Unit 3

Communication-Introduction

3.1.          Communication: Introduction, Definition, Nature, Objectives

Introduction and Definition

Communication is the process of transferring information by means of speaking, reading, listening and writing. Although the act of communication is heavily dependent on these four skills, it goes beyond these and also incorporate non-verbal elements such as body language, expressions, sign language, electronically transmitted codes (Morse code etc.) etc. It is both an art and a science.

Although every individual communicates simply by being in the world, learning effective communication skills requires hard work and determination. Developing good verbal and body language skills involves learning and consciously using your skills to improve.

One must be thoroughly familiar with all styles of correspondence in order to facilitate effective communication. The form of communication intrinsically depends upon the purpose and the central idea of the message to be conveyed. For example, it is feasible to acquire information or provide information using a formal phone call or an email whereas while conveying bad news to a particular individual a face-to-face conversation is considered rather apt.

Communication can be formal or informal

1. Formal communication: Formal Communication is the exchange of official information that flows along the different levels of the organizational hierarchy and conforms to the prescribed professional rules, policy, standards, processes and regulations of the organization.
2. Informal communication: Informal Communication is the casual and unofficial form of communication wherein the information is exchanged spontaneously between two or more persons without conforming the prescribed official rules, processes, system, formalities and chain of command.

Nature

The nature of communication can be understood from the following points:

1. Two-way process:

Communication is essentially a two-way process of understanding between two or more persons – sender and receiver. A person cannot communicate with himself.

2. Continuous process:

Exchange of ideas and opinions between people and groups is a continuous process in formal organisations as well as social groups. Continuous interaction promotes understanding and exchange of data relevant for decision-making.

3. Dynamic process:

Communication between sender and receiver takes different forms and medium depending upon their moods and demeanour. It is, thus, a dynamic process that keeps changing depending upon the situations.

4. Pervasive:

Communication is a pervasive activity. It takes place at all levels (top, middle, low) dealing with all functional areas (production, finance, personnel, sales) of a business.

5. Two people:

A minimum of two persons — sender and receiver — must be involved in order to facilitate communication. It may be between superiors, subordinates and colleagues, intra or inter se.

6. Exchange:

Communication involves exchange of ideas and opinions. People interact and develop understanding for each other.

7. Means of unifying organisational activities:

Communication unifies internal organisational environment with its external counterpart. It also integrates the input of human and physical resources and converts them into organisational output.

8. Verbal and non-verbal:

Though words are active carriers of data, gestures can sometimes be more powerful than words. Facial expressions, sounds, signs and symbols are the non-verbal varieties of communication.

9. Mutual understanding:

Communication is effective when sender and receiver develop interdependent understanding of the topic. Messages conveyed should be understood by the receiver within the desired sense.

10. Goal-oriented:

Communication is goal-oriented. Unless the receiver and sender know the aim they intend to achieve through communication, it has little practical utility.

11. Foundation of management:

Though communication could be a directing function, it's important for other managerial functions also. Designing organisation structures, motivating people to accomplish personal, short term and long- term goals and controlling organisational activities; all require communication amongst managers at various levels.

12. A means, not an end:

Communication is not an end. Effective communication may be a means towards achieving the end, that is, goal accomplishment. It smoothens administrative operations by allowing planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling functions.

13. Human activity:

Since communication makes accomplishment of organisational goals possible, it's essential that individuals understand and like one another. If people don't understand each other’s’ viewpoint, there can't be effective communication.

14. Inter-disciplinary:

Communication is essentially the art of how communicators use knowledge of various fields of study like anthropology, psychology and sociology. It is, thus, an inter-disciplinary area of management.

Objectives

English Communication serves four major important functions within any group or organization. These are:

• Acquiring Jobs
• Control
• Motivation
• Emotional expression
• Information

Acquiring Jobs

Most Organizations today, be it abroad or in India deal with other countries due to globalization. And English being a world language most of the documentation and day to day operations are carried out in English. Therefore, having command over both spoken and written forms of the English language makes one desirable for these jobs. Not only fluent English makes a good impression but also facilitates deeper understanding and better communication between colleagues and external organizations.

Control

Communication in English serves a controlling function in a hierarchical structure. When a teacher has to control her students or a manager has to control his employees and ask them to perform the required tasks, controlling words and tone has to be used. This function is mostly applicable in a formal setting however there may be some exceptions (Parents and children).

