What is the matching principle?
> Describe six stages in the product development process. (1) Apple claims to never do any marketing research for new product ideas but instead creates products that Apple employees themselves would be excited to have. What are the risks of this approach?
> Identify the main types of consumer and organizational products, and describe the four stages in the life cycle of a product. (1) Do manufacturers have a responsibility to create safe products even if customers don’t care and don’t want to pay for safety
> Describe the four main components of the marketing mix. (1) Why is price sometimes referred to as captured value? (2) Why do companies that embrace relationship marketing focus on “customer communication” rather than “promotion?”
> Identify the four steps in crafting a marketing strategy. (1) Would two companies interested in the same group of customers automatically use the same target market approach (such as differentiated or concentrated)? Why or why not? (2) Why aren’t markete
> Define strategic marketing planning, and identify the four basic options for pursuing new marketing opportunities. (1) Why is it important to analyze past performance before assessing market opportunities and setting objectives? (2) Why is diversificatio
> Differentiate between consumer buying behavior and organizational buying behavior. (1) Can business-to-business marketers take advantage of new insights into consumer buying behavior? Why or why not? (2) How could families and individual consumers benefi
> Define economics, and explain why scarcity is central to economic decision making. (1) Why is entrepreneurship considered a factor of production? (2) If you had an unlimited amount of money, would you ever need to make trade-offs again? Why or why not?
> Identify three trends that help define contemporary marketing. (1) How can technology help companies replicate the community feel of a small neighborhood business on a global scale? (2) Why do some critics consider stealth marketing to be unethical?
> Define marketing, and explain its role in society. (1) Should every company seek long-term relationships with customers as vitally important? Why or why not? (2) Would a company that already dominates its markets ever care about the marketing concept? Wh
> Characterize the ongoing conflict over union organizing efforts. (1) What evidence would you need to reach a solid conclusion about why union membership has declined in the private sector over the past 50 years? (2) Why do you suppose different surveys g
> Explain the procedures for addressing employee grievances and arbitrating disputes. (1) Is it in a union’s best interest for its members to comply with all the terms of a CBA? Why or why not? (2) What risks do unions and employers take in deciding to use
> Describe the collective bargaining process. (1) Given the history of union-management relations, why do you think mediation tends to be so successful at resolving bargaining impasses? (2) Why would an employer resort to a lockout?
> Explain how unions are structured, and describe the organizing process. (1) Why does the concept of an agency shop exist, since employees in such facilities aren’t required to join the union? (2) Why do union organizers usually gather authorization cards
> Identify the three most important pieces of labor relations legislation in the 20th century. (1) Why are disputes between labor and management often more complicated than just matters of money? (2) Would you agree that the struggle between labor and mana
> Explain the role of labor unions, and contrast the perspectives of employees and employers on the issue of unionization. (1) Why is it so difficult to come up with a single conclusive answer about the effects of unionization on business productivity? (2)
> Identify the most significant categories of employee benefits and services. (1) Why are stock options a controversial employee benefit, particularly for top executives? (2) What are the risks of investing in an ESOP?
> Describe the major elements of employee compensation. (1) What are some potential risks or limitations of performance-based pay systems? (2) How does equity theory explain the anger some employees feel about the compensation packages their company CEOs r
> Identify seven components of professionalism. How much loyalty do employees owe to their employers? Explain your answer.
> Explain the steps used to develop and evaluate employees. (1) How can employers balance the need to provide objective appraisals that can be compared across the company’s entire workforce with the desire to evaluate each employee on an individual basis?
> Describe the three phases involved in managing the employment life cycle. (1) Why would a company spend money on outplacement counseling and other services for laid-off employees? (2) Why would a company spend money to induce retirement-age employees to
> Discuss the challenges and advantages of a diverse workforce, and identify five major dimensions of workforce diversity. (1) How could a company benefit by investing in assistive technologies for its workers? (2) How might socioeconomic diversity in a co
> Identify four contemporary staffing challenges, and explain the process of planning for a company’s staffing needs. (1) How can alternative work arrangements also help companies reduce costs and their impact on the environment? (2) How can electronic com
> List five managerial strategies that are vital to maintaining a motivated workforce. (1) Referring to the job characteristics model, how does micromanaging destroy motivation? (2) Annual performance reviews are common in many companies; how might this ta
> Should banks that have become “too big to fail” (meaning their collapse would significantly damage the economy) be subject to stricter regulations than smaller banks? Why or why not?
> If accepting risk is part of being an entrepreneur or running a business, should the government, taxpayers, or any other entity ever bail out a company that took risks and failed? Explain your answer.
> Assume you are trying to save money for a down payment on a house, and your goal is to have enough within three years. The stock market is raging and has been for nearly four years. Should you invest your current savings in the stock market with an eye t
> What are two key reasons investors choose index funds over actively managed mutual funds or individual stocks?
> What is the fundamental difference in the way businesses approach debt and the way consumers approach it?
> Summarize seven of the most important business professions. (1) Why are communication skills essential in all seven of the functional areas discussed in this section? (2) Why would financial managers be in a good position to rise up the company ladder?
> How does the role of a financial manager different from the role of an accountant?
> Do all companies have an R&D function? Explain your answer.
> What are four ways that business can benefit society?
> What is moral hazard?
> What is a business model?
> What types of investments and expenditures are typically considered in the capital budgeting process?
> What is the primary goal of financial management?
> Review the definitions of current and fixed assets. Why would a potential lender be interested in these two classes of assets when reviewing the balance sheet of a company applying for a long-term loan?
> Assuming the interest rates are roughly the same, would you prefer to finance your new company by getting cash advances on your credit cards or by taking out a second mortgage on your house? Why?
