Question 1

In the BCG approach, __________ are high- share, high- growth businesses or products. They need heavy investment to finance rapid growth. When their growth slows down, they are likely to turn into_________ .

Accepted Answer

A)  stars; cash cows 
B)  dogs; cash cows 
C)  question marks; dogs 
D)  cash cows; stars 
E)  stars; question marks

Question 2

While each of the divisions that comprise General Motors is integral to the overall company's operations, each division has a separate mission and develops its objectives and strategies independently. Each division could be described as a:

Accepted Answer

A)  strategic business unit. 
B)  business portfolio. 
C)  wholly- owned subsidiary. 
D)  corporate shell. 
E)  product stable.

Question 3

Business portfolio planning involves two steps: _________and_________ .

Accepted Answer

A)  identifying internal strengths; identifying external opportunities 
B)  identifying growth opportunities; evaluating growth opportunities 
C)  analysing the current business portfolio; shaping the future business portfolio 
D)  identifying SBUs; assessing the attractiveness of SBUs 
E)  conducting a SWOT analysis; establishing marketing controls

Question 4

The process of checking ongoing performance against the annual plans and taking corrective action as required to ensure that the company achieves its sales and profit goals is known as:

Accepted Answer

A)  strategic control. 
B)  operational gap analysis. 
C)  operating control. 
D)  strategic gap analysis. 
E)  operational "best fit" analysis.

Question 5

An organisation that uses both financial and non- financial performance measures to evaluate its performance is using a:

Accepted Answer

A)  bottom- line reporting. 
B)  marketing dashboard. 
C)  red line reporting. 
D)  balanced scorecard. 
E)  business portfolio.

Question 6

The section of the marketing plan that outlines the broad marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to create customer value and relationships and the specifics of target markets, positioning and marketing expenditure levels is termed the:

Accepted Answer

A)  action programmes. 
B)  marketing strategy. 
C)  objectives and issues. 
D)  current marketing situation. 
E)  budgets and controls.

Question 7

The practice of offering modified or new products to current markets is BEST described as which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)  market development 
B)  diversification 
C)  product development 
D)  market penetration 
E)  harvesting

Question 8

The Boston Consulting Group portfolio technique evaluates SBUs on two dimensions, namely _________and_________ .

Accepted Answer

A)  market growth rate; profits 
B)  market or industry attractiveness; strength of the SBU's position 
C)  market or industry growth rate; market or industry attractiveness 
D)  market penetration; market development 
E)  market share; strength of the SBU's position

Question 9

Briefly outline the portfolio planning method developed by (1) Boston Consulting Group (BCG). What are the advantages and disadvantages of portfolio methods?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly outline the portfolio planning method developed...

Question 10

Service marketers have argued that the traditional four Ps of the marketing mix should be expanded to include three new Ps. Which of the following is NOT one of the new Ps?

Accepted Answer

A)  Productivity 
B)  People 
C)  Physical evidence 
D)  Process 
E)  all of the above

Question 11

Of the following product/market expansion strategies, the strategy whereby the company seeks greater sales to present customers without changing the product in any way is:

Accepted Answer

A)  market development. 
B)  diversification. 
C)  product development. 
D)  market penetration. 
E)  harvesting.

Question 12

After management has identified the key businesses making up its company, what is the next step?

Accepted Answer

A)  Assess the attractiveness of its SBUs. 
B)  Identify businesses in which to invest. 
C)  Decide whether to harvest any businesses. 
D)  Decide which business to grow. 
E)  Complete short- range planning.

Question 13

The collection of businesses and products that make up a company is known as its:

Accepted Answer

A)  strategic units. 
B)  business portfolio. 
C)  corporate livery. 
D)  business units. 
E)  product stable.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a valid criticism of the marketing mix?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is overly focussed on customer value. 
B)  It adopts a seller's view of the market. 
C)  It overlooks many important marketing activities such as packaging and people. 
D)  It is overly simplistic. 
E)  none of the above

Question 15

The section of a marketing plan that spells out how marketing strategies are to be achieved and answers questions such as: What will be done? When will it be done? Who will do it? How much will it cost? is termed the:

Accepted Answer

A)  controls. 
B)  budget. 
C)  current marketing situation. 
D)  action programmes. 
E)  objectives and issues.

Question 16

The primary focus of strategic planning is to:

Accepted Answer

A)  determine how the company can best use its strengths to take advantage of market opportunities. 
B)  seek out and develop new market segments. 
C)  ensure the company remains compliant with regulatory requirements. 
D)  prepare annual and long- range plans. 
E)  deal with the company's current businesses and how to keep them going.

Question 17

One valid criticism of the four Ps concept is that services are not considered.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The SBUs or products that present the most difficult management decisions are:

Accepted Answer

A)  question marks. 
B)  dogs. 
C)  cash cows. 
D)  stars. 
E)  all of the above

Question 19

After a company has decided which market segments to enter, the next step is to decide how it will differentiate its market offerings for each targeted segment and what positions it wants to occupy in those segments.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

A company that cuts the prices of its products, increases its advertising and promotional support and expands its distribution is most likely to be engaged in market penetration.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 3: Strategic Planning and Marketing

In the BCG approach, __ are high- share, high- growth businesses or products. They need heavy investment to finance rapid growth. When their growth slows down, they are likely to turn into_ .

While each of the divisions that comprise General Motors is integral to the overall company's operations, each division has a separate mission and develops its objectives and strategies independently. Each division could be described as a:

Business portfolio planning involves two steps: _and_ .

The process of checking ongoing performance against the annual plans and taking corrective action as required to ensure that the company achieves its sales and profit goals is known as:

An organisation that uses both financial and non- financial performance measures to evaluate its performance is using a:

The section of the marketing plan that outlines the broad marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to create customer value and relationships and the specifics of target markets, positioning and marketing expenditure levels is termed the:

The practice of offering modified or new products to current markets is BEST described as which of the following?

The Boston Consulting Group portfolio technique evaluates SBUs on two dimensions, namely _and_ .

Briefly outline the portfolio planning method developed by (1) Boston Consulting Group (BCG). What are the advantages and disadvantages of portfolio methods?

Service marketers have argued that the traditional four Ps of the marketing mix should be expanded to include three new Ps. Which of the following is NOT one of the new Ps?

Of the following product/market expansion strategies, the strategy whereby the company seeks greater sales to present customers without changing the product in any way is:

After management has identified the key businesses making up its company, what is the next step?

The collection of businesses and products that make up a company is known as its:

Which of the following is NOT a valid criticism of the marketing mix?

The section of a marketing plan that spells out how marketing strategies are to be achieved and answers questions such as: What will be done? When will it be done? Who will do it? How much will it cost? is termed the:

The primary focus of strategic planning is to:

One valid criticism of the four Ps concept is that services are not considered.

The SBUs or products that present the most difficult management decisions are:

After a company has decided which market segments to enter, the next step is to decide how it will differentiate its market offerings for each targeted segment and what positions it wants to occupy in those segments.

A company that cuts the prices of its products, increases its advertising and promotional support and expands its distribution is most likely to be engaged in market penetration.