Information Sheet 2 .

2 - 3
Internal and External (SWOT Analysis)

Learning Objectives:

After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:

1. Identify internal and external factor that affects
future events
2. Outline a solution for each factor using the
SWOT analysis

Time Allotment: 45 minutes

Introduction
In the previous module we have learned different types of
stakeholders and the composition of an event scope. Since
events organizing gives an individual/team to showcase their
talents or services in the community, it is also considerable to
acknowledge the importance of community and its contribution
to a successful event. In this module we will tackle more on the
internal and external factors that may affect/contribute to our
future events.

Forces affecting Event Planning

It is important for every event organization to interact and transact with its
environment as the business environment has direct relationship with the
organization. The success or failure of an organization is primarily established
by the effectiveness of its interaction with its environment. The enterprise has
little influence on the environment and therefore, it is important for the
company to identify with the environment of its operation and devise its
policies in relation to the forces in that environment. The forces affecting
external environment of business are as follows:
 The political environment of any region or state influences the event to
a larger extent. This environment is influenced by the political
organization, philosophy, government ideology, nature and extent of
bureaucracy and political stability. Event organizer may get various
concessions and benefits in hosting the event as per the local
government policies.
 In today‘s competitive world the majority of people have an urbanized
approach towards celebration. There are many community events and
festivals in the urbanized world, celebrating their character of life. In
India many festivals such as Durga Puja, Ganesh Chautri and Dusshera
are celebrated with enthusiasm and local participation. This leads to
emergence of event management companies at local levels who promote
organization of events with a professional approach.
 Technology is an important aspect in the world of special events, as
everything from planning to programming to great extents relies on
technological solutions. Internet provides new possibilities for
communication, information resources, and is an efficient marketing
tool. Staying current with technology is important for event managers as
consumers expect quick feedback from the organizers of events.
 Changing generations and cultural diversity in many communities
has resulted in a shift of values, which implies both opportunities and
challenges for events. Diversity, unity, and equality is emphasized.
Environmental and globalization awareness and quality are emerging as
important values for event management companies. In India various
events such as Jaipur Literature festival, various trade fairs and travel
marts promote the spirit of cultural synthesis.
 Stakeholders are groups, organizations, and individuals who have
invested or keep an interest in the successfulness of an event. Typical
stakeholders of events are the organizers, sponsors, partners, customers
 and the community Sponsors and partners supporting an event, either
by contributing financially or by providing in-kind support, are also
stakeholders. Guests and customers are stakeholders because an event
is organized for providing them a particular product, which is commonly
leisure, education, or other service. . The local community provides many
resources for events, such as businesses, hospitality services and public
places, staff and volunteers.
 The other forces affecting Event management are the people interested in
participating in certain events as performers, the media, local
tourism bodies, or providers of facilities and infrastructure for instance.
Moreover there can be local firms and businesses looking to improve
revenue through events. An event management company‘s stability and
profitability are interdependent on its ability to quickly identify and
respond to changes in the external environment. Change is inevitable
and having the flexibility to deal with unexpected market mutations can
mean the difference between survival and extinction for an organization

While planning the internal and external factors affecting the event, it is worth
to use the SWOT analysis – a simple tool to assess the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and risks associated with the project. This analysis can be
successfully used in planning events such as conferences, workshops or
training courses.

Essentially, a SWOT analysis is an examination of the internal and

external factors that impact the organization and its strategies. The internal
factors are strengths and weaknesses; the external factors are opportunities
and threats. A SWOT analysis gives an organization a clear picture of the
“situation” in which it operates and helps it identify which strategies to pursue.

What does a “SWOT” mean?

“S” stands for Strengths
“W” stands for Weaknesses
“O” stands for Opportunities
“T” stands for Threat

Internal Factors

Strengths and weaknesses include the resources and capabilities within the
organization now. Since your organizing team has the most control over
internal factors, it can craft strategies and objectives to exploit strengths and
address weaknesses. Examples of internal factors include the following:
 Resource availability (human, financial, physical)
 Technical resources and capabilities
 Human resources
  Level of management commitment
 Access to natural resources, trademarks, patents and copyrights
 Current processes (employee programs, department hierarchies and
software systems)

All of these are controlled by the organization. Competitive positioning can also
be a strength or a weakness. While competitors’ strategies and tactics are
external to the company, the company’s position relative to the competitors is
something that it can control.

