MBA 706 Test 2 Possible Questions And Answers 100% Accurately Solved.

Strategic Planning - correct answer a long-term process that helps an organization allocate its resources to take advantage of diff opportunities. (uses situation analysis) Strategic Business Unit (SBU) - correct answer separate company/division/product line within an org with its own competitors, customers, and profit center accounting purposes. (Uses situation analysis) Levels of Business - correct answer Corporate(LLC, entitiy)/Firms (provide services like law, accounting, design)(Large Organization- top executives) - SBU (separate company division) - Functional (accounting, finance, marketing) A situation analysis is - correct answer critical to the development of business-level goals, objectives, and strategy. Vision - correct answer aspirational statement made by an org to articulate what they hope to become in the future Mission (or Purpose) - correct answer Short statement of why org exists and what the overall goal is (what kind of service or products it provides). Captures key elements of the orgs past and present in a clearly phased sentence or paragraph. What business are we in and what needs do we satisfy? Who our customers? What are our values, beliefs, ethics, and operating philosophy? What are our competitive advantage(s) or core competencies? What are our human, environmental, and financial resource stewardship responsibilities? Values - correct answer inform executives, workers, investors, and the general public of the core values or philosophy of the firm that influences strategic planning, operations, and employee actions on a day to day basis. Corporate Goals/Objectives - correct answer long term outcome you want to achieve also what the company wants to be in the future Corporate Strategies - correct answer provides direction for the strategic planning efforts of SBU's and their functional areas Core Competency - correct answer is a unique ability that a company acquires from its founders or developers that cannot be easily imitated. SMART - correct answer Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time-bound Objectives (functional level) - correct answer are what orgs want to accomplish for given strategic planning, which is typically a year. Situational Analysis (Strategic Planning) - correct answer As part of the strategic planning process, the situation analysis occurs before a company decides on any specific marketing actions Competitive intelligence - correct answer involves identifying current and future competitors that collectively with another and the firm by providing similar goods services, or goods and services that might otherwise compete with the firm. Internal Analysis: - correct answer 1- Review of current marketing objectives, strategy, and performance 2- Review of current and anticipated organizational resources 3- Review of current and anticipated cultural and structural issues Customer Analysis: - correct answer 1- Who are our current and potential customers? Need to know demographic, geographic, psychographic profiles of current and potential customers and with this information create target market section. Know if the audience is buying or user or both and create a market strategy to target both. B2C is not the only customer. You also B2B, which is for firms who sell to other businesses or government or non-profit. 2- What do customers do with our products? Understand QTY, bought separately, Do they recycle the cartridges? Provide free shipping label and $5 dollars off next purchase for recycle ink cartridges. 3- Where and when do customers buy our products? · Where: Firms need to offer multiple distribution channels, physical stores. Ordering online · When: Seasonal factors influence timing when people buy. Christmas wrapping paper season/Some people wait until products are on sale. 4- Why and How do customers select our products? (Marketers should have developed a strong understanding of customer needs and how well the product fulfills them. New competitors enter the market/Existing competitors revise their products/ Complacency is the kiss of death. 5- Why do potential customers NOT buy our products? (Untapped market or problem with marketing plan) PESTAL Analysis of Trends and Events - correct answer 1- Political Environment - the role of government in shaping business 2- Economic Environment - Economic conditions within which organization operate. Inflation and Recession. 3- Socio-cultural demographic Environment 4- Technological Environment - centers around improvements in product or service features and benefits made possibly advancement in science. 5- Environmental 6- Legal Environment- Law and legal cases influence business activity Environment- for any organization consists of - correct answer a set of external conditions and forces that have the potential to influence the organization. (While orgs react to tech trends, actions of firms such as Intel, Microsoft, and Apple help create these trends.) Why does the environment matter? - correct answer 1- The environment provides resources that an organization needs to create goods and services. 2- The environment is a source of opportunities and threats for the organization. · Opportunities - are events and trends that create a chance to improve an organization's performance level. · Threats - are events and trends that may undermine an organization's performance. 