Analyzing the Marketing Environment Part 5

115) Environmental sustainability concerns have declined steadily over the past three decades. Answer: FALSE 116) The technological environment is predominantly static. Answer: FALSE 117) The introduction of new technologies is equally beneficial to all industries. Answer: FALSE 118) How can marketers benefit from developing solutions to environmental problems, such as pollution and raw material shortages? Answer: Marketers who help develop solutions to problems facing the natural environment can gain the advantage of becoming market leaders, as increasingly strict environmental regulations can be expected in the United States and elsewhere. Environmentally responsible actions will help a company's public image; the actions will also help in creating a more sustainable market. 119) What are the major trends in today's natural environment? How do these trends affect companies? Answer: The natural environment shows three major trends: shortages of certain raw materials, higher pollution levels, and more government intervention in natural resource management. Environmental concerns create marketing opportunities for alert companies. As concern about global warming and other environmental issues continues to grow, more and more consumers are demanding environmentally responsible products. Companies who pay heed to these demands will benefit, as environmentally responsible actions are linked with good business. 120) Why is the technological environment such a dramatic force in today's market? Answer: The technological environment is perhaps the most dramatic force now shaping our destiny. Technology has released such wonders as antibiotics, robotic surgery, miniaturized electronics, smartphones, and the Internet. It also has released such horrors as nuclear missiles, chemical weapons, and assault rifles. It has released such mixed blessings as the automobile, television, and credit cards. Our attitude toward technology depends on whether we are more impressed with its wonders or its blunders. New technologies create new markets and opportunities. However, every new technology replaces an older technology. Transistors hurt the vacuum-tube industry, digital photography hurt the film business, and MP3 players and digital downloads are hurting the CD business. When old industries fought or ignored new technologies, their businesses declined. Thus, marketers should watch the technological environment closely. Companies that do not keep up will soon find their products outdated. If that happens, they will miss new product and market opportunities. 121) The ________ prohibits monopolies and activities (price-fixing, predatory pricing) that restrain trade or competition in interstate commerce. A) Sherman Antitrust Act B) Lanham Trademark Act C) Fair Packaging and Labeling Act D) CAN-SPAM Act E) Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Answer: A 122) The ________ limits the number of commercials aired during children's programs. A) Children's Online Privacy Protection Act B) Child Protection Act C) Fair Packaging and Labeling Act D) Children's Television Act E) Consumer Product Safety Act Answer: D 123) The ________ environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. A) socio-legal B) cultural C) political D) technological E) economic Answer: C 124) Governments develop public policy to ________. A) encourage deregulation B) identify demographic patterns C) identify cultural patterns D) guide commerce E) protect marketers Answer: D 125) Laws in the United States and many other countries have many business-oriented laws covering issues such as competition, environmental protection, pricing, packaging and labeling, product safety, truth in advertising, consumer privacy, and ________. A) land ownership B) taxation C) fair-trade practices D) education E) interdepartmental communication Answer: C 126) Business legislation is enacted to protect ________. A) consumers from unfair business practices B) businesses from unfair attacks by consumers C) consumers from competition by businesses D) businesses from achieving unfairly high profits E) society from profitable business activity Answer: A 127) Laws are passed to define and prevent unfair competition primarily because ________. A) business executives tend to favor pure monopolies B) businesses sometimes try to neutralize threatening firms C) governments in free market economies tend to nationalize ailing firms D) private lobbying hurts the interests of national and state governments E) most multinational entities in advanced economies are averse to invest in emerging markets Answer: B 128) Funco Inc., a toy manufacturer, sold plastic racing cars that were manufactured with toxic materials, which threatened the health of several children. Which purpose of government regulation to protect consumers is involved? A) misleading customers in their advertising B) deceiving consumers through their packaging C) making shoddy products D) deceiving consumers through their pricing E) invading consumer privacy Answer: C 129) A company or association's ________ is designed to help guide responses to complex social responsibility issues. A) code of ethics B) marketing plan C) non-disclosure policy D) privacy policy E) non-compete clause Answer: A 130) The boom in Internet marketing has created a new set of social and ethical issues. Critics worry most about ________. A) accessibility B) puffery in advertising C) online privacy issues D) sustainability E) issues pertaining to efficiency Answer: C 131) Cause-related marketing has become a primary form of ________. A) quality control B) corporate fraud