30+mba-第64部分
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strategy as both are relative unknowns。 Avoid； unless all other strategies
have been exhausted。 Diversification can be further subdivided into
four categories of increasing risk profile：
– Horizontal diversification （entirely new product into current market）。
– Vertical diversification （move backwards into firms supplier’s or
forward into customer’s business）。
Strategy 271
– Concentric diversification （new product closely related to current
products either in terms of technology or marketing presence but
into a new market）。
– Conglomerate diversification （pletely new product into a new
market）。
Boston Matrix
Developed in 1969 by the Boston Consulting Group （see above）； this tool
can be used in conjunction with the life…cycle concept （see Chapter 3；
Product/Service Life Cycle） to plan a portfolio of product/service offers。
The thinking behind the matrix is that a pany’s products and services
should be classified according to their cash generating or consumption
ability against two dimensions： the market growth rate and the pany’s
market share （Figure 12。4）。 Cash is used as the measure rather than profit；
as that is the real resource used to invest in new offers。 The objective then
is to use the positive cash flow generated from ‘cash cows’； usually mature
products that no longer need heavy marketing support budgets； to invest
in ‘stars’； that is； fast…growing； usually newer products； positioned in
markets in which the pany already has a high market share – usually
newer markets。 ‘Dogs’ should be disinvested and ‘question marks’ limited
in number and watched carefully to see if they are more likely to bee
stars or dogs。
Figure 12。4 The Boston Matrix
High Market Share Low
High
Low
Market Growth
STAR
Cash generated ＋＋＋
Cash used … … …
0
QUESTION MARK
Cash generated ＋＋＋
Cash used … … …
STAR
Cash generated ＋＋＋
Cash used …
0
STAR
Cash generated ＋
Cash used …
0
272 The Thirty…Day MBA
The GE–McKinsey Directional Policy Matrix
General Electric was much taken by the visual aspect of the Boston Matrix
and was using it to enhance its own performance using another consulting
firm； McKinsey and pany； to help。 Between them； in 1971 they came
up with a variant and in some ways an improvement by substituting
business strength and industry a。。ractiveness for market share and market
growth rate。 The logic being that although these are subjective measures；
they are more accessible than market growth and share； as these are hard
to establish and in any event the figures are themselves largely subjective
suppositions based largely on opinions （Figure 12。5）。
Figure 12。5 The GE–McKinsey directional policy matrix
Low Medium High
Business strength
Low Medium High
Industry attractiveness
Other matrix variations
A dozen or so other similar matrices are in use； each with their own strengths
and weaknesses。 Arthur D Li。。le Inc； a management consultancy founded
in 1886； based in Cambridge； Massachuse。。s； came up with its own matrix
in the late 1970s； using petitive position and industry maturity as the
directions。 Two business school professors； Gary Hamel （London Business
School） and C K Prahalad （University of Michigan）； developed a matrix in
1994 as an aid in se。。ing specific acquisition and deployment goals。 Other
academics； in the United States （Charles W Hofer and Dan Schendel） and
in the UK （Cranfield colleagues Malcolm McDonald and Cliff Bowman） as
well as panies such as Shell have all added twists to the basic matrix
strategy tool。
Cipher Systems （cipher…sys/analysis。htm）； a US consultancy
firm； provides a collection of strategic analysis tutorials on these and other
matrices。
Strategy 273
The long…run return pyramid
Another helpful strategy too is the long…run return pyramid； which is in
effect a checklist of growth options。 None of the options are mutually exclusive
and the tool does not provide for any form of evaluation。 Nevertheless；
it can be a valuable aide…mémoire to ensure that no stone has been
le。。 unturned during the strategic review process。 The pyramid’s pedigree
is unknown； but it is loosely based on the DuPont’s Return on Investment
Pyramid； used to trace all the performance ratios that influenced return on
investment。 The pyramid in the form shown in Figure 12。6 is a。。ributed to
Robert Brown； a senior academic at Cranfield School of Management。
Figure 12。6 The long…run return pyramid
New
markets
New
products
Increase
usage
rate
Win
petitors’
customers
Innovate pete
Volume
Improve
product
mix
Increase
price
Variable
costs
Fixed costs
Increase margins Cut costs
Productivity
Long…run returns
PEST （political； economic； social and
technological）
This is a framework predating Porter’s five forces approach that categorizes
the external factors that influence strategy under headings such as political；
economic； social and technological forces。 O。。en two additional factors；
environmental and legal； are added； changing the acronym to PESTEL