Motivation

Proper communicative English can be used to motivate employees to perform well. Motivational communication includes praising people for a well-done job, inspiring them to do even better and pointing out where they are going wrong and helping them rectify their mistakes. Motivational speakers also use communication as a tool to inspire and influence people.

Emotional Expression

Communication is useful tool for showing a whole range of emotions such as frustrations, happiness, anger. Therefore, it provides for the emotional expression of feelings which can be understood and provided with proper feedback.

Information

English communication facilitates decision-making, by passing information from one party to another. News channels, newspapers, current affairs all provide information regarding the daily events taking place in the word, this keeping one well informed.

3.2.          Importance of Communication to Manager

It is important for each employee in a company to possess effective communication skills. This is especially so for managers as they need to handle additional responsibilities or duties in improving employee productivity, teamwork, morale, and performance. If an aspiring or experienced manager wants to stay on the top of their game, then it's important to master communication, verbal, and nonverbal skills.

Any interaction a manager has with an employee can be considered as an opportunity to create a positive impact on both professional and personal fronts. There are several benefits to look forward to for managers having effective communication skills. Among different benefits that managers can anticipate to, are as follows:

Giving feedback to employees

It is the responsibility of managers to supply regular feedback to employees depending on their behavior and performance. Now, how well a manager communicates will choose the way employees receive their feedback. In a way, this may directly have a bearing on the way employees behave and perform going ahead. If the communication provided by the manager is concise and clear then employees are capable to perform better and behave properly in an organizational setup.

However, when the communication skills of managers are insufficient, a great deal of confusion and even decrease in productivity at workplaces are often seen. Therefore, whether in a one-on-one or group situation, managers ought to communicate well to make sure the team performance is on the correct track.

Relationships with other departments

Effective communication skills for managers are additionally important when the workers are required to influence other departments in a corporation, in one way or the other. More often than not, managers are required to interact with employees belonging to other departments for exchanging ideas and data. When a manager has excellent communication skills it helps build trust across various departments and enable them to work towards achieving an interdependent goal.

Conflict resolution

Managers ought to have excellent listening abilities if they were to enhance their communication skills. Managers who tend to listen better to their employees gain confidence from them and allow them to know that their opinions too count. This also helps employees to debate all their problems freely that are affecting their performances. When managers have excellent communication skills, they will be able to keep their team morale high and help resolve conflicts in time before they get out of hand.

Managing performances

To improve performance levels of employees, it's important for managers to hone their communication skills. Managers who exercise open and candid communication with their employees actually facilitate a two-way dialogue which is critical in executing performance-based appraisals.

Building teams

Effective communication skills for managers also help builds teams. For example, managers can use their communication skills to establish rules, define employee roles, encourage employees to formulate their own decisions, and procure goals for their teams. That’s not all; excellent communication skills also allow managers to increase morale, productivity, and team unity easily and effectively.

Role of Management in Internal Communication

It is important for an organization to systematically organize employee communication not only to deal with specific issues but for the long-term well-being of the organization. The role of management is extremely crucial in conveying their interest and their expectations towards their employees. They also need to follow the systematic steps for its implementation.

Giving them a close look at the organization: People want appreciation and belongingness in an organization where they spend maximum hours. Therefore, management should them to set up their goals, help them to make a systematic plan for getting over there. It should also empower them and make them feel confident about the value of their contribution toward those plans.

The younger generation of employees look for instant gratification and feedback. They get frustrated and require frequent interaction and feedback of their performance. They are in the digital era and they want constant information about their organization’s success and current levels. Therefore, a good organization value their employees, their trends and set the goals together to increase the feeling of teamwork and progress.

Management should create great goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound. As per a global survey conducted by LinkedIn, a social networking website for professionals found that 73% of its participants want a career in which they feel that their job matters. Therefore, it is proved that a well-functioning internal communication system can motivate employees to work toward a common goal. A company can shift their focus from “Why” to “What”.

Communicate:  The management should use a possible channel of communication to communicate with their employees the reality of an organization instead of letting them hear it from external means. Two main ingredients are needed to ensure that information comes from the right source, they are time required for the information to reach employees and the distribution of the information to all employees.

It is important for the management to establish a fast, interactive and reliable channel to reach all employees. They also need to create trust and transparency in their approach. This will enable corporates to remain in control of the messages they send, instead of leaving information susceptible to individual interpretations.

