Deck 3: Problem Formulation

Question 1

After working through the first two steps of the process of problem definition,the researcher should be in a position to state the manager's

A)root problem cause.
B)Buy-in.
C)change resistance.
D)resolution timeframe.
E)decision problem.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The main purpose of discovery-oriented marketing research is to

A)decide what to do about a planned change.
B)find out what is happening and why.
C)describe changes in the internal environment.
D)describe changes in the external environment.
E)capture and evaluate the new idea.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The best way to avoid the trap of researching the wrong problem is to

A)research all possible problems.
B)define the research problem broadly.
C)delay research until the problem is properly defined.
D)All of these are correct.
E)None of these are correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The two fundamental sources of marketing research problems are

A)ineffective advertising and change.
B)poor sales and ineffective advertising.
C)planned change and unplanned change.
D)technological advancement and customer suggestions.
E)poor management and unplanned change.

Question 5

A marketing researcher is meeting with a manager who has identified a problem.During the initial meeting,the researcher asks,"Why do you think this situation has occurred?" How many times is it recommended for the researcher to ask "why" to dive deeper into possible causes of the problem?

A)Two
B)Five
C)Three
D)One
E)Four

Question 6

Defining the problem is among the most difficult aspects of the marketing research process because of the __________ of every situation a manager may encounter.

A)complexity
B)urgency
C)riskiness
D)uniqueness
E)subjectiveness

Question 7

A discovery-oriented decision problem is best defined as a

A)decision problem that typically seeks to answer "what" or "why" questions.
B)restatement of the decision problem in research terms.
C)decision problem that typically seeks to answer "how" questions.
D)written statement that describes the marketing problem.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 8

A famous case in the 1980s involved Coca-Cola introducing New Coke after much research.The failure of New Coke was largely due to

A)a narrow conception of the research.
B)uneven caliber of researchers.
C)poor problem definition.
D)late and occasional erroneous findings.
E)personality and presentation differences.

Question 9

The main purpose of marketing research brought about by planned change is to

A)decide how to implement change.
B)find out what is happening and why.
C)describe changes in the internal environment.
D)describe changes in the external environment.
E)capture and evaluate the new idea.

Question 10

Step two of the process of defining the problem is to clarify the problem/opportunity,which involves helping

A)managers get precisely to the heart of the problem.
B)managers perform their own diagnosis of the problem.
C)managers prescribe a treatment to the problem.
D)All of these are correct.
E)None of these are correct.

Question 11

The process of trying to identify specific areas where additional information is needed about the marketing environment is called

A)problem formulation.
B)environmental analysis.
C)information assessment.
D)survey scope.
E)research focus.

Question 12

Many managers,particularly those who have been with a company for a long time,are afflicted with "____________",which can get in the way of understanding the true nature of a problem.

A)group think
B)paralysis of analysis
C)normal thinking
D)loyalty bias
E)creative thinking

Question 13

Meeting with the client should be done at the earliest stages of a research project for which of the following reasons?

A)To avoid duplicating efforts
B)Because it is essential that managers and researchers are able to communicate openly
C)To get as much information as possible from the manager with respect to the problem/opportunity
D)Both to communicate openly and to get as much information as possible from the manager
E)None of these are correct.

Question 14

Unplanned change tends to be oriented more toward the ______ and is ______.

A)present;reactive
B)future;proactive
C)past;proactive
D)future;reactive
E)past;reactive

Question 15

Planned change is oriented more toward the ______ and is ________.

A)present;reactive
B)future;proactive
C)past;proactive
D)future;reactive
E)past;reactive

Question 16

A well-stated decision problem

A)takes the manager's perspective.
B)is as simple as possible.
C)takes the form of a question.
D)All of these are correct.
E)None of these are correct.

Question 17

Serendipity,or chance ideas,as a source of marketing research problems,might arise from

A)customer complaint letters.
B)salesperson's call reports.
C)comments in trade publication.
D)customer calls to toll-free service assistance centers.
E)All of these are sources of chance ideas.

Question 18

In marketing research,a _______ is something that needs information regardless of whether the organization originally viewed the situation as a problem or an opportunity.

A)situation
B)study
C)project
D)plan
E)problem

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT one of the six steps in problem definition identified in Chapter 3?

