Question 1

External factors that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage are known as:

Accepted Answer

Opportunities are external factors that a company may be able to exploit to its advantage, such as market trends or competitors' weaknesses. Strategic capabilities, internal strengths, and external strengths are all internal factors that are already possessed by the company. External capacity is not a commonly used term in the context of strategic management.

Question 2

Business portfolio planning involves two steps: _________and_________ .

Accepted Answer

Business portfolio planning involves analysing the current business portfolio and shaping the future business portfolio. The first step involves evaluating the current portfolio to determine which business units are generating the most value and which ones are not. The second step involves using this information to invest in attractive business units and divest from those that are not performing well, in order to shape the future portfolio. Option A is incorrect because identifying internal strengths and external opportunities is part of a SWOT analysis, not business portfolio planning. Option B is incorrect because evaluating growth opportunities is a part of step one, which involves analyzing the current business portfolio. Option D is incorrect because identifying SBUs is a part of step one, which involves analyzing the current business portfolio. Option E is incorrect because establishing marketing controls is not a step in business portfolio planning.

Question 3

Marketing implementation is the process that turns marketing_________into marketing_________ to accomplish strategic marketing objectives.

Accepted Answer

Marketing plans are turned into actions through marketing implementation, which is the process of putting the plans into effect to achieve strategic marketing objectives. The other options may be related to marketing implementation, but do not accurately capture the specific relationship between plans and actions.

Question 4

In the Boston Consulting Group Matrix, areas of the circles are proportional to the SBU's:

Accepted Answer

The answer of In the Boston Consulting Group Matrix, areas...

Question 5

Which of the following would NOT be considered as an example of market penetration?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following would NOT be...

Question 6

A statement of the organisation's purpose-what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment -is known as:

Accepted Answer

A statement of an organization's purpose that explains what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment is known as a mission statement. A mission statement describes the reason for an organization's existence, its primary objectives, and its approach to achieving those objectives. It defines an organization's culture, values, and ethics, and it serves as a guide for strategic decision-making and operational activities. Therefore, option E is the correct answer.

Question 7

The process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organisation's goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities is known as:

Accepted Answer

The process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organisation's goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities is known as strategic planning. Marketing planning and opportunity analysis are part of the strategic planning process, but not the overarching term. Corporate planning refers to the overall planning process for a company, which includes financial and operational planning, as well as strategic planning. Portfolio analysis is a specific tool used in strategic planning to analyze a company's product portfolio.

Question 8

John Stevens has been assigned to a team charged with the development of a clear company mission, supporting objectives, a sound business portfolio, and coordinated functional strategies. John is involved in:

Accepted Answer

John Stevens is involved in strategic planning, as he is working on developing a clear company mission, supporting objectives, a sound business portfolio, and coordinated functional strategies. This is a key aspect of strategic planning, which involves setting the direction and priorities of an organization in order to achieve its goals.

Question 9

According to a recent study reported in your text, which of the following is one of the most frequently used management tools, being used by about 50 per cent of organisation?

Accepted Answer

The Balanced Scorecard is one of the most frequently used management tools, as it provides a comprehensive framework for managing and evaluating business performance, aligning business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improving internal and external communications, and monitoring organization performance against strategic goals.

Question 10

In the BCG matrix, income from_________ can be used to help finance other SBUs or products such as the company's question marks and stars.

Accepted Answer

Cash cows are SBUs or products that generate a high market share in a low-growth market and are considered mature and stable. As a result, they often generate significant income that can be used to finance other SBUs or products such as the company's question marks (low market share in a high-growth market) and stars (high market share in a high-growth market), which require significant investment to grow and expand.

Question 11

The company needs to add new products and units continuously so that some of them will become _________and, eventually,_________ that will help finance other SBUs.

Accepted Answer

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) growth-share matrix, stars are high-growth, high-share products, while cash cows are low-growth, high-share products. As a company adds new products and units, it is likely that some of them will become successful and generate a high market share (stars) that can be used to finance other SBUs. Therefore, the best choice is C.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of core competencies?

Accepted Answer

Core competencies are not required to be unique to one organization; rather, they should be difficult for competitors to imitate. They can exist in multiple organizations but still provide a competitive advantage due to how they are utilized and integrated within each specific company's operations and strategy.

Question 13

The company is generally advised to take some decisive action, such as divestment, concerning its _________and _________marks, lest it have insufficient revenue to maintain all its SBUs.

Accepted Answer

Question marks and dogs are categories in the BCG matrix representing business units or products with low market share. Question marks operate in high growth markets but have low market share, making them uncertain investments. Dogs have low market share in low-growth markets, often generating just enough cash to maintain themselves but not contributing significantly to the company's profitability. Divesting in these areas can help a company focus its resources on more promising areas like stars and cash cows.

Question 14

A firm attempts to identify and develop new markets for current products by a strategy known as:

Accepted Answer

Market development involves identifying and developing new markets for existing products, which is the strategy mentioned in the question. The other options (B, C, D, and E) refer to different strategic approaches.

Question 15

A measure of the company's business expressed as a proportion of the total business in a given market is known as:

Accepted Answer

Market share is the correct choice as it is defined as the percentage of total sales volume in a market captured by a particular brand, product, or company. This measure helps companies understand their position in the marketplace and helps to identify growth opportunities. A) Brand equity refers to the value that a brand adds to a product, C) share of customer refers to the percentage of a customer's total purchasing that a particular company captures, D) customer equity is the total lifetime value of a company's customer base, and E) share of mind refers to the degree to which customers think about a particular brand or product when making a purchase decision.

Question 16

Of the following product/market expansion strategies, the strategy whereby the company seeks greater sales to present customers without changing the product in any way is:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Of the following product/market expansion strategies, the...

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a valid criticism of the marketing mix?

Accepted Answer

It is not a valid criticism to say that the marketing mix is overly focused on customer value because this is, in fact, one of its primary goals. The marketing mix is designed to create value for customers and to meet their needs and wants.

Question 18

The rate at which a company or a business unit retains relationships with existing customers is known as:

Accepted Answer

Customer retention refers to the rate at which a company or business unit retains relationships with existing customers.

Question 19

The place a product occupies in the consumer's mind, relative to competitors' products, is known as:

Accepted Answer

The place a product occupies in the consumer's mind, relative to competitors' products, is known as product position. Product placement refers to the physical location of a product in a store or in marketing materials. A product slogan is a catchy phrase used to promote a product. Market position refers to a company's position in the overall market, not necessarily specific to one product.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in strategic planning?

Accepted Answer

Allocating resources is typically part of the implementation phase, not the strategic planning process itself.

Quiz 3: Strategic Planning and Marketing