Deck 18: Ethical Marketing in a Consumer-Oriented World: Appraisal and Challe

Question 1

In the United States, the aim of the economic system has been to satisfy consumers' needs as they-the consumers-see them.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: In the United States, the basic objective of our market-directed economic system has been to satisfy consumer needs as they, the consumers, see them.

Question 2

There are many reasons for business failures including products that do not create value in the eyes of the customer, improperly identifying the target market, or lack of innovative thinking.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Things that lead to business failures are products that don't create value in the eyes of the customer, an inability of firms to identify new target markets, and a lack of innovative ideas.

Question 3

Using total quality management to implement marketing plans is one way to improve a marketing mix.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: TQM is the philosophy that everyone in the organization is concerned about quality, throughout all of the firm's activities, to better serve customer needs. Refer to Chapter 9.

Question 4

At the macro level, consumer satisfaction is difficult to measure and interpret so any evaluation is in part subjective.

Question 5

Micro-marketing efforts help the economy grow by stimulating innovation.

Question 6

Micro-marketing often does cost too much because many firms improperly blend the four Ps and misunderstand both their customers and the market environment that affects their operation.

Question 7

The American Customer Satisfaction Index makes it possible to track changes in consumer satisfaction measures over time and even allows comparison among countries.

Question 8

Looking at the "average" satisfaction of a whole society does not provide a complete picture for evaluating macro-marketing effectiveness.

Question 9

Making sure that the benefits a customer receives from a marketing mix exceed the customer's costs of obtaining those benefits is one way to gain a competitive advantage.

Question 10

Consumer satisfaction at the micro level cannot be measured because firms cannot determine how well their products satisfy customers.

Question 11

In the United States, the basic objective of our market-directed economic system has been to satisfy consumer needs as they, the consumers, see them.

Question 12

The fact that many firms are too production-oriented and inefficient is one reason why so many new products fail.

Question 13

When evaluating marketing, it is best to evaluate micro-marketing and macro-marketing separately.

Question 14

A firm that fails to offer a new marketing mix, stands to bear the high cost of missed opportunities.

Question 15

Monopolistic competition is the result of control of markets by business, not consumer demands.

Question 16

At the macro level, consumer satisfaction can easily and objectively be measured using practical economic methods.

Question 17

According to the text, micro-marketing does NOT cost too much in the United States-but macro-marketing often DOES cost too much.

Question 18

Thanks to much publicity, the marketing concept is now practiced by all firms.

Question 19

Evaluating marketing effectiveness of an individual firm is difficult, but not impossible.

Question 20

Evaluating marketing effectiveness is impossible.

Question 21

A marketing plan should contain specific information like costs and sales forecasts, but not background information about customers, competitors, or the company's resources.

Question 22

Firms can manipulate consumers to buy anything the company chooses to produce.

Question 23

A good S.W.O.T. analysis helps a manager focus on a strategy that takes advantages of the firm's opportunities and strengths while avoiding its weaknesses and threats to its success.

Question 24

A S.W.O.T. analysis identifies the "special weapons or tactics" used by the competitor in a product-market that has the most profitable marketing mix.

Question 25

Monopolistic competition is caused by customer preferences, not business manipulation of markets.

Question 26

Monopolistic competition may result in high costs-and therefore it does not do a good job of serving consumers the way they want to be served.

Question 27

The letters in "S.W.O.T. analysis" are an abbreviation for the first letters of the words "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats."

Question 28

Advertising can increase demand for the product resulting in economies of scale in manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

Question 29

According to the text, the proper function of marketing is to persuade consumers to buy what firms want to sell.

Question 30

A marketing plan usually spells out the time schedule for a marketing strategy as well as the time-related details.

Question 31

S.W.O.T. analysis is based on the idea that one of the best ways to develop a strategy is to identify and copy the marketing "strategies, weapons, outlook, and tactics" of the firm's most effective competitor.

Question 32

People have always been materialistic, even in the most primitive societies.

Question 33

A firm usually has more different strategy possibilities than it can pursue, so it must use screening criteria to help eliminate those strategies not well-suited to the firm.

Question 34

Advertising is probably the most criticized of all micro-marketing activities.

Question 35

Blending the four Ps is easy since fully understanding the needs and attitudes of a target market is a straightforward process.

Question 36

The job of integrating the four Ps strategy decisions is the responsibility of the company controller since the money to do so must be available.

Question 37

The text argues that the plight of the homeless is a result of the forces of market competition in our market-directed economies.

Question 38

A marketing manager who is willing to spend enough on persuasive promotion can usually get consumers to buy anything the company chooses to produce.

