Archive

Friday, March 11, 2011

Resource Sharing and the BCG Matrix

A BCG Matrix serves to graphically illustrate the cash flow relationships of different divisions within a multidivisional firm. A BCG matrix can only be created if competitors within the industry report financial information by segment, (David, 2011, p. 185). For each industry the relative market share is calculated by comparing the company’s market share with that of their largest rival, and the industry growth rate is calculated by comparing the company’s financials by segment with those of their competitors. The matrices are therefore reliable to the extent that competitors within the various industries of a multidivisional organization report financial information by segment and also to the extent that all of the divisions within a company are represented. If all of their divisions are not represented within the matrix, they cannot accurately report on these cash flow relationships.
Generally organizations fail to support high market share products with low sales growth potential, or “cash cows”, preferring to rely upon them as income generating products. Alternatively they extensively fund products with low market share and high sales growth potential, or “question marks”, in the quest to turn them into “stars”. However, context is the key when interpreting a BCG matrix. It is dangerous for organizations to strategize according to what might be an oversimplified BCG matrix, however if the divisions do in fact accurately represent the entity, then profits generated by products in one division can be used to fund the development and introduction of products in another division.
Although one division can be used to generate cash flow for another division, one should be cautious in failing to support growth in both divisions. John A. Seeger states that in increasingly competitive economies no company should fail to support growth from a unit simply because it is not supposed to grow, (1984). Seeger also states that the necessary investment in high market share product divisions for these divisions to continue producing creatively is generally small and that no company can afford to reject good ideas in times of diminished economic growth.
David Collis and Cynthia Montgomery outline five factors that a division’s resources must have before they are strategically conducive to sharing; 1. The resource must be hard to copy, 2. It must depreciate slowly, 3. You must be in control of its value, 4. It cannot be easily substituted, and 5. It must be superior to your competitors, (2008). I would utilize these five factors to perform an analysis of the products produced by the electronics division before making a decision to invest too heavily to determine to what extent the organization should expect to rely upon these products for future growth. Comparatively an analysis of these five factors for the products in the appliances division would serve to determine how reliable this division is for supporting the development of the electronics division. Additionally, I would evaluate the research and development and the marketing budgets for both of the divisions to ensure that the resources are appropriately distributed, although there may be little industry sales growth potential in the appliance division, development and diversification of the product lines may be important here and it could still potentially be important to keep this division energized in order to maintain the high market share. Through resource sharing the question marks in the electronics division can become stars, but it is a balancing act in that if it fails to realize enough market share and industry growth to recoup the development and marketing budgets, and as technology changes quickly, what you could end up with an expensive dog.

References:

Collis, D. & Montgomery, C. (2008, July-August). Competing on resources. Harvard Business Review, 86 (7/8), 140-150. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.
David, F. R. (2011). Strategic management: concepts and cases (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall.
Seeger, J. A. (1984, January/March). Research note and communication: reversing the images of BCG’s growth/share matrix. Strategic Management Journal, 5(1), 93-97. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.

No comments:

resume

David Hector Thibodeau

1045 Wylie Street SE • Atlanta, GA 30316

• davidhectorthibodeau@gmail.com



Professional Experience:



Georgia College & State University - Milledgeville, GA 31061 2008 - Present

www.gcsu.edu



­Serials/Acquisitions Coordinator

­• Establish policies and procedures for the efficient operation of the Serials and Acquisitions Department, oversees database maintenance and quality, and processing of materials.

­• Supervise full-time faculty, staff, and student positions.

­• Manage electronic serials collection using electronic management software systems.

­• Update bibliographic holdings for serials collection using standard library utilities.

­• Direct all major projects and daily activities involving the management of the serials collection.

­• Oversee participation in National Library of Medicine’s DOCLINE ILL program.

­• Meet with department faculty to review their acquisitions needs and serve as a library liaison with academic departments.

­• Provides assistance and advice to the Dean/University Librarian in the overall administration of the library, including strategic planning and the establishment of overall goals and objectives.

