Deck 4: Sales Force Organization

Question 1

In the typical product-manager organizational structure,this executive has responsibility for a product's success,but does not have corresponding authority in advertising,pricing,and other marketing areas.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Strategic accounts are differentiated only by their large share of the seller's total business.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Selling to major accounts often requires skills not possessed by the typical field sales representatives.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Some firms establish a separate sales force to sell to strategic accounts.

Question 5

A line and staff sales organization ordinarily does not provide any executive specialization.

Question 6

Citizenship behaviors are things people do on-the-job that are above and beyond their formal job requirements.

Question 7

A virtual offices have increased selling costs because of the technology that is needed in such an office.

Question 8

The concept of market specialization in sales organization is not consistent with the marketing concept.

Question 9

In recent years firms have restructured their sales organizations around their best selling products.

Question 10

The use of market specialization in sales organizational structures has increased in recent years.

Question 11

In today's marketing environment,geographical specialization is not used very much in sales force organizations.

Question 12

Companies who have adopted the horizontal organizational structure have eliminated the need for functional divisions.

Question 13

A line sales organization is probably the most widely used basic form of organization in sales departments today.

Question 14

An organizational structure which makes extensive use of teams is an example of a line and staff organization.

Question 15

One risk in a functional type of sales organization is that line sales executives and the salespeople may get orders from more than one person.

Question 16

To have an effective span of executive control,not more than five subordinates should report directly to one executive.

Question 17

A sales organization should be built around activities,not around people.

Question 18

The product-manager system has not been used to any extent in the marketing of consumer goods;its main use has been in the business-products field.

Question 19

In a geographical sales organization there usually is geographical specialization of marketing activities such as advertising and marketing research.

Question 20

When a sales force is organized by product line,a major drawback is that sometimes more than one salesperson from a company calls on the same customer.

Question 21

When designing a new sales organization or revising an existing one,a good generalization to follow is:

A)Build your organization around your good people.
B)Design the organization from the top down,starting with the president and working your way logically down to the sales department.
C)Centralize the organization.
D)The structure should reflect a market orientation,so focus attention first on the market's needs and the sales force.
E)Build the organization around the informal structure,because that's the way the company really works.

Question 22

A trend in sales force re-structuring is to:

A)move toward flatter organizations.
B)structure around people,not activities.
C)make the organization as inflexible as possible.
D)move decision-making authority to the managers (i.e. ,away from subordinates).
E)All of these.

Question 23

Of the four basic sales organization structures,the structure which has been recently adopted by some of the U.S.' biggest companies is:

A)Line organization.
B)Line and staff organization.
C)Functional organization.
D)Horizontal organization.
E)None of these.

Question 24

A branch sales manager is assigned the task of opening a new market and developing new accounts in that market.The sales force to cover that market is selected by people in the home office,and the branch manager does not participate in the selection process.This situation seems to violate the organizational principle relating to:

A)Building an organization around activities,not people.
B)Relationship of responsibility and authority.
C)Need for balance and coordination.
D)Building an organization that reflects a market orientation.
E)Span of executive control.

Question 25

A district sales manager for a cosmetics manufacturer supervised 160 salespeople who sold on a door-to-door basis.Seventeen of these district managers reported to one divisional sales manager.This situation seems to be violating the organizational principle that:

A)Span of control should be reasonable.
B)Organization should be stable,but flexible.
C)Organization should reflect a market orientation.
D)Organization should be build around activities.
E)Balance and coordination is needed in an organization.

Question 26

Regarding the relationship between sales force organization and strategic planning in a firm:

A)The organizational structure has a significant bearing on the implementation of the strategic planning.
B)There is no close relationship between organization and strategic planning.
C)An organizational structure ordinarily does not serve as a control mechanism in a firm.
D)Mistakes in organization are easily corrected with good sales training.
E)None of these is correct.

Question 27

An organization which has many cross-functional teams:

A)Utilizes top-down control.
B)Is usually a vertically structured organization.
C)Is usually a flatter organization in which coordination is across activities.
D)Is a thing of the past.
E)Does not believe that all marketing activities should be organizationally integrated and coordinated.

Question 28

An organization is:

A)Something needed to get the job done.
B)Not needed if you have a small company.
C)Simply an arrangement - a working structure - of activities involving a group of people.
D)Needed before doing any strategic planning.
E)None of these is even close.

Question 29

Most producers do not use independent sales organizations to get their products to the final customers.

