The Boston Box: Understanding and Applying the Growth-Share Matrix for Strategic Portfolio Management

What is the Boston Box. How does the Growth-Share Matrix work. Why is the Boston Box important for portfolio management. When should companies use the Boston Box. What are the limitations of the Boston Box model. How can businesses apply insights from the Boston Box. What alternatives exist to the Boston Box for portfolio analysis.

The Origins and Concept of the Boston Box

The Boston Box, also known as the Growth-Share Matrix, is a strategic planning tool developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the early 1970s. It was conceived by BCG’s founder, Bruce D. Henderson, and his colleagues as a method for corporate portfolio management. The model’s primary purpose is to help businesses analyze their product or business unit portfolio and make informed decisions about resource allocation.

At its core, the Boston Box categorizes products or business units based on two key factors:

• Relative market share (horizontal axis)
• Market growth rate (vertical axis)

By plotting these factors on a 2×2 matrix, the Boston Box creates four quadrants, each representing a different strategic position. These quadrants are typically labeled as:

1. Stars
2. Cash Cows
3. Question Marks (or Problem Children)
4. Dogs

Each category suggests different strategies for managing the product or business unit, with the overarching goal of creating a balanced portfolio that generates sustainable cash flow and growth.

Understanding the Four Quadrants of the Growth-Share Matrix

To effectively use the Boston Box, it’s crucial to understand the characteristics and implications of each quadrant:

Stars

Stars are products or business units with high market share in high-growth markets. They typically require significant investment to maintain their leading position but also have the potential to generate substantial returns. How should companies manage their Stars? The general strategy is to invest heavily to capitalize on the growth opportunity and solidify market leadership.

Cash Cows

Cash Cows have a high market share in low-growth markets. These mature products or business units generate more cash than they consume, making them valuable assets. What’s the best approach for Cash Cows? The typical strategy is to “milk” these units for cash, which can then be reinvested in more promising areas of the business.

Question Marks

Question Marks, also known as Problem Children, have low market share in high-growth markets. They require significant investment to grow their market share but have the potential to become Stars. How should companies handle Question Marks? Businesses must carefully evaluate each Question Mark to decide whether to invest heavily to improve its market position or divest if the investment seems unlikely to pay off.

Dogs

Dogs have low market share in low-growth markets. These units typically generate low profits or may even operate at a loss. What’s the recommended strategy for Dogs? In most cases, the advice is to divest or liquidate these units, as they consume resources that could be better allocated elsewhere.

Calculating Relative Market Share and Market Growth Rate

To accurately place products or business units on the Boston Box, it’s essential to understand how to calculate the two key metrics:

Relative Market Share

Relative market share is calculated by dividing the product’s market share by the market share of the largest competitor. For example:

• If your product has a 30% market share and the largest competitor has a 40% share, your relative market share is 0.75 (30% / 40%).
• If your product leads the market with a 50% share and the next largest competitor has 25%, your relative market share is 2.0 (50% / 25%).

A relative market share greater than 1.0 indicates market leadership.

Market Growth Rate

The market growth rate is typically calculated as the percentage increase in market size over a specific period, usually one year. For instance:

• If the market size was $100 million last year and is projected to be $110 million this year, the market growth rate is 10%.

The Boston Box typically uses a 10% growth rate as the dividing line between high and low growth markets, though this can be adjusted based on industry norms.

Strategies Derived from the Boston Box Analysis

The Boston Box not only categorizes products or business units but also suggests strategies for each category. These strategies aim to optimize resource allocation and maintain a balanced portfolio:

Build

This strategy is typically applied to Question Marks with high potential. It involves increasing investment to grow market share, potentially transforming them into Stars. How can companies execute a Build strategy? This may involve increased marketing spend, product improvements, or expansion into new markets.

Hold

Often used for Stars and strong Cash Cows, this strategy aims to maintain the current market position. What does a Hold strategy entail? It typically involves continued investment to match market growth and defend against competitors.

Harvest

This strategy is commonly applied to Cash Cows and some Dogs. The goal is to maximize short-term cash flow without significant investment. How is a Harvest strategy implemented? This might involve reducing costs, raising prices, or decreasing marketing spend.

Divest

Usually recommended for Dogs and weak Question Marks, this strategy involves selling or liquidating the business unit. Why consider divestment? It frees up resources that can be better used elsewhere in the portfolio.

Practical Application of the Boston Box in Modern Business

While the Boston Box was developed in a different economic era, it can still provide valuable insights for modern businesses when applied thoughtfully. Here are some considerations for using the Boston Box today:

Adapt the Metrics

In rapidly changing markets, traditional market share and growth metrics may not tell the whole story. How can businesses adapt the Boston Box? Consider incorporating additional metrics such as customer loyalty, innovation rate, or digital engagement to provide a more comprehensive view.

Consider Market Dynamics

Today’s markets can shift rapidly due to technological disruption or changing consumer preferences. How should this affect Boston Box analysis? Regularly reassess the position of products or business units and be prepared to adjust strategies quickly.

Balance Short-term and Long-term Goals

While the Boston Box emphasizes cash flow, modern businesses must also consider long-term sustainability and innovation. How can companies strike this balance? Don’t automatically divest all Dogs; some may have strategic value or potential for reinvention.

Use as Part of a Broader Analysis

The Boston Box should not be used in isolation. How can it complement other tools? Combine it with SWOT analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, or other strategic frameworks for a more comprehensive view of your business landscape.

Limitations and Criticisms of the Boston Box Model

While the Boston Box can be a useful tool, it’s important to be aware of its limitations:

Oversimplification

The model reduces complex business realities to just two dimensions. How might this be problematic? It may overlook important factors such as competitive dynamics, regulatory environment, or technological trends.

Focus on Market Share

The model assumes that higher market share always leads to higher profitability. Is this always true? In some industries, niche players with low market share can be highly profitable.

Static View

The Boston Box provides a snapshot in time but doesn’t account for how quickly positions can change in dynamic markets. How can businesses address this? Regular reassessment and flexible strategic planning are crucial.

Difficulty in Defining Markets

In today’s interconnected business world, defining market boundaries can be challenging. How does this affect Boston Box analysis? Unclear market definitions can lead to misclassification of products or business units.

Alternatives and Complementary Models to the Boston Box

While the Boston Box remains a popular tool, several other models have been developed to address its limitations or provide different perspectives:

GE-McKinsey Nine-Box Matrix

This model expands on the Boston Box by considering industry attractiveness and business unit strength across multiple factors. How does it differ from the Boston Box? It provides a more nuanced view but requires more data and analysis.

Ansoff Matrix

This tool focuses on growth strategies by considering market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. How can it complement the Boston Box? It can help in developing strategies for Stars and Question Marks.

Blue Ocean Strategy

Rather than focusing on existing market spaces, this approach encourages creating new, uncontested market spaces. How does this contrast with the Boston Box? It emphasizes innovation and value creation over market share battles.

Balanced Scorecard

This strategic planning and management system aims to balance financial measures with operational measures. How can it enhance Boston Box analysis? It provides a more holistic view of business performance and strategic alignment.

In conclusion, the Boston Box remains a valuable tool for strategic portfolio analysis when used appropriately. By understanding its strengths, limitations, and potential adaptations, businesses can leverage this classic model alongside other strategic frameworks to make more informed decisions about resource allocation and portfolio management. As with any strategic tool, the key lies in applying it thoughtfully and in context, rather than adhering rigidly to its prescriptions.

The Boston Box or Growth-Share-Matrix

The Boston Box is a well-known tool for corporate portfolio management. It is striking for its simplicity. All information needed is easily obtainable and the conclusions are straightforward. However, it is exactly this simplicity that makes the Boston Box – or Growth-Share-Matrix – a false friend.
This article explains the theory, discusses strategies to be derived, and gives advice on practical application, problems and the models relevance today

Key Takeaways for the busy reader

The Boston Box is a tool for portfolio management. The idea is to develop a balanced portfolio of products or business units that either generate or consume cash. The Boston Box – or Growth-Share-Matrix – was named after the Boston Consulting Group, since it was developed by BCG’s founder, Bruce D. Henderson and his colleagues.

(all quotas from Henderson in this post are taken from The Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives)

The tool clusters products or business units by two characteristics:

• Their relative market share (horizontal axis) and
• The growth of their markets (vertical axis)

The Boston Box or Growth-Share-Matrix

The four clusters indicate how valuable a product is now (market share) and in future (market growth). This, in turn, indicates a products ability to generate cash or their need for cash. In Henderson’s terms, cash generation is the ultimate measure of success for any product or business unit.

Norm strategies can be derived for all four clusters.

• The best known strategy derived from the Boston box probably is that the cash generated from Cash Cows should be invested into the Question Marks in order to increase their relative market share.
• Dogs should be abandoned, of course.

However, we have to remember the historical context of this management model. It dates back to the early 70s – at time when external conditions were fairly stable and growth was the objective. In order to achieve valid results under the current economic conditions, we have to think a step further.

