While franchise owners must have at least $125,000 of cash available, average start-up costs are more than double this amount. What are the most likely sources of funding for a franchise?
> 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?
> What forms of research would app developers and marketers need to undertake before introducing an app in your country?
> Analyze the consumer buying influences that may encourage a person to use fitness apps.
> Explain the type of market segmentation strategy that can be applied to the health and fitness industry.
> What is the difference between data mining and data warehousing?
> What environmental factors have contributed to the rapid growth of fitness apps in last few years?
> How would you describe the value that fitness apps provide to their users? What needs and wants are these apps fulfilling?
> Interview a business owner or senior manager. Ask this individual to describe the following things: (1) How broad the competition is in the market in which they operate. (2) What the relative strength of the key competitors is. (3) How they would rank th
> How would you describe The Luxury Closet’s marketing philosophy in terms of utility offered to its customers? Discuss the marketing mix of The Luxury Closet as a start-up.
> Describe the consumer buying process for someone purchasing online luxury products. How do photos and videos fit within the process?
> Describe the Luxury Closet’s segmentation and targeting strategy. What was its value proposition to its target customers?
> What factors in the external environment encouraged Kunal Kapoor to launch The Luxury Closet? Assess the opportunities and challenges that environment presented.
> If you were the marketing manager, how would you handle this matter?
> From an ethical standpoint, what are the obligations of the marketing manager and the risk control manager regarding the introduction of the product in this situation?
> How would you characterize the particular ethical issues in this situation?
> Secondary research can reveal a great deal about the competitive environment in which businesses operate. Government statistics are a great source of free data. If you were researching your country’s competitive environment for businesses, where would yo
> What are the five forces in the external marketing environment?
> Go online and search for at least three companies that are considered great places to work. Describe the compensation, benefits, and perks at each of these companies. Of the three, which is most appealing to you and why?
> What are the disadvantages of buying a Cold Stone Creamery franchise?
> How much will benefit considerations affect your choice of an employer after graduation? What types of benefits would be most and least appealing to you and why?
> What are distinct challenges of managing knowledge workers?
> It is not always appropriate or fair to offer performance-related pay for all jobs and positions. Other bonus systems work better for certain job roles and positions. Why is this the case? Are the alternatives fair? Should the bonuses be solely based on
> What is the value of internal recruitment? Why would an organization consider internal recruitment essential in some cases?
> What is workforce diversity? Why are many organizations keen to make sure they have workforce diversity?
> What are company-wide incentive schemes? Give three examples of plans that are used by some organizations.
> What challenges might you face as a manager working in this environment? How could you overcome these challenges?
> Why might an organization choose to run vestibule training? Under what kind of circumstances is it likely to be used?
> What types of policies and benefits do you believe are most supportive of work/life balance?
> What trade-offs is SAS making to offer the benefits and culture described?
> What would be the advantages of buying a Cold Stone Creamery franchise as opposed to starting a business from scratch?
> After reading about SAS Institute, what would appeal to you most about working there?
> If you were an employee of the Accor Hotels Group, given its customer-centric strategy, how would you expect your performance appraisal to be conducted? Would it be relevant to use both objective and judgmental methods in this performance appraisal? Why?
> As an HR executive at the Accor Hotels Group, you need to identify employees with high potential to become future leaders who embody the strategic approach of the Sofitel brand toward the customer’s experience and to develop a training program for them.
> How does an initiative like Discovery Night positively impact the HR supply-and-demand management in the Accor Hotels Group? Why can this initiative be considered a recruitment tool? To what extent does such an initiative contribute to employees’ trainin
> What do you think most workers would do in this situation? What would you do?
> What are the basic arguments for and against extreme measures to fight unionization efforts?
> What are the ethical issues in this situation?
> Interview the HR manager at a local company about their hiring processes. Describe how they recruit employees to apply for jobs, the steps in the selection process, and their orientation program for new employees.
> What is a realistic job preview, and why is it considered a vital part of external recruiting by many organizations?
> Overwhelmingly, the CEOs of the largest companies in the United States are white males, but women and minorities are making inroads. Identify a leader who is a member of a minority group and describe the challenges that he or she faced and overcame.
> Suppose Reed Hastings asked you for advice on how to make Netflix better. What would you tell him?
> Identify a leader who you believe exhibits charismatic leadership and explain the behaviors that support this conclusion.
> The impact of virtual leadership is likely to grow in the future. As a potential “follower” in a virtual leadership situation, what issues would be of most concern to you? What would the issues be from the perspective of the “leader” role in such a situa
> In terms of cross-cultural leadership, how would you characterize the key cultural differences between countries like the United States and Japan?
> Explain why a school teacher might choose to use reward power to influence her students.
> List and briefly explain the behavioral aspects of decision making.
> In leadership substitutes and neutralizers, what are organizational factors?
> How does a leader differ from a manager? Describe the situational approach to leadership and three major theories within this category. How would the path–goal theory help you identify the most appropriate leadership style in a situation?
> Do you think that you would have enjoyed working for Apple during Jobs’s leadership? Why or why not?
> Describe Jobs with respect to intuition, escalation of commitment, and risk propensity.
> What challenges face employees working for a leader such as Jobs?
> Labor is usually referred to as human resources. Aside from physical work, what else does this include?
> Summarize the basic premises underlying the trait approach to leadership.
> Jobs enjoyed almost cult-like loyalty among his employees. Why do you think people clamored to work for Apple under Jobs’s leadership?
> Do you think Steve Jobs was a charismatic leader? What leads you to this conclusion?
> What are three important lessons from Smith’s career path?
> Do you believe that Smith’s gender played a part in his success? Why or why not?
> How would you describe Brad Smith’s leadership style?
