MAR1011 - Chapter 2

According to the Boston Consulting Group portfolio analysis framework, business units that are in high-growth markets but have low levels of market share are termed:

- Question marks. Question marks are business units with low relative market shares in high-growth markets.

Which of the following is TRUE regarding marketing plans?

- A marketing plan should be flexible. A marketing plan should be flexible and allow management to re-evaluate and redirect efforts in response to changing environmental factors or inability to achieve the objectives.

Which of the following is TRUE regarding a firm's strengths?

- A strength reflects a capability within the company. A strength reflects a capability within the company and may lead to a competitive advantage.

The internet has had an enormous impact on business strategies. Among these impacts, the Internet has decreased which of the following?

- Barriers to market entry. The internet has increased rivalry among competitors, the bargaining power of buyers, and consumers awareness of the differences among competitors. It has decreased barriers to market entry.

If firms hold a patent on a popular new technology, that firm is likely to have:

- High bargaining power with its buyers. The fewer the number of suppliers in a market, the higher the bargaining power of an individual supplier will be. A patent holder is likely to be the sole supplier of its product, giving it maximum bargaining power.

Leverage is a situation where the firm's _____ strength matches an _______ opportunity.

- Internal, external.

_____ included in the marketing plan identify outcome measures to determine if the company's activities are accomplishing the marketing objective.

- Key performance Indicators. Key performance indicators are qualifiable outcome measures to provide objective data. They are used to evaluate if the company's activities are accomplishing the marketing objective.

Strategic plans focus on organizational objectives that will typically affect a firm for the ______.

- Long term. Strategic plans are intended to provide long-term direction.

Using the portfolio framework known as the BCG matrix, a business unit characterizes as a "dog" would have ____ growth rate and _____ share of the market.

- Low, low. Dogs are characterized by low levels of market share in low-growth markets.

Supervisory management is most often responsible for tasks related to what type of organizational planning effort?

- Operational. Supervisory managers, such as sales managers or marketing research directors, tend to focus on operational planning. This type of planning is focused on their own business units and has a relatively short-term time horizon.

The advertising director of a firm is engaged in tactical planning. One of their likely areas of responsibility is:

- Preparing short-term plans for their business unit. Tactical planning guides the implementation of activities specified in the strategic plan. Its focus is narrower and shorter term than strategic planning.

Imagine you are marketing manager at Dell Computer and tasked with using the BCG portfolio analysis to classify various product lines. If Dells has a low level of market share for its tablet line of products designed for students or recreational users and that sector of the marketplace is experiencing a high level of growth, Dell's line of tablets would be classified as a _______.

- Question mark. Business units in high-growth market with low levels of market share are classified as question marks.

Coca-Cola has variety of beverages to offer customers from fruit juice to carbonated sodas or bottled water. Recently, sales of bottled water and fortified water have been on the rise and are expected to continue growing. In addition, Cola-Cola has a large market share of the bottled water market. Using the BCG portfolio analysis tool, which quadrant would best describe Coca-Cola's brands of bottled water and fortified water?

- Star. Stars represent units with high market shares in high-growth markets.

Procter & Gamble acquired Gillette, the well-known maker of shaving products, partly to broaden the appeal of P&G brands to men. This decision was the result of _______ planning.

- Strategic. This was long-term strategic decision affecting the fundamental strategies and companywide objectives of Procter & Gamble.

Which of the following is NOT one of the competitive force identified by strategist Micheal E. Porter?

- Threat of economic disruption. The five forces include threat of new competitors, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry.

Carlos is a marketing manager with Medicom, a cable TV and Internet service provider. He knows that consumer preference is shifting toward media streaming services such as Netflix especially among younger consumers. If Carlos were preforming a SWOT analysis, he would characterize the change in consumer preference for media streaming services represents a(n) ______ for Mediacom.

- Threat. A threat factor in the external environment that could limit the company's success.

In the last several years, there has been increased attention in buying "local" products and supporting the small, independent farmers in a local geographic area. A recent culinary school graduate is a considering the launch of a restaurant that would feature "locally produced" vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy products. The chef has been cultivating relationships with products to support his or her menu. However, the prices for most products are higher in be higher and the menu prices will be offer less expensive meals or lower prices compared to the new restaurants. The ability of competing restaurant would be considered a(n) ________ if the recent culinary graduate were conducting a SWOT analysis.

- Threat. Lower menu prices at competing restaurants would represent a threat to the new restaurant owned by the resent culinary graduate.

Traditional "department stores" such as Macy's and Dillard's are facing decisions as consumer shopping patterns have changed. Consumer visits to enclosed mails have declined, "fast fashion" retailers such as H&M have attracted a large following, and department stores have closed many locations in order to cut costs. Stores such as H&M are able to decrease the time to produce clothing and often work with suppliers to deliver new styles in 4 to 6 weeks compared to industry averages of 12 or more weeks. However, H&M has faced pressure from human rights activists due to poor working conditions in some of the factories in India that produce the cloths. Assumes that you are a marketing manager with H&M conducting a SWOT analysis. How would you classify the pressure from human rights activists related to factory working conditions where the clothing is produced?

- Threats. Pressure from the activists regarding the factory working conditions represents a threat, an external environmental factor.

State Farm Insurance is one of the largest property casualty firms in the United States and offers a range of insurance products such as automobile, property, and life insurance to customers. State Farm has thousands of employees who work on their information technology systems but since the life, automobile, and property/casualty businesses are treated as separate business units, it's difficult to fully utilize technology to communicate directly with their customers and understand their needs. Therefore, if a SWOT analysis were performed, the treatment of these units as separate businesses would represent a(n) _____ for State Farm.

- Weakness. Weakness relate to limitations that place the company at a disadvantage and are factors that are internal to the company.

A firm's strengths uncovered by a SWOT analysis would not include:

1. Changing buyer tastes in the market. 2. High employee turnover. 3. Favorable government regulations. Explanation: 1. This is an external factor, while strengths are internal. 2. This is an internal weakness. 3. This is an external factor, while strengths are internal.