analysis （Figure 12。7）。
Figure 12。7 PESTEL analysis framework
Factor Event Impact Timing Proposed response
Political
Economic
Social
Technological
Environmental
Legal
274 The Thirty…Day MBA
IMPLEMENTING STRATEGY – BUSINESS
PLANS
All the thinking that goes into devising and shaping strategy has to be set
out in a form that will ensure it can be successfully implemented。 That form
is a business plan se。。ing out in detail the role each part of the organization
has to play for the next three to five years。 That period is needed as
recognizing an opportunity； developing a product or service to exploit that
opportunity and bringing that product to market all take time and the plan
has to enpass all these stages to be of any value。 The dichotomy here is
that while strategy takes time for the results to show； the world in which the
business is implementing its plans is changing。 As one military strategist
succinctly put it – all plans disintegrate on contact with the enemy。 So
three… to five…year business plans need to be reviewed fundamentally each
year and progress monitored at least quarterly。
Preparing business plans is a task that MBAs are invariably expected
to be able to carry out。 It calls for the broad level of understanding of all
aspects of the business – cash flow； profit margins； funding issues； marketing
and selling； staffing and structures； production； operations； research and
development； supply chain etc – that few others in the organization are
likely to have。 It is an opportunity for an MBA to broaden and deepen
their relationships with all key executives as well as the board of directors。
So o。。en tedious and always time consuming； the task of preparing business
plans should be weled as a career progression opportunity par
excellence。
Structure of the business plan
The plan is in essence the route map from where the business is to where
it wants to get and how it will go about ge。。ing to its destination – the
roles and responsibilities of key players； the resources required in terms
of money； people and materials and so forth。 While there is much debate
about exactly what should go into the business plan and how it should be
laid out； there is no doubt that it is the essential tool for ensuring that a
well…thought…out strategy is executed successfully too。
This is the suggested general layout for a business plan as used on
the MBA programme at Cranfield and； from observation at international
business plan petitions； seems to be fairly universal。
Executive summary
This is the most important part of the plan and will form the heart of any
presentation to the board； shareholders or prospective investors。 Wri。。en
Strategy 275
last； this should be punchy； short – ideally one page but never more than
two – and should enthuse any reader。 Its primary purpose is to excite and
inspire an audience to want to read the rest of the business plan。
The executive summary should start with a succinct table showing past
performance in key areas and future objectives。 This will give readers a
clear view of the business’s capacity to perform as well as the scale of the
task ahead （Table 12。1）。
Table 12。1 Executive summary – history and projections
Last
year
This
year
Business area Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
etc
Sales turnover by product/service
1。
2。 etc
Total sales
Gross profit％
Operating profit ％
Total staff nos
Sales staff nos
Capital employed
Return on capital employed ％
Then the executive summary should continue with sections covering the
following areas：
。 what the primary products/services are and why they are be。。er or
different from what is around now；
。 which markets/customer groups will most need what you plan to offer
and why；
。 how close you are to being ready to sell your product/service and what
if anything remains to be done；
。 why your organization has the skills and expertise to execute this
strategy and if new or additional people are required； who they are or
how you will recruit them；
。 financial projections showing in summary the sales； profit； margins and
cash position over the next three to five years；
。 how the business will operate； sketching out the key steps； from buying
in any raw materials through to selling； delivering and ge。。ing paid；
。 what physical resources – equipment； premises – the plan calls for。
276 The Thirty…Day MBA
The contents – putting flesh on the bones
Unlike the executive summary； which is structured to reveal the essence of
your business proposition； the plan itself should follow a logical sequence
such as this：
。 Vision： A vision’s purpose is to stretch the organization’s reach beyond
its grasp。 Generally； few people concerned with the pany can now
see how the vision is to be achieved； but all concerned agree that it
would be great if it could be。 Once your vision bees reality it may
be time for a new challenge； or perhaps even a new business。
。 Mission： A mission statement explains concisely what you do； who you