Empower and Support Middle Management: It is crucial for internal communication to make the chain of communication hierarchy most effective. It is not possible for top level authorities such as the board of directors to intervene and sort out trivial concerns. Hence, it is the responsibility of the middle level management get involved with their staff and provide smooth functioning of official work. For this purpose, they should be allowed to make certain decisions with less intervention.

A goal-oriented, specific and clear communication with people within the organization improves their productivity and create better managers. It is a responsibility of management to guide employees and help them function effectively.

Good internal communication helps an organization to gain a good image also before their customers. It helps customers to get the best from the organization. In a large distributed organization with thousands of employees, communication happens through management employees.

Limit Rumours and Enhance Transparency: Informal communication has its advantages and disadvantages. Grapevine word-of-mouth can sometimes help employees to interpret managerial information; it often reaches those who might have otherwise missed the original transmission, and it’s more flexible than formal communication. In addition, the grapevine helps to improve relationships between employees and it spreads knowledge and tips that can make work more effective. Providing both—a rumour-free environment and transparency—is central to a generation of employees (and customers) who are sceptical to the core.

3.3.          Elements of Communication, Feedback

The process of communication can be easily understood from the following flowchart:

The communication process comprises of the following components:

1. Sender: Sender is the individual who wants to send the message to the receiver. A sender makes effective use of words, symbols, pictures, graphs etc. available to him to construct the message. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender determine whether the message is approachable or not.

2.     Encoding: Since the subject matter of communication is theoretical and intangible, its further passing requires use of certain symbols such as words, actions or pictures etc. Conversion of subject matter into these symbols is the process of encoding.

3.     Message: The message comprises of the information that is to be exchanged between the sender and the receiver. The central idea of the message must be clear and should be easily understood by the receiver.

4.     Channel: The medium of communication should be chosen with respect to the purpose of the message and the ability of the receiver to comprehend it. Hence, the sender must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message. The channel can be oral or written, the use of oral medium is preferred when the message is urgent and requires an immediate response, the written medium is preferred when the message is technical and there is a need for it to be documented.

5.     Decoding: The person who receives the message or symbol from the communicator tries to convert the same in such a way so that he may extract its meaning to his complete understanding.

6.     Receiver: The receiver is the individual to whom the message is addressed. The ability of the receiver to decode the message depends on the knowledge of the receiver, the reliance of the encoder, responsiveness of the receiver to the message.

7.     Feedback: After the receiver receives the message he tries to decode it, understand it and tried to provide a proper feedback to the sender, who then tries to interpret the feedback.

8.     Noise: It is the hindrance in the process of communication. It can take place at any step in the entire process. It reduces the accuracy of communication e.g. 1) Disturbance in the telephone lines, 2) An inattentive receiver 3) Improper Decoding of Message etc.

Feedback

The communication process incorporates a cycle which continues even after sending message to the respondents. The audience or the respondents may or may not get identical intended message which the speaker intends to send. This cycle ends only if they share their understanding and comments to the speaker about what they need understood. This process is called feedback.

Feedback is crucial in communication as it allows the sender of the message to know whether his message is received by the receiver and if the message is understood by the receiver in the same manner as it was intended by the sender. Receivers are not just passive absorbers of messages they receive the message and express their opinion on the subject matter about what they have understood. This response of a receiver to sender’s message is termed Feedback. A feedback could also be non-verbal such as in the form of smiles, sighs and body language and other times, it is oral. It may also be in written form such as a replay to an e-mail, etc.

Feedback also enables us to evaluate the effectiveness of our message. It makes communication meaningful. It is the end-result of a concept and makes communication a continual process. If our audience doesn’t understand what we mean, we are able to tell by the response and so refine the message accordingly. Giving our audience an opportunity to produce feedback is crucial for maintaining an open communication climate. A suitable environment must be created by the speaker to encourage appropriate feedback. For example- after explaining the task to the subordinated he must ask them whether or not they have understood it or not. He should ask questions like “Do you understand?”, “Do you have any doubts?” etc. At the same time, he must allow his subordinated to provide their views also.

From the organizational point of view, feedback holds a crucial value. There are a number of ways through which company asks for feedback from their employees, such as: Employee surveys, memos, emails, open-door policies, company newsletter etc. Employees are not always willing to provide feedback. The organization needs to work plenty to urge the accurate feedback. The managers must encourage feedback by asking specific questions and allowing their employees to express general views, etc. All business must be receptive to their employee’s feedback.