The Boston Box described – The theory

Idea and historical context

The Boston Box model was developed in the early 70s of the 20^th century. That was the time of expansion strategies and portfolio management. External conditions were fairly stable, compared to our times. Innovation cycles and economic cycles were much longer; even competitors’ moves were predictable to some extent. Businesses were focused at stable growth.

Under these conditions, businesses needed a tool that enabled them to find the optimal composition of their product portfolio. The objective was a balanced mix of products or activities in different phases of their lifecycle with different levels of cash generation or absorption.

As Henderson wrote in 1970

To be successful, a company should have a portfolio of products with different growth rates and different market shares. The portfolio composition is a function of the balance between cash flows. High-growth products require cash input to grow. Low-growth products should generate excess cash. Both kinds are needed simultaneously.

With this in mind, the Boston Box has the objective to help corporations to decide in which businesses or products to invest.

It is essential to understand this historic context. The tool will provide the best results only under similar conditions. In today’s dynamic environment, findings from a Boston Box analysis have to be used with caution.

The axes

Relative market share – The horizontal axis

The horizontal axis is named market share. The higher the share, the more to the left a product is positioned.

The Boston Box, which is also called Growth-share-matrix, actually uses the relative market share:

Relative market share =
the product’s market share / the largest competitor’s market share

The idea here is that the absolute market share (i.e. the products share from the total market volume) does not say much about its competitive positon. For example:

• Product A: An absolute market share of 20% is excellent, when the there are many competitors and none of them has more than 10% market share.
• Product B: An absolute market share of 20% is weak, when there is a competitor with 70% market share.

Referring to absolute market share, both products would have the same position on the horizontal axis. In comparison, product A has a relative market share of 200%, which surely makes it a star or a cash cow. Product B’s relative market share is 29%, which makes it a dog or a question mark at best.

It becomes clear that product A is in a much better position to generate cash. It has a dominant market positon and thus can better

• Realize economies of scale
• Determine market conditions, such as service and price levels
• Use its positon of strength to attack weaker competitors

In theory, product B would need substantial investment (i.e. cash) to increase its market share to a profitable level.

Hence, market share serves as a measure for the ability to generate cash and thus for the current value of the product

Market growth – The vertical axis

The market growth rate is shown on the vertical axis.

In this model, a high market growth rate implies a high need for cash: Products in growing markets (almost) always need cash in order to grow or at least maintain their market share.

Henderson states that …

… (A product with a large enough share) will become a cash generator when the growth slows and its reinvestment requirements diminish.

… growth requires cash input to finance added assets. The added cash required to hold share is a function of growth rates.

This implies that cash can only be generated once the growth stops.

Growth is never infinite. No market can grow forever. Hence, the relative market share that is achieved during the phase of market growth positions the product to become a cash cow or a dog when market growth slows down. Thus, market growth indicates the future value of a product.

Summary – Meaning of the axes

The Boxes

Stars (High market share, high market growth)

Stars are integral parts of every balanced product portfolio. Their markets are attractive, since they provide potential for further growth. In these markets, stars already have an excellent position, compared to competitors. Their value for the company as a whole lies in their potential to become cash generating cash cows as soon as the market growth slows down.

Until then, stars may or may not generate excess cash. The short term objective for stars is to maintain or even increase their relative market share. In most situations, this requires substantial investments:

• To adjust capacities for the growing market volume and demand
• To keep competitors at a distance

Question marks (Low market share, high market growth)

Their growing market is promising. Yet, the product is in a weak position to capitalize on these prospects. To increase market share requires the product to grow above the market growth rate. In doing so it has to attack competing products that will defend their stronger position.

This growth requires substantial investments and thus cash.

If the Question mark fails to move towards the Stars-section by increasing its relative share, it risks slipping to the Dog-box, once market growth slows down.

Cash cows (High market share, low market growth)

As the name indicates, Cash cows generate the cash to be invested elsewhere in the company. Their high share in a stable market provides a secure position, which can be maintained without major investments.

A substantial risk for Cash cows is the fact that mature markets beyond their growth phase may move on to a stage of decline. As soon as the overall market volume significantly decreases, the products ability to generate cash will be harmed, despite its strong position.

Dogs (Low market share, low growth market)

Henderson considers Dogs – or Pets in his terminology – as products without positive cash flow. He states that

… the profit must be reinvested to maintain share, leaving no cash throw-off.
The product is essentially worthless, except in liquidation.

This reminds me of the famous Jack Welch quote “Fix it, sell it, or close it”. Henderson implicitly assumes that fixing is not an option for Dogs, since the low market growth does not provide sufficient future prospects. This, in turn, implies that the product or market is coming towards the end of its lifecycle.

This is one option to deal with a Dog business. However, there are other situations and other options. It is not advisable to abandon a Dog without a deeper analysis of the situation. Alternative strategies will be discussed in more detail below.

Strategic implications from the Boston Box

Norm strategies

There are some norm strategies that are typically mentioned in the context of the Boston Box model.

[bctt tweet=”Norm strategies are for norm situations. However, business life does not follow norms.”]

They all go back to Henderson’s original article from 1970 – as well as the well-known image with the arrows, indicating how the cash should flow and how the products will move:

Norm strategies from the Boston Box: Flow of cash and movement of Products

(adapted from Henderson, 1970)

The basic idea is that the cash generated from Cash cows (and maybe some dogs) should not be reinvested in these products. This is a harvesting strategy. Instead, this cash is to be invested in the Question marks in order to increase their market share and thus to transform them into stars. Cash can also be invested into Stars in order to defend their market share so they can become Cash cows once their markets’ growth slows down.

Alternative strategies

These norm strategies apply to norm situations. However, business life does not follow norms. There are always no-standard situations that require no-standard strategies. Before you blindly follow a norm strategy that pops out of your Boston Box analysis, do some out-of-the-norm thinking. Here are some examples:

Henderson recommends to get rid of the Pets or Dogs. He states that they are of no value for the business. One could at most pursue a harvesting strategy for as long as the Dog generates a moderate positive cash flow.

I can think of at least three strategies that give reason to keep a Dog alive:

• The Dog can be a complementary product for another strategic product of the business. In this situation, customers value the profitable and cash generating main product only when it comes in a bundle with the Dog-product. Abandoning the dog would lead to a decrease in demand for the main product.
• Some products eventually reach a state when the market decline comes to a stop and when all other competitors already left the market (pursuing norm strategies for their Dogs). Thus, the own Dog product would inevitably regain market share without significant investment. Here a so called Last-Iceman-Strategy could be an option. There always are a number of customers who stick to an outdated Product or technology. It can be highly profitable to sell to these laggards, once all there are no other competitors left.
• Is the market already declining or just not longer growing? What do you think your competitors will do? Some markets / products have very long phases of maturity in which there is not much change in the market volume at all. Imagine all competitors will follow a Boston-Box norm strategy: They would all abandon their dog products, maybe except the market leader. Thus, your own product could take on their freed-up market share with only reasonable investment.

There are other reasons to go on with a Question Mark or a Dog, as long as they generate some cash, for example:

• Second-Source-Strategy: In an almost monopolistic market, the product can be positioned as a second source. Many customers do not want to rely on just one single monopolistic supplier. Hence, they are willing to buy a proportion of their needs from a ‘second source’ for strategic reasons. In some cases, they are even willing to pay a moderate price premium, just to keep their second source in business.
• Dogs and Question Marks can help to utilize existing capacities and thus to improve recovery of fixed costs. This applies to situations when the business cannot utilize all its capacities with more promising Stars or Cash Cows – be it permanently or due to fluctuations in demand.
• There are products that are necessary to differentiate from competitors or to provide a value added customers expect (e.g. complementary products). Some products may never become profitable. They are, however, a necessary precondition for the success of other profitable products. Hence, they will be cross-subsidized from those products for ever.

Companies may plan a far-reaching restructuring of their product portfolio for overriding strategic reasons, e.g. refocussing the whole business. In this situation, it is a viable option to sell even Stars or Cash Cows that no longer fit the new strategic direction as a whole. The spin-off can generate a substantial inflow of cash, which can be invested in products that better fit the new business focus.

Practical application, problems and relevance of the Boston Box model today

The alternative strategies discussed above already indicate that the Growth-Share matrix does not provide simple solutions for complex strategic questions.

The Boston Box tool has a number of weak points. As long as you are aware of these, you can assess the viability of your results accordingly:

• The tool delivers best results for stable environments. It is less suitable for very dynamic markets with a high degree of uncertainty, complexity and potential transformation.
• The tool is relatively simplistic. All it does is to look at one element from each of the two parts of strategic analysis – internal and external analysis. It puts them on two axes and distinguishes high and low. (see Mintzberg, Ahlstrand und Lampel in “Strategy Safari”). All other factors impacting the competitive position are neglected.
• The boundaries of the markets have to be defined with care. Competitions may not only come from other businesses’ similar offerings, but also from new technologies and substitutes.
• The tool as described above is fairly static, looking at the current market share and market growth rate. Both may change quickly.
• As mentioned above, the most obvious strategies may not always be the best ones. Of course, the ideal portfolio should contain some cash generators and some future stars that are to be nurtured with this cash. However, there are many other issues to consider.