­• Assist library administration in monitoring the budget and expenditures, recommends equipment, supplies, personnel, and other needs. Perform fiscal period close in Voyager integrated library system.

­• Serve as primary liaison to vendors and as the technical contact for electronic databases, including setting up trials, negotiating licensing agreements, managing SLAs, and authoring RFQs and other correspondence.

­• Participate in collection development to support the curriculum by recommending acquisitions and participating in the evaluation of current collections.

­• Develop and prepare statistical and narrative reports.

­• Provide reference services as assigned.



KPMG LLP - Atlanta, GA 10/2003 - 10/2007

http://www.kpmg.com/



­Southeast Area Library Associate

­• Relocated from Miami to Atlanta by KPMG due to assuming additional offices in 2006.

­• Reference, research, and collection management for fifteen Southeast area libraries.

­• Developed on-line training sessions for proprietary accounting research platform.

­• Set up, developed, and administered SharePoint internal collaboration web site.

­• Liaison to National Operations teams on SharePoint development.

­• Redeveloped external acquisitions web site to be high functioning and suitable for firm-wide use.

­• Collaborated with marketing department to improve collateral for delivery to clients and targets.

­• Account contact and administrator for firm-wide on-line subscription.

­• Coordinated development of the Latin American Tax Handbook between the European Tax Centre, the Latin American Tax Center, and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.

­• Led a team to develop an electronic tool to survey library users.

­• Appointed Work Environment Initiative Local Action Committee Representative in South Florida.

­• Promoted from Area Library Coordinator to Area Library Associate and relocated from Boston to Miami in 2003; originally responsible for library collections, acquisitions, vendor relations, and accounts in 13 Northeast area offices.



KPMG LLP - Boston, MA 03/200- - 10/2003

http://www.kpmg.com/



­Northeast Area Library Coordinator

­• Implemented integrated library system software in area libraries.

­• Assisted in creating a collection development database on MS Access to track expenditures.

­• Substantially decreased print purchases through resource sharing and eliminating duplicative materials.

­• Developed electronic process for Partners to select and order professional literature annually that resulted in $60K savings in the Northeast in the first year, (project adopted firm wide).

­• Piloted on-line access to tax literature platform in Northeast Area that resulted in over $25K cost savings in Northeast area and a wider distribution of resources, (project adopted firm wide).

­• Coordinated and developed training programs for Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, and other information platforms for professionals and support staff, (project adopted firm wide).



Education:



American Intercontinental University

­• 2010 – Present, MBA – Project Management Concentration



­Simmons College--Boston, MA

­• Summer 2000; audited - Knowledge Management

­• Summer 1999; audited- Management of Information Technology

­• 1996-1998 MLIS, Graduate School of Library and Information Science



­Boston College--Newton, MA

­• 1984-1988 BA, College of Arts and Sciences: Double Major: English and Psychology





­Hebrew University--Jerusalem, Israel

­• Summer 1988 & summer 1990, Assistant Archaeological Field Supervisor and associated graduate level classes.



Leadership:



Georgia Leadership Institute – State Personnel Administration

­• 2009 – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People



­Florida Library Leadership Program -- Tallahassee, FL

­• 2005-2006 - Year-long comprehensive series of learning sessions that focuses on developing an understanding of leadership, within a conceptual framework and practical applications.



Certifications:



Emory University - Center for Lifelong Learning – Atlanta, GA

­• 2008 - Emory University: Management Certification.

­• Courses included: Essentials of Personnel Management, Win-Win Negotiations, Essentials of Supervision, Essentials of Motivation, and Essentials of Coaching for Managers.



­New Horizons--Boston, MA

­• 2002 - Certified Internet Webmaster – Foundation Fundamentals

­• Courses included: Networking, Internet, and Web-Page Authoring Fundamentals.



Professional Memberships:

SLA Georgia Chapter Board Member 2009 - Present

­Tennis Club II Condominium Association President, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2005-2006

­Member: ALA, NASIG, CIP



Skills / Strengths:

• Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, Factiva, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, & other information databases.

­• Conversational French, some Spanish

­• MS office: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, Visio, and Project.