Key Problems That Emerge in a Firm's Strategic Marketing Process

Key problems that emerge in a firm's strategic marketing process include: (1) bad news is filtered out as information goes up the line to give top management a very rosy picture; (2) plans are based on very poor assumptions about environmental forces; (3) planners and their plans may have lost sight of their customers' needs; (4) too much time and effort may be spent on data collection and writing plans that are too complex to implement; and (5) __________.

A) there is poor communication between the firm and its stakeholders
B) although management says they are behind the plans, they do not allocate resources to the degree necessary for success
C) there is a lack of leadership
D) plans can be thwarted by disgruntled employees, other departments, or competitors
E) line operating managers often feel no sense of ownership in implementing the plans