> You’re getting ready to expand your woodworking hobby into a full-time business of building custom kitchen cabinets. To create top-quality cabinets, you know you’ll need to upgrade from the consumer-grade machinery you have now to industrial-grade equipm
> Why might a company’s board of directors decide to lease office space even though it would be more economical to purchase the property and finance it with a long-term loan?
> The company you co-founded last year is growing rapidly and has strong prospects for an IPO in the next year or two. The additional capital that an IPO could raise would let you hire the brightest people in the industry and continue to innovate with new
> Budget projections always involve a degree of judgment because managers can never predict the future with total accuracy. For instance, one manager with an optimistic view and another manager with a pessimistic view could look at the same set of facts an
> Why do lenders often refuse to finance 100 percent of the cost of a purchase, requiring borrowers to make a down payment that covers a portion (typically from 10 to 25 percent) of the purchase price? After all, a lender could potentially earn more by fin
> Why would a company chose to factor its receivables, given that it will get less money than the receivables are worth?
> Why is careful management of accounts receivable and accounts payable so essential to ensuring positive cash flow?
> Why were efforts made to converge the GAAP and IFRS standards?
> What is the value of an income statement?
> What are the three main profitability ratios, and how is each calculated?
> How could you apply the concept of a balance sheet to your personal financial planning?
> What is an audit, and why are audits performed?
> What is GAAP?
> Concept Integration. Your appliance manufacturing company recently implemented a just-in-time inventory system (see Chapter 9) for all parts used in the manufacturing process. How might you expect this move to affect the company’s inventory turnover rate
> If you were asked to lend money to your cousin’s clothing store to help her through a slow sales period, would you be more interested in looking at the current ratio or the quick ratio as a measure of liquidity? Why?
> Visit the websites of Google and Microsoft and retrieve their annual reports. Using these financial reports, compute the working capital, current ratio, and quick ratio for each company. Does one company appear to be more liquid than the other? Why?
> The senior partner of an accounting firm is looking for ways to increase the firm’s business. What other services besides traditional accounting can the firm offer to its clients? What new challenges might this additional work create?
> Ethical Considerations. In the process of closing the company books, you encounter a problematic transaction. One of the company’s customers was charged twice for the same project materials, resulting in a $1,000 overcharge. You immediately notify the c
> Why would a bank lending officer be interested in the cash flow statement of a company that is applying for a loan?
> Why are the costs of fixed assets depreciated?
> Should public companies be allowed to publish any non-GAAP performance metrics? Why or why not?
> Why is it important for sales professionals to qualify prospects?
> What are some common types of consumer promotion?
> What is an advertising appeal?
> What are the advantages of personal selling over other forms of customer communication?
> What is the difference between using a push strategy and using a pull strategy to promote products?
> What are two key ways in which the social communication model differs from conventional promotional communication?
> Should companies involve their marketing channels in the design of their customer communications programs? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so?
> Would it be a good idea to “repurpose” conventional press releases as posts on your company blog? Why or why not?
> If you were a real estate agent, how would you determine whether it’s worth investing a significant amount of time in a particular prospect?
> Do marketers have any control over social media? Why or why not?
> What is likely to happen to a company’s promotional efforts if it fails to define the core message for a new product before launching it?
> Why do some companies avoid email marketing, particularly to noncustomers?
> What are the potential disadvantages of using celebrity appeals in advertising?
> How do marketing systems help avert channel conflict?
> How does a specialty store differ from a category killer and a discount store?
> What are some of the main causes of channel conflict?
> What forms of utility do intermediaries create?
> What are the two main types of intermediaries, and how do they differ from one another?
> What is a distribution channel?
> Which of the four basic functions of management discussed in Chapter 7 would be involved in decisions that establish or change a company’s channels of distribution? Explain your answer.
> Chapter discussed the fact that supply chain management integrates all the activities involved in the production of goods and services from suppliers to customers. What are the benefits of involving wholesalers and retailers in the design, manufacturing,
> How is the AIDA model incompatible with a social, conversational approach to customer communication?
> Imagine that you own a small specialty store selling handcrafted clothing and jewelry. What are some of the non-store retail options you might explore to increase sales? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
> Manufacturers that have been selling to wholesalers and other intermediaries occasionally decide to start selling directly to end customers, which of course puts them in competition with the channel partners that have been selling for them. Even if this
> How could strategic planning help a discount retailer avoid the pitfalls of the wheel of retailing?
> How might a once-valued intermediary find itself threatened with disintermediation?
> Would it be wise for a brick-and-mortar retailer that wants to stop showrooming to use wireless-jamming technologies to prevent people from using smartphones inside their stores. Why or why not?
> How does branding help consumers?
> How does cost-based pricing differ from value-based pricing?
> How many books will a publisher have to sell to break even if fixed costs are $100,000, the selling price per book is $60, and the variable costs per book are $40?
> What are the functions of packaging?
> What is test marketing?
> What are the potential consequences of inaccurately forecasting the demand for a particular product?
> What are the four stages of the product life cycle?
> Review the discussion of cultural differences in international business. Which cultural differences do you think Disney had to consider when planning its product strategies for Disneyland Paris? Originally the company offered a standardized product but w
> Concept Integration. Review the theory of supply and demand. How do skimming and penetration pricing strategies influence a product’s supply and demand?
> In what ways might Mattel modify its pricing strategies during the life cycle of a toy product?
> Ethical Considerations. If your college neighborhood is typical, many companies in the area adorn themselves in your school colors and otherwise seek to identify their names with your school name and thereby encourage business from students. Some of the
> Why is it important to review the objectives of a strategic marketing plan before setting a product’s price?
> Given the weaknesses of cost-based pricing, why would any company use this method?
> Why are some well-established brands worth millions or even billions of dollars?