Here are some issues to check before going with a norm strategy from an Boston Box analysis:

• Make sure that you have defined your market correctly. Who are you really competing with?
• Do not rely on current market share and market growth. How will they change in future?
• Double-check if there are interdependencies between your products. How will a strategy shift for one product affect the other products in your portfolio?
• Do not rely on just market share and market growth in your analysis. Double-check your results with a GE matrix (market attractiveness and business unit strength)

So what is the value a Boston Box analysis can add to your strategy process? Like most other models,

• it is a starting point for further thinking as well as a helpful tool for visualization.
• It helps to structure the ever-increasing amount of information
• It facilitates understanding of the relationship between product lifecycles and market lifecycles
• It allows to compare otherwise unrelated or incomparable products / business options by focusing on just two features.

One last advice: like the other management models and tools, the Boston Box is not a natural law. Feel free to adjust it to your needs. You may, for instance substitute market growth with a different measure of market attractiveness or profit potential that better fits your industry. Similarly, you may replace relative market share with different measure for the strength of your market positon, e.g. the degree of customer lock-in or network effects.

[bctt tweet=”Management models and tools are not natural laws. Feel free to adjust it to your needs.”]

The Boston Matrix | Innovation Portal

The  Boston Matrix or Boston Box – so called because it was developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – is another tool that may help you to analyse potential routes forward and discuss strategic options. This matrix offers a simple technique for assessing your firm’s position relative to others in terms of its product range. It is a 2×2 matrix, plotting market share against market growth. The BCG matrix should help you think about the portfolio of products and services that you offer and make decisions about which you should keep, which you should let go of, and which you should invest further in. The matrix is simple to construct.

Step 1: Construct a matrix where one axis is market share, running from low to high; and the other is market growth, also running from low to high.

Step 2: Now plot your products on the matrix. For example a product in a fast growing market in which you have a low share would appear in the top left hand area, whilst one in which you have a high market share but where the market is growing slowly would appear in the bottom right.

To help your analysis and stimulate subsequent discussion the BCG model offers four descriptions of the product/market combinations that might be found:

Stars represent those products or services in which your company has a high share of the market and the market is growing. They should be invested in further to maintain the growth

Cash cows represent those products in which your company has a high market share, but where the market is mature and slow growing, or even declining. These products should be ‘milked’ to provide cash for investments in future product areas.

Dogs are products where your company has low market share and where the market itself is not growing. These should be dropped from your product portfolio to release funds for investment in more attractive opportunities.

Problem children are those products in which you have a low market share but where the market is beginning to take off or has significant growth potential. They need to be watched closely and investment maintained to keep a presence since they could become tomorrow’s stars – but equally the commitment should not be too high since they could also turn out to be tomorrow’s dogs!

Strengths and weaknesses
The Boston Matrix is simple to construct and easy to use, yet provides an effective tool for mentally and visually defining the potential space in which a business might move – and analysing how attractive (or otherwise) such a move might be.
When using the Boston Matrix it is easy to assume that high market shares imply high profits, which is not always the case, for example, where a new product captures a large share of the market, but incurred huge development costs.

As with any tool, the matrix oversimplifies a complex set of variables – it should be used to inform decision, not make them.

Hints for using this tool

The techniques for selling products differ depending on the lifecycle stage of the product. So, from a marketing perspective, it is important for a company to have a sense of its whole product portfolio. The four boxes of the Boston Matrix relate closely to the product lifecycle – where at launch products are cash cows, during growth they are stars, at maturity they are problem children, and at their decline, cows.

Other versions of the matrix can be developed – for example, looking at potential markets in terms of their profitability and their growth rate to help identify which markets a firm should be seeking to enter. Thus the tool will develop a matrix that might look at:

• market growth on the vertical axis;
• market profitability on the horizontal

This would enable the firm to identify market segments that are growing rapidly and are profitable.<

Or a similar exercise can be undertaken that focuses on:

• market profitability on the vertical axis;
• share on the horizontal axis.

This would enable the firm to see how its products are positioned in relation to its market share and its profitability.

Used with imagination, this tool can also be used to analyse performance in different markets – for example in domestic and foreign markets – and hence to develop a specific export strategy that might feed into the firm’s overall strategy in future years.

The Girl in the Boston Box: A Mystery Times Two

Marc Levy – CAMBRIDGE DAY

I get a kick out of reading books set where I live. But the fun of Chuck Latovich’s thriller “The Girl in the Boston Box” goes way beyond a savvy dissection of South End real estate and dead accurate descriptions of T travel from Harvard Square to Fenway Park. The book is slick, sophisticated and provides more moments of pleasantly electric shock than you could reasonably expect.

The action follows two asynchronous tracks: Middle-aged Mark Chieswicz narrates from the spring of 2017, a down-on-his-luck Duck Boat Tour guide who discovers his estranged brother has been living in Boston – by being told by police that he’s been stabbed to death; young Caitlyn Gautry is followed from roughly a year earlier, pursuing a Harvard doctoral thesis about an architectural oddity called “the Boston box.” The two threads intersect, of course, and the way they do is only one of those terrific “oh, shit” moments Latovich delivers…

Latovich is working with a couple of disadvantages. First is the shadow of author Dan Brown of “The Da Vinci Code” and its sequels, which star a Harvard “symbologist” who follows obscure clues to revelations of historical significance. “The Girl in the Boston Box” shares elements but is the farthest thing from a knockoff. It’s a smooth read and a page-turner, but not a film treatment in the form of a novel like Brown churns out. “Boston Box” is too intent on building to a satisfying climax and denouement to throw in a cheap tease at the end of each chapter – Latovich is more about resolving underlying mysteries, which he withholds to so late in the book that anyone checking how many pages are left will go a little crazy wondering how he pulls it off. It’s actually pretty masterful how he ties everything together, which makes it easy to forgive a bit of character-driven clunkiness early on. But Latovich actually does have characters, rather than stand-ins for Hollywood stars to be attached later. (If nothing else, “Boston Box” is aggressively woke in ways that subvert expectations for what seems initially to be a male-centered thriller, and it gets more credit for being fairly realistic about technology.)

The other disadvantage is the pall of self-publishing, which is justifiably fading. Latovich has produced a polished, professional book with agreeable typography and a cover design by Alex Peltz that pays sly homage to Saul Bass’ work for Hitchcock…accomplished packages such as “The Girl in the Boston Box” are how self-published novels get past the stigma.

Which is to say that if you enjoy thrillers, “The Girl in the Boston Box” will keep you reading with as much delighted anxiety as most anything you’ll find on a bestseller list right now. And for the bonus of following the action on trips through Harvard Square, stops in Kendall and exploration of Boston brownstones, this is the only box to check.

HARVARD LIBRARIES NEWSLETTER

One of 23 Books to Read This Summer – July 26, 2021

Lee Varon – THE SOMERVILLE TIMES:

(G)alloping suspense…exciting…but it’s more than just a thriller…I laughed out loud many times at his spot-on, sometimes ironic, observations of modern-day Bostonians and Cantabrigians. If you want to lose yourself in a truly absorbing book, pick up “The Girl in the Boston Box.”

Charlotte Robinson – OUTTAKE VOICES (TM):

…must-read…Anyone who is interested in Boston for whatever reason will learn a good deal about the city by reading this captivating and entertaining book.

Marilyn Brooks – MARILYN’S MYSTERY READS

…an intriguing mystery, one with fascinating characters, a very clever plot, and a wonderful sense of the city of Boston.

BCG Matrix EXPLAINED with EXAMPLES | B2U

BCG Matrix (also known as the Boston Consulting Group analysis, the Growth-Share matrix, the Boston Box or Product Portfolio matrix) is a tool used in corporate strategy to analyse business units or product lines based on two variables: relative market share and the market growth rate. By combining these two variables into a matrix, a corporation can plot their business units accordingly and determine where to allocate extra (financial) resources, where to cash out and where to divest. The main purpose of the BCG Matrix is therefore to make investment decisions on a corporate level. Depending on how well the unit and the industry is doing, four different category labels can be attributed to each unit: Dogs, Question Marks, Cash Cows and Stars. This article will cover each of these categories and how to properly use the BCG Matrix yourself.

Figure 1: BCG Matrix

BCG Matrix Example: Samsung’s Product Portfolio

Samsung is a conglomerate consisting of multiple strategic business units (SBUs) with a diverse set of products. Samsung sells phones, cameras, TVs, microwaves, refrigerators, laundry machines, and even chemicals and insurances. This is a smart corporate strategy to have because it spreads risk among a large variety of business units. In case something might happen to the camera industry for instance, Samsung is still likely to have positive cash flows from other business units in other product categories. This helps Samsung to cope with the financial setback elsewhere. However even in a well balanced product portfolio, corporate strategists will have to make decisions on allocating money to and distributing money across all of those business units. Where do you put most of the money and where should you perhaps divest? The BCG Matrix uses Relative Market Share and the Market Growth Rate to determine that.

