Question 1

Aldi grocery store prides itself on lower prices because they employ less people to do the job. Aldi employs are known as hard working to deliver the same service as larger grocery chains, what type of control is being used?

Accepted Answer

Aldi's approach relies on informal controls, which are based on culture, shared values, beliefs, and norms. Their model emphasizes efficiency and hard work among employees to maintain low prices and compete with larger chains, reflecting an organizational culture that guides employee behavior without formal, bureaucratic measures.

Question 2

Macy's department store cannot exceed a dollar threshold on Black Friday advertising to ensure a return on their investment. What type of control is being used?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a formal control system, where specific rules, budgets, and standards are set to guide behavior and decisions within an organization. Setting a dollar threshold on advertising is a formal method of controlling costs and ensuring financial objectives are met.

Question 3

Outback Steakhouse comparing their quality and price to Texas Roadhouse is what type of evaluation method?

Accepted Answer

Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other companies. In this context, Outback Steakhouse comparing their quality and price to Texas Roadhouse is an example of benchmarking, as they are evaluating their performance against a competitor.

Question 4

Online shopping cites adopting the idea of free shipping on orders over a certain dollar threshold from, (one of the original companies to introduce it), Wayfair.com is known as

Accepted Answer

The answer of Online shopping cites adopting the idea of...

Question 5

How could Target evaluate why red card sales were up during a particular hour as opposed to another?

Accepted Answer

Point-in-time evaluation allows for the analysis of specific periods to understand fluctuations in sales, such as why red card sales were higher during a particular hour.

Question 6

Who is not a potential barrier when implementing a marketing plan?

Accepted Answer

Customers are not considered a barrier when implementing a marketing plan; instead, they are the target of the plan. Employees, functional groups within the company, and the marketing department can all present internal barriers to the implementation of a marketing plan due to resistance to change, lack of coordination, or differing objectives.

Question 7

A company has a marketing department that has created a marketing plan but there isn't buy in from the employees nor the customers, what type of barrier is this company facing?

Accepted Answer

The company is facing a lack of marketing philosophy, as there is no alignment or buy-in from employees or customers, indicating a disconnect in understanding or valuing the marketing plan.

Question 8

When a company focuses on a marketing plan that will help internally instead of their customers externally, which barrier is the company facing?

Accepted Answer

An inward-focused marketing department is primarily concerned with internal processes and efficiencies rather than understanding and meeting the needs of customers. This focus can lead to a disconnect with the market and hinder the company's ability to effectively address customer demands and preferences.

Question 9

How many essential questions are there to have an effective contingency plan?

Accepted Answer

There are 4 essential questions to have an effective contingency plan: What could happen? What will we do in response? What can we do in advance to prepare? How will we know that our plan is effective?

Question 10

Something in which the company specializes or has an expertise is a(n)

Accepted Answer

Core competence refers to something in which a company specializes or has an expertise, distinguishing it from its competitors and providing a unique value proposition.

Question 11

What are the two difficulties of budgeting?

Accepted Answer

D  Budgeting can be difficult due to the need for justification of expenses and ensuring specificity in allocations. Additionally, achieving accuracy in predicting future financial needs and allocations can also be challenging.

Question 12

A control system that involves preset evaluation standards is a(n)

Accepted Answer

The answer of A control system that involves preset evaluation...

Question 13

A control system that is ongoing continuous monitoring approach is a(n)

Accepted Answer

A steering control system is designed for ongoing, continuous monitoring and adjustments, guiding operations to achieve desired outcomes by correcting deviations from the planned course of action as they occur.

Question 14

Which of the following is one of the two commonly used point-in-time evaluation methods?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is one of...

Question 15

All of the following are best practices that companies can adopt from other companies or other business units/departments EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

The answer of All of the following are best practices...

Question 16

An assessment of how a marketing tool or tactic is performing at a given moment is a(n)

Accepted Answer

The answer of An assessment of how a marketing tool...

Question 17

A continuous monitoring tool to link strategy, activities and performance in a graphic way that allows managers to quickly asses current performance on financial and nonfinancial measure is a(n)

Accepted Answer

Balanced scorecards are tools used to link strategy, activities, and performance in a comprehensive way, incorporating both financial and non-financial measures to provide managers with a quick overview of an organization's performance.

Question 18

You're the Chief Marketing Officer of Thin-it, a new company that specializes in making extra thin wallets. So far, your company has not established distribution with retail stores and limited online sales. In fact, most sales come from sales made at trade shows and similar events. It's budgeting season at Thin-it and you've been asked by the Chief Financial Officer to create a zero-based budget using the following information:
•Trade shows result in sales of 100 wallets per show.
•Wallets sell for $10 and cost $2 to make.
•Attending trade shows cost around $300 per show.
•Thin-it can attend four trade shows per month.
•Being admitted to trade shows requires pitching your product to trade show administrators. These "pitches" and the materials used for them require funds from the marketing budget.
Create the marketing budget and write what you would say to the Chief Financial Officer when you present your budget.

Accepted Answer

The answer of You're the Chief Marketing Officer of Thin-it,...

Question 19

Describe two common barriers to implementation and how managers can overcome these.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe two common barriers to implementation and...

Question 20

What are marketing dashboards and what do they provide insight into? Provide an example.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are marketing dashboards and what do...

Quiz 15: Finalizing a Marketing Plan