| Course | DDBA 8006 Contemporary Challenges in Business |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 5 |
| Paper type | Strategic options matrix |
| Length | About 790 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DDBA 8006 Week 5
An Empty Conference Wing Two Blocks From a Medical Center: A TOWS Matrix for a Ninety-Room Independent Hotel, Generating One Option per Quadrant and Committing to the One That Fits the Owners' Decision
Student Name
Walden University
DDBA 8006: Contemporary Challenges in Business
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
An Empty Conference Wing Two Blocks From a Medical Center: A TOWS Matrix for a Ninety-Room Independent Hotel, Generating One Option per Quadrant and Committing to the One That Fits the Owners' Decision
From Description to Proposal
A SWOT list describes an organization's situation; a TOWS matrix proposes what to do about it. Hill and Westbrook (1997), examining how companies used SWOT analysis in practice, found that the lists were long, general and rarely led to action. Weihrich (1982) offered the TOWS matrix as a remedy: pair internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats, and require each pairing to produce a strategy. This paper applies the matrix to the Riverside Inn, a composite 90-room independent hotel two blocks from a regional medical center in Peoria, Illinois, whose owners must decide by spring what to do with a 6,000-square-foot conference wing that sits empty on most weekdays.
The Inputs
Strengths: the location, a five-minute walk from the medical center's main entrance; a loyal base of business travelers on Monday to Thursday nights; a conference wing with its own entrance and plumbing roughed in from a 1990s plan to add guest rooms; and owners with no debt on the building.
Weaknesses: occupancy of 61 percent last year, below the market's 66 percent; an aging restaurant that loses money; no brand affiliation, and so no national reservation system or loyalty program; and a conference wing booked on only 38 weekdays last year.
Opportunities: the medical center opened a cancer treatment wing last year that draws patients from a 150-mile radius for multi-week courses of treatment; the center's travel nurse program places about 60 clinicians at a time on 13-week assignments; and families of patients in the new wing currently stay at a motel three miles away or in a charity house with a waiting list.
Threats: a national extended-stay brand has purchased land a mile away; online booking agencies take 18 percent commission on about 40 percent of the hotel's room nights; and labor costs for housekeeping have risen sharply.
The Matrix
Table 1
TOWS Matrix for the Riverside Inn
| Pairing | Option | |
|---|---|
| Strengths with opportunities | Convert the conference wing into 18 extended-stay suites with kitchenettes for traveling clinicians and patient families, using the wing's roughed-in plumbing and its walking distance to the medical center | |
| Weaknesses with opportunities | Seek a negotiated rate and block agreement with the medical center's travel and patient services offices, replacing agency bookings with direct institutional business | |
| Strengths with threats | Use the building's debt-free position to lock in multi-month stays before the extended-stay brand opens, offering clinicians monthly rates the new brand would have to match | |
| Weaknesses with threats | Close the restaurant, lease the space to a café operator and redirect the savings to housekeeping wages to protect service quality | |
Options generated by pairing; each is assessed below against the owners' actual decision.
Assessing the Options Against the Decision
The owners' decision is specifically about the conference wing. Two options address it directly; two do not. Closing the restaurant is worth considering, but it is a separate decision about a separate space. The block agreement is useful whatever happens to the wing, and it should be pursued regardless.
The choice is therefore between converting the wing to suites and using a pricing strategy to lock in long stays in existing rooms. The second option uses rooms the hotel already has and needs no construction, but it competes with the hotel's business travelers for the same rooms on weeknights and does nothing about the empty wing. The first uses the wing, adds 18 rentable units and targets the guests the extended-stay brand will chase, before it opens. The owners' contractor estimates conversion at $1.35 million, or $75,000 per suite. At a monthly rate of $2,700 and 80 percent occupancy, the suites would bring in about $466,000 a year before operating costs. Barney (1991) argued that advantage rests on resources rivals cannot easily copy; the wing's distance to the medical center, a five-minute walk, is one the extended-stay brand, a mile away, cannot match.
The Commitment
Convert the conference wing to 18 extended-stay suites, and pursue the medical center block agreement in parallel. The two options combine a strengths and opportunities strategy with a weaknesses and opportunities one, and the matrix allows that, since its purpose is to generate options, not to confine the choice to one cell.
