Deck 2: Strategic Planning in Contemporary Marketing

Question 1

The chief executive officer (CEO)and vice president of marketing spend a greater proportion of their time on operational planning than do managers at all other organizational levels.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Employees at middle-management levels engage themselves in business unit budgets and divisional policies and procedures.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

An organization lays out its basic objectives,or goals,in its complete mission statement.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Each strategic business unit (SBU)in a firm has to prepare its plans in collaboration with other units in the organization.

Question 5

Planning often is classified on the basis of its scope or breadth.

Question 6

Marketing strategy is an overall company-wide program for selecting a particular target market and satisfying consumers through a careful blend of the elements of the marketing mix.

Question 7

Porter's Five Forces are potential new entrants,bargaining power of buyers,bargaining power of suppliers,threat of substitute products,and rivalry among competitors.

Question 8

According to the BCG matrix,stars require considerable inflows of cash to finance further growth.

Question 9

Each element of the marketing mix-product,price,distribution,and promotion-is a subset of the overall marketing strategy.

Question 10

Organizations within the same industry usually have the same mission.

Question 11

The Internet has impacted business for new firms by increasing the barriers to market entry.

Question 12

A firm describes its overall goals and operational scope in its standard operating procedures manual.

Question 13

Promotion is the communications link between sellers and buyers.

Question 14

The five dimensions of the marketing environment are competitive,political-legal,economic,technological,and social-cultural.

Question 15

Strategies once implemented should not be changed even if the actual performance does not meet the desired results.

Question 16

Tactical planning usually involves the production of quarterly and semiannual plans,along with divisional budgets,policies,and procedures.

Question 17

Good relationships with customers can equip a firm with vital strategic weapons.

Question 18

A mission can be defined as an essential purpose that differentiates one company from others.

Question 19

The rule of three states that the third major company in an industry has little chance of survival.

Question 20

Marketing planning establishes the basis for a firm's overall strategic plan.

Question 21

Apple iTunes is an example of a successful first mover.

Question 22

Organizational resources include the capabilities of the firm's production,marketing,finance,technology,and employees.

Question 23

Marketers put the marketing strategy into action in order to monitor performance to ensure that objectives are being achieved.

Question 24

Strategic planning has a minimal impact on a firm's destiny because it provides only short-term direction to the decision makers.

Question 25

The statement of Starbucks to "inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person,one cup and one neighborhood at a time" is an example of a mission statement.

Question 26

According to the BCG matrix,dog products can be sold to other firms,where they are a better fit.

Question 27

According to the BCG matrix,cash cow businesses produce strong cash flows and invest heavily in the unit's own promotions and production capacity.

Question 28

SWOT analysis refers to an examination of a firm that is limited to the variables of its stability,work ethic,organizational structure,and technological expertise.

Question 29

The ability to download Microsoft and IBM software products directly from the Internet is a part of each firm's pricing strategy.

Question 30

A target market is a group of customers toward whom a firm directs its marketing efforts.

Question 31

Matching an external opportunity with an internal weakness produces a situation known as leverage.

Question 32

It can be said that the buying power enjoyed by customers has increased with Internet presence as the Internet provides detailed information that is not easily available elsewhere.

Question 33

As the senior vice-president of marketing,Naomi will be closely involved in her firm's strategic planning.

Question 34

Adjustments in the mission statement of an organization reflect changing business environments and management philosophies.

Question 35

The planning process begins at the corporate level with the first step being the development of strategic objectives.

Question 36

The disadvantage of core competencies is that they can be easily duplicated by competitors.

Question 37

A product strategy includes decisions about customer service,package design,brand names,trademarks,patents,and warranties.

Question 38

The five dimensions of the marketing environment exert a fairly constant and static influence on marketing strategies.

Question 39

Middle and supervisory-level managers spend less time as compared to CEOs on planning activities.

Question 40

A statement such as "to hit the 300 employee mark by the end of the year" is typically a part of a mission statement.

Question 41

Strategic business units are key business units within small companies that offer only a few items to its customers.

Question 42

An organizational objective should specify time frames stating "Our organization aims to generate a 15 percent profit over the next 24 months."

Question 43

Targeting consumers in specific global markets represents a challenge.

Question 44

The planning process is an intermittent process held after substantial intervals.

Question 45

Relationship-building goals and strategies are seldom included in the plans of business firms.

Question 46

The advertising director,marketing research manager,and other middle-level managers have the primary responsibility of devising and implementing the strategic plan of the company.

Question 47

The idea of first movers being completely replaced by second movers and the resulting disappearance of first movers from the marketplace is a myth.

Question 48

Fred's Wholesale Club sends emails and catalogs to all members.Additionally,in-store pamphlets promote the benefits of its products.All of these materials are part of the integrated marketing communications intended to send a consistent and unified promotional message.

Question 49

Tactical plans typically determine an organization's primary strategic objectives and exclude short-term actions from their purview.

