Exam 3: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Novartis Novartis, a Swiss drug maker, is planning to purchase a majority stake in Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Company, a Chinese vaccine maker. Novartis has agreed to pay $125 million for the company, which holds a 3 percent share of China's $1 billion vaccines market. The market for vaccines is growing 20 percent or more in the developing nations of Asia, Africa, and Australasia. In the past, vaccine use has been limited to basic shots against diseases such as polio, tuberculosis, and measles, but as the economies of these countries grow, government and private healthcare spending focuses on preventing diseases such as hepatitis B, cholera and rotavirus, tetanus, and others. Some critics are against the acquisition, claiming that prices will increase. Novartis claims it is not interested in raising prices but rather in expanding Tianyuan's product offerings. -Refer to Novartis.Novartis is creating and maintaining a fit between its objectives and resources and evolving market opportunities in developing countries.Novartis is engaging in:

Russell Athletic,which is part of Berkshire Hathaway,Inc.,is a market leader in sports apparel,an industry that is growing rapidly.Russell Athletic is an example of a(n)_____ according to the portfolio matrix.

A production costs analysis could be a part of a company's SWOT analysis.

Stump's Hot Olives are manufactured by a family business in Wisconsin and are sold in Midwestern grocery stores,through mail order,and to a few local restaurants.The company has been in operation since 1998 and relies on labor from family and friends to produce and package olives in attractive,reusable glass containers.Stump's uses store demonstrations to introduce its spicy olives to new customers.Discuss how this company can establish or maintain at least one of the three types of competitive advantage.

_____ occurs when a business is defined in terms of goods and services rather than in terms of the benefits customers seek.

Yard Whimzees,a Statesboro,Georgia,sign business,began by making wooden signs for residential use to announce births,anniversaries,and such.The company then turned to the business market by making signs for businesses.Creating signs for a new market is an implementation of a _____ strategy.

Strategic plans require:

John R.Harland Company is best known for printing checks.Its Financial Solutions division develops software for mortgage companies and is currently producing much less than the desired level of profitability in a high-growth industry.According to the portfolio matrix,Harland would label its Financial Solutions division as a(n):

All of the following are functions served by objectives EXCEPT:

Jiffy Mixes does not do any type of traditional advertising or use fancy packaging in marketing its products.The company stores its own wheat and makes its own flour and little blue boxes.Jiffy is an example of a low-cost strategy based on:

Aldi is a no-frills grocery chain.It sells grocery staples right out of crates and boxes with emphasis on low-priced,private label brands.Aldi stores are typically about one-third the size of the traditional supermarket.By controlling expenses,Aldi enables its customers to save 30 to 50 percent compared to Kroger customers.The chain targets bargain hunters who are willing to rent a cart and bag their own groceries.Aldi has a:

Walmart realizes a _____ using its relationships with suppliers to give customers low prices and good customer service.

A marketing audit is a(n):

SoBe nutritional beverages uses twin lizards on every bottle of its products and in all of its promotion efforts.It even has its own Team Lizard made up of skateboarders,mountain bike riders,and in-line skaters that it sponsors.The lizard is used to remind consumers of the product and its benefits.To which of the four Ps does this represent?

The set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to the competition is known as a(n):

LVMH,a maker of luxury goods,has expanded its products offerings into China,Russia,India,and the Middle East.This exemplifies a _____ strategy.

When the Internet auction company eBay opened a version of the company called eBay France for the French market,it was an example of market penetration.

Perhaps the broadest control device available to marketing management is the marketing audit.Describe this tool and its characteristics.

A _____ is a study conducted by an organization to identify its internal strengths and weaknesses and also examine external opportunities and threats.

What is a marketing objective? Name three criteria for good marketing objectives.Use the criteria to write an objective for a business with which you are familiar.