Question 30

If a district sales manager is assigned a volume quota but is not allowed any voice in the selection of his salespeople,which principle of organization is violated?

A)Relationship of responsibility and authority.
B)Provision for flexibility and stability.
C)Proper span of control.
D)Need for balance and coordination.
E)Provision for centralization.

Question 31

The text defines an organization as:

A)a sales performance goal assigned to a salesperson.
B)an arrangement of activities whereby the people involved in them can act together more effectively than they can act individually.
C)a number of customers located within a given geographical area and assigned to a sales rep.
D)working better when there is no informal organization in a firm.
E)None of these is correct.

Question 32

Although more expensive,team selling is by far the best method of calling upon accounts and should be used for all routine selling situations.

Question 33

An informal organization:

A)Would not exist in a well-run firm.
B)Is not practical or realistic in today's business system.
C)Slows down business activities and reduces efficiency.
D)Is not likely to be found in a decentralized organization.
E)None of these is correct.

Question 34

Selling teams have evolved in order for companies to be more responsive to needs of the buying center.

Question 35

With eighteen department heads are reporting to the marketing manager of a company making office furniture,this firm is probably violating the organizational principle regarding:

A)The informal organization.
B)Flexibility.
C)Branch organization.
D)Span of executive control.
E)Organized around activities,not people.

Question 36

The advent of e-commerce has not affected sales department organization.

Question 37

In sales organizational structures,foreign middlemen generally are less aggressive and perform fewer marketing activities than do their American counterparts.

Question 38

A formal organization's well-being often is maintained by a system known as:

A)The informal organization.
B)Management by objectives.
C)Team selling.
D)Internationalizing the sales operations.
E)Strategic planning.

Question 39

The organizational concept of a selling center (team selling)has developed,in part at least,to match the expertise of buying centers.

Question 40

The process of arranging the activities of a group of people so that the people involved can act together better than they can individually is called:

A)Planning.
B)Organizing.
C)Staffing.
D)Setting goals.
E)Evaluating.

Question 41

A drawback to a line and staff sales organization is that:

A)It cannot be used by a company that sells to many different types of customers.
B)It is difficult to separate planning and operating activities.
C)Problems may arise when staff executives take on line authority,instead of acting only as advisers.
D)The span of control usually is too large.
E)It discourages the use of the division of labor.

Question 42

Which of the following is most likely to organize its sales force by product line?

A)Manufacturer of guitars.
B)Producer of small appliances (toaster,iron,blender,etc. ).
C)Rubber company producing auto tires,athletic shoes,and industrial rubber products.
D)Company producing wristwatches.
E)Manufacturer selling small motors to widely different markets.

Question 43

Typically with respect to a line sales organization:

A)Planning and operating activities are separated.
B)Authority is decentralized.
C)Managerial specialization is lacking.
D)Provision is usually made for replacement executives.
E)There is a high-cost executive structure.

Question 44

Key elements of the horizontal organization structure include all of the following except:

A)Profitability at the expense of customer satisfaction.
B)Self-managed cross-functional teams.
C)Fewer departmental boundaries
D)Direct and regular contact with customers.
E)Fewer management levels.

Question 45

A drawback to a line and staff organization is that:

A)Problems may be caused by a staff officer assuming (or being given)too much authority.
B)The structure is not useful if management follows a policy of decentralization of authority.
C)It is difficult to separate planning and operating functions.
D)This type of structure usually lacks flexibility.
E)The span of executive control usually is too large.

Question 46

A major limitation of the functional type of sales organization is that:

A)Functional executives can only recommend to a field sales manager regarding assignments for the salespeople.
B)Managerial specialists cannot be used effectively.
C)It cannot be used very well if the firm sells a wide line of complex,technical products.
D)Some of the line sales officers or the salespeople may be getting orders from more than one person.
E)None of these.

Question 47

A company selling both ___________ will most likely organize its sales force by product line.

A)auto tires and tires for earth-moving vehicles
B)printers and fax machines
C)meats and fertilizers
D)lubricating oils and greases (sold to widely different markets)
E)luggage and luggage accessories.

Question 48

A company is likely to use a line organization when:

A)The company sells a variety of products.
B)The company's market is national.
C)The president wants to stimulate a policy of decentralization.
D)The company and the sales force is small.
E)Management wants to use various marketing specialists.

Question 49

A drawback to organizing the sales force in a geographical specialization is that:

A)customers may get called on by multiple reps from the same selling firm.
B)it results in more travel time for each sales rep.
C)it leads to uneven coverage of the market.
D)there is usually no specialization of marketing activities.
E)All of these are drawbacks.