Question 39

The letters in "S.W.O.T. analysis" are an abbreviation for the first letters of the words "special weapons or tactics."

Question 40

A S.W.O.T. analysis is not necessary if the firm is considering entering an established market that is already served by competitors.

Question 41

When evaluating the effectiveness of the macro-marketing systems of different countries:

A) the evaluation should be limited to basic economic objectives, which are common across countries.
B) the best approach is to see if firms are making a profit.
C) it doesn't make sense to compare the effectiveness of systems for different nations that have different objectives.
D) the evaluation should be based on how well each system satisfies consumers' needs as they-the consumers-see them.
E) None of these alternatives is correct.

Question 42

One of the disadvantages of a market-directed economic system is that it does not operate automatically and requires careful government oversight.

Question 43

The legal environment sets the maximum standards of ethical behavior in a society.

Question 44

A good business manager should adhere to the idea "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Question 45

A good marketing plan will work well throughout the different stages of the product life cycle.

Question 46

In the United States, the basic objective of the market-directed economic system has been:

A) Providing everyday low prices.
B) Immediate delivery of products.
C) Offering easy financing.
D) Consumer satisfaction.
E) Making advertising memorable.

Question 47

Good marketing managers put themselves in the customer's position.

Question 48

Consumers-as well as business firms-should behave in a more socially responsible manner to improve the performance of our macro-marketing system.

Question 49

The basic objective of the U.S. market-directed economic system is to:

A) minimize inflation.
B) satisfy consumer needs as they-the consumers-see them.
C) provide each person with an equal share of the economic output.
D) achieve an annual growth rate of at least 10 percent.
E) make the most efficient use of the country's resources.

Question 50

The basic objective of the U.S. market-directed economic system is to:

A) ensure the survival of business firms.
B) find a reasonable balance between consumer satisfaction and business profits.
C) reduce the cost of marketing activities.
D) satisfy consumer needs as the consumers themselves see them.
E) satisfy consumer needs as seen by marketing managers.

Question 51

Technology is making it harder to abuse consumers' rights to privacy.

Question 52

The legal environment sets the minimum standards of ethical behavior in a society.

Question 53

A market-directed economic system implies that:

A) society lacks both political and economic freedom.
B) people have political freedom but economic objectives are determined by the government.
C) political freedom and economic freedom go hand in hand.
D) the needs of consumers are not part of marketing objectives.
E) very little importance is attached to customer satisfaction.

Question 54

Given the U.S. economy's basic objective, the best measure of the effectiveness of the U.S. macro-marketing system is:

A) GDP growth.
B) the equality of income distribution.
C) how efficiently resources are used.
D) how many new products are introduced.
E) the level of consumer satisfaction.

Question 55

Environmental problems pose a major hazard to society and they are a particular threat to many firms working in the environmental engineering and management industry.

Question 56

According to a survey of workers, almost half of them have admitted to taking some type of unethical or illegal action in the recent past.

Question 57

Consumers have a responsibility to preserve an effective macro-marketing system.

Question 58

The cost of environmental damage is now a measured cost of most firms that is passed along to consumers.

Question 59

Given the nature of marketing-and the kinds of criticism it typically gets-marketing should be evaluated:

A) at both the micro and the macro level.
B) mainly at the macro level.
C) mainly at the micro level.
D) None of these alternatives is correct.

Question 60

The text argues that international competition will actually improve macro-marketing systems worldwide.

Question 61

In measuring consumer satisfaction, marketing managers should remember that:

A) customer satisfaction is a highly personal concept.
B) consumer expectations and aspirations tend to remain the same over time.
C) looking at the average level of satisfaction for a whole society provides a precise description of macro-marketing effectiveness.
D) evaluations of macro-marketing effectiveness are purely objective in that they are based on tabulated survey results.
E) All of these alternatives are correct.

Question 62

In the U.S. market-directed system, it is up to each _____ to decide how effectively individual firms satisfy the consumer's needs.

A) market research consultant
B) customer
C) manufacturer
D) advertising agency
E) salesperson

Question 63

When evaluating macro-marketing:

A) the evaluation is necessarily subjective.
B) the best approach is to consider the profit generated by individual firms within the overall system.
C) one must determine how efficiently the society's resources are used.
D) one must consider each individual firm's role in the marketing system.
E) All of these alternatives are correct.

Question 64

MACRO-marketing:

A) is probably best evaluated by how individual consumer-citizens vote.
B) can be evaluated with quantitative measures of consumer satisfaction.
C) is concerned with how efficiently individual companies use their resources.
D) is easier to evaluate than micro-marketing.
E) None of these alternatives is correct.