BCG Matrix Video Tutorial

Relative Market Share

The creator of the BCG Matrix used this variable to actually measure a company’s competitiveness. The exact measure for Relative Market Share is the focal company’s share relative to its largest competitor. So if Samsung has a 20 percent market share in the mobile phone industry and Apple (its largest competitor) has 60 percent so to speak, the ratio would be 1:3 (0.33) implying that Samsung has a relatively weak position. If Apple only had a share of 10 percent, the ratio would be 2:1 (2.0), implying that Samsung is in a relatively strong position, which might be reflected in above average profits and cash flows. The cut-off point here is 1.0, meaning that the focal company should at least have a similar market share as its largest competitor in order to have a high relative market share. The assumption in this framework is that an increase in relative market share will result in an increase in the generation of cash, since the focal company benefits from economies of scales and thus gains a cost advantage relative to its competitors.

Market Growth Rate

The second variable is the Market Growth Rate, which is used to measure the market attractiveness. Rapidly growing markets are what organizations usually strive for, since they are promising for interesting returns on investments in the long term. The drawback however is that companies in growing markets are likely to be in need for investments in order to make growth possible. The investments are for example needed to fund marketing campaigns or to increase capacity. High or low growth rates can vary from industry to industry, but the cut-off point in general is usually chosen around 10 percent per annum. This means that if Samsung would be operating in an industry where the market is growing 12 percent a year on average, the market growth rate would be considered high.

Question Marks

Ventures or start-ups usually start off as Question Marks. Question Marks (or Problem Children) are businesses operating with a low market share in a high growth market. They have the potential to gain market share and become Stars (market leaders) eventually. If managed well, Question Marks will grow rapidly and thus consume a large amount of cash investments. If Question Marks do not succeed in becoming a market leader, they might degenerate into Dogs when market growth declines after years of cash consumption. Question marks must therefore be analyzed carefully in order to determine whether they are worth the investment required to grow market share.

Stars

Stars are business units with a high market share (potentially market leaders) in a fast-growing industry. Stars generate large amounts of cash due to their high relative market share but also require large investments to fight competitors and maintain their growth rate. Successfully diversified companies should always have some Stars in their portfolio in order to ensure future cash flows in the long term. Apart from the assurance that Stars give for the future, they are also very good to have for your corporate’s image.

Cash Cows

Eventually after years of operating in the industry, market growth might decline and revenues stagnate. At this stage, your Stars are likely to transform into Cash Cows. Because they still have a large relative market share in a stagnating (mature) market, profits and cash flows are expected to be high. Because of the lower growth rate, investments needed should also be low. Cash cows therefore typically generate cash in excess of the amount of cash needed to maintain the business. This ‘excess cash’ is supposed to be ‘milked’ from the Cash Cow for investments in other business units (Stars and Question Marks). Cash Cows ultimately bring balance and stability to a portfolio.

Dogs

Business units in a slow-growth or declining market with a small relative market share are considered Dogs. These units typically break even (they neither create nor consume a large amount of cash) and generate barely enough cash to maintain the business’s market share. These businesses are therefore not so interesting for investors. Since there is still money involved in these business units that could be used in units with more potential, Dogs are likely to be divested or liquidated.

Figure 2: Cash Flows and Desired Movement in BCG Matrix

BCG Matrix and the Product Life Cycle

The BCG matrix has a strong connection with the Product Life Cycle. The Question Marks represent products or SBU’s that are in the introduction phase. This is when new products are being launched in the market. Stars are SBU’s or products in their growth phase. This is when sales are increasing at their fastest rate. Cash Cows are in the maturity phase: when sales are near their highest, but the rate of growth is slowing down due to saturation in the market. And Dogs are in the decline phase: the final stage of the cycle, when sales begin to fall.

Figure 3: BCG Matrix and Product Life Cycle

BCG Matrix In Sum

Taken all of these factors together, you can draw the ideal path to follow in the BCG Matrix, from start-up to market leader. Question Marks and Stars are supposed to be funded with investments generated by Cash Cows. And Dogs need to be divested or liquidated to free up cash with little potential and use it elsewhere. In the end, you will need a balanced portfolio of Question Marks, Stars and Cash Cows to assure positive cash flows in the future. If you want to know more about HOW to spend these investments in order to grow a business unit, you might want to read more about the Ansoff Matrix. Besides the BCG Matrix, there are other portfolio management frameworks you might want to have a look at such as the GE McKinsey Nine Box Matrix.

Further Reading:

Related

Marketing Theories – Boston Consulting Group Matrix

Visit our Marketing Theories Page to see more of our marketing buzzword busting blogs. 

If you are working with a product portfolio you have a range of tools at your disposal to determine how each one or a group of the products are doing. You could consider using the Product Life Cycle but if you need a current “snap shot” of how the products
are doing you would benefit more from using the Boston Consulting Group Matrix.

Back in 1968 a clever chap from Boston Consulting Group, Bruce Henderson, created this chart to help organisations with the task of analysing their product line or portfolio.

The matrix assess products on two dimensions. The first dimension looks at the products general level of growth within its market. The second dimension then measures the product’s market share relative to the largest competitor in the industry. Analysing
products in this way provides a useful insight into the likely opportunities and problems with a particular product.

Products are classified into four distinct groups, Stars, Cash Cows, Problem Child and Dog. Let’s have a look at what each one means for the product and the decision making process.

Stars (high share and high growth)

Star products all have rapid growth and dominant market share. This means that star products can be seen as market leading products. These products will need a lot of investment to retain their position, to support further growth as well as to maintain
its lead over competing products. This being said, star products will also be generating a lot of income due to the strength they have in the market. The main problem for product portfolio managers it to judge whether the market is going to continue
to grow or whether it will go down. Star products can become Cash Cows as the market growth starts to decline if they keep their high market share.

Cash Cows (high share, low growth)

Cash cows don’t need the same level of support as before. This is due to less competitive pressures with a low growth market and they usually enjoy a dominant position that has been generated from economies of scale. Cash cows are still generating a significant
level of income but is not costing the organisation much to maintain. These products can be “milked” to fund Star products.

Dogs (low share, low growth)

Products classified as dogs always have a weak market share in a low growth market. These products are very likely making a loss or a very low profit at best. These products can be a big drain on management time and resources. The question for managers
is whether the investment currently being spent on keeping these products alive could be spent on making something that would be more profitable. The answer to this question is usually yes.

Question mark / Problem Child (low share, high growth)

Also sometime referred to as Question Marks, these products prove to be tricky ones for product managers. These products are in a high growth market but do not seem to have a high share of the market. The reason for this could be that it’s a
very new product to the market. If this is not the case, then some questions need to be asked. What is the organisation doing wrong? What are its competitors doing right? It could be that these products just need more investment behind them to
become Stars.

A completed matrix can be used to assess the strength of your organisation and its product portfolio. Organisations would ideally like to have a good mix of cash cows and stars. There are four assumptions that underpin the Boston Consulting Group
Matrix:

1. If you want to gain market share you will need to invest in a competitive package, especially through investment in marketing
2. Market share gains have the potential to generate a cash surplus due to the effect of economies of scale.
3. The maturity stage of the product life cycle is where any cash surplus is most likely to be generated
4. The best opportunities to build a strong market position usually occur during a market’s growth period.

We hope that you have found this information useful.

Want to learn more?

If you’re more of a visual learner, you can check out our animated YouTube video about the BCG Matrix and how you can use it to improve and develop your product range. 

This theory forms part of the syllabus for some of the CIM courses that we offer. Please have a look at these if you would like to further your marketing knowledge and skills. If you
would like more information on our CIM Marketing courses please download a copy of our prospectus today. 

If you would like help referencing this blog, check out our Harvard Referencing Blog.

Boston Matrix

Disciplines > Marketing
> Understanding Markets >
Boston Matrix

Description |
Market share | Market growth |
Dogs | Cash cows | Stars
| Question marks | Discussion | See
also

Description

The Boston Matrix is a method for classifying products based on their current
value (as measured by market share) and future value (as measured by market
growth), which is why it is also called the Growth/Share Matrix.

There are two ways to increase revenue: increase market share or sustain
market share in a growing market. Both market share and market growth are hence
important measures.

The matrix is often shown as a 2×2 grid, as below, but can be plotted on
scale graph where actual measurements are used rather than qualitative
assessments.

The ‘market share’ axis usually has ‘low’ on the right, rather
than the left.

To use the Boston Matrix:

1. Determine exactly how the scales will be measured (see below for more on
   this).
2. Take each product or product line and place it on the graph. If possible
   this is an exact position. If not, then assign it to one quadrant.
3. Rather than a simple ‘X’, the size of the product revenue or profit can
   be indicated with a proportionately-sized circle (this is not always done
   but can be useful).
4. Decide what actions are needed for each product or product line.

Ideally, there should be a balance of stars in rising markets and and cash
cows in mature markets (which are used to fund development of the stars and
question marks).

