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161. Because of overlapping areas of responsibilities of regulatory agencies, confusion and conflict regarding jurisdiction
of marketing activities are common.
a.
True
b.
False
162. The Food and Drug Administration influences marketing activities the most.
a.
True
b.
False
163. State and local regulatory agencies usually do not establish and enforce regulations that conflict with the actions of
national regulatory agencies.
a.
True
b.
False
164. Numerous self-regulatory programs have been created to stop or stall the development of laws and government
regulatory groups that would regulate marketing practices.
a.
True
b.
False
165. Although numerous regulatory forces arise from governmental sources, nongovernmental regulatory forces may also
affect marketing decisions.
a.
True
b.
False
166. A good example of a government regulatory group at the local level is the Better Business Bureau.
a.
True
b.
False
167. The Council of Better Business Bureaus and the FTC make up the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).
a.
True
b.
False
168. All members of an industry are bound to follow trade association guidelines.
a.
True
b.
False
169. Technology is the application of knowledge and tools to solve problems and perform tasks more efficiently.
a.
True
b.
False
170. Technological developments have a direct impact on creating and maintaining a marketing mix.
a.
True
b.
False
171. Technological changes do not directly affect what, how, when, and where products are marketed.
a.
True
b.
False
172. Personal computers and cellular phones are technology.
a.
True
b.
False
173. Technology affects the types of products offered to consumers.
a.
True
b.
False
174. Technology can help marketers become more productive.
a.
True
b.
False
175. Firms always adopt and use new technology.
a.
True
b.
False
176. Through technology assessment, managers try to foresee the effects of new products and processes on the firm's
operations and on society.
a.
True
b.
False
177. The three major components of sociocultural forces are demographic and diversity characteristics, cultural values,
and consumerism.
a.
True
b.
False
178. The proportion of the U.S. population that will be over 65 years of age is expected to decline by the year 2050.
a.
True
b.
False
179. The number of single men and women living alone is declining.
a.
True
b.
False
180. An increasingly diverse cultural base in the United States means that marketers face increasingly diverse consumer
markets.
a.
True
b.
False
181. Changes in cultural values have little effect on people's needs for products.
a.
True
b.
False
182. Single people have quite different spending patterns than couples and families with children. They spend more
heavily on convenience foods, restaurants, travel, entertainment, and recreation.
a.
True
b.
False
183. The major source of cultural values is the family.
a.
True
b.
False
184. The major forces that make up the consumerism movement are consumer organizations and business organizations.
a.
True
b.
False
185. To achieve their objectives, consumer advocates write letters to companies, lobby government agencies, broadcast
public service announcements, and boycott companies whose actions they deem irresponsible.
a.
True
b.
False
a.
Beverly spoke about the economic forces and Karen spoke about the political forces in the marketing
environment.
b.
Brandon spoke about the sociocultural forces and Susan spoke about the technological forces in the marketing
environment.
c.
John spoke about the competitive forces and Karen spoke about the political forces in the marketing
environment.
d.
Beverly spoke about the economic forces and Susan spoke about the technological forces in the marketing
environment.
e.
Karen spoke about the political forces and Brandon spoke about the legal and regulatory forces in the
marketing environment.
a.
All of the headlines should be categorized as economic forces when analyzing the company’s marketing
environment.
b.
All of the headlines should be categorized as political forces when analyzing the company’s marketing
environment.
c.
Headline #5 should be categorized as a sociocultural force in the company’s marketing environment.
d.
Headline #4 should be categorized as a legal and regulatory force in the company’s marketing environment.
e.
All of the headlines should be categorized as geopolitical forces in the company’s marketing environment.
188. Your marketing team has started the analysis of your company’s marketing environment. Competition has been very
intense in recent years in your industry, so you decide to place more emphasis on analyzing the competitive forces in your
industry. You group your competitors into the four types that a firm normally faces.
In general, which one of the four types of competitors do you think will be the most formidable for your company?
a.
Total Budget Competitors
b.
Features-Oriented Competitors
c.
Brand Competitors
d.
Generic Competitors
e.
Product Competitors
189. As input for a presentation that you are jointly authoring, one of your marketing analysts submitted the following
summary of the characteristics of the four different types of market structures companies compete in:
Competitive Structure
Number of Competitors
Market Barriers to Entry
Monopolistic Competition
Unlimited
No Barriers
Monopoly
Few
Some Barriers
Pure Competition
Many
Few Barriers
Oligopoly
One
Many Barriers
With respect to the classifications of number of competitors and barriers to entry, which one of the following statements is
correct?
a.
The monopolistic competition structure is properly classified.
b.
The monopoly and oligopoly structures’ classifications should be reversed.
c.
The monopoly structure is properly classified.
d.
The oligopoly structure is properly classified.
e.
The pure competition and oligopoly structures are properly classified.
190. A marketing analyst on your team obtained the following historical economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of
St. Louis for use in your marketing environment analysis:
Month
Civilian Unemployment Rate
Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (Billions)
December 2011
8.5%
10372.1
June 2012
8.2%
10493.6
December 2012
7.9%
10602.4
June 2013
7.5%
10707.1
December 2013
6.7%
10844.3
Based on the data, which of the following statements about these economic forces in your marketing environment is true?
a.
Our customers likely had less buying power in December 2012 than they had in December 2011.
b.