Question 50

The position of an SBU along the horizontal axis indicates the annual growth rate of the market.

Question 51

With increased availability of information,rivalry heats up among competitors who try to differentiate themselves from the crowd.

Question 52

Each SBU pursues its own distinct mission and often develops its own plans independently.

Question 53

To be most effective,the planning process should include input from a wide range of sources both internal and external to the organization.

Question 54

All planning strategies have the goal of creating a sustainable competitive advantage for a firm which other companies cannot imitate.

Question 55

Supervisory managers tend to focus exclusively on strategic planning.

Question 56

A customer-driven organization begins its marketing strategy with a detailed description of its target market.

Question 57

The planning process creates a blueprint that everyone in the organization must follow in order to achieve the organizational objectives.

Question 58

The pricing strategy is the area of marketing that receives the least amount of public scrutiny.

Question 59

Detailed organizational objectives should state specific intentions,such as "Snapple Corporation seeks to increase its share of the non-carbonated soft drink market to 25 percent within the next two years."

Question 60

In a SWOT analysis,marketers face a problem when environmental threats attack their organization's weaknesses.

Question 61

A two-day offsite retreat was held for a team of executives of a major hospital including the hospital's CEO,President,and Vice-Presidents.Over the course of the two-days,the executives engaged in brainstorming sessions and worked together to articulate the direction the hospital should take and specific objectives that should be achieved over the next 5 years.The team focused considerable attention to objectives related to the Affordable Care Act and rising numbers of patients eligible for Medicare.The executives were engaged in _______.

A)​strategic planning
B)​tactical planning
C)​operational planning
D)​defensive planning

Question 62

The U.S.Sports and Fitness Federation is determining where they should build their permanent training facility.They want it to be located near a populated center but it must also provide ample access to those who don't reside in cities.The federation is engaged in _____ planning.

A)strategic
B)short-term
C)operational
D)economic

Question 63

A SWOT analysis helps planners compare internal organizational strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats.

Question 64

If an automobile manufacturer was planning to introduce a sports car powered by a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell when the price of gasoline in the United States reached $4 per gallon,this would best be described as a direct result of its _____ plan.

A)short-term
B)operational
C)strategic
D)tactical

Question 65

Data suggests that business owners who adopt the first mover strategy will always be long-term market winners.

Question 66

A strategic window is defined as a collection of situations where organizations are unable to capitalize on opportunities because of internal limitations.

Question 67

The limited occasions when the key requirements of a market and the particular competencies of a firm best fit together are referred to as:

A)barriers to entry.
B)strategic windows.
C)question marks.
D)threats.

Question 68

A marketing mix should be an ever-changing combination of variables to achieve success.

Question 69

An event management company decided to use radio advertising in order to promote an upcoming music festival.The executives of the company suggested various activities that could be used for the radio campaign.These activities are a part of the company's _____.

A)tactical planning efforts
B)standard operating procedures
C)weekly scheduling plans
D)unit-wise budgeting plans

Question 70

Strategic business units (SBUs)of a diversified firm have common managers,resources,objectives,and competitors.
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Question 71

Operational planning that involves the creation and implementation of tactical plans for the departments within an organization is primarily the responsibility of top-level management.

Question 72

According to the BCG matrix,if a question mark cannot become a star,the firm should pull out of the market and target other markets with greater potential.

Question 73

Which of the following defines an organization's mission?

A)Process of anticipating future events and conditions
B)Companywide program for scaling down the product-lines that are low on profitability
C)Essential purpose that differentiates one company from others
D)Collection of limited periods during which key requirements of a market and a firm's particular competencies best fit together

Question 74

What has five dimensions,is dynamic and ever changing,and drives the marketer's decisions about target markets and the marketing mix?​

A)​The strategic plan
B)​The rule of three
C)​The marketing concept
D)​The marketing environment
E)​The customer orientation

Question 75

Which of the following conditions would lead a company's marketers to find a new market,change prices,or compete in other ways to maintain an advantage?

A)When the bargaining power of suppliers is low
B)When the bargaining power of buyers is low
C)When the threat of substitute products is high
D)When the threat of new entrants it low

Question 76

Toyota's introduction of the hybrid-powered Prius is an example of how it has turned public concerns and legal issues about the natural environment into an opportunity.

Question 77

In a(n)_____,firms evaluate their products and divisions to determine the strongest and weakest.

A)organizational appraisal
B)market analysis
C)utilization analysis
D)portfolio analysis

Question 78

Relationship marketing can help a company:

A)create long-term and cost-effective links with individual customers and suppliers for mutual benefit.
B)reduce its strategic planning effort since the need for such planning is greatly diminished by relationship marketing.
C)locate more effective media for use in advertising and mass marketing.
D)eliminate the strategic planning process and move into tactical plans directly.

Question 79

The planning process identifies objectives and determines the actions that are needed to attain those objectives.

Question 80

The number of suppliers available to a manufacturer or retailer affects the bargaining power of buyers.