protection C) corporate giving D) legislative lobbying E) price discrimination Answer: C 132) A regional supermarket chain runs print, radio, and television advertisements announcing that 1 percent of its sales is donated to local after-school programs for underprivileged youth. This is an example of ________. A) cause-related marketing B) generational marketing C) sustainable marketing D) market segmentation E) product differentiation Answer: A 133) The ________ environment consists of institutions and other forces that affect a society's basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. A) social B) cultural C) political D) physical E) natural Answer: B 134) Marketers should understand that people's core beliefs and values tend to be ________. A) fixed B) highly flexible C) similar around the world D) constantly and rapidly changing E) easily influenced by secondary beliefs Answer: A 135) Babita Singh, a 51-year-old schoolteacher from Los Angeles, believes that people should choose a profession they like, which is an example of Babita's ________. A) secondary belief B) core belief C) core value D) work ethic E) moral code Answer: A 136) A pastor from Kansas believes that adultery is immoral. This refers to the pastor's ________. A) secondary belief B) acquired belief C) social identity D) core belief E) cultural orientation Answer: D 137) Mercury Inc., an American multinational corporation, is currently planning to enter the promising consumer goods market in India. The firm will most likely discover that ________ beliefs and values are more open to change in India. A) inherited B) secondary C) primary D) core E) traditional Answer: B 138) A society's ________ are expressed in how people view themselves and others, organizations, society, nature, and the universe. A) social codes B) cultural values C) demographics D) public policies E) norms Answer: B 139) Which of the following is most likely true with regard to people's views of organizations in contemporary America? A) In the American workplace, there has been an overall increase in organizational loyalty. B) Most Americans are confident in their employers and are unlikely to switch jobs as frequently as in the past. C) The past two decades have seen a sharp decrease in confidence in and loyalty toward America's business organizations. D) Most U.S. workers view work as a source of personal satisfaction and organizational pride. E) In the last decade, corporate scandals and layoffs had little impact on people's confidence in U.S. firms. Answer: C 140) People vary in their attitudes toward their society—while ________ defend it, malcontents want to leave it. A) reformers B) patriots C) activists D) environmentalists E) historical revisionists Answer: B 141) Which of the following is a potential downside to using patriotic themes in marketing programs? A) Consumers rarely respond to patriotic marketing messages in a favorable manner. B) A consumer's societal orientation has no visible impact on product consumption. C) Patriotism could be viewed as an attempt to cash in on the nation's emotions. D) Patriotic Americans may have less disposable income than reformers. E) Mass marketing has limited appeal among patriotic Millennials. Answer: C 142) Consumers in the "lifestyles of health and sustainability" market are more likely to seek ________. A) alternative medicine B) perfumes made from animal products C) clothing made of fur D) leather goods E) foods high in saturated fat Answer: A 143) The fact that people are dropping out of organized religion doesn't mean that they are abandoning their faith. Some futurists have noted a renewed interest in ________, perhaps as a part of a broader search for a new inner purpose. A) interacting with nature B) the fine arts C) charitable giving D) spirituality E) materialism Answer: D 144) Josie's FarmFresh creates sustainable, all-natural food products. These products are most likely to become popular with which group? A) SOHO B) environmentally conscious C) LGBT D) business E) Millennials' Answer: B 145) The popularity of cause-related marketing as a form of corporate giving is rapidly declining. Answer: FALSE 146) Secondary beliefs and values are less open to change than core beliefs and values. Answer: FALSE 147) Explain the controversy surrounding cause-related marketing. Answer: Critics worry that cause-related marketing is more a strategy for selling than a strategy for giving—that "cause-related" marketing is really "cause-exploitative" marketing. Companies may walk a fine line between increased sales and an improved image yet face charges of exploitation, even though business and charity don't have to be mutually exclusive. 148) Why is government regulation necessary to protect consumers from unfair business practices? Answer: Government regulation is necessary to protect consumers from unfair business practices because some firms, if left alone, would make shoddy products, invade consumer privacy, mislead consumers in their advertising, and deceive consumers through their packaging and pricing. Rules defining and regulating unfair business practices are enforced by various agencies. 149) How do socially responsible firms positively impact consumers and the environment? Answer: Enlightened companies encourage their managers to look beyond what the regulatory system allows and simply "do the right thing." These socially responsible firms actively seek out ways to protect the long-run interests of their consumers and the environment. 