Exam 18: Ethical Marketing in a Consumer-Oriented World: Appraisal and Challe

Use this information to answer the following question that refer to the PSI case. Pump Systems, Inc. (PSI) produces two major kinds of water pumps. The smaller pumps range in price from $5-$30, and are used in drinking fountains and soft-drink machines. Most of these pumps are bought by manufacturers of these machines and built into their product. PSI also builds larger pumps used in swimming pools and reservoirs. The prices of these items range from $250-$500. These are usually purchased by contractors, who build the pools and reservoirs. PSI sells nationally through sales reps located in the large industrial centers. These reps handle the selling function for PSI in their geographic areas and provide market information. They usually do the same thing for 10 to 20 similar manufacturers of noncompeting products-and are paid on a commission basis. There are no other producers of the smaller pumps in the United States-because PSI has patent protection. As a result of this, management has decided to follow a policy of pricing high-to maximize profits-while the patent lasts. Several competitors are in the market for the larger pumps. Industry prices and profits of these pumps have dropped in the past few years as a result of firms trying to increase their market shares. The product design has remained fairly stable over the last few years-and one firm dropped out as it saw that it would lose more money with its "me-too" product. Industry sales are increasing-but at a very slow rate. The price of these products is determined by adding a standard markup percentage to the variable cost of the items-to cover fixed costs and profit. For instance, pump Z has variable costs of $250 per unit, and a markup of 40 percent of this cost is added to the $250 to get its selling price. Management has estimated that fixed costs applicable to this product are $200,000 per year. PSI publishes a product catalog which is revised annually. Also, it exhibits in most trade shows. PSI follows a policy of charging the same price to all customers-so all will have the same costs at their own plants. All purchases are shipped directly from PSI's factory to its customers-and title passes at PSI's factory. PSI's sales reps are:

One of the disadvantages of a market-directed economic system is that it does not operate automatically and requires careful government oversight.

Monopolistic competition may result in high costs-and therefore it does not do a good job of serving consumers the way they want to be served.

Use the following information to answer the following question that refer to the Sure Foot case. Sure Foot, Ltd. produces high-quality shoes and boots for serious hikers. Sure Foot's shoes have suggested retail prices ranging from just under $40 to about $150. Usually, the retailer buys the shoes for about 50 percent less than the list price, and the retailer pays the freight charges from Sure Foot's plant in Maine. Sure Foot's credit terms are 2/10, net 30. Although Sure Foot's brand appears on every shoe-the firm does very little mass selling, except for a limited program of cooperative advertising and some sales promotion at walking events. Sure Foot's shoes are carried by "better" sporting goods stores all across the nation-although usually in fairly small quantities. Its main showroom is in Boston, where two salaried salespeople handle most of the firm's large accounts. Sure Foot's products are also sold by seven independent "field reps" who are paid a 5 percent commission on all sales. Each of these field reps is responsible for a several state territory-emphasizing mostly the small stores in or near major cities. The field reps carry Sure Foot's products as a minor line-but none of their lines are competitive with each other. The walking shoe market is supplied by 7 large firms and 50 or more smaller firms. While these firms are competitive, they do vary their materials, styles, prices, and promotion. The "high-quality" market is supplied by only 5 firms-Sure Foot being the largest. While these firms are also competitive, they generally offer a more limited assortment of materials, styles, and prices because the "high-quality" part of the market is not as large-and does not appear to be growing any more. Sure Foot's "field reps" are:

Regarding our MACRO-marketing system:

A marketing manager should

The text argues that the plight of the homeless is a result of the forces of market competition in our market-directed economies.

Marketing inefficiencies are due to all of the following reasons EXCEPT

Which of the 4Ps in the marketing mix is most directly related to the instructions that come with a new high-definition television set?

In a market-directed system:

Use the following information to answer the following question that refer to the Sure Foot case. Sure Foot, Ltd. produces high-quality shoes and boots for serious hikers. Sure Foot's shoes have suggested retail prices ranging from just under $40 to about $150. Usually, the retailer buys the shoes for about 50 percent less than the list price, and the retailer pays the freight charges from Sure Foot's plant in Maine. Sure Foot's credit terms are 2/10, net 30. Although Sure Foot's brand appears on every shoe-the firm does very little mass selling, except for a limited program of cooperative advertising and some sales promotion at walking events. Sure Foot's shoes are carried by "better" sporting goods stores all across the nation-although usually in fairly small quantities. Its main showroom is in Boston, where two salaried salespeople handle most of the firm's large accounts. Sure Foot's products are also sold by seven independent "field reps" who are paid a 5 percent commission on all sales. Each of these field reps is responsible for a several state territory-emphasizing mostly the small stores in or near major cities. The field reps carry Sure Foot's products as a minor line-but none of their lines are competitive with each other. The walking shoe market is supplied by 7 large firms and 50 or more smaller firms. While these firms are competitive, they do vary their materials, styles, prices, and promotion. The "high-quality" market is supplied by only 5 firms-Sure Foot being the largest. While these firms are also competitive, they generally offer a more limited assortment of materials, styles, and prices because the "high-quality" part of the market is not as large-and does not appear to be growing any more. Sure Foot is probably in what stage of the product life cycle in the "high quality" market?

The forces of competition in and among _____ helps speed the diffusion of marketing advances to consumers everywhere.

While developing a new marketing plan, Taco Bell is analyzing whether a collaborator like Major League Baseball would be a good sponsor. This analysis should appear in the ____ section of the marketing plan.

Which of the following statements about ethical behavior in business is true?

Which of the following is NOT a current trend that is affecting marketing strategy planning?

Which of the 4Ps in the marketing mix is most directly related to the branding strategy for Apple's iPad?

In the U.S. market-directed system, it is up to each _____ to decide how effectively individual firms satisfy the consumer's needs.

Use this information to answer the following question that refer to the EI (Electech Inc.) case. Electech, Inc. (EI) produces a line of semiconductors for electronics products manufacturers. These items range in price from $5-$100 and are used in products the buyer is producing. EI also designs and builds computer networking equipment. The prices of these items range from $5,000 to $100,000. These are used to control production equipment. Usually, they are custom-made to the specifications of the buyer-the firm that will use the product in its own production process. EI sells nationally through independent sales reps-paid on commission-who work in the large industrial centers across the country. EI is more concerned with the quality of these reps than with the number of them. All of them also sell other lines. EI also uses five full-time salaried salespeople who work out of its corporate headquarters under a sales manager. The home office salespeople are "technical specialists" who sell almost all the networking equipment, while the "reps" mostly sell the semiconductors. Sometimes, however, the reps will send in leads to customers who want networking equipment. EI also sells some of its semiconductors through a Los Angeles wholesaler who carries stock for West Coast customers. There are many producers and importers of semiconductors in the U.S.-but several firms have captured large shares of the networking equipment market. EI has held its own, and in fact, over the past five years has increased its market share of these products to over 25 percent-because of its better technical designs. Industry-wide prices of the more or less homogeneous semiconductors have been forced further and further down over the last seven years-as have industry profits. The price of networking equipment is set by adding a standard markup percent to the direct cost of the items-for overhead and for profit. Following industry practice, all prices are quoted at the seller's factory. EI publishes a catalog, which is revised periodically. Also, it exhibits in most equipment trade shows. In the EI case, in which stage of the product life cycle do semiconductors appear to be?

Which of the following is NOT a trend affecting marketing strategy planning in the area of Channels and Logistics?

A firm that fails to offer a new marketing mix, stands to bear the high cost of missed opportunities.