1. Strengths

These are the features of the project (conference, workshop, and training
course) that can contribute to the project’s goal. Think about what is a strong
feature of your event.

Examples of strengths:

 Exceptional lecturers – if you organize an event and you can offer its
attendees contact with someone who is an authority in a given industry,
it will certainly be your strongest asset.
 Experienced and motivated team – working with people who know
what to do and at the same time work with commitment – regardless of
whether they are volunteers or professional event coordinators –
increases the chance of success of the event.
 Effective solutions for event management – an efficient online event
registration and payment processing system certainly supports the
success of the event.
 Effective tools for the promotion of events – if you operate in the
event industry, you already know that without marketing in the social
media promotion isn’t really possible.

2. Weaknesses

These are the features of the project that can prevent you from achieving your
goals. Think about the weaknesses of your event.

Examples of weaknesses:

 Lack of sufficient financing for the event – organizing events with the
insufficient budget may contribute to its failure. Check if you have the
right buffer in case of unforeseen expenses.
 Inexperienced event team – if there is a large staff turnover in your
event team, this is definitely a weak side. You have to start working on it
 ASAP. There is nothing worse for an event than an inexperienced,
uninformed employee on the first line of contact with your client.
 Inefficient registration and event management system – check
whether the system you use is efficient. If it hangs up, runs slowly, loses
data, can’t handle immense Internet traffic or is complicated.

External Factors
External factors include opportunities and threats that are outside of the
organization. These are factors that the company may be able influence—or at
least anticipate—but not fully control.
Examples of external factors include the following:

 Technology innovations and changes

 Competition
 Economic trends
 Government policies and legislation
 Legal judgments
 Social trends

While a company can control how it positions itself relative to the competition,
it can’t control competitors’ actions or strategies.

3. Opportunities
These are external factors that can be helpful in achieving project goals.

Examples of Opportunities:

 Little competition – if you operate in a niche market, you have the

chance to strengthen your position and prepare for the times when your
competitors become strong.
 Favorable economic conditions – the market situation is your ally, use
it to prepare for potential “bad times”.
 Support from local authorities – if you have the opportunity to
cooperate with local governments or local respected NGO’s it is great! Use
this chance to work on the image of both, the event and your company.

4. Threats
These are external factors that may prove detrimental to the achievement of the
project’s goals.
Examples of threats:

 Strong competition – this isn’t a reason to give up organizing events in

a given industry, but it can be a significant factor affecting the
achievement of your goal.
 Bad weather – this is a particularly serious threat when organizing an
 outdoor event.
 Unprepared infrastructure – choosing the place of the event, which is
still “under construction”, but for the time of the event is to be ready,
may expose you to Murphy’s merciless law.

Benefits of a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis benefits organizations in two key ways:
a. Encourages Realistic Planning
Imagine a growing company that is able to attract new customers more easily
than the competition because it has a strong reputation and visible leader.
These strengths should be considered and exploited in the strategy. Now
imagine that the company also has a poor history of delivering on customer
commitments. If this weakness is not addressed, it will not only make
it difficult to retain customers but also likely damage the reputation of the
company and its leader—which would eliminate key strengths. By conducting a
situation analysis, the company is more likely to consider both of these factors
in its planning.

b. Improves Ability to Forecast Future Events

What’s the worst thing that could happen to your business? Most organizations
can answer this question because they have assessed the environment in
which they operate. For instance, perhaps they know of pending legislation
that might adversely affect them. Or perhaps they recognize legal risks, or
unique challenges from past economic cycles. By considering threats and
“worst-case scenarios” during the planning process, organizations can take
steps to avoid them, or minimize the impact if they do they occur.

What Does the SWOT Analysis of My Event Tell You?

Your SWOT table is filled in, but what does the SWOT matrix tell you now?
How does a table affect the success of your event? Generally speaking, there
are 4 strategies that you can derive from this table.