Static communication creates a vacuum. The speaker assumes the message is received but has no feedback from the listener. This lack of feedback means the speaker fails to formulate the message in a way which assists the listener better to understand the speaker’s attitude and position. When businesses fail to form open feedback channels, they operate in a communication vacuum. Management and owners can’t improve their messages to employees, and workers aren’t ready to ask questions regarding operations or make suggestions for business improvement.

In general, we may quantify the subsequent importance of feedback in communication, either in a formal or informal setting.

1. It completes the entire process of communication and makes it continuous.

2. It sustains communication process

3. It makes one know if one is actually communication or making sense

4. It acts as a basis for measuring the effectiveness of communication

5. It is a good basis for planning on what next to be done especially statistical report

6. Communication will be useless without feedback

7. Feedback paves way for new idea generation

The basis being established here is that, feedback is the livewire of communication as communication is the livewire of human existence and interaction. The process of communication finishes only if the cycle winds up with feedback. Thus, feedback should be carefully considered before being put forward because of its significance.

3.4.          Directions and Dimensions of Communication

In a corporate structure, internal communication follows a hierarchical organization. Data can stream in four ways in an association: downward, upward, horizontally, and diagonally. The size, nature, and structure of the organization decides how and in which direction the information will flow. In more settled and conventional organizations, a great part of the correspondence streams in a vertical—downward and upward—heading. In informal firms, generally the information will flow horizontally and diagonally. This, obviously, is an element of the practically flat hierarchical progressive system.

Informal correspondences, for example, those conveyed in the organizational grapevine, show up in the both kinds of organizations.

Downward Communication Flows

Downward correspondence is when organization's managers and administrators share information with lower-level employees. In most cases the information transferred in a downward direction does not require a response. An instance might be a declaration of another CEO or notice of a merger with a different firm. Different types of higher-level downward communication incorporate speeches, web journals, digital broadcasts, and recordings. The most widely recognized ways of downward communication are daily mandates of office managers or line administrators to employees. These can even be in the form of instruction manuals or organization handbooks.

Downward correspondence conveys information that assists with notifying the workforce about key authoritative changes, new objectives, or procedures; give performance feedback at the hierarchical level; organize activities; present an official policy; or improve employee morale of consumer relations.

Upward Communication Flows

Data moving from lower-level employees to elevated level representatives is upward communication (also known as vertical communication). For instance, upward communication happens when employees report to an administrator or when team leaders report to an office manager. Things commonly conveyed upward incorporate progress reports, proposals for new projects, spending evaluations, complaints and grievances, proposals for upgrades, and scheduling concerns. In some cases, a downward communication prompts a response form a higher level in the hierarchical structure, for example, when an administrator requests a suggestion for a new part or to gauge when an unfinished project will be finished.

A significant objective of managers in organisations today is to energize unconstrained or wilful upward communication from employees without the need to ask first. A few organizations go as far as to organize competitions and give prizes to the most inventive and innovative solutions and recommendations. Before employees are able to provide innovative solutions however, they must be able to trust the management that it would now hijack or sabotage their contributions. A few associations have even introduced "informant" hotlines that will let representatives report perilous, unethical, or criminal operations namelessly to maintain a strategic distance from conceivable counter by higher-ups in the organization.

Horizontal Communication Flows

Horizontal correspondence includes the trading of data across divisions at a similar level in an association (i.e., peer to peer communication). The reason for most horizontal communication is to co-ordinate events and activities and request assistance. Individuals at a similar level in the association can cooperate to deal with issues or issues in a informal and casual basis. The manager of the production division can work with the purchase administrator to quicken or postpone the shipment of materials. The fund supervisor and stock administrators can be circled in with the goal that the association can achieve the maximum profit by the coordination. Communication between two workers who report to the same supervisor is additionally a case of horizontal communication. A few issues with horizontal communication can emerge on the off chance that one manager is reluctant or unmotivated to share data, or considers endeavours to be work commonly as compromising his position (regional conduct). For a situation like that, the administrator at the next level of the hierarchy should convey downward to fortify the organization's value of co-operation.

Diagonal Communication Flows

Diagonal communication is the exchange of data among the various departments of the organisation. For instance, if the VP of sales sends an email to the VP of manufacturing asking when an item will be accessible for delivery, this is a case of horizontal communication. But if a sales representative communicates with the director of manufacturing, that would be an example of diagonal communication. At whatever point correspondence moves between different departments division, the sender's manager ought to be made a part of the loop. An administrator might be placed in a humiliating position and seem awkward in the event that he doesn't know about everything occurring in his department. Trust might be lost and careers harmed if key communication protocols are not followed properly.