A)State the manager's decision problem
B)Prepare research request agreement
C)Secure funding
D)Meet with client
E)Clarify the problem/opportunity

Question 20

A company selling a food product had received a number of complaints about its packaging.After researching the complaints,the company switched packaging,and sales increased significantly.In marketing research terms,this type of change is best understood as

A)product change.
B)packaging change.
C)unplanned change.
D)planned change.
E)materials change.

Question 21

Discovery-oriented research rarely solves a problem in the sense of providing

A)quantitative data.
B)actionable results.
C)cause and effect.
D)qualitative data.
E)noticeable improvement.

Question 22

A ________ is simply a document that describes,a specifically as possible,the nature of the problem for which research is sought and that asks providers to offer proposals.

A)research requisition
B)scope of work
C)request for proposal
D)research contract
E)bid for services

Question 23

A small fraction of marketing research is conducted to track changes in consumer preferences.

Question 24

One of the most important things a researcher can do for a manager is to provide the same perspective of the problem/opportunity.

Question 25

In most cases,decision makers will fund research on all possible decision problems.

Question 26

Ideas about possible research problems can come from

A)the client during the process of clarifying the problem.
B)exploratory research.
C)the researcher's experience.
D)All of these are correct.
E)None of these are correct.

Question 27

Which of the following sections would NOT appear in a research proposal?

A)Purpose and limits of the project
B)Research results
C)Data sources and research methodology
D)Estimate of time and personnel requirements
E)All of these would be in a research proposal.

Question 28

The research request agreement pays little attention to

A)research methods.
B)population and subgroups.
C)the way each piece of information will be used.
D)estimates of time and money available to conduct the research.
E)the underlying question confronting the manager.

Question 29

A marketing researcher can take all the necessary steps and get perfectly valid answers-only to dis-cover that he or she was asking the wrong questions.

Question 30

It is better to address one or two research problems fully than to try to tackle multiple issues and do a half-baked job on each.

Question 31

When using an outside research firm,experts suggest that managers seek proposals from at least ten companies.

Question 32

Step four of the process of defining the problem is to develop possible ________,a restatement of the decision problem in research terms written from the researcher's perspective.

A)research approaches
B)research abstracts
C)research problems
D)research methods
E)research experiments

Question 33

The research proposal

A)is used primarily to summarize the problem definition process.
B)does not include proposed research methods.
C)provides the researcher another opportunity to make sure that the proposed research will provide information needed to address the decision problem.
D)should be no longer than two (2)pages.
E)cannot be changed once it has been accepted by the manager.

Question 34

A research problem is a restatement of the decision problem in research terms from the researcher's perspective.

Question 35

If possible,researchers should attempt to conduct strategy-oriented research.

Question 36

Step five of the problem definition process is to select research problem(s)to be addressed.Which of the following statements about this step is TRUE?

A)Marketing researchers should allow managers to vote on which research problems to address.
B)Marketing researchers should address every research problem that has been identified.
C)Marketing researchers should address the research problems for which they are reasonably sure they can get favorable results.
D)Researchers should attempt to address the identified research problems regardless of the cost of obtaining information.
E)Researchers must carefully review each identified research problem in terms of trade-off between the information to be obtained versus the costs of obtaining that information.

Question 37

An explanation of the data sources and research methodology to be used in the research project should be included in the

A)research outline.
B)research request.
C)cost/benefit analysis of the project.
D)research proposal.
E)initial research prospectus.

Question 38

An important advantage of using an outside research firm is the degree of objectivity it brings to a project.

Question 39

Step six in the process of defining the problem is the preparation of a written research request agreement.Which of the following is NOT one of the components of this agreement?

A)SWOT analysis
B)Logistics
C)Decision problem
D)Research problem(s)
E)Background

Question 40

Strategy-oriented decision problems are aimed squarely at

A)large organizations.
B)tactical situations.
C)complex problems.
D)making decisions.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 41

Serendipity,or chance ideas,can be a source of marketing research problems.Discuss all the drivers or sources of this type of research.

Question 42

The best way to avoid the trap of researching the wrong problem is to wait until the problem is properly defined.

Question 43

A decision problem is the problem/opportunity as seen by a manager.

Question 44

Problem formulation involves more science than art and must be approached with great care.

Question 45

Normal thinking often can get in the way of understanding the true nature of a problem.