Swot Analysis

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS

-Santos Munguia has political experience, is viewed as natural leader and is supported by cooperative members

-Support of USAID to aid in development

-Management style and leadership congruent with Honduran culture

-First group to have exclusive rights to these trees

-Steady cooperative membership

-Cooperative provided great benefit to its members and their quality of life strengthening bonds with each other and the cooperative

WEAKNESSES

-Insufficient capital to purchase transportation and production equipment increase production capacity and bypass distributor

-All members minimally educated or illiterate

-Insufficient resources to add value to product

-No successor identified to replace Manguia if he becomes more involved with politics

-All members have very little knowledge of business

-No formal business procedure or business records on progress of the cooperative

-Very little money from operations was reinvested for capital improvements that could further increase profitability

-Some members questioned distribution of funds in form of wages/salary

-Lack of alternative transportation options

OPPORTUNITIES

-Cooperative will continue to have exclusive rights to naturally downed mahogany as long as they stick to the agreement

-Could double revenues if able to transport to major market centers and sell without a distributor

-Potential to contract to furniture makers in various towns around Honduras

-Potential to export via U.S. exporter who had worked with other furniture makers around Honduras in the past

-Increased environmental awareness

THREATS

-Deforestation due to illegal logging, forest fires and slash-and-burn agriculture

-International trading would be restricted

-Extraction is labour intensive, time consuming and dependent on weather conditions

-Size and growth of Guajilote limited by mahogany available to be produced

-Transportation of