SWOT Analysis
The SWOT Analysis (S-Strengths, W-Weaknesses, O-Opportunities, T-Threats) is an effective tool for any business. In a simple, easy to read overview, you can see the state of your business. Strengths - Areas of the business that excel. This can be customer service, diversity of products, discounts, delivery times etc. Weaknesses - Areas of the company that are performing below expectations and/or problems exist that need attention. This can be order accuracy, high employee turnover, efficiency issues etc. Opportunities - Areas of the company that need to be exploited and/or built upon. This can be marketing campaigns to build your customer base, employee talents not being utilized, first to market with new products etc. Threats - Areas of the company that require immediate attention and addressed accordingly. This can be net profits decreasing, new competition in the industry, computer network unstable etc. For more examples, see the "SWOT Sample". The SWOT Analysis can give you the necessary information for improving your company.
SWOT Template
SWOT Sample
FISHBONE Diagram
The FISHBONE diagram (also known as "Cause-Effect Diagram" or "Ishikawa Diagram") is an excellent visual graphic tool in showing the root cause of a problem (effect) through listing the potential categories of the source. To the right of the diagram, you will see the box entitled "Effect (resulting problem)" This is the problem that you are drilling down to obtain the root cause, so that it may be corrected. To the left, you will notice 4 "Category" boxes - 2 on top (primary categories) and 2 on the bottom (secondary categories). These are the 4 areas from which the causes originate. Within each category, you will see "Causes". These are the primary causes within each category, resulting in the problem. Within each cause, you will see a "Sub Cause". These are contributing factors for the cause. Note - you are not required to use all 4 categories, or both causes within each category. Use only what is needed. For more examples, see the "FISHBONE Sample". The FISHBONE Diagram is an excellent tool in dissecting problems at the source cause.