FORMULATION AND SELECTION OF STRATEGIES USING QUANTITATIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING MATRIX: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: A Strategic Audit (SA) is a diagnostic tool for strategic planning. It is an aid to a critical organisation and institutional decision-making. SA was performed on Asankranman Microfinance Limited (AML) with the main aim of assessing its current strategies and revising them in relation to the demands of the marketplace. AML is one of the highly-reputable microfinance companies in the Amenfi West District in the Western Region of Ghana. The principal target clientele of AML is mainly women in small and micro enterprises as well as commercial drivers. The company commands a customer base of about 8,276. Materials and Methods: The paper employed a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis to find areas of alignment and misalignment based on the internal and external factors influencing success. Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was then used to evaluate, formulate and to prioritized strategies thereby enabling AML to adopt the best-fit strategy for its operations in the microfinance industry in the Western Region of Ghana. Results: The results indicated that AML stands a better chance of surviving competition in the industry despite its financial challenges; if it expands to other neighbouring districts. Conclusion: AML should focus most of its marketing budget on expanding to other neighbouring districts since the ‘expansion’ was identified by the Consulting team as the best strategy and most important implementable strategy among the other strategic alternatives.