The creation of any strategic plan should be accompanied by analytical studies, allowing determine in advance the probable results of its application. It is also necessary to determine who benefits from the implementation of this plan. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive SWOT analysis, as well as to identify the influence of stakeholders in the organization and outside it.
There are many different models to evaluate the effectiveness of an approach. One such example is the SWOT analysis, which allows evaluating the concept under consideration from four points of view. The plan of this complex considers the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the object in question (Gürel & Tat, 2017). This type of analysis is widely used in strategic management, as it allows assessing both internal and external factors. As external variables, threats to the object and the opportunities that may be provided for its implementation are taken into account. Strengths and weaknesses of the plan relate to internal organizational problems (Gürel & Tat, 2017). When considering all four factors simultaneously, one can most likely argue about the competitiveness of the concept.
Returning to the topic of drafting a strategic plan for Teach for America, the strengths of the proposed concept should be noted first. They are expanding the organization and creating new branches in distant states. This will help not only accelerate the development of the company but also influence the situation with education in the country. The weak side of the organization is the lack of funding. Teach for America is a nonprofit company; therefore, it relies heavily on third-party financing.
The external threat in the form of a lack of sponsors is intertwined with limited funds’ internal problems. Attracting future teachers to charitable activities is also a threat to the implementation of this plan; however, it is insignificant. Besides, one of the strengths of the company, in this case, is the ability to contact the media to increase the general education of the population. For a complete and reliable implementation of the proposed plan, it is possible to utilize the extended IPA SWOT model. According to Phadermrod, Crowder, and Wills, its main difference is the use of Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), which allows quantifying consumer needs using specific tests (2016). Such an analysis will enable highlighting and assigning the highest priority to the most key tasks, which will increase the effectiveness of the implementation.
When executing any project, there is always a large number of stakeholders. According to Kumar, Rahman, and Kazmi, the classification of these parties can be carried out on many grounds depending on the unique functional qualities (2016). The paper focuses on external and internal stakeholders, similar to the SWOT model. Firstly, executives are directly interested in expanding the company since this means strengthening the sphere of influence. Increased coverage of the population will allow more people to achieve the goal for which the organization was created. Therefore, the internal stakeholders are the employees of the company themselves. Following this, leaders should maximize the development of the strategic concept by allocating the necessary financing.
From an external point of view, the party most interested in the organization’s activities is ordinary residents of the states. Teach for America arrival will mean an increase in the level of education. Besides, the implementation of this strategy will create new jobs, which is also a positive side for these states’ populations. These people act as social stakeholders, supporting the public direction of a nonprofit organization (Kumar et al., 2016). Accordingly, the public can support the organization financially by sponsoring it and helping to implement the strategy.
Thus, from the SWOT model, the concept proposed for Teach for America has many strengths as well as a small number of weaknesses. The latter includes a lack of funding due to the organization is a nonprofit. The transition to new states is exciting not only for companies but also for people living in these territories. Therefore, this problem can be quickly resolved through an advertising campaign in the media.
References
Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: A theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research, 10(51), 1-13.
Kumar, V., Rahman, Z., & Kazmi, A. A. (2016). Stakeholder identification and classification: a sustainability marketing perspective. Management Research Review, 39(1), 35-61.
Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R. M., & Wills, G. B. (2016). Importance-performance analysis based SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 44, 194-203.