Discussion question: How would one distinguish between an organizational weakness and a threat to the organization? **250 words with 2 APA references**

Respond to:   (150 words response with 1 APA reference)

Analyzing organizations weaknesses and threats is critical to SWOT analysis. Both of these components seek to identify organizational struggles or limitations which affects the productivity and the performance of the organization. I.e. An organizational weakness and threat represent factors which affect the ability of an organization to achieve its goals (Humphreys, 2007). The difference between weakness and threat is that the former refers to the internal factors whereas the latter refers to the external factors.   An example of an organizational weakness is the lack of advanced technology which limits the ability of the organization to compete with companies which have access to advanced technology. As such, a weakness represents an area where the organization needs to improve for it to remain competitive.

On the other hand, an example of organizational threat can be the availability of substitutes in the market which offers the same product or service at a lower cost. This threatens the success of the organization since it risks losing its customers who may prefer purchasing product substitutes since they are cheaper. This makes it more difficult for the organization to reach its sales targets. As such, it would be necessary for the organization to consider other strategies in order to tackle this threat such as standardizing prices or modifying the product so as to distinguish it from what is offered in the market. Knowing the organizational weaknesses is important in identifying the internal vulnerability whereas knowing the organizational threats is important in identifying the external dangers so as to guide strategic decision making.