 Promote - the SO strategy (strength - opportunities)

SWOT analyses are part of the small basics of business administration and
are taught at universities and schools all over the world. But is this just a
theoretical concept and how does it help when planning your next event? In
the best case scenario, this area is huge at your event: this is where your
strengths meet your opportunities. Here, you can leverage your team's skills
to gain an advantage. Contrast your strengths with your opportunities and
try to "match" the two - this way you can identify connection points and
build on your advantages.

 Neutralize - the ST strategy (strength - threats)

You can use your strengths to mitigate and avoid risks. Identified risks can
be prevented by your own skills and planning - this is called neutralization
strategies.

 Catch up - the WO-strategy (weaknesses - opportunities)

Nobody can do everything. There can also be certain weaknesses in a team,
for example due to a lack of personnel in one area. But those who have
identified weaknesses can work on them specifically. Strengths can be
transformed into weaknesses through these transformation strategies. This
strategy is particularly important if you find the processes that you can
improve, especially in an area where your competitor is strong.

 Avoidance - The WT strategy (weaknesses - threats)

Ideally, this area of your matrix should be very small, because it poses a
threat to the success of your event. If you can't avoid this area increasing,
it's important to keep the damage as small as possible: Work on your
weaknesses while trying to keep the possible damage as small as possible.

SWOT in practice

 First of all – identify the strengths and weaknesses of your event and also
the opportunities that you can use and the threats that can stand in the
way of achieving your goal.
 Secondly – put the collected information in the table (you can easily find
free SWOT analysis templates on the Internet).
 Thirdly – answer the questions:
Will you be able to use indicated strengths to take advantage of the
opportunities?
Will it be easier to overcome the threats thanks to the indicated strengths?
Do the indicated weaknesses prevent you from seizing opportunities?
Do the indicated weaknesses expose the event to threats?
 Fourthly – start planning.

Sample SWOT table.

Take notes on these factors;
Competition – prior to involvement in any event, it is essential to conduct an
analysis of your competition. For some bigger events competition has become a
basis of event’s success. (For instance, many people have limited disposable
income, which means festivals and events tend to be non-essential items. Make
adjustments for the local community and formulate activities or strategies that
may bring you more at edge in the competition)
Regulations- a wide range of laws and regulations have an impact on the
staging of events and these can limit your creativity. (For instance, some
churches do not allow extravagant decorations inside and along the aisle. You
have to supplement your creativity with a little adjustment)
Marketing- how to sell your event is a very importance part of the initial
planning of your concept.
Community Impact- the impact of your event on the local or wider community
and the others is the major consideration of the planning stage.
Risk – for most events, weather and a unpredictable climate is the greatest risk
to attendance, enjoyment and the success of your event.
 Self-Check 2.2-3

A. Identification.
1. These are external factors that may prove detrimental to the
achievement of the project’s goals.
2. A tool use to examine the internal and external factors that impact
the organization and its strategies.
3. These are external factors that can be helpful in achieving project
goals.
4. In SWOT analysis, “O” stands for?
5. These are groups, organizations, and individuals who have invested or
keep an interest in the successfulness of an event.

B. True or False.
1. Prior to involvement in any event, it is essential to conduct an
analysis of your competition.
2. You can include a venue that is still “under construction” on planning
your event.
3. SWOT analysis – a simple tool to assess the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and risks associated with the project. This analysis can
be successfully used in planning events such as conferences,
workshops or training courses.
4. In today‘s competitive world, the majority of people have an urbanized
approach towards celebration. There are many community events and
festivals in the urbanized world, celebrating their character of life.
5. Organizing events with the insufficient budget may contribute to its
failure.
 Answer Key 2.2-3

A.
1. Threat
2. SWOT analysis
3. Opportunities
4. Opportunities
5. Stakeholders
B.
1. True
2. False
3. True
4. True
5. True
 JOB SHEET
Title: SWOT ANALYSIS

Performance Objective: With the given procedures, the trainee will be

able to produce a SWOT Analysis result

Supplies/Materials :

Equipment :

Steps/Procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Assessment Method: