcare organization. Also state how you will use this information to create a marketing plan that will ensure the following:

The organization's resources are not wasted
Time is well spent
Marketing efficiently is improved.