The Owner of a Small Company That Produces a Maple-Smoked

The owner of a small company that produces a maple-smoked bacon noticed sales for 2002 were 3 percent lower than they were in 2001. Up until that point, sales had been gradually increasing. He is gathering actual information on where exactly sales dipped--was it in a particular region or was one of the methods of distribution less effective? He also wants to develop a way to prevent next year's sales from declining. The owner of the company is engaged in the _____ stage of the marketing management process.

A) staffing
B) planning
C) evaluation
D) execution
E) accounting