Notes - Growth Share Matrix

My new plan, as I hinted at in the State of the 102 nation post, is to repost notes that I made as an undergraduate. It won't be answering questions, but it will be giving a little bit of information about a number of relatively diverse topics.

Today, the BCG Growth Share Matrix. BCG stands for Boston Consulting Group and this is a way of planning the direction that you take your strategic business units go.

Organisations are made up of SBUs that compete in different markets. Market share generates cash, market growth uses it.

Stars grow quickly and both consume and generate a lot of cash. Stars are the future of the organisation and their position should be protected. Managed right, stars can become cash cows.
Cash Cowsare mature and support the rest of the organisation's SBUs financially. Windows is a cash cow. Organisations protect their cash cows.
Problem children need lots of funding to survive, let alone grow. Firms should select 1 or 2 children to develop into stars and ignore the rest. They should look to increase their market share.
Dogs do not warrant further investment. They come from failed risky ventures. Dogs should be liquidated or have their revenue collected as they die.