Deck 8: Consumers and Business

Question 1

Which of the following statements are to be found in Crane et al's definition of consumer rights? Please select all that apply.

A) Inalienable entitlements to fair treatment when entering into exchanges with sellers.
B) They rest upon the assumption that consumer dignity should be respected.
C) They ensure that consumers receive full information in advance of entering into an exchange with sellers.
D) They rest upon the assumption that sellers have a duty to treat consumers as ends in themselves.

Answer 1

A,B,D

Question 2

The notion of caveat emptor has been eroded over time. One example of this is the UN's guidelines on consumer protection. Carefully read the following statements and indicate which of them is not one of the objectives of those guidelines.

A) To facilitate production and distribution channels responsive to the needs and desires of consumers.
B) To promote the availability of effective consumer redress.
C) To assist countries in curbing abusive business practices by all enterprises at the national and international levels which adversely affect consumers.
D) To promote sustainable consumption.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Match the following common ethical problems around marketing with the main consumer rights involved.
-Intrusiveness

A) Right to privacy
B) Right to fair prices
C) Right to engage in markets
D) Right to basic freedoms and amenities

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Match the following common ethical problems around marketing with the main consumer rights involved.
-Predatory pricing

A) Right to privacy
B) Right to fair prices
C) Right to engage in markets
D) Right to basic freedoms and amenities

Question 5

Match the following common ethical problems around marketing with the main consumer rights involved.
-Buyer-seller relationships

A) Right to privacy
B) Right to fair prices
C) Right to engage in markets
D) Right to basic freedoms and amenities

Question 6

Match the following common ethical problems around marketing with the main consumer rights involved.
-Consumer exclusion

A) Right to privacy
B) Right to fair prices
C) Right to engage in markets
D) Right to basic freedoms and amenities

Question 7

Fill in the word missing from Crane et al's definition of deception in the context of marketing communication: '_________occurs when a marketing communication either creates, or takes advantage of, a false belief that substantially interferes with the ability of people to make rational consumer decision making.'

Question 8

What responsibility are sellers often said to have, in relation to customers perceived to be vulnerable in some way?

A) An obligation to charge a fair price.
B) A duty to promote sustainable consumption.
C) A duty of care
D) A duty to treat customers fairly.

Question 9

What do Crane et al identify as a focus for debate in the case of companies expanding into new, international markets? Please select all that apply.

A) Erosion of local cultures and rise of cultural homogenization
B) The rise of neo-colonialism
C) Increasing predominance of consumerist ideologies
D) Deliberate removal of domestic rivals

Question 10

What is the 'bottom of the pyramid' concept?

A) Focus on alleviating poverty by raising the real incomes of the poor.
B) Focus on social enterprise or cooperatives to maximize the ability of the poorest to lift themselves out of poverty.
C) Focus on providing small loans to the poorest members of developing societies, who have no access to formal credit facilities.
D) Focus on offering innovative products and services to the world's poorest people.

Question 11

_________ consumption is the use of good and services that respond to basic needs and bring a __________, whist minimising the use of natural resources, _________ materials and emissions of ________ and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardise the needs of ______ generations.

A) Ethical, Better quality of life, Inert, Waste, Current
B) Sustainable, Better quality of life, Toxic, Waste, Future
C) Ethical, Better quality of life, Toxic, Waste, Previous
D) Sustainable, Better quality of life, Inert, Waste, Current

Question 12

Which of the following statements about ethical consumption would Crane et al agree with? Please select all that apply.

A) Given increasing political apathy and the rise of consumer activism, ethical consumption is likely to become an adequate replacement for political action on a range of issues.
B) There is little doubt that a large and significant minority of purchases are influenced by ethical considerations, and that this occurs across the globe.
C) In responding to ethical consumers, companies have two basic options: they can either adopt an ethical niche orientation, or they can take a mainstream orientation to the ethical market.
D) Consumers can, to some extent, act as a social control on business.

Question 13

Buchholz (1998) identifies the changing ethics governing our societies as a factor in the move towards more sustainable consumption. Which of the following statements is accurate according to her model? Please select all that apply.

A) The Protestant ethic promotes alternative meanings of growth and investment in the environment.
B) The consumerism ethic promotes instant gratification and consumption.
C) The environmental ethic promotes investment in productive capacity.
D) The socialist ethic promotes the generation of collective welfare.

Question 14

Under neoclassical economics prices are set at market equilibrium, yet arguably this is flawed and can cause ethical problems, for instance, when companies exploit monopolistic market positions.

Question 15

What are the two main potential violations of the "right to fair treatment?"

A) Violations of consumer interests and consumer deception.
B) Violations of consumer vulnerabilities and consumer exclusion.
C) Violations of consumer interests and consumer needs.
D) Violations of consumer exclusion and consumer deception.

Question 16

Certain groups of consumers being discriminated against and excluded from being able to gain access to products that are necessary for them to achieve a reasonable quality of life is known as?

A) Consumer exclusion
B) Consumer vulnerability
C) Consumer inclusion
D) Consumer disregard

Question 17

Cultural _______, differing standards of _______ protection and the role of markets in addressing _________ and ________ are all key consumer related, ethical considerations of businesses operating in the global marketplace.

A) Heterogenization, Corporate, Inclusion, Under-consumption
B) Homogenization, Corporate, Poverty, Development
C) Heterogenization, Consumer, Inclusion, Under-consumption
D) Homogenization, Consumer, Poverty, Development

Question 18

The provision of financial services to poor customers who are normally unable to access traditional banking services is known as
_______.