External Communication Flows

Communication doesn't always begin and stop inside the association. External communication is the communication conducted outside of the association. For Example, the public relation departments with the help of senior management often deals with the image of the company in public eye. First-level and center level administration for the most part handle operational business interchanges, for example, buying, recruiting, and advertising. When communicating outside the association (paying little heed to the level), it is significant for representatives to carry on expertly and not to make commitments outside of their extent of power.

3.5.          Means of Communication: Verbal Communication SWOC Analysis

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is the type of communication that includes the utilization of language and words to pass on the intended message. Verbal Communication implies communication though spoken form only. Be that as it may, with regards to forms of communication, verbal communication can be in the spoken or the written structure. Therefore, the verbal form of communication may contain oral as well as written communication as discussed below:

Written Communication: This sort of correspondence includes any sort of trade of data in the composed structure. For instance, messages, emails, letters, reports, SMS, posts via web-based networking media, records, handbooks, banners, flyers, and so on.

Oral Communication: This type of communication is carried out orally through direct or indirect channels. Sound is the only channel through which oral communication can take place. Face to face conversations, chatrooms, voice podcast, telephone conversations are some examples of oral communication.

Verbal communication can be divided into 3 types:

1. Interpersonal communication: This type of communication takes place between two individuals. It can be face-to-face, telephonic or written. The two individuals here will assume the role of sender and receiver in the communication process.
2. Group communication: Here more than two people exchange information and ideas. Press conferences, social gatherings, board meeting, and group discussions are some examples of group communication.
3. Public communication: In this type of communication, one individual addresses, a large group of people. This is usually a one-way conversation except for questionnaires and feedback. Election speeches, presentations, public speeches are some examples of public communication.

Conversations and Their Types

Conversations are a tool and a vehicle for expressing ideas, feelings and experiences are very important. It's a great sight and a blessing and is one of the most important ways of preserving and expanding knowledge. One can better reveal one's mind, intentions, ideas, purpose and personality through word of mouth or speech. The man is known by his words and expressions. Speech expresses the inner man’s personality, thoughts and feelings.

Conversation is also participation, cooperation and communication. These are the best ways to communicate with a talk and the oldest and richest. Our oldest and most important religious and spiritual activities have been through oral communication, discussions and discussions. The promotion of information is vital to success, social interaction, business, learning and education. In a broad and general sense, the discussion is very comprehensive and includes speech, talk and public discourse. In conversation a talk is put on three-to-three people but in an interview or lecture it reaches a lot of people who make up a large audience.

In addition, talking is more or less an option. While conversation is about intimacy, education, equal participation, warmth, respect, etc. Good and pleasant conversation is an art in which the heart and mind are completely involved. It is respectful, fun, smart, endearing and intimate. Conversational art is crucial to influencing people to make friends, increase following and achieve success. It can be cultivated and developed. It is a great way to be caught by training, practice, patience and persistence.

The Four Types of Conversations: Debate, Dialogue, Discourse, and Diatribe:
 

When you talk to someone, it helps to know what kind of conversation you are having. You can do that depending on the direction of the communication (a one-way street or two) tone / purpose (competition or collaboration).

When you talk to someone, you talk with somebody, rather than to somebody. When in a two-way conversation, participants listen and speak. In a competitive discussion, people are more concerned about their opinion, and in collaborative discussions participants are more inclined to view everyone involved.

Based on understanding and voice, I have organized the discussion into four types: debate, dialogue, speech and diatribe.

• Debate is a competitive, two-way conversation. The goal is to win an argument or to convince someone, such as a participant or a sidekick.
• Dialogue is a collaborative, two-way conversation. The role of the participants is to exchange information and build relationships with others.
• Discourse is a collaborative, harmonious conversation. The purpose is to bring information from the speaker / author to the audience / readers.
• Diatribe is a competitive and one-way conversation. The goal is to express feelings, to attack those who disagree with you, and / or to include those with the same opinion.
   

To highlight the differences between these types of conversations, let's use politics as an example:

SWOC Analysis

A SWOC analysis is a way to evaluate Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges. This analysis can be performed for a product, team, organization, leadership or other entities. SWOC analyses are used in many business environments to gain a better understanding of how to plan for the future.

