The Competitive Profile Matrix uses critical success factors which allow the organization to compare
itself to its competitors and to better understand the external environment. Through CPM, organizations
would know which areas to develop and which areas to protect. CPM shows its major strength and major
weakness relative to its competitors. There are three important steps needed in constructing a CPM. First,
the organization must attach weight to those factors according to their corresponding importance through
a survey which must total to 1 or 100 %. Second, rate each competitor including the organization itself
based on their relative strengths and weaknesses where 4 stands for major strength, 3 stands for minor
strength, 2 stands for minor weakness, and 1 stand for major weakness. Third, multiply the weight by the
rating to get the weight score then add the weight score to get the total score of the organization conducting
the CPM and its competitors.
Table 1 Competitive Profile Matrix
School A School B School C
Weight Weight Weight
Critical Success Factors Weight Rating Score Rating Score Rating Score
Tuition Fee 0.12 4 0.48 4 0.48 0.48 4
School Reputation 0.13 2 0.26 3 0.39 0.39 3
Quality of Instructors 0.14 3 0.42 3 0.42 0.42 3
Facilities 0.08 1 0.08 3 0.24 0.32 4
Infrastructure 0.06 1 0.06 3 0.18 0.24 4
Technological Competence 0.07 1 0.07 3 0.21 0.28 4
Campus Life 0.07 2 0.14 3 0.21 0.21 3
Accessibility 0.12 4 0.48 4 0.48 0.48 4
Courses Offered 0.12 3 0.36 3 0.36 0.36 3
Method of Teaching 0.09 3 0.27 3 0.27 0.27 3
Total 100 2.62 3.24 3.45
The above CPM shows that School C scored the highest at 3.45 followed by School B at 3.24 and
School A at 2.26. The table reveals that all three schools have the same ratings in tuition fee, accessibility,
courses offered, and method of teaching. However, School A needs to tremendously improve its facilities,
infrastructure, and technological competence to compete with its rivals and enhance the campus life to
improve the students' experience. From the above CPM, the results appear that School C has a competitive
advantage of 0.83 and School B has a competitive advantage of 0.62 than School A.