In other words, the matrix can help develop a balanced portfolio of products.

In different markets there may be different customers and different
competitors, with different market dynamics. Consequently, where products are
being sold into different markets, then a different Boston Matrix should be
completed for each market.

Market share

Market share is a measure of present value to the company in terms of revenue
and profit gained.

If economies of scale can be gained, then higher market share in a larger
market also means higher profits per sale, making market share a non-linear
scale in terms of profit.

Economies of scale are not only about the price of materials. Marketing costs
can decrease greatly when there are less or weaker competitors, when your
products are well-known, and when there is significant repeat purchase and
recommendation.

Market share can be measured in several ways, for example measuring units
sold or total revenue, as compared with all competitors or the largest
competitor. This is often shown as a percentage.

Market growth

Market growth is a measure of future value to the company in terms of the
trajectory towards a larger market.

Even if the market share does not increase, a larger market can give scope
for increasing sales.  The ideal, of course, is to gain an increasing share
within a rapidly growing market.

Surviving and thriving in growing markets can be an expensive business, both
in the cost of reaching new target customers and the competitive situation as
other companies also fight for this new territory.

Markets do not grow forever. When they reach saturation, new customer become
rare and sales are mostly re-purchases. In this relatively stable state,
increasing market share becomes more difficult and it can even be better to
accept one’s share rather than invoke a competitive war.

When markets shrink, their growth rate become negative. This is not always
shown in the Boston Matrix, but may be worth including.

Market growth can be measured in terms of increasing potential customers, new
customers, greater acceptance of new products and so on.

When does a market become ‘high growth’? This depends on the industry. In
many industries growth of greater than 10% per year is high. In technology and
fashion domains, growth of 100% may be considered low.

Dogs

Dogs are products where both market share is low and market growth is also
low.

Should you ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ or terminate them? For streamlining and
simplification it would seem logical to just get rid of Dogs. Yet if they incur
low costs and give high profit per sale, then they may be worth keeping.

There may be other reasons for keeping Dogs, including:

• They are important to a major customer who spends a lot in other areas.
• They are a part of a ‘complete’ product line.
• There is potential to increase market share for them.
• There is potential for the market to grow.

Cash Cows

Cash Cows are the profitable products where a good market share is combined
with a stable market that needs only a limited amount of marketing and product
development to sustain a strong revenue stream.

Cash Cows are a major source of funding for other products and the funds
created may be used to develop new products and grow market share in order to
create the Cash Cows of the future.

There is a trap with Cash Cows where a company keeps these profitable
products but does not use the profit from them to develop new products or grow
market share of other offerings. In this way, marketing and development costs
can apparently be kept very low. The result is that the company is very profitable for a
while, but when the market fades or competition increases, the company does not have the
ability or newer products with which to compete and its survival may even be
threatened.

Another problem is that when markets fade and Cash Cows slip into becoming
Dogs, their past glory continues within the company. The firm may be loathe to
kill off the old Dog and may yet pump large amounts of money into attempts to
revive it, further weakening their market position.

Stars

Stars are the exciting and promising new products that are getting a lot of
attention. A fast-growing market, coupled with a strong share of that market,
makes these interesting both for customers and for the company.

The only problem with Stars is that they usually consume a lot of time, money
and other resources, which can be to the detriment of other products. As a
result of this, although many are being sold, the product may not yet be
independently profitable.

A growing market does not necessarily mean a big market and it is possible to
have Stars where there are not that many being sold. A critical question is how
large the market is going to become. Some markets do grow significantly, yet
others remain small. While being a big fish is nice, if the pond is small, the
potential also may be very limited. For reasons such as this, sometimes it is better not
to invest in Stars.

The goal with many Stars is to convert them into Cash Cows as the market
stabilizes. If the market is going to become large enough and stable enough,
then it can be worth investing significantly in Stars to keep their leading
position and shut out serious competitors.

Question Marks

As the name implies, Question Marks are perhaps the most difficult of all
categories to manage. They are in high growth markets, which is promising, yet
they only have a small share of that market.

Question Marks do not stay that way. They either become Stars and then Cash
Cows or they slips back to become Dogs.

The question for Question Marks is whether it is worth putting money
into marketing them to increase market share. The next questions are about how much
further the market will grow and the realistic chances of growing share within
this.

Question Marks are also known as Problem Children. This terminology
illustrates well how personally products are perceived within a company, and the
dilemma of difficult decisions that may have to be made about them.

Discussion

The Boston Matrix was created by Bruce Henderson for the Boston Consulting
Group in 1970 and is one of the classic marketing tools.

Perhaps one of the reasons this matrix has become popular is the use of novel
and memorable names for the quadrants.

No model is perfect and the Boston Matrix has received its share of criticism
about the underlying assumptions and the general applicability of the model. As
with any model, it should be used intelligently with an understanding of how
well or not it fits its intended use.

The Boston Matrix is also known as the Boston Consulting Group Matrix, BCG
Matrix, Growth/Share Matrix, Boston Box, B-Box, BCG Analysis or Portfolio
diagram

See also

The GE Matrix

Locally Sourced Gift Boxes
– Bites of Boston Boxes

Bites of Boston Boxes

Local Boston Brands. Delivered.

Gift Boxes That Give Back

In non-pandemic times, we are a small, local food tour company with a mission to help urban explorers experience Boston through the lens of local food. Our core values have always included supporting small businesses in our communities, so when circumstances surrounding COVID-19 prevented us from offering our tours, we pivoted to find a quarantine-friendly way to continue to support and showcase local business.

Our very first Bites of Boston Box was born of the realization that small businesses really needed support, and everyone could benefit from a little self care as we all weathered 2020 together. We set out to find a way to deliver both, and a very special collaboration with 8 fellow Boston Lady Bosses led to the creation of our very first Bites Box.

Over a year later, we now have many boxes with fun themes to choose from, and as of April 2021, our neighborhood food tours have resumed! Nonetheless, we will continue to cultivate the relationships that bloomed in 2020, and look forward to introducing more new boxes throughout 2021!

Check Out Our Boxes!

What will you find in our boxes?

~A thoughtful themed collection of products from local makers

~Both edible items and handmade products for bath, body & home

~The stories behind each item and maker included

Featured Box: Happy Birthday Box!

We honestly can’t think of a cuter – or more colorful and sparkly – way to say Happy Birthday! This fun curated selection of sweet and celebratory items from women-owned Boston businesses is sure to delight anyone on their special day.

Buy A Happy Birthday Box!

Don’t take our word for it…

Check out these reviews from Bites Box customers who loved their boxes:

I sent this as a care package to a friend and she loved it! I would absolutely order again!

Kat on the Black-Owned Boston Gift Box

My recipient loved this gift! I would definitely purchase again because of the speedy delivery. Thank you so much!

Casey on the “Beantown” Coffee Lovers Box

These items are beautifully packaged and are going to make a great gift box for a family friend. I especially appreciate the enclosed information on the products and the makers

Zei on the Black-Owned Boston Gift Box

Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device

90,000 Bots against Amazon: how a startup automated warehouse operations :: RBC Pro

Shoppers quickly got used to the free and urgent delivery of their online purchases. Startup Berkshire Gray has developed a robotic system that helps retailers quickly adapt to consumer needs and reduce warehouse staff costs

In a huge room somewhere in the United States, a four-wheeled cart the size of a microwave oven pulls itself up to a robotic arm and stops abruptly.The hand turns, drops into a plastic basket mounted on the trolley and, with a whistling sound, pulls out a box with the inscription “Hamburger Helper”. A hand then tosses a spaghetti and sauce set into a carton for delivery, while another robotic cart takes the packaged goods away.

This entire system was a closely guarded secret. But Boston-based startup Berkshire Gray gave Bloomberg Businessweek a sneak peek at dozens of cars scurrying through a spacious warehouse.

Berkshire Gray has built a robotic system for a major retailer. The startup, founded in 2013, charges hundreds of millions of dollars for its robots, which help retailers compete against the ruthlessly effective e-commerce leader Amazon. “Jeff Bezos’s company quickly trained customers to say I want exactly what I want. And I want it right now. Oh yes, and of course I’m counting on free shipping, ”says Berkshire Gray CEO Tom Wagner.

Other retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy simply had little choice – they also had to look for buyers online. On the last “Black Friday” (the day of sales, which falls on the Friday following Thanksgiving – RBC Pro ), online shopping revenue increased by 24% compared to last year. According to data from Adobe Analytics and ShopperTrak, which track traffic to online stores and physical point of sale, traffic dropped by 2%.Cyber ​​Monday 2018, Amazon says, brought the company the most sales in its history.

Wagner, a former chief technology officer at iRobot, a robot vacuum cleaner, first thought about creating Berkshire Gray in 2012 after visiting a retailer’s distribution center.

Amazon already paid $ 775 million to Kiva Systems, a manufacturer of robots that move goods around the warehouse. But other retailers don’t seem to have realized that robots are a significant competitive advantage in the harsh online marketplace, where consumers are demanding immediate delivery.