Question 50

When a sales force is organized by product lines:

A)More than one sales rep may call in the same customer.
B)A company cannot effectively use staff assistants who specialize by product line.
C)This is not a good structure for selling complex,technical products.
D)Usually each customer is called on by only one salesperson in the company.
E)There is no opportunity for geographical specialization.

Question 51

Which of the following organizational structures will most likely be used by a large company selling several unrelated technically complex products?

A)Geographical specialization with each rep selling the full product mix.
B)Line organization.
C)Customer specialization.
D)Product specialization.
E)Any of the above is equally likely to be used.

Question 52

When a company used a geographical sales organization:

A)A firm cannot meet local competition effectively.
B)Profit accountability can be placed on the territorial sales executives.
C)The structure is inflexible.
D)Market coverage becomes uneven.
E)The structure is not a good choice for a firm selling a limited line of products.

Question 53

A company is likely to use a line organization when:

A)Management wants to use various marketing specialists.
B)The market consists of quite different groups of customers.
C)The company is small and sells a few related products.
D)Management believes in a policy of decentralization.
E)The sales force is large.

Question 54

A line and staff sales organization will most likely be used when:

A)Management emphasizes sales planning activities.
B)The firm sells a limited line of related products.
C)The president is a strong executive.
D)The company is a wholesaler of plumbing equipment and covers the city of St.Louis,Missouri.
E)The company is new and small.

Question 55

An advantage of a line organization is that it usually:

A)Makes effective use of managerial specialists.
B)Provides stability over several generations of management.
C)Separates planning and operating activities.
D)Results in quite a bit of managerial "buck-passing."
E)None of these typically occurs in a line organization.

Question 56

Which of the following is the greatest limitation of a geographical territory type of sales organization?

A)It is difficult to set up sales territories.
B)It is a high-cost type of organization.
C)Sales reps may not have the necessary expertise in all the products they sell.
D)Large customers cannot be services properly.
E)The company must develop territorial sales executives.

Question 57

Citizenship behaviors:

A)Those behaviors that a salesperson performs as a member of his/her community.
B)Are only performed by the top executives in a sales organization.
C)Those behaviors that are above and beyond the formal job requirements.
D)Are performed by members of the Board of Directors
E)None of these.

Question 58

Which of the following companies is best suited for a geographical territory sales organization?

A)The company markets several types of products.
B)The firm sells to several groups of customers whose needs are quite different.
C)The business is small and highly centralized.
D)The company sells a limited assortment of similar products throughout the western half of the United States.
E)The company has a limited number of qualified executives.

Question 59

In a functional type of sales organization:

A)Fnctional executives (for example,advertising manager or marketing research director)may have line authority over the sales force in matters relating to the given functional area.
B)There usually is a strong,one-man rule.
C)Sales planning and sales operating activities are not separated.
D)There is no opportunity to specialize the sales force by product line.
E)None of these is likely to occur.

Question 60

A functional type of sales organization is likely to be used when:

A)A company has a small sales force.
B)The chief operating executive also does the sales planning work.
C)Management is looking for a low-cost organizational structure.
D)Management believes firmly that no workers should have more than one boss.
E)In None of these situations.

Question 61

Team selling is more successful when the company does all of the following,EXCEPT:

A)Provides training to the team.
B)Provides incentives to the team.
C)Uses teams for all of its accounts.
D)Demonstrates management support.
E)All of these contribute to success.

Question 62

New task situations,modified rebuys,and customer buying teams indicate a need for which type of selling situation?

A)Separate sales force.
B)Use of executives.
C)Telemarketers.
D)Team Selling.
E)None of these.

Question 63

Which of the following is least likely to be used as a organizational structure for selling to major strategic accounts?

A)A separate sales force.
B)A selling team.
C)A separate sales division.
D)An independent sales organization such as an agent or wholesaler.
E)A structure that involves the use of top executives.

Question 64

When a company specializes its sales force by type of customer:

A)There is no opportunity for geographical specialization.
B)This is likely to increase the friction between channels of distribution used by a firm.
C)Technical staff specialists cannot be used.
D)This is compatible with the customer-orientation philosophy underlying the marketing concept.
E)Overlapping territories usually are eliminated.