What Could Make This Wrong
The suites' value depends on the medical center's cancer wing and travel nurse program continuing at their current scale. A cutback in either, or a faster opening by the extended-stay brand, would weaken the case. The owners should ask the medical center for its expected patient volumes over five years before committing the capital.
References
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Hill, T., & Westbrook, R. (1997). SWOT analysis: It's time for a product recall. Long Range Planning, 30(1), 46-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-6301(96)00095-7
Weihrich, H. (1982). The TOWS matrix: A tool for situational analysis. Long Range Planning, 15(2), 54-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(82)90120-0
What the DDBA 8006 Week 5 instructions ask for
The fifth week asks you to build a TOWS matrix for one organization and move from it to a decision. List strengths and weaknesses from inside the organization and opportunities and threats from outside, each specific and, where possible, supported by figures. Pair them in the four quadrants and generate at least one option in each. Then assess the options against the decision the organization actually faces, explaining why some do not address it. Commit to one option, or a deliberate combination, and justify it with figures and reasoning. Name what could make the choice wrong and what the organization should check before acting. Cite the framework's source and research on its use. A matrix table with prose assessment is expected.
How the DDBA 8006 Week 5 example is put together
The paper opens with Hill and Westbrook's finding that SWOT lists rarely lead to action and Weihrich's remedy. Inputs follow in four short paragraphs: the walking-distance location and debt-free building; 61 percent occupancy and a money-losing restaurant; a new cancer treatment wing and 60 travel clinicians on 13-week placements; and an extended-stay brand buying land a mile away. The matrix pairs them into four options. The assessment sets aside the restaurant lease as a different decision and keeps the block agreement in any case, then compares suites with long-stay pricing: suites at $2,700 a month and 80 percent occupancy would bring about $466,000 a year, and the five-minute walk is an advantage the rival cannot copy, following Barney. The commitment combines two quadrants.
DDBA 8006 Week 5 rubric: what earns full marks
Graders look for the move from listing to proposing. Each quadrant should produce a real option, not another observation, and options should follow from the pairing they come from. Inputs supported by figures earn more than generic strengths such as good service. The assessment against the owners' actual decision carries the most weight, since a matrix produces options but cannot choose among them; setting aside options that address other questions shows focus. Committing to an option with figures, such as cost per suite and projected revenue, demonstrates business judgment. Instructors accept combinations across quadrants when they are justified. Naming the conditions that would make the choice wrong, such as a cutback at the medical center, completes a strong paper.
DDBA 8006 Week 5 help from the desk
Students often fill the four SWOT boxes and then write one generic strategy. Make each input specific enough to act on: a number, a date, a named competitor. When you pair them, ask what the organization could do because of both items together. Write at least one option per quadrant even if some are weak. Then return to the decision the owners face and test each option against it; some will be good ideas for another day. Choose, and show the figures behind the choice. Do not hide a combination; explain why it works. List what to verify before spending money. If you would like help turning a SWOT list into options, a tutor can work through the pairings with you.
Get a DDBA 8006 Week 5 example written to your instructions
Include the Week 5 prompt and its rubric with the organization and the choice in front of it, and a finished options matrix with its selection argument lands in 24-48h, free the first time. Mention it if a scoring table is expected. Occupancy and capital numbers in this sample are placeholders; your organization's records supply the real ones.
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DDBA 8006 Week 5 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DDBA 8006 Week 5 sample paper?
The TOWS matrix and its full assessment for Week 5 are reproduced below and cost nothing to read.
What organization does the DDBA 8006 Week 5 matrix analyze?
A 90-room independent hotel two blocks from a regional medical center, with an underused conference wing.
What options does the matrix generate?
Extended-stay suites, a medical center block agreement, long-stay pricing before a rival opens and leasing the restaurant to a café operator.
Which option does the paper choose?
Converting the conference wing to 18 extended-stay suites, combined with a block agreement with the medical center.
What could make the choice wrong?
A cutback in the medical center's cancer wing or travel nurse program, or the rival extended-stay hotel opening sooner.