“Working with goods in warehouses is very labor intensive,” says Wagner, “and people are not particularly keen to do it.”

Photo: Tony Luong for Bloomberg Businessweek

This is a very restrained statement.Working in a warehouse is so exhausting and salaries are so low that even in an age of automation, companies struggle to find employees. At the same time, the same companies are constantly criticized for low wages and unsafe, exploitative working conditions. On Black Friday, Amazon workers in Germany, Spain and Italy went on strike over unbearable conditions.

Wagner says Berkshire Gray cannot be compared to Amazon’s robotic assistants. At his company, robots are used to take from shelves, pack and move most goods without human intervention.Little robots, called flexbots, work like tiny self-driving cars – they drive up to shelves and push plastic baskets filled with goods onto their platforms.

Amazon and other retailers still employ human labor to pick up and transport goods. This is because reproducing a semblance of a human hand that can easily take both a light bulb and a battery pack is one of the most difficult tasks in robotics.

The big breakthrough here has been the suction cups, says Matt Mason, Berkshire Gray’s chief scientist and professor of computing at Carnegie Mellon University.

Mason and Berkshire Gray employees at the Lexington, Massachusetts headquarters and the Pittsburgh R&D lab have designed a custom system that uses cameras connected to artificial intelligence software. Cameras scan and recognize the item, check if it is in the delivery queue, and determine where to pick it up from. The program guides a robotic arm with a flexible tip and activates an air compressor to create a vacuum to lift the goods from the flexboat trolley and place them in a delivery box (you can see how the packaging and movement of goods actually looks like in the video).

Berkshire Gray says they work with several major retailers and shipping companies. Their clients have cut warehouse labor costs by 80%. In order to carry fragile goods or boxes weighing more than 2.5 kg, you still need to involve people, Wagner admits. But he adds that the company can develop systems to move heavier objects as well.

Wagner will hardly be able to stay ahead of the retail robotization race all the time.In May 2018, the American supermarket chain Kroger acquired a stake in Ocado, which develops fully automated warehouses, for $ 248 million. Last October, The Information reported that Amazon is developing its own robots that can grab goods using circulating air. But Wagner doesn’t have to compete with Amazon, as most retailers are still at the tail end of this technology race.

Bloomberg Businessweek Material

Popular Luxury Design Genuine Leather Boston Bag Pillow Women Shoulder Bag

& Pcy; & ocy; & pcy; & ucy; & lcy; & yacy; & rcy; & ncy; & ycy; & jcy; & rcy; & ocy; & scy; & kcy; & ocy; & shcy; & ncy; & ycy; & jcy; & dcy; & icy; & zcy; & acy; & jcy; & ncy; & pcy; & ocy; & dcy; & lcy; & icy; & ncy; & ncy; & acy; & yacy; & kcy; & ocy; & zhcy; & acy; & Bcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & ocy; & ncy; & acy; & scy; & ucy; & mcy; & kcy; & acy; & pcy; & ocy; & dcy; & ucy; & shcy; & kcy; & acy; & zhcy; & iecy; & ncy; & shchcy; & icy; & ncy; & ycy; & Scy; & ucy; & mcy; & kcy; & acy; & dcy; & lcy; & yacy; ?????????

& ast; & Ncy; & acy; & scy; & tcy; & rcy; & acy; & icy; vcy; & acy; & iecy; & mcy; & ycy; & jcy; & rcy; & acy; & zcy; & mcy; & iecy; & rcy;
& ast; & Ncy; & acy; & scy; & tcy; & rcy; & acy; & icy; vcy; & acy; & iecy; & mcy; & ycy; & jcy; & lcy; & ocy; & gcy; & ocy; & tcy; & icy; & pcy;
& ast; OEM & ODM
& ast; & Zcy; & acy; & kcy; & acy; & zcy; & ocy; & bcy; & rcy; & acy; & zcy; & tscy; & ocy; & vcy;
& ast; & mcy; & ycy; & mcy; & ocy; & zhcy; & iecy; & mcy; & ucy; & dcy; & ocy; & vcy; & lcy; & iecy; & tcy; & vcy; & rcy; & icy; & tcy; & softcy; & vcy; & scy; & iecy; & vcy; & acy; & shcy; & icy; & tcy; & rcy; & iecy; & bcy; & ocy; & vcy; & acy; & ncy; & icy; & yacy;

& ocy; & pcy; & icy; & scy; & acy; & ncy; & icy; & iecy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & dcy; & ucy; & kcy; & tcy; & acy;

& Ucy; & pcy; & acy; & kcy; & ocy; & vcy; & kcy; & acy;

& Dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; vcy; & kcy; & acy;

1 & period; & mcy; & iecy; & ncy; & iecy; & iecy; 45 & kcy; & gcy; & colon; & Dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & acy; DHL & sol; FedEx & sol; TNT & sol; EMS & sol; UPS & icy; & lcy; & yucy; & bcy; & ocy; & jcy; & dcy; & rcy; & ucy; & gcy; & ocy; & jcy; & ecy; & kcy; & scy; & pcy; & rcy; & iecy; & scy; & scy; – & dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & icy; & lpar; & ocy; & tcy; & dcy; & vcy; & iecy; & rcy; & icy; & dcy; & ocy; & dcy; & vcy; & iecy; & rcy; & softcy; & rpar;

2 & period; & bcy; & ocy; & lcy; & iecy; & iecy; 45 & kcy; & gcy; & colon; & Dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & acy; & pcy; & ocy; & vcy; & ocy; & zcy; & dcy; & ucy; & khcy; & ucy;

3 & period; & Zcy; & acy; & kcy; & acy; & zcy; & bcy; & iecy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & rcy; & ncy; & ocy; & gcy; & ocy; & gcy; & rcy; & ucy; & zcy; & acy; & colon; & Dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & acy; & mcy; & ocy; & rcy; & iecy; & mcy;

& Pcy; & rcy; & icy; & mcy; & iecy; & chcy; & acy; & ncy; & icy; & iecy; & colon; & scy; & tcy; & ocy; & icy; & mcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & softcy; & dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & icy; & zcy; & acy; & vcy; & icy; & scy; & icy; & tcy; & ocy; & tcy; vcy; iecy; & scy; & acy; & icy; CBM
& Ncy; & icy; & zhcy; & iecy; & ucy; & kcy; & acy; & zcy; & acy; & ncy; & ycy; & scy; & rcy; & ocy; & kcy; & icy; & dcy; & ocy; & scy; & tcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & icy; & dcy; & lcy; & yacy; & scy; & pcy; & rcy; & acy; & vcy; & kcy; & icy;

& Pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & fcy; & icy; & lcy; & softcy; & kcy; & ocy; & mcy; & pcy; & acy; & ncy; & icy; & icy;

