Deck 3: The Marketing Environment

Question 1

Consumerism is a:

A) diverse group of individuals and organizations opposed to foreign producers that sell products in Europe that are much cheaper than those produced by overseas manufacturers.
B) social movement that is trying to encourage consumer satisfaction.
C) social movement that is looking to encourage high standard of living.
D) diverse group of individuals and organizations attempting to protect the rights of consumers.
E) social movement that provides consumers with means for expressing satisfaction and expressing their gratitude to producers.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Discuss why micro is more important than macro to marketers. ANS Many authors, notably Porter, have made a distinction between the very broad forces of the macro marketing environment discussed up to now as political, legal, regulatory, societal, technological, economic/competitive and a set of more company-specific forces often termed the micro marketing environment forces. The distinction is that the broad macro forces have an impact on every organization operating in a particular market, from manufacturers to distributors to customers, and such an impact is largely universally felt by such organizations. The micro forces, on the other hand, are still forces external to the organization and not directly controllable, but often have an organization-specific impact subject to the characteristics and status of the individual business. Organisation, buyers, competitors, publics and distribution channels are examples of the micro-marketing environment. PTS: 2 DIF: Moderate REF: The micro marketing environment 8. What factors influence the willingness to spend?

Answer 2

People's willingness to spend is, to some degree, related to their ability to buy - that is, people are sometimes more willing to buy if they have the buying power. However, a number of other elements also influence willingness to spend. Some elements affect specific products; others influence spending in general. A product's absolute price and its price relative to the price of substitute products influences almost everyone. The amount of satisfaction currently received or expected in the future from a product already owned may also influence consumers' desire to buy other products. Satisfaction depends not only on the quality of the functional performance of the currently owned product, but also on numerous psychological and social forces. Factors that affect consumers' general willingness to spend are expectations about future employment, income levels, prices, family size and general economic conditions. If people are unsure whether or how long they will be employed, willingness to buy ordinarily declines.

Question 3

In what ways is Europe becoming an increasingly diverse nation in terms of culture?

Answer 3

Most countries in Europe have a similar structure: resource-hungry issues with wide-ranging social and political consequences are controlled centrally. Planning and service provision within the community are viewed as being better controlled at the local level by the actual communities that will experience the advantages or problems resulting from such decision-making. The European Union aims to establish commonly accepted parameters for planning, service provision and regulation and a framework to assist in inter- and intra-country disputes. However this move towards uniformity needs to be set against cultural differences with the 27 member states.

Question 4

Marketers who attempt to influence and change the various environmental forces have a(n) ____ response to these forces.

A) reactive
B) inactive
C) variable
D) positive
E) proactive

Question 5

Technology is:

A) the application of scientific knowledge to build products that customers desire.
B) the application of knowledge and tools to solve problems and perform tasks more efficiently.
C) applied sciences.
D) one of the weakest marketing environment forces.
E) the result of research performed primarily by universities.

Question 6

Explain the UK government's view on monopolies.

Question 7

A manager's duties in an environmental analysis include:

A) checking information for accuracy, resolving inconsistencies, and assigning significance to the findings.
B) observation and assessment.
C) conducting research, assessment, and reporting.
D) observation, market research, and fact finding.
E) checking the company database, conducting research, and reporting.

Question 8

Describe what is meant by the consumer movement?

Question 9

What impact can paradigms of change have on marketing opportunities?

Question 10

Marketers who view political forces as being beyond their control are taking a(n) ____ response toward these forces.

A) reactive
B) aggressive
C) proactive
D) competitive
E) liberal

Question 11

Technology assessment is:

A) measuring how much technology has been incorporated into an organization.
B) trying to foresee the effects of new products and processes on the firm's operation and on society in general.
C) assessing how much technology one wants to incorporate into a company in the future.
D) judging how a firm's products affect society.
E) weighing the cost of new technology to determine whether a firm can afford to use it.

Question 12

Marketers primarily focus their environmental analysis on ____ competitors.

A) brand
B) product
C) total budget
D) generic
E) monopolistic

Question 13

The textbook suggests that the best approach a firm can take in responding to marketing environmental forces is _______

A) reactive.
B) proactive.
C) inactive.
D) active.
E) variable.

Question 14

Explain how a period of recession might affect consumer confidence and buying power.

Question 15

Describe several ways in which marketers might seek to influence government and its agencies.

Question 16

What type of competitive structure exists when a firm produces a product that has no close substitutes?

A) Monopoly
B) Oligopoly
C) Monopolistic competition
D) Pure competition
E) Mixed competition

Question 17

Based on Figure 3.3 examine the role of intermediaries.

Question 18

The four major competitive structures are:

A) monopolies, oligopolies, oligopolistic monopolies, and pure competition.
B) pure competition, heavy competition, moderate competition, and light competition.
C) brand, product, total budget, and generic.
D) oligopolies, monopolies, monopolistic competition, and pure competition.
E) monopolies, limited competition, oligopolistic competition, and pure competition.

