Assignment: Product life cycle

Assignment: Product life cycle

Discussion 2

Examine the concept of product life cycle analysis. Provide one example of the way in which this analysis can help an organization to determine whether to continue offering a specific service to the community it serves.

Product life cycle (PLC) is the cycle through which every product goes through from introduction to withdrawal or eventual demise. The stages of product life cycle are introduction, growth, maturity and decline. In introduction stage, the product is introduced into the market. In growth stage, sales take off, the market knows of the product; other companies are attracted, profits begin to come in and market shares stabilize. In maturity stage, sales grow at slowing rates and finally stabilize. In decline stage, sales drop, as consumers may have changed, the product is no longer relevant or useful. PLC analysis, if done properly, can alert a company as to the health of the product in relation to the market it serves. PLC also forces a continuous scan of the market and allows the company to take corrective action faster.

When a certain product or service is at growth, meaning the public is becoming increasingly aware of your product and word of mouth is starting to spread. The product’s capabilities are now recognized and product development has matured. The organization should therefore continue to produce tee product or offer the service.

When a certain product or service is at maturity, the demand is strong and the service is now booking out. Very soon, the product will begin to compete with new alternatives being introduced into the market. The organization should then continue to offer the service to the customers but prepare for competition.

When a certain product or service is at decline, the number of sales will decline sharply and the company needs to either improve the services or provide alternative better options. The company cannot continue to offer the service as it is currently.

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Determine two reasons why the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) portfolio analysis would be effective in developing a specific adaptive strategy for a healthcare organization. Provide a rationale for your position.

The Boston Consulting group’s portfolio matrix (BCG matrix) is designed to help with long-term strategic planning, to help a business consider growth opportunities by reviewing its portfolio of products to decide where to invest, to discontinue or develop products. The Matrix is divided into 4 quadrants based on an analysis of market growth and relative market share, dogs, stars, Question marks or Problem Child and Cash cows. Dogs refer to products with low growth or market share. Question marks or Problem Child refer to products in high growth markets with low market share. Stars refer to products in high growth markets with high market share. Cash cows refer to products in low growth markets with high market share.

Adaptive strategy emphasizes on adapting to changes in the external environment and entering new markets for increasing sales. BCG enables healthcare organizations to understand the needs of the market, where should investments our resources be done for maximum advantages gain.

BCG matrix enables healthcare organizations to identify and understand market changing needs and make the relevant product portfolio. This enables the organizations to be always in line with the customer needs hence gaining a competitive advantage.