The Foundation for Partnering Relationships That Create Value Part 2

26) In transactional sales, the customer's primary focus is a trustworthy: A) product B) salesperson C) organization D) culture E) industry Answer: A 27) In consultative sales, the customer's primary focus is a trustworthy: A) product B) salesperson C) organization D) culture E) industry Answer: B 28) In strategic alliance sales, the customer's primary focus is a trustworthy: A) product B) salesperson C) organization D) culture E) industry Answer: C 29) Which of the following statements about culture is most likely FALSE? A) Indirect communication is preferred in Africa. B) Harmony is highly valued in Asian countries. C) Gift giving is considered unethical in China. D) Americans value promptness for business meetings. E) Tactfulness is important when doing business in Arab countries. Answer: C 30) In general, U.S. ethical codes when doing business in foreign countries tend to be: A) more accepting of bribery but less accepting of libel B) more accepting of libel but less accepting of bribery C) more relaxed than the codes of other countries D) the same as the codes of other countries E) stricter than the codes of other countries Answer: E 3.3 Short Answer Questions 1) The term ________ can be defined as a mutual exchange of benefits, as when a firm buys products from its own customers. Answer: reciprocity 2) The major types of business defamation are business slander, business libel and ________. Answer: product disparagement 3) Business defamation incurred when an unfair and untrue statement is made about a company in writing is known as ________. Answer: business libel 4) ________ are deeply held personal beliefs and preferences. Answer: Values 5) People with high levels of ________ tend to display the characteristics needed for success in sales, such as self-awareness, self-confidence, empathy, and adaptability. Answer: emotional intelligence 3.4 Essay Questions 1) Differentiate between business slander, business libel, and product disparagement. Answer: Business slander: This arises when an unfair and untrue oral statement is made about a competitor. The statement becomes actionable when it is communicated to a third party and can be interpreted as damaging the competitor's business reputation or the personal reputation of an individual in that business. Business libel: This may be incurred when an unfair and untrue statement is made about a competitor in writing. The statement becomes actionable when it is communicated to a third party and can be interpreted as damaging the company. Product disparagement: This occurs when false or deceptive comparisons or distorted claims are made concerning a competitor's product, services, or property. 2) Respond to the following idea: "Ethics are not a matter of law alone. A salesperson's ethical sense must extend beyond the legal definition of what is right or wrong." Answer: To view ethics only in terms of what is legally proper encourages the question, "What can I get by with?" A salesperson must develop a personal code of ethics that extends beyond the letter of the law. 3.5 Applied Multiple Choice Questions 1) Daniel Santiago has just taken a job as a sales rep with a family-owned company that uses its ethics as part of its marketing campaign with the slogan, "Without integrity, service means noth-ing." After calling on several clients, however, he discovers that the sales rep who previously had his territory was giving kickbacks to customers in exchange for exclusive contracts with the company. Daniel is fairly certain that his sales manager is not aware of this arrangement. What should Daniel most likely do? A) Daniel should say nothing and continue the kickback plan his predecessor started because it seems to be the norm in this industry. B) Daniel should avoid causing waves with his sales manager and go along with the kickbacks for now, but tell his clients that he will not be able to continue them in the future. C) Daniel should meet with his sales manager immediately to discuss the situation and ask for guidance in how to tell the clients that he cannot continue the kickbacks. D) Daniel should tell the clients that he cannot continue the kickbacks and say nothing to the sales manager if he loses clients that his predecessor worked to develop. E) Daniel should leave the company and look for a position in a firm that does not have a mech-anism for giving kickbacks. Answer: C 2) Ron, a sales representative for a software firm, is giving a sales presentation to Mona, a buyer for a large manufacturing firm. Making a sale to Mona would double Ron's sales amount for the month and lead to a large commission. As they're engaging in small talk, Mona mentions to Ron that she's a huge fan of the local college football team. Ron's wife works at that college and can get season tickets for the games. What should Ron most likely do? A) Ron should ask Mona more about her interest in the football team to discover if she would like tickets or if she already has her own. B) Ron should ask his sales manager after the sales meeting if he should offer Mona tickets to the games. C) Ron should assume that by mentioning the team, Mona is subtly letting him know what her preferences are so that he can give her a gift to win her business. D) Ron should offer Mona season tickets to the games to influence her to buy the software prod-uct he is selling. E) Ron should let the comment go and continue with the presentation to win Mona's business on the merits of the