A SWOC analysis is a tool you can use both personally and at work to evaluate and make decisions about a particular subject. In this analysis, you will be able to investigate both internal and external factors. Internal factors are positive (strengths) or negative (weaknesses) factors that exist within your organization and are ready to be changed or affected in some way. External factors are positive (opportunities) or negative (challenges) factors that exist outside of the subject you are evaluating and cannot necessarily be changed or affected by you or your organization in any way.

1. Strengths

The analysis of strengths should record internal, positive attributes of the organization, individual, product or other entity you're evaluating. Some questions you may ask to know strengths are:

• What are your positive qualities?
• What achievements have you made?
• What helps you accomplish goals?
• What resources do you have?
• What are your specialties?
• What sets you apart from others?

2. Weaknesses

Your weaknesses analysis will capture all internal areas of improvement or vulnerabilities that exist within the area you're evaluating. Some questions you may ask to know weaknesses are:

• Internally, what makes it difficult to achieve goals?
• What are your areas for improvement?
• What are you lacking (resources, technology, people, etc.)?
• What do you need to tackle long-term goals?

3. Opportunities

The opportunities section should incorporate all external opportunities relevant to the undertaken subject. Some questions you may ask to know opportunities are:

• What products, services or information is trending with your audience?
• Are there external resources you'll be able to use to attain goals?
• Can you benefit from any current economic or market trends?
• What technology will be popular in the near future?
• How do stakeholders view your brand, product or service?

4. Challenges

Your challenges section should include all external threats that could have a negative effect on your subject. Some questions you might ask to understand challenges are:

• Is market health expected to be bad or turbulent?
• Is your brand, product or service not needed?
• Do competitors have a certain edge over you?
• How does your audience, industry or market view your company?
• What could put your business at risk?
• Are there potential new competitors on the horizon?

Use of SWOC Analysis

SWOC analyses are used to gain more information about all aspects of an issue, team, individual or other entity. These evaluations are used in many businesses in nearly every industry as well as personally for individuals to assess their progress towards certain goals. Many people use SWOC analysis before they set team or organization goals to ensure they are working towards appropriate milestones.

These types of evaluations can be employed in a variety of situations. Here are several instances for when a SWOC analysis would be beneficial.

• When deciding on a new hire
• When designing a new product
• When reviewing performance of a team or group
• When reviewing performance of an individual
• When evaluating an audience or market
• When analysing a product for improvement
• When analysing a process for inefficiencies
• When deciding where or how to focus resources
• When determining your personal effectiveness in a role
• When determining your strengths for a new role

Performing a SWOC Analysis

Below are the steps involved in performing a SWOC analysis:

Clearly define the subject you are analysing. Clearly define what subject you want to analyse, whether it is progress towards a specific goal, performance of a team or a particular question about a product or market. This will provide you with clearer insights, which will ultimately lead to a a better overall evaluation. Here are some example subjects for analysis:

• January performance of inside sales team
• Personal readiness to acquire an executive assistant job
• Evaluating social media marketing strategy

Draw the framework. To perform the SWOC analysis, create a large box divided into four squares. In the top-right square, you will record strengths. In the top-left square you will record weaknesses. In the bottom-right square, you will record opportunities. In the bottom-left square, you will record threats.

If you are doing a personal SWOC, feel free to draw it on a notepad or work on an online document or spreadsheet. If you are doing a SWOC with a team, it might be helpful to draw the framework on a whiteboard or project the SWOC so everyone is able to see and contribute. The framework of a SWOC analysis may be skipped if you feel it would be easier to simply write them down in order on a document.

Work through each square. Give ample time while filling each square considering internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities and external threats. If the analysis is being performed with a team, it can be helpful to have everyone participate. This will bring various points of view to help provide a more holistic understanding of the SWOC.

Draw conclusions and key takeaways. After completing each section, give yourself time to understand how the recorded information helps inform your analysis. For instance, if you are performing a SWOC on a job candidate, does it reflect that they are a good fit? Do their positive qualities help fill a major skill set gap at the company? Can their weaknesses or threats be overcome?

After completing the SWOC, it can be helpful to revisit after a certain amount of time. For example, if your SWOC revealed certain weaknesses you are working to improve for a promotion, you might revisit your SWOC after working on those areas. This may help you attain a better understanding of how the work has changed after working towards certain goals.