Question 65

_____ can be used as a rough measure of a firm's efficiency in satisfying customers.

A) Production
B) The marketing mix
C) Profits
D) Macro-marketing
E) Returns

Question 66

The authors of the text contend that:

A) Both micro- and macro-marketing cost too much.
B) Neither micro- or macro-marketing costs too much.
C) Micro-marketing often does cost too much, but macro-marketing does not.
D) Micro-marketing does not cost too much, but macro-marketing does.
E) None of these alternatives is correct.

Question 67

MICRO-marketing effectiveness can be measured by:

A) the profits of business firms.
B) the opinions of intermediaries.
C) consumer complaints.
D) attitude research studies.
E) All of these are good measurements for MICRO-marketing.

Question 68

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Research shows that many customers are not satisfied and feel that some companies do not deliver on their promises.
B) Research shows that most customers are somewhat satisfied and feel that companies usually deliver on their promises.
C) Research shows that most customers are satisfied and feel that companies deliver on their promises.

Question 69

According to the text:

A) macro-marketing costs too much in the United States-given the current objective.
B) marketing never costs too much.
C) micro-marketing often does cost too much.
D) micro-marketing always costs too much.
E) all macro-marketing systems cost too much.

Question 70

Alia was satisfied with the old television that she had owned for years. But after watching a few shows on her friend's big, flat-screen, HD television, she felt that she should buy a newer model for herself. Which of the following limitations of macro-marketing effectiveness does this illustrate?

A) Customer satisfaction is easy to measure by means of a survey or a poll.
B) Customer satisfaction depends on and is relative to individual aspirations.
C) Customer satisfaction remains unchanged even when levels of expectation rise.
D) The American Customer Satisfaction Index provides an accurate measure of satisfaction.
E) The average level of customer satisfaction provides a complete picture for evaluating macro-marketing effectiveness.

Question 71

Consumer satisfaction:

A) is a highly reliable standard for evaluating macro-marketing effectiveness.
B) is easy to measure because it is a highly personal concept.
C) is the objective of all macro-marketing systems.
D) depends on consumers' level of expectation.
E) None of these alternatives is correct.

Question 72

Comment cards are generally used to measure:

A) customer satisfaction.
B) product perishability.
C) employee productivity.
D) advertisement TRPs.

Question 73

Measuring macro consumer satisfaction:

A) is easy-just add up all the marketing mixes.
B) is difficult because consumer satisfaction depends on the level of consumer aspiration.
C) must be done quantitatively.
D) uses MIS techniques.
E) None of these alternatives is correct.

Question 74

A national restaurant chain encourages its customers to use its website as a means of providing comments about their experiences at the chain's locations. This website is one way of measuring:

A) macro-marketing effectiveness.
B) the effectiveness of competition.
C) employee empowerment.
D) micro-marketing effectiveness.
E) All of these alternatives are correct.

Question 75

In a market-directed system:

A) the emphasis lies in optimizing the rate of production.
B) the government decides what products should be produced to meet the people's needs.
C) firms do not rely on customer satisfaction as it is impossible to measure.
D) customer satisfaction has very little importance.
E) it is up to each customer to decide how effectively individual firms satisfy his or her needs.

Question 76

Measuring MICRO-marketing effectiveness is ______________ than measuring MACRO-marketing effectiveness.

A) more difficult
B) not easier or harder
C) easier

Question 77

Satisfaction with a firm's marketing efforts can be roughly measured by

A) its profit.
B) the firm's impact on the macro-marketing system.
C) the size of its target markets.
D) its marketing mix.
E) None of these are good measurements.

Question 78

A measure of overall consumer satisfaction in the United States, created by researchers at the University Michigan, and called the ________________________ is based on the results of regular interviews with thousands of customers.

A) Index of Consumer Confidence
B) United States Customer Satisfaction Index
C) American Customer Satisfaction Index
D) Survey of Consumer Sentiment
E) Gallup Poll

Question 79

Given the American economy's basic objective of meeting consumers' needs as THEY-the consumers-see them, it is sensible to evaluate our MACRO-marketing system in terms of:

A) the level of consumer satisfaction.
B) how efficiently our resources are used.
C) the value of the inputs to the system.
D) our standard of living-as measured by GNI.
E) total business profits.

Question 80

According to the text:

A) both micro-marketing and macro-marketing usually cost too much.
B) neither micro-marketing nor macro-marketing costs too much.
C) macro-marketing costs too much in the United States.
D) micro-marketing frequently costs too much.