Shijiazhuang Mamba Network Technology Co & period; & comma; Ltd & period; & YAcy; & vcy; & lcy; & yacy; & iecy; & tcy; & scy; & yacy; & vcy; & iecy; & dcy; & ucy; & shchcy; & icy; & mcy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & fcy; & iecy; & scy; & scy; & icy; & ocy; & ncy; & lcy; & softcy; & ncy; & ycy; & mcy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & icy; & zcy; & vcy; & ocy; & dcy; & icy; & tcy; & iecy; & lcy; & iecy; & mcy; & icy; & zcy; & acy; & ncy; & icy; & mcy; & acy; & iecy; & tcy; & scy; & yacy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & dcy; & acy; & zhcy; & acy; & mcy; & icy; & vcy; & scy; & iecy; & khcy; & vcy; & icy; & dcy; & ocy; & vcy; & dcy; & acy; & mcy; & scy; & kcy; & ocy; & gcy; & ocy; & scy; & ucy; & mcy; & ocy; & kcy; & ncy; & acy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & tcy; & yacy; & zhcy; & iecy; & ncy; & icy; & icy; 6 & lcy; & iecy; & tcy; & period; & Ncy; & acy; & shcy; & zcy; & acy; & vcy; & ocy; & dcy; & rcy; & acy; & scy; & pcy; & ocy; & lcy; & ocy; & zhcy; & iecy; & ncy; & vcy; & gcy; & ocy; & rcy; & ocy; & dcy; & iecy; & Gcy; & ucy; & ncy; & chcy; & zhcy; & ocy; & ucy; & comma; & Kcy; & icy; & tcy; & acy; & jcy; & comma; & ncy; & acy; & shcy; & acy; & fcy; & acy; & bcy; & rcy; & icy; & kcy; & acy; & mcy; & iecy; & shcy; & kcy; & ocy; & vcy; & comma; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & shcy; & iecy; & dcy; & iecy; & ncy; & ncy; & acy; & yacy; BSCI & period; & Mcy; & ycy; & vcy; & ocy; & scy; & ncy; & ocy; & vcy; & ncy; & ocy; & mcy; & dcy; & iecy; & lcy; & acy; & iecy; & mcy; & scy; & ucy; & mcy; & kcy; & ucy; & dcy; & lcy; & yacy; & kcy; & lcy; & acy; & dcy; & kcy; & icy; & comma; & scy; & ucy; & mcy; & kcy; & ucy; & dcy; & lcy; & yacy; & pcy; & ocy; & kcy; & ucy; & pcy; & ocy; & kcy; & comma; & bcy; & ucy; & mcy; & acy; & zhcy; & ncy; & icy; & kcy; & comma; & scy; & ucy; & mcy; & kcy; & ucy; & dcy; & lcy; & yacy; & scy; & tscy; & iecy; & pcy; & lcy; & iecy; & ncy; & icy; & yacy; & comma; & kcy; & ocy; & scy; & mcy; & iecy; & tcy; & icy; & chcy; & iecy; & scy; & kcy; & icy; & jcy; & mcy; & iecy; & shcy; & ocy; & kcy; & icy; vcy; & iecy; & chcy; & iecy; & rcy; & ncy; & icy; & jcy; & mcy; & iecy; & shcy; & ocy; & kcy; & period; & Ncy; & acy; & shcy; & acy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & dcy; & ucy; & kcy; & tscy; & icy; & yacy; & pcy; & rcy; & ocy; & dcy; & acy; & iecy; & tcy; & scy; & yacy; & pcy; & ocy; & vcy; & scy; & iecy; & mcy; & ucy; & mcy; & icy; & rcy; & ucy; & comma; & ocy; & scy; & ocy; & bcy; & iecy; & ncy; & ncy; & ocy; & ncy; & acy; & iecy; & vcy; & rcy; & ocy; & pcy; & iecy; & jcy; & scy; & kcy; & ocy; & mcy; & icy; & acy; & mcy; & iecy; & rcy; & icy; & kcy; & acy; & ncy; & scy; & kcy; & ocy; & mcy; & rcy; & ycy; & ncy; & kcy; & iecy; & comma; & kcy; & rcy; & ocy; & mcy; & iecy; & tcy; & ocy; & gcy; & ocy; & comma; & mcy; & ycy; & mcy; & ocy; & zhcy; & iecy; & mcy; & dcy; & iecy; & lcy; & acy; & tcy; & softcy; & scy; & ucy; & mcy; & kcy; & icy; & pcy; & ocy; & fcy; & ocy; & tcy; & ocy; & gcy; & rcy; & acy; & fcy; & icy; & yacy; & mcy; & comma; & rcy; & icy; & scy; & ucy; & ncy; & kcy; & acy; & mcy; & icy; & lcy; & icy; & ocy; & bcy; & rcy; & acy; & zcy; & tscy; & acy; & mcy; & period; & Mcy; & ycy; vcy; & scy; & iecy; & gcy; & dcy; & acy; & bcy; & ucy; & dcy; & iecy; & mcy; & vcy; & kcy; & ucy; & rcy; & scy; & iecy; & bcy; & ycy; & scy; & tcy; & rcy; & ocy; & gcy; & ocy; & ocy; & bcy; & ncy; & ocy; & vcy; & lcy; & iecy; & ncy; & icy; & yacy; & mcy; & ocy; & dcy; & ycy; & period; & Vcy; & ncy; & acy; & shcy; & iecy; & mcy; & shcy; & ocy; & ucy; – & rcy; & ucy; & mcy; & iecy; & mcy; & ycy; & icy; & scy; & pcy; & ocy; & lcy; & softcy; & zcy; & ucy; & iecy; & mcy; & scy; & ocy; & tcy; & ncy; & icy; & scy; & tcy; & icy; & lcy; & iecy; & jcy; & period;

& Pcy; & rcy; & iecy; & icy; & mcy; & ucy; shchcy; & iecy; & scy; & tcy; vcy; & acy;

90,000 6.2.2. “The Boston Box (Boston Matrix, Matrix bkg)

Vital
the product cycle is the most important model
marketing, but for a comprehensive
analysis requires other approaches.

Majority
firms are often faced with a choice of which
market and commodity to direct investment.
The answer to the question can
give Boston
matrix

Matrix
BCG characterizes the relative
attractiveness of the company, product,
segment of the industry in accordance with two
parameters: relative market share
and the growth rate of the industry.

Also
the matrix is ​​known as the Matrix
“Market share – Growth”.

All
analyzed objects (company, product,
a separate segment of the industry, etc.) can
be placed in one of four squares,
depicted below:

If
to this company / product / segment you can
invest, then it is placed in
top right square of “stars” (which
means high market share and high
height). These companies / products / segments are believed to be
will prosper because they already
are the main players in the market,
and their role will increase over time.

I
on the contrary, those companies / products / segments,
which should be sold, closed and
which do not attract investment,
are located in the lower left square
“Dog” (low market share and low
height). These are weak small companies,
working in a stagnant market.

Right
below are companies / products / segments
– “cash cows”, so called
due to their low growth rate and
high market share. Management of them
has only one short-term goal –
squeeze as much of the current
situations.They are very profitable in the present
moment, but hardly a similar situation
will remain in the future.

I,
finally, in the upper left corner indicated by
question mark, are located
companies / products / segments, whose future
is in great doubt. Their
market share is low and there are no
guarantees that they will gain
attractiveness despite the fact that
they operate in a fast growing market.

This
the matrix is ​​universal and can
apply to segmented markets
or when discussing development prospects
goods

Boston
the matrix has various uses in
air transport
marketing and used for analysis
network of overhead lines.By placing each
airline to the appropriate section
Boston matrix, you can define
priority of investment directions.

6.2.3
Matrix
Igor Ansoff “Product-Market”.

Matrix
applied at the development stage of a new
goods. At this stage, a clear
understanding the markets in which the company
going to work, and product categories,
which the company plans to produce.

Matrix
Ansoffa balances risk
and potential
opportunities in making decisions about
goods.The greatest
opportunities are usually provided
at the highest risk.

Firm,
seeking to minimize risk, will choose
1st position,
since she will offer a proven
goods to friends
buyers. However, a similar solution
acceptable for few firms, since
this path leads to inevitable ruin
in connection with the upcoming entry
goods in the recession stage.

2nd
and 3rd positions guarantee more success
at reasonable risk,
since in the 2nd position the company promotes
your goods
to new markets, and in 3rd position – a new one
product offered
in the existing market.

On
4th position the firm displays
brand new product for an unfamiliar
her market, which gives
unpredictable opportunities for her
enormous risk.

Revealing
new market opportunities based on
mix of marketing can occur
with varying degrees of regularity and
using a variety of techniques,
including such formal ones as a grid
product and market development – that is, 90,041 Matrix
Ansoff.

TICKETS
No. 15

90,000 Boston Marathon was blown up by Chechen refugees – analytical portal POLIT.RU

The US National Security Service has officially named the names of suspects in the Boston terrorist attack – 26-year-old Russian Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with police in Watertown, and his 19-year-old brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is now hiding in Boston.

Previously, the FBI posted on its website photographs of two suspects, they depict dark-haired men, one of them white, the other – a black cap. The US National Security Service confirmed that 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (suspect No. 2 in a white cap) managed to escape from the police, and 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with the police (suspect No. 1 in a black cap).

Photos FBI

It is not yet clear under what circumstances Tamerlane was killed. TV channels broadcast live footage of a man lying on the ground surrounded by police. He was detained during a shootout with police, which resulted in the death of a patrolman keeping order on the territory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

A policeman tried to detain the Tsarnaevs while trying to steal a car, but they opened fire on him.Then a message came that the detainee had died in the hospital. According to doctors, the cause of his death was numerous bullet and mine-explosive wounds. Journalists suggested that Tamerlane blew up the “suicide belt”, as a result of which he died, and his younger brother Dzhokhar was wounded, but was able to escape from the persecution.

Watertown resident Andrew Kitzenberg witnessed a shootout between law enforcement officers and suspects. According to him, the young people fled in a black Mercedes car and opened fire on the police because of it, as a result, one of the suspects fell, and the second escaped from the police in a car.One of the police officers was seriously injured.

Fragments of bombs – pressure cookers and parts from children’s toys were found at the site of the shootout. The same bombs were used during the Boston attack.

Chechen trace in the USA

American photographer Johannes Hirn took pictures of Tamerlane for the project “I will box for a passport”. From the captions to the photographs it follows that the Tsarnaevs were born in Chechnya. In the early 90s, because of the war, the Tsarnaev family left the republic and moved to Kazakhstan, and then to Dagestan.Tamerlan, along with his younger brother and two sisters (Alina and Bela), attended school number 1 in Makhachkala.

However, school secretary Irina Bandurina told RIA Novosti that Tsarnaev was a refugee from Kyrgyzstan, in 2001 he studied at her school in the first grade, and in 2002 he had already left for the United States.

According to NBC, the Tsarnaev brothers have Turkish citizenship and entered the United States with visas issued in Turkey. Peter Wilson of the Boston branch of CBS News tweeted that Johar received US citizenship on September 11, 2012.