Question 19

Companies that compete for the same limited financial resources of the same customers are known as ____ competitors.

A) oligopolic
B) total budget
C) generic
D) product
E) brand

Question 20

To monitor changes in the marketing environment effectively, marketers must engage in:

A) environmental scanning and analysis.
B) economic scanning
C) self-regulatory analysis
D) marketing research analysis
E) information collecting

Question 21

Disposable income is used to pay taxes, spend, and save.

Question 22

Consumers begin to become more price and value conscious during periods of

A) inflation.
B) prosperity.
C) recession.
D) depression.
E) recovery.

Question 23

An oligopoly exists when a firm offers a product that has no close substitutes, making the firm the sole source of supply.

Question 24

What type of competitive structure exists when just a few sellers control a large portion of the supply of a product?

A) Monopoly
B) Oligopoly
C) Monopolistic competition
D) Mixed competition
E) Pure competition

Question 25

Total buying power declines during periods of economic

A) recovery.
B) prosperity.
C) recession.
D) uncertainty.
E) expansion.

Question 26

Consumer confidence and willingness to spend begins to increase during periods of ____, and marketers must remain very flexible to make the necessary adjustments.

A) depression
B) prosperity
C) recovery
D) growth
E) recession

Question 27

Environmental analysis is the process of collecting information about forces in the marketing environment.

Question 28

If in an industry, none of the many sellers could influence the price of supply of its products, this industry would be characterized as ______

A) pure competition.
B) a monopoly.
C) monopolistic competition.
D) oligopolistic competition.
E) an oligopoly.

Question 29

The number of firms that control the supply of a product may affect the strength of competition.

Question 30

Consumer protection legislation deals with all of the following legal concerns except

A) consumer safety.
B) sale of hazardous products.
C) monopolistic practices.
D) information disclosure.
E) health claims on food packages.

Question 31

In general, which of the following competitive structures is an organization least likely to operate?

A) Monopoly
B) Monopolistic competition
C) Oligopoly
D) Elastic competition
E) Pure competition

Question 32

A person's buying power is a function of:

A) disposable income.
B) past income, natural resources, and financial resources.
C) wages, rents, and investments.
D) income, wealth, and credit.
E) discretionary income.

Question 33

An individual can have a high income and very little wealth.

Question 34

Environmental analysis helps managers identify potential threats and opportunities linked to environmental changes.

Question 35

The best approach for a company to take when monitoring its competitors is:

A) watching for increases and decreases in competitors' prices and match them.
B) analyzing all information that is readily available about competitors.
C) sending employees to competitors' offices and factories to observe their actions.
D) developing a system for gathering ongoing information about competitors.
E) reading important business publications such as The Wall Street Journal .

Question 36

Pure competition is a common competitive environment.

Question 37

When a firm has many potential competitors and tries to develop a marketing strategy to differentiate its products from the competitors' products, a(n) ____ structure exists in the competitive environment.

A) oligopoly
B) monopoly
C) pure competition
D) oligopolistic competition
E) monopolistic competition

Question 38

Which of the following actions is illegal?

A) Political officials influencing how much a government agency purchases and from whom.
B) Corporate contributions to candidates.
C) Corporate contributions to elected officials.
D) Political officials helping businesses secure foreign markets.
E) Paying political officials not to enforce a particular law.

Question 39

Technology is:

A) the application of scientific knowledge to build products that customers desire.
B) the application of knowledge and tools to solve problems and perform tasks more efficiently.
C) applied sciences.
D) one of the weakest marketing environment forces.
E) the result of research performed primarily by universities.

Question 40

Which of the following terms refers to consumers' propensity to buy?

A) Disposable income
B) Discretionary income
C) Buying power index
D) Buying power
E) Willingness to spend

Question 41

The amount of future income already committed to past credit agreements influences one's ability to use more credit.

Question 42

Political and legal forces in the marketing environment are highly interrelated.

Question 43

The three major components of sociocultural forces are demographic and diversity characteristics, cultural values, and consumerism.

Question 44

Wealth enables consumers to gain buying power.

Question 45

Technology is the application of knowledge and tools to solve problems and perform tasks more efficiently.

Question 46

The major forces that make up the consumerism movement are consumer organizations and business organizations.

Question 47

Through technology assessment, managers try to foresee the effects of new products and processes on the firm's operations and on society.

Question 48

Changes in values have little effect on people's needs for products.

Question 49

Technological developments have a direct impact on creating and maintaining a marketing mix.

Question 50

If a person has buying power, he or she is influenced only by a product's absolute price.

Question 51

Monitoring the competitive environment guides marketers in developing competitive advantages.

Question 52

The major source of cultural values is the family.

Question 53

Firms always adopt and use new technology.

Question 54

The number of firms that control the supply of a product may affect the strength of competition.

Question 55

Although numerous regulatory forces arise from governmental sources, nongovernmental regulatory forces may also affect marketing decisions.

Question 56

Credit increases future buying power.

Question 57

Changes in values have little effect on people's needs for products.

Question 58

The micro-environment is more important than the macro-environment.