3- Environment shapes the various strategic decisions that executives make. Env places important constraints on the organization's goals. Four Levels of Competition (Types of Competitors) - correct answer 1- Brand Competitors (Ex: Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi) (Direct Competition) (Ipad vs Samsung Galaxy Note) 2- Product Competitors - Same product class and satisfy the same need but product differs in price, feature, and benefit. (Ex: OJ, bottled Water, Energy Drink) (Product Competitor to diet Coke) (Ipad vs Kindle Fire same product class but an alternative or cheap competitor) 3- Generic Competitors- Ex: Kool-Aid powder, Soda Stream, lemonade mixes, alcoholic beverages, and mixes) (Ipad vs Google Chromebook very different product to satisfy same basic customer need) (Uncle bob can shoot a wedding for a piece of cake). 4- Total Budget Competitors (consumers spend their money at expense of the firm's offering) (Ex: Netflix, cough medicine, or a new car) (instead of buying an iPad for $500 the same customer would spend money on collectible Air Jordan's) (This type of competitor hopes that the customer will forgo one item in place of something that may be completely different. It's all the same money being used, but a matter of where it will be spent.) Competitive Intelligence - correct answer involves ethically and legally identifying current and future competitors and developing an understanding of their strengths, weakness, and plans Internal Secondary Research - correct answer forms the heart of internal analysis and includes all marketing objectives, strategies, and performance, organizational resources, and organizational culture and structural issues. External Secondary Data include - correct answer 1- US Government, US census, Federal Trade Commission, FedWorld 2- Subscription Services -Standard and Hoover and Moody's 3- Major Trade Associations - American Marketing Association, Sales and Marketing Executives 4- Academic Journals 5- General Business Publications - Business Week, Forbes, Wall Street 6- Syndicated Research Sources of Data - charge 5K to 20K 7- Data Collection problems are common (issue with secondary research) External Primary Data include - correct answer 1- Direct Observations (secret shopper, RFID tags) 2- Focus Groups 3- Surveys 4- Crowdsourcing 5- Experiments 5 key benefits of SWOT - correct answer 1- Simplicity - SWOT only needs an in-depth understanding of his/her firm and the industries and markets in which the business competes. 2- Cost Savings- When adopting SWOT firms can downsize their strategic planning department since lack of specialized training and technical skills are not required to conduct SWOT 3- Higher Quality Strategic Planning Outcomes- improve the quality of strategic planning when no information systems are available. If Marketing information systems are available this can make the SWOT analysis process move FAST. 4- Internal Collaboration- sharing information among departments throughout the organization help look into new opportunities and solve problems 5- Information Synthesis- Proper SWOT analysis integrates and synthesizes information from a variety of sources, including available facts and future forecasts. The disadvantage of SWOT - correct answer superficial SWOT analyses that fail to recognize key weaknesses within the firm or potential threats stemming from current or future changes in the competitiveness of PESTEL environments can result in poor planning that damages the firm Using SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threats) Productively - correct answer 1- Take customer's perspective (This also requires that analyst review the PESTEL analysis) 2- Performed within the context of the specific product market (Ford F-150 users vs Ford Focus) 3- Specific Competitors be identified beyond the brand level (identify future potential competitors before they sneak up on you and do untold damage) (Amazon purchasing Whole Foods to reduce cost to both consumers and the firm) 4- Collaboration - with other areas is often key source of innovation and creativity 5- Correctly separating internal issues from external issues A firms strength or weakness are due to Resources or Lack of Resources - correct answer 1- Reputational Resources - brand or celebrity endorsements 2- Information Resources- competitive intelligence or marketing information systems 3- Relational Resources - relationship with customers and supply chain partners 4- Legal Resources - patent, trademarks, copyrights, contract, NDA 5- Intellectual Resources - Expertise, innovation, R&D 6- Financial Resources - Cash to fund 7- Organizational Resources - Vision, Culture, Customs 8- Human Capital Resources - Leadership, training, commitment Capabilities - correct answer When strengths help satisfy a customer's need, they become Capabilities of the Firm A Capability can become - correct answer a Competitive Advantage for the firm when it provides superior value to customers than competitive offerings are capable of delivering. Strategic options - correct answer capitalize on opportunities A Competitive advantage results from the tangible, real difference between the firm and its competition. Below are the competitive advantage factors - correct answer 1- Relationship Sources of Competitive Advantage (Strong customer orientation, Brand Loyal customers, High Customer Switching costs) 2- Offering Sources of Competitive Advantage (Brand image/name, Superior customer service, production expertise) 3- Legal Sources of Competitive Advantage (Patents/trademarks, foreign trade restrictions, Tax incentives) 4- Pricing Sources of Competitive Advantage (Low volume buying, Economies of scale, Low production cost) 5- Human Capitol Sources of Competitive Advantage (Access to skilled labor, Exceptional employee training, superior management, and leadership)