product and price. Answer: E 3) Accu-Tech, a small company in a tightly-contested market, discovers that sales reps of the firm's main competitor, Compu-World, have been making false and negative statements about Accu-Tech products and services. One of Accu-Tech's best customers calls the company's CEO asking about the rumors, and the CEO realizes that Accu-Tech may lose business from the Com-pu-World claims. What should Accu-Tech most likely do? A) Take out a full-page ad in the local newspaper disputing the claims with facts and stating that CompuWorld has been lying to customers. B) Talk to Accu-Tech customers in person to give them the facts and research that support the truth about the firm's products and services. C) Contact the Compu-World CEO and arrange to divide up the local market to avoid duplic-itous sales tactics. D) Take Compu-World to court for business libel and reciprocity unless the firm issues a public apology. E) Engage in a mass media campaign to spread negative information about Compu-World. Answer: B 4) Martin, a sales representative for a computer firm, receives the latest performance report on the main product he sells. Unfortunately, Martin's product performs slightly behind that of the closest competitor, and Martin is afraid that this information will cause him to lose customers. The research and development team has made some major improvements in the product, but the next performance report is not due out for another six months. What should Martin most likely do to prevent the loss of customers? A) He should pretend that the recent performance report has not come out and tell his customers that he doesn't know when it will be out. B) He should change the numbers on the performance report to indicate that his product per-forms better than the competition's product. C) He should avoid direct contact with his customers until the next performance report comes out. D) He should expose the performance report but explain to customers that the product has been improved and new data will be available in six months. E) He should change the numbers for the competitor so it looks as if the two companies' products perform equally. Answer: D 5) A sales rep is in a foreign country and has spent several days with a buyer for a large chain of convenience stores there. At the end of the week, the sales rep feels confident that the buyer is ready to purchase, so he asks for the close. The buyer responds that he will be happy to place a large order for the chain as soon as the sales rep gives him an appropriately-sized gift. What should the sales rep most likely do? A) The sales rep should give the buyer the gift. B) The sales rep should tell the buyer that Americans are not allowed to give gifts in exchange for business. C) The sales rep should convince the buyer that he will give him the gift after the papers are signed, and then refuse to give a gift after the order has been paid. D) The sales rep should consult with his sales manager to determine if gift-giving is an ethical and acceptable practice within the confines of an international business situation. E) The sales rep should give the buyer the gift but make this contingent on a longer-term rela-tionships involving repeat orders. Answer: D 6) Accu-Tech, a small company in a tightly-contested market, discovers that sales reps of the firm's main competitor, Compu-World, have been making untrue and unfair oral statements about Accu-Tech products and services. Which term best describes the actions of Compu-World sales reps? A) business libel B) business slander C) product liability D) product disparagement E) organizational reciprocity Answer: B 7) Raj, a sales representative for a software firm, Orion, is giving a sales presentation to Marion, a buyer for a large manufacturing firm, Global-Tech. A sales agreement between the two firms would establish a partnering relationship and a strategic alliance. Which of the following ques-tions is most important to Marion as she makes a buying decision? A) Is Raj a well-qualified sales representative? B) Can Raj be trusted to offer viable solutions? C) Will Raj's product be delivered in a timely manner? D) What competencies can Orion provide to Global-Tech? E) Are the values and principles of Orion and Global-Tech similar? Answer: E 8) Edward, a pharmaceutical sales representative, tends to focus primarily on highlighting prod-uct features and making quick sales when interacting with customers. Sometimes, Edward mis-leads customers about the benefits and side effects of certain medications. Edward's sales man-ager has noticed that Edward's customer retention rate is very low and is concerned about Ed-ward's personal code of ethics. What is the best advice that the sales manager could give to Ed-ward? A) View personal selling as transactional. B) Develop strategic alliances for profitability. C) Focus on tasks first and relationships second. D) Build customer relationships based on honesty. E) Behaviors are the foundation for values and attitudes. Answer: D 9) What would be an easy way a company could discourage unethical behaviors by its employees? A) Have a zero tolerance policy so anyone suspected of unethical behavior would be immediately terminated. B) Require all potential hires to have completed a privately-conducted ethics course before sub-mitting their applications for employment. C) Allow employees to unionize so their actions will be dictated by the union. D) Change the Employee of the Month program to celebrate the employee with the fewest