What are the strengths and weaknesses of radio advertising?
> What is the purpose of auditing and why it necessary?
> Which type of accountant could be involved in litigation support and what does it mean?
> If a firm prepares one set of financial statements using U.S. GAAP and another using IFRS, will the financial ratios based on the U.S. GAAP financials differ from those based on the IFRS financials? Explain.
> How should the FASB and IASB converge or harmonize their accounting practices?
> Would there be costs involved for a firm to change its financial reporting from U.S. GAAP to IFRS? If so, explain what these costs might be, and if not, explain why.
> Why do organizations need both financial and management accountants?
> What are the benefits that can be obtained if all countries in the world used one set of accounting practices?
> What ethical issues, if any, are involved in the decision to investigate a suspected case of fraud in a business’s accounting activities?
> China is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. Use Web or database research to uncover how to best describe China according to the five cultural dimensions. Cite the sources for your information.
> Consider the antifraud training for a company’s employees. Which topics should be included in that training?
> An external auditor may suspect some irregularities in a client firm’s accounting practices. In what ways might a forensic accountant be of assistance?
> Suppose you are hoping for a career as a forensic accountant. How do recent trends in fraud provide new opportunities for such a career?
> What factors do you think are most important in protecting your business against fraud?
> What do you think that you should do in this situation?
> What are the basic arguments for and against your business partner’s suggestions as to how to handle the situation?
> What are the ethical issues in this situation?
> Interview the manager of a local retailer, wholesale business, or manufacturing firm about the role of ethics in that company’s accounting practices. Is ethics in accounting an important issue to the manager? If the firm has its own private accountants,
> What is the function of a comprehensive accounting information system (AIS)?
> Consider your daily activities—as a consumer, student, parent, friend, homeowner or renter, car driver, employee, and so forth—and think about the ways that you are involved with IT systems. Make a list of your recent IT encounters and then recall instan
> What are the World Bank’s four classifications of countries based on per-capita income?
> Should all organizations and businesses use encrypted emails to ensure confidentiality and guard against hacking?
> How would a bakery manufacturer use information linkages with suppliers to make more efficient decisions?
> What does computer-aided manufacturing do, and how can an organization use it as the basis of its production processes?
> What is the purpose of spyware, and what information does it collect?
> What can a Trojan horse do to a computer network?
> What use might an organization have for VSAT?
> What kinds of measures could you implement in order to protect your privacy? Would you do those things, or do you feel that Internet privacy is an oxymoron?
> As part of the marketing department of a consumer products company, how would you use browsing history to help market your products?
> As a consumer, how do you feel about your Internet Service Provider selling your browsing data? How do you feel about that as a business owner, marketing manager or entrepreneur? What arguments could you make to Congress either for or against enacting to
> Do you appreciate the targeting marketing that more and more companies use, or do you feel that it is limiting your options? If so, how?
> How many pages are needed for a good grade?
> How and where do you see your browsing data affecting the ads that you see?
> What is ERP, and how has the Internet and improved IT made it possible?
> Consider the various IT systems you use daily. What kinds of protection do they have to protect against invasion by cyber pirates?
> What steps can you take (or have you taken) to protect against such intrusions? What costs would be involved for gaining that protection?
> In what ways might the “opened” message from a scammer be harmful to you? To your IT devices and systems?
> Were you able to identify the e-mails and messages to be “scams” before opening them, or did you discover their real contents after you opened them? What might have alerted you to the risks?
> Think about recent spam e-mails and text messages that you have received. What kinds of information were the intruders seeking?
> If you discovered that an employee was spending a lot of time on non-work–related searches, how would you address the issue with the employee?
> Do you think that the company is wise to monitor employees in this manner? Why, or why not?
> Given the factors in this situation, what, if any, ethical issues exist?
> How will I know if I’m doing the plan correctly?
> Briefly outline the policies, procedures, and guidelines that your department should propose in your first year on the job.
> After reading the first section of this chapter, consider how IT has changed the business of higher education. Identify at least three functions, services, or activities that would not have been available even 10 years ago. How do you think that colleges
> Explain how an organization can use mass customization.
> In addition to being a major online retailer, Amazon.com acts as an e-intermediary for many small to medium-sized businesses. Imagine that you are interested in selling refurbished cell phones. Using the information on Amazon’s website, how would you bec
> What is direct marketing? How does it work? Suggest some examples of where this approach would be appropriate to close a sale.
> Brick-and-mortar retailers struggle to cope with online competition. What hope do store-only retailers have?
> Describe the main types of retailer in your country using the three main classifications. Which is the most dominant form, and why?
> What are the key differences between push and pull strategies used by organizations?
> Compare private and public warehousing. Why are both types used by organizations?
> After I finish each part of the plan, what do I do with my assignment?
> What is channel conflict? What are the circumstances that lead to it?
