Dogs, more charitably called pets, are units with low market share in a mature, slow-growing industry.

These units typically "break even", generating barely enough cash to maintain the business's market share.
Question marks (also known as problem children) are businesses operating with a low market share in a
high growth market. They are a starting point for most businesses. Question marks have a potential to
gain market share and become stars, and eventually cash cows when market growth slows.
Stars are units with a high market share in a fast-growing industry. They are graduated question marks
with a market or niche leading trajectoryetc. The hope is that stars become next cash cows.
By contrast, the idea of experience embraces a number of other dimension these are;
 The learning curve
 Specialization of labor
 Process innovations
 New materials
 Product standardization
 Product redesign
Schnaars cites 13 sources of criticism which have been levelled against the growth-share matrix. That
said, we believe the growth-share matrix is both valuable and important because;
1. It reinforce the inevitability of change implicit in the PCL concept.
2. It underlines the importance of having a portfolio of a product t different stages of development.
3. It requires formal consideration of the competition and their relative standing.
4. It is intuitively appealing and simple to implement conceptually, despites the difficulty of
operationalizing it in practice.

Shell’s Directional Policy Matrix

The Shell Directional Policy Matrix is another refinement upon the Boston Matrix. Along the
horizontal axis are prospects for sector profitability, and along the vertical axis is a company’s
competitive capability. As with the GE Business Screen the location of a Strategic Business Unit
(SBU) in any cell of the matrix implies different strategic decisions.
Double or quit – gamble on potential major SBU’s for the future.
Growth – grow the market by focusing just enough resources here.
Custodial – just like a cash cow, milk it and do not commit any more resources.
Cash Generator – Even more like a cash cow, milk here for expansion elsewhere.
Phased withdrawal – move cash to SBU’s with greater potential.
Divest – liquidate or move these assets on a fast as you can.
We do not consider the directional Policy matrix (DPM), developed by corporate planners at
Shell, strictly as a portfolio planning model. Shell’s DPM is based upon two key parameters- the
Company’s Competitive Capabilities and the Prospects for Sector Profitability. Four main criteria are
suggested:
- Market growth rate
- Market quality
- Industry feedback situation
 - Environmental aspects
With regards to a company’s competitive capabilities three basic criteria are identified;
1. Market position
2. Production capability
3. Market research and development

Summary
“Boxes” are a useful aid to analysis to be operationalized they need to be associated with a
rigorous financial analysis, but, in doing so, one must not lose sight of the competitive assumptions on
which this is based and of future changes in these assumptions. In the cases of all the portfolios reviewed
in this chapter, the important application relies on scrutiny of assumptions and specific adjustment.