Question 65

A selling team is best defined as a group of people:

A)Who match the functional expertise of their team with those of their clients.
B)Who may sometimes include individuals from finance,production,or R&D departments.
C)Whose management levels should match those of their customers from the buying centers.
D)None of these.
E)All of these.

Question 66

A company that wants to make special organizational arrangements for selling to its major accounts is least likely to:

A)Use its field sales executives to sell to these accounts.
B)Set up a separate division to deal with these key accounts.
C)Set up a separate sales force to service the major accounts.
D)Use its top sales executives to handle these accounts.
E)Use the rep whose territory includes the home office of a major account.

Question 67

Team selling is often the most effective when the sales organization:

A)Uses cross-functional groups that sell to a few major customers.
B)Seeks a sales force whose members who are accustomed to working independently and can hold their own with diverse individuals from the buying centers.
C)Selects managers who know how to compete in order to get ahead.
D)Completely redesigns the compensation program with each individual potential customer.
E)Maintains organizational consistency with all customers regardless of their customers specific needs.

Question 68

When IBM reconfigured its sales force by assigning reps to different industries,it was using:

A)Geographic specialization.
B)Market specialization.
C)Sales force specialization.
D)Product specialization.
E)None of these.

Question 69

Some companies set up a separate division to deal with their strategic accounts.An advantage of this organizational arrangement is that:

A)It does not duplicate other units in the firm.
B)It is an inexpensive form of organizational structure.
C)The seller normally uses the company's regular sales force.
D)Sales and marketing executives do not have to spend their time selling to major accounts.
E)The seller can integrate its manufacturing,marketing,and selling activities as they are related to the major accounts.

Question 70

With regard to the roles of the buying center,a purchasing agent is almost always the:

A)user.
B)influencer.
C)decider.
D)gatekeeper.
E)buyer.

Question 71

Team selling is not the best alternative in every situation because:

A)it tends to be expensive.
B)it does not lend itself to complex situations.
C)customers generally do not like it.
D)there is no specialization of marketing activities.
E)All of these

Question 72

A sales organizational structure consisting of a group of people representing the sales department and other major functional areas in a firm (such as production,finance,R&D)is called a(n):

A)Strategic planning team.
B)Executive committee.
C)Product management system.
D)Sales team.
E)Category management system.

Question 73

In addition to their large buying size,strategic accounts are likely to be differentiated from smaller accounts by their:

A)Complex buying process.
B)Desire to concentrate on domestic markets,to the exclusion of foreign markets.
C)Preference for using a line organizational structure.
D)Desire to avoid dealing with a selling team - preferring instead to deal with one sales rep.
E)None of these is correct.

Question 74

Which of the following companies is most likely to organize its sales force by type of customers?

A)Company selling a wide line of technical machine tools to manufacturers of earth-moving equipment.
B)Companies selling data processing equipment to aircraft,financial,cement,and textile industries.
C)Firms selling a wide line of food and soap products to consumers.
D)Firms selling oil well drilling equipment in major oil fields in the United States,South America,and Africa.
E)A manufacturer of men's shoes selling to large department stores.

Question 75

Sales force specialization by type of customer or market group:

A)Is not as popular an organizational structure as it was some years ago.
B)Is best suited for a company selling to similar types of customer groups.
C)Eliminates the situation of having more than one sales rep in each geographical area.
D)Means that more than one rep from a seller will call on the same customer.
E)Enables a rep to become better qualified to deal with the needs and problems of a specific type of customer.

Question 76

Team selling is least likely to be used in:

A)Complex situations involving large capital expenditures.
B)New-task buying situations.
C)Routine reorders.
D)Modified rebuy situations.
E)Situation involving a new,potentially large account.

Question 77

In contrast to consumer purchasing,in organizational buying:

A)Fewer people are involved in making the decision.
B)Decisions are made more quickly.
C)Decisions are based upon economics more than emotions.
D)Decision makers are more often the user of the Product.
E)All of these.

Question 78

When a company has its salespeople use virtual offices:

A)It creates higher selling costs due to the increase use of technology.
B)Sales manager must see their reps more frequently.
C)The company still has district offices.
D)Are "virtual" because salespeople are "in" them wherever they are.
E)All of these.

Question 79

Which of the following roles ordinarily is not a part of a buying center?

A)User.
B)Director.
C)Influencer.
D)Decider.
E)Gatekeeper.

Question 80

A Strategic Account Management (SAM)system is used by companies for certain accounts due to their:

A)Large volumes.
B)Geographical location.
C)Product needs.
D)Sales force specialization.
E)Ownership by the government.