ethi-cal violations. E) Write up their ethical code, refer to it as a company value in the employee handbook and on the website, and ask management to adhere to it strictly to lead by example. Answer: E 10) Reciprocity is sometimes, but not always, unethical behavior. Which of the following situa-tions is an example of reciprocity which is unethical behavior? A) An architect refuses to allow any other builders to build her designs because she doesn't trust the quality of the jobs performed by other builders. The builder does not build designs by other architects because other architects cut corners in the designs. B) A plastics company is willing to develop a special process for coating nonstick cooking equipment. As a thank-you, the cooking equipment company allows employees of the plastics company to use the same employee discount its own employees enjoy for purchases of cooking equipment. C) A restaurant chef buys all his produce from the local farmers' market. The farmers and work-ers at the market eat their meals at that restaurant on the days they sell at the market. D) A garbage hauling service requires that a hotel chain give a discount to employees of the gar-bage hauling service in exchange for discounted garbage hauling services for the hotels. E) The merchants in one neighborhood of a large city have decided to engage in a "buy local" campaign and to patronize each other whenever possible, even if they could find slightly lower prices in other areas of the city. Answer: D 11) Of the following practices, which of the following is most likely to be viewed by both salesperson and customer as unethical? A) The salesperson gives the customer a cut glass paperweight with the company's name en-graved on it at the end of December. B) A salesperson gives a potential customer tickets for front-row seats at a sold-out concert of the potential customer's favorite singer. C) The company throws an annual party for its clients at company headquarters that includes a buffet and open bar. D) At a software convention, a software sales rep takes its top five clients out for dinner at an expensive steakhouse. E) A railway company gives all of its vendors a 20% discount on passenger rail services. Answer: B 12) A salesperson's sales manager exerts strong influence on whether the sales rep acts ethically or not. A sales manager may not even be aware of the influence she wields or the effect her words or management techniques have on her employees. Of the following actions by a sales manager, which one could most easily be construed by an employee as a directive to use unethi-cal conduct? A) offering an incentive or prize to salespeople who meet or exceed their quotas B) sending an email to the entire department whenever a sales rep closes a sale C) telling sales teams that they need to hit their quotas no matter what it takes D) modifying sales territories to ensure that key accounts are actively monitored E) contacting key accounts to let them know the company stands behind its product Answer: C 13) A salesperson from Company A discovers that salespeople from Company B have been tell-ing customers that Company A's safety records are falsified. The most ethical action a sales manager from Company A can take to remedy the situation is: A) have Company A's safety records audited and publish the results of the audit on their website, and ask Company A's salespeople to direct customers to them B) tell Company A's salespeople to match the actions of Company B's salespeople by implying that Company B's safety records may be falsified C) file an anonymous complaint with the Attorney General in the state in which both companies operate D) pay a visit to the corporate offices of Company B and threaten Company B's sales managers with a pricing war unless Company B's sales reps stop spreading false rumors E) create a website detailing the safety records of all the companies in the industry so consumers can compare easily Answer: A 14) An American company has been working on a business deal in a developing nation. This deal will open an entirely new market to the American company, increase stability in the local economy, and provide jobs to thousands of local workers. When the deal reaches the final phas-es, the local government asks for a sizable bribe from the American company to move forward with the proper permits to continue with the project. Which of the following is the proper analy-sis of the situation? A) Paying bribes violates U.S. laws, so the deal may fall through. B) Reciprocity is illegal in most foreign countries but not necessarily in the U.S. C) U.S. bribery laws are suspended in foreign countries, so paying the bribe is acceptable. D) According to U.S. laws, bribes are equivalent to gift giving, so they are an accepted aspect of conducting business. E) The U.S. firm must consult the International Uniform Code of Business to determine the le-gality of the bribe. Answer: A 15) Anne, a sales representative for a software firm, is heading to Europe for a sales presentation. Anne is unsure about the practice of gift giving and wants to make sure that she is perceived as ethical by the other firm. Which of the following should Anne LEAST likely do in this situation? A) Check the company policy about gift giving. B) Ensure that the gift is a small, thoughtful token. C) Give the gift before doing any business with the customer. D) Avoid giving the impression of buying the customer's favor. E) Ensure that the customer views the gift as a gesture of goodwill. Answer: C