> Consider the future of e-commerce. Do you think that all retailers will eventually be completely digital, or do you think some products will always require a physical store presence?
> If you owned a business that relies exclusively on the brick-and-mortar model, what factors would encourage you to adopt e-commerce as part of your business strategy?
> Would fully integrating e-commerce in a company’s distribution system help prevent the kind of business failures experienced by some organizations in the UK retail sector? How would your answer change if it were about another country?
> Using a product of your choice as an example, explain the interconnectivity of the elements in a physical distribution system in relation to e-commerce in a retail setting.
> If you were appointed to settle this matter, what actions would you take?
> From an ethical standpoint, in what ways is the customer service manager’s action right? In what ways is it wrong?
> What are the responsibilities of each party—the customer, the airline, the hotel, and the on-line travel company—in this situation?
> Do you think that the promotional mix will change over time? How might it be different in three years? Be sure to address this in your proposal.
> Search for some of the best viral marketing videos of all time and chose one to analyze. What is the product being marketed, and who is the target market? How does the advertisement appeal to the target market? Why do you think this particular video was
> What should my business plan look like?
> What differentiates direct distribution from all other forms of distribution?
> For this exercise, select a car or truck that interests you and identify the target market. Once you’ve identified the target market, describe the features of the vehicle that appeal specifically to the target market.
> Describe psychological pricing. What types of products would be best suited to psychological pricing? How is psychological pricing used in the retail environment?
> Suppose that a small trader sells an average product for $8.50. When the trader checks prices from his supplier, he discovers that the cost per product to him, including discounts, is $5.30. What is the trader’s markup percentage?
> What steps need to be amended in the development of services compared to products, and why?
> What is product placement? Why does it tend to work where some forms of conventional advertising sometimes fail? Identify some examples of product placement from your region.
> How are goods and services classified according to their prospective buyers?
> Newspapers, milk, and fast food are all examples of convenience goods and services. What is it about these types of products or services that help categorize them as such?
> After the demise of everyday low pricing, a pair of earrings once sold at a list price of $200 was marked up to $450. Although the newly revived deep discounts and coupons will considerably lower the actual price to consumers, the actual cost to the aver
> Consider the place (distribution) where customers go to purchase JCPenney products. Next, consider where Apple customers go to purchase Apple products. How do you suppose differences in the companies’ distribution methods may result in differences in the
> Where do I begin?
> How are the products and product lines offered for JCPenney and Apple similar and different? What types of pricing strategies will be most effective for the product strategy of each company?
> Describe the target market for JCPenney and Apple. How are they similar or different? How does the target market each influence their pricing strategy?
> Most streaming services offer a free, ad-supported model as well as a subscription service. What are the advantages of each option to the provider, the musical artist, and the consumer?
> Who is the target market for streaming music services?
> Would you advise iTunes to continue with the three-tier pricing system for music products or to return to a one-price policy? Explain your answer.
> Discuss the choice between fixed and dynamic pricing for online businesses.
> Who is the target market for iTunes? Do you think that this has changed over time?
> Considering the product life cycle, where would you place digital music downloads as offered at iTunes? Explain your conclusion.
> If you were responsible for maintaining good customer relations at the dealership, how would you handle this matter, considering the interests of both the consumer and the business?
> If you were the sales manager, how would you defend your actions?
> Do you think that you would be interested in owning a Cold Stone Creamery franchise? Why or why not?
> From an ethical standpoint, what are the obligations of the company in Beirut and the sales manager regarding the pricing of the product in this situation?
> How would you characterize the particular ethical issues in this situation?
> What other pricing tactics could be used in order to attract more customers to the courses?
> Using the amounts calculated in Step 2, calculate the breakeven point at a hourly course cost of $15, $20, $25, and $30. Based on these answers as well as your assessment about likely monthly bookings, decide on the best price for the cookery classes.
> Using the information provided in the question, identify the fixed and variable costs.
> Select a product and analyze pricing objectives for it. What information would you want if you were to adopt a profit-maximizing objective or a market share objective?
> How is market share calculated, and what does it reveal to an organization?
> Identify a company with a product that interests you. Consider ways the company could use customer relationship management (CRM) to strengthen relationships with its target market. Specifically, explain your recommendations on how the company can use eac
> Choose an existing product that could benefit from viral marketing. Once you have identified the product, describe how you would use viral marketing to increase demand for the product.
> A small business in a highly competitive market has priced its products too low. It is hemorrhaging money. What would you suggest that it do to salvage the situation?
> How would you research a franchise purchase before making the decision to invest?
> Consider the last major purchase you made and comment on your experience of using the decision steps featured in this chapter. Try to be objective and identify the stages.
> Select a tech product (cell phone, laptop, tablet, etc.). Outline the four key areas of utility of that product. Explain how it addresses each of the four elements.
> Why is post purchase evaluation by customers important to marketers even though the sale has been made?
> What is product positioning, and how does it differ from market segmentation?