150) What is the difference between core beliefs and secondary beliefs? Give an example of each. Answer: Core beliefs and values are passed on from parents to children and are reinforced by schools, churches, business, and government. On the other hand, secondary beliefs and values are more open to change. For example, believing in marriage is a core belief; believing that people should get married early in life is a secondary belief. 151) What are the different ways in which the major cultural values of a society are expressed? Answer: The major cultural values of a society are expressed in people's views of themselves and others, as well as in their views of organizations, society, nature, and the universe. 152) Why is it important for marketers to understand cultural swings? Answer: Marketers want to predict cultural shifts to spot new opportunities or threats. The major cultural values of a society are expressed in people's views of themselves and others, as well as in their views of organizations, society, nature, and the universe. 153) Discuss why business legislation is enacted. Provide examples. Answer: Business legislation is enacted to protect companies from each other, to protect consumers from unfair business practices, and to protect the interests of society against unrestrained business behavior. Several laws are designed to prevent unfair competitive practices between businesses; in the United States, these laws are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Attorney General's office. An example of such a law is the Sherman Antitrust Act that prohibits monopolies and other activities that restrain trade. Laws to protect consumers are designed to prevent deceptive advertising, packaging, and pricing, among other harmful practices. Examples of this type of law include the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and the Consumer Product Safety Act. Finally, regulations to protect the interests of society require companies to take responsibility for the social costs of their products and/or production practices. An example of this type of law is the National Environmental Policy Act. 154) What is cause-related marketing? Illustrate with examples. Answer: To exercise their social responsibility and build more positive images, many companies are now linking themselves to worthwhile causes. Some companies are founded entirely on cause-related missions. Under the concept of "values-led business" or "caring capitalism," their mission is to use business to make the world a better place. Cause-related marketing has become a primary form of corporate giving. It lets companies "do well by doing good" by linking purchases of the company's products or services with benefiting worthwhile causes or charitable organizations. The P&G Tide Loads of Hope program provides mobile laundromats and loads of clean laundry to families in disaster-stricken areas—P&G washes, dries, and folds clothes for these families for free. Down the street, needy people will probably find the P&G Duracell Power Relief Trailer, which provides free batteries and flashlights as well as charging stations for phones and laptops. 155) How do people's views of nature affect marketers? Answer: People vary in their attitudes toward the natural world—some feel ruled by it, others feel in harmony with it, and still others seek to master it. A long-term trend has been people's growing mastery over nature through technology and the belief that nature is bountiful. More recently, however, people have recognized that nature is finite and fragile; it can be destroyed or spoiled by human activities. This renewed love of things natural has created a sizable market of consumers who seek out everything from natural, organic, and nutritional products to fuel-efficient cars and alternative medicine. The U.S. organic/natural food market now generates $45 billion in annual retail sales and will grow to an estimated $200 billion by 2019. 156) Rather than assuming that strategic options are bounded by the current environment, firms adopting a(n) ________ to the marketing environment develop strategies to change the environment. A) environmental stance B) proactive stance C) reactive stance D) relativist approach E) no-compromise approach Answer: B 157) Companies that take a proactive stance toward the marketing environment are most likely to ________. A) develop strategies to change the environment in their favor B) passively accept the marketing environment C) resist organizational change D) discourage innovation E) consider technological advances more disruptive than beneficial Answer: A 158) Katrina Mendoza is a senior manager in a manufacturing firm that hires lobbyists to influence legislation that affects the manufacturing industry. Katrina's firm takes a(n) ________ stance toward the marketing environment. A) reactive B) proactive C) adversarial D) passive E) altruistic Answer: B 159) Which of the following is most likely influenced by marketers? A) population shifts B) core cultural values C) income distribution D) ethnic diversity E) media Answer: E 160) Companies and their products often create ________. A) new consumers B) new technologies C) new industries and their structures D) new advertising campaigns E) new manufacturing methods Answer: C 161) When a company hires lobbyists to influence legislation affecting its industry, it is taking a defensive stance toward the marketing environment. Answer: FALSE 162) In reacting to the marketing environment, what strategies do firms adopt in order to shift from a reactive to a more proactive stance? Answer: Rather than assuming that strategic options are bounded by the current environment, firms keen on adopting a proactive stance toward the marketing environment develop strategies to change the environment.