According to preliminary data from the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) of Kyrgyzstan, the Tsarnaev family lived in the city of Tokmok (Chui oblast, northern Kyrgyzstan) and left for permanent residence in Dagestan 12 years ago. At the same time, the GNKB asked not to link the Tsarnaevs with Kyrgyzstan. The head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov said that “they have nothing to do with Chechnya”

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Photo: personal page Vkontakte

Judging by Tsarnaev’s Vkontakte page, in the USA he studied at one of the Boston universities (Cambridge Rindge and Latin School) and was a member of several groups dedicated to Chechnya.Tamerlane and Johar lived in Cambridge for about a year. Dzhokhar received a scholarship. In 2011, he was allocated 2.5 thousand dollars for training.

On Dzhokhar’s Vkontakte page, the “Worldview” column indicates “Islam”, and “the main thing in life” – career and money. Tamerlane found a YouTube account with videos of the Chechen bard Timur Mutsurayev and talks about Islam.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev received a residence permit in the United States in 2007. He studied engineering for three semesters from 2006 to 2008 at Bunker Hill Community College.Tamerlane trained at the Wai Kru MMA mixed martial arts center in Boston. He has lived in the United States for more than 5 years, but has not yet found a local friend, “because he just does not understand them.” In 2009, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was detained in the United States for committing violence against his girlfriend. The photo of Johannes Hearn captures Tamerlane’s girlfriend – half Portuguese, half Italian, converted to Islam.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Photo: johanneshirn.photoshelter.com

The American media managed to find the uncle of the suspects, Ruslan Tsarni, who also lives in the United States.According to Tsarnya, he does not know what prompted his nephews to such a “barbaric act”, but admitted that the eldest, Tamerlane, was inclined to extremism. Tsarni clarified that the last time he spoke with the Tsarnaev brothers was in 2009, they had refugee status in the United States, which they received as arriving from a war zone.

According to Tsarnya, he does not regret at all what happened to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but expressed sympathy for the relatives of those killed and injured in the terrorist attack. Tsarni called the brothers “losers.”

The journalists also contacted the suspects’ father, Anzor Tsarnaev, who is now in Makhachkala. He told AP by phone that his youngest son is a “real angel”, and also confirmed that Dzhokhar is a sophomore in medical school in the US and is a very smart and quick-witted young man. The family was waiting for him to visit Makhachkala for the holidays

Siege of Boston

In the afternoon, a journalist from The Boston Globe near the scene tweeted that the police had arrested a woman at the Tsarnaevs’ house in Cambridge at 410 Norfolk Street.She resisted and fought off the police, so she was handcuffed and dragged into the car. It is not yet reported who she was Tsarnaev, however, it is known that the brothers lived in Cambridge with their adult sisters, while their parents left for Dagestan last year.

The FBI discovered bloody stains in the Tsarnaevs’ house, which was associated with a possible injury to Dzhokhar during a shootout with the police.

In addition, another man was arrested, although he is unlikely to be related to the Tsarnaevs, the journalist writes.The police literally laid siege to Boston, cordoning off more than 20 blocks. Massachusetts state police have advised residents of cities near Boston on Twitter not to take to the streets unnecessarily. This applies to citizens living in Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and Allstone-Brighton.

The Boston police explained that they intend to go around every house and every street in the city in search of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. At the same time, local residents are advised not to open the doors to anyone except the police, and not to approach the windows.

Massachusetts closed all schools. Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a number of other universities have been evacuated. Students are advised not to leave the hostels. Earlier, the state authorities decided to suspend the operation of all transport in Boston. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States has closed 11 km of airspace in northeast Boston to flights.

According to the latest information, the police laid siege to a house in the Watertown area, from where the explosions were heard.An SUV riddled with bullets was found near the house.

On April 15, at the finish of the International Boston Marathon, two explosions thundered with an interval of 12 seconds. The victims of the terrorist attack were three people – a Chinese citizen and two Americans, including an eight-year-old child. The number of casualties reached 183. As the FBI explained, the explosive devices that went off at the finish line were planted in the pressure cookers.

Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Pressure cookers are frequently featured in bomb-making instructions posted online by terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda.

90,000 Boston University professor killed in elevator crash

A Boston woman who died in an elevator crash on Monday was identified as 38-year-old Carrie O’Connor. She died of traumatic asphyxiation. The death of a woman is considered a tragic accident.

Boston University confirmed that O’Connor taught French with them. The Boston Professional Equipment Inspection said the elevator was recently inspected and meets state requirements.

Witnesses say that everything that happened was terrible, they are still in shock and are unlikely to ever forget the screams of the victim.

The police did not say what exactly happened during the accident on Monday around 17:15. But neighbors told NBC10 Boston that they heard creepy screams.

“It was terrible. – recalls Lynn Scorzino, who lives on the first floor of – It wasn’t screaming. I can’t even describe what it was. I went into the hall because I sincerely thought that someone was being killed. “

She said that the deceased had spoken to a man a few moments before her death. The interlocutor warned her that the box, which she is trying to load into the old small elevator of the building, will not fit there. The neighbor thinks that O’Connor’s box somehow made the elevator move, and then the woman fell down.

When Skorzino stepped out into the corridor, the elevator door was open, she could see the roof of the car and the cables.

“This is an old elevator in an old building, but I never had a problem with it,” added another resident, Nevada Foskit.

The building manager reported that the elevator passed an inspection last year.

Elevator “ has recently been inspected and certified in accordance with government regulations ,” said a spokesperson for the Professional Licenses Department, expressing condolences to the victim’s loved ones.

She said the incident was under investigation.

According to BU Today, O’Connor taught at BU for her second year. She has also worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts, Northeastern University and Bentley University, and Louisiana.

“She was an integral part of the French language department,” – said Professor Odile Cazenave.

All power in mathematics – Vedomosti

How to compare, in which country in the world is it better to teach history at school? Probably not. In Russia, schoolchildren should know who Kirov or Mikoyan is. I’m not sure if there are other countries where this is relevant. And every country has such features. However, ancient history is taught everywhere in different ways and in different volumes. Where else can children read Gasparov at school? Judging by the testimony of Ukrainian acquaintances, even there they rely on other sources.

Mathematics is much simpler. “Kim is packing eggs in boxes. Each box holds 6 eggs. And she has 94 eggs in total. What is the smallest number of boxes she needs to pack all the eggs? ” Such problems were solved by schoolchildren (specifically this one – eighth graders) in several dozen countries as part of a study of mathematical literacy conducted by the Boston International Education Center. Researchers tried to assess how well students from different countries know numbers, can solve algebraic and geometric problems, and understand how to work with data and probabilities.A similar study of mathematical knowledge was carried out among students of the fourth grade and among students of specialized mathematics schools or classes.

The study confirmed that school mathematics education in Russia is one of the best in the world. In the world ranking of eighth-graders, Russian schoolchildren took 6th place, ahead of the entire Western world by a decent margin. Only Singapore (the leader of the rating), Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan bypassed Russia.

A similar situation with fourth-graders, only between us and the leading Asian countries was Northern Ireland.

It is interesting that at the level of the 4th grade there is no difference between the skills of Russian boys and girls, but in the 8th grade there is, and a very significant one: the boys are far ahead.

Russian mathematics schools have also confirmed their traditionally high scientific level: in the ranking of advanced mathematics, Russian schoolchildren – the part of them that devote at least six academic hours a week to the subject – took 1st place. Those schoolchildren who study mathematics 4.5 hours a week have skipped ahead of the Lebanese and are on a par with the Americans who have chosen a mathematical specialization.

For the sake of fairness, it must be said that Asian schoolchildren do not participate in the competition for advanced math programs. Nevertheless, this does not negate our achievements. If we are good with something, it is with mathematics. Which is not hindered by either ideology, or the absence of good pedagogical universities, or ministers of education.

Independent Reviewer

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For vanilla dough:
84 g butter, room temperature
155 g sugar
85 g sour cream at room temperature
2 hl. vanilla extract
3 large egg whites, room temperature
163 g flour
8 g baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
90 ml milk at room temperature
30 ml water

For cream:
2 egg yolks
79 g sugar
1.5 tbsp starch
270 ml milk
14 g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

For ganache:
338 g chocolate drops or chocolate chunks
30 ml sugar syrup
210 ml heavy cream

Preparation:

Vanilla Pastry:
Preheat oven to 175 ° C) and insert the cupcake inserts into the tins.

In a large bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes.
Add sour cream, vanilla extract and stir.

Add the egg whites twice, mixing after each addition.

Stir dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine milk and water in a small measuring cup.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the dough and mix. Pour in milk mixture and stir some more. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix again.

Fill the muffin tins halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool.

Cream:
Place the yolks in a medium bowl and beat gently. Set aside.

Add sugar, starch and milk to a large saucepan and stir until smooth.

Cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add some milk mixture to the yolks and beat, then add the egg mixture to the milk mixture.

Place the pot back on the heat and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Ganache:
Place the chocolate and syrup in a large bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil, then pour over the chocolate. Leave for 3-5 minutes, then beat until smooth.

Place the chocolate ganache in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

After everything has cooled, cut off the centers of the cupcakes. Fill these holes with cream. Use a piping bag to decorate the muffins with ganache.