The data suggests that our customers’ buying power has been decreasing since before June 2012.
c.
The data suggests that our customers’ buying power did not start increasing until December 2012.
d.
Our customers likely had more buying power in June 2013 compared to June 2012.
e.
Our customers likely found it easier to find jobs in December 2011 than in December 2013.
191. The Federal Reserve Bank just issued its economic report on the U.S. economy for the quarter just ended. The
following are some of the key points mentioned in the report:
1. “Economic activity has continued to grow at a moderate pace since the last report.”
2. “Manufacturers report that business activity has picked up considerably in recent weeks.”
3. “Tourism activity has strengthened, no longer held back by harsh weather.”
4. “General merchandise retailers report that sales rebounded strongly in April and early May.”
5. “Retail contacts generally say that inventories are at satisfactory levels, that prices are mostly steady, and that the
degree of discounting is little changed from a year ago.”
Based on these economic forces, you can conclude
a.
that the economy is entering the depression stage of the business cycle.
b.
that the economy is in the prosperity stage of the business cycle and consumers’ buying power is declining.
c.
that the economy is in the recession stage of the business cycle and consumers’ buying power is increasing.
d.
that the economy is in the recession stage of the business cycle and consumers’ buying power is declining.
e.
that the economy is in the prosperity stage of the business cycle and consumers’ buying power is increasing.
192. The Center for Responsive Politics publishes data about dollars spent on lobbying efforts by major companies,
industries and other entities seeking to influence Congressional legislation and the political process. The table below lists
the industries that spent the most money on lobbying activities in 2011 and 2013:
Lobbying Industry
2011 Spending
2013 Spending
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products
$241,168,770
$226,114,456
Insurance
$158,404,505
$153,235,759
Oil & Gas
$150,771,677
$144,878,531
Computers/Internet
$126,827,796
$141,226,592
Electric Utilities
$145,610,040
$129,882,034
TV/Movies/Music
$123,061,396
$118,336,958
Business Associations
$106,490,640
$108,518,903
Securities & Investment
$104,689,226
$98,342,423
Misc. Manufacturing & Distributing
$118,520,754
$96,970,399
Hospitals/Nursing Homes
$98,480,316
$91,879,521
Health Professionals
$82,641,177
$85,003,284
According to this data, which one of the following statements is true?
a.
Most of the top industries spent less on lobbying activities in 2013 compared to 2011.
b.
Most of the top industries spent more on lobbying activities in 2013 compared to 2011.
c.
The Computers/Internet and the Insurance industries both increased spending on lobbying activities from 2011
to 2013.
d.
Hospitals and nursing homes spent more on lobbying activities in 2013 than in 2011.
e.
Health professionals spent more on lobbying activities in 2011 than 2013.
193. Your company is planning to increase its political influencing activities in the next fiscal year in an attempt to shape
upcoming, key legislation in your favor.
Which of the following steps should you consider to accomplish this goal?
a.
Hire a public relations firm to help create a more youthful image for your company.
b.
Form your own Political Action Committee (PAC).
c.
Decrease your contributions to the political campaigns of key legislators.
d.
Close your company’s legislative affairs office in Washington D.C.
e.
Cancel your company’s membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
194. Although the monopoly is one of the four major market structures that theoretically exists in a free market capitalist
system, the reality is there are very few true monopolies in the economy. This is the result of many federal laws and
regulations that have been passed to limit the creation and power of monopolies.
Which one of the following federal laws was passed to prevent the creation of monopolies in the economy?
a.
Sherman Act of 1890
b.
Securities Act of 1933
c.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
d.
Wheeler-Lea Act of 1938
e.
Lanham Act of 1946
195. The U.S. government has implemented a number of laws over the years to ensure the U.S. economy remains fair,
competitive and free of monopolies.
One such law has the following characteristics:
• It is also a criminal law, and individuals and businesses that violate it may be prosecuted by the Department of
Justice.
• It imposes criminal penalties of up to $100 million for a corporation and $1 million for an individual.
• It doesn’t clearly prohibit mergers or interlocking directorates.
• It outlaws “every contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade.”
Which of the following laws is described by the characteristics described above?
a.
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act
b.
The Clayton Act
c.
The Sherman Act
d.
The Robinson-Patman Act
e.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act
196. Your company is accepting proposals from a variety of consulting firms to assist in determining how the rapid
changes in technology will impact your firm’s future operations and profitability.
Which one of the following consulting firm proposals should you accept?
a.
Accept Firm A’s proposal to complete a technology evaluation.
b.
Accept Firm B’s proposal to complete a SWOT analysis.
c.
Accept Firm C’s proposal to implement an information technology change management process.
d.
Accept Firm D’s proposal to complete a technology assessment.
e.
None of the proposals should be accepted.
197. Marketers live in a world of constant change, and their ability to adapt to the pace of change will dictate the degree to
which their marketing strategies are successful. Moreover, the changes can come in any or all of the different parts of the
marketing environment.
Which one of the following statements is true?
a.
The self-sustaining nature of technology relates to the fact that the products are increasingly being produced
with environment-friendly components.
b.
The negative effects of technology include concerns over privacy and intellectual property protection.
c.
Consumers’ use of mobile devices to access the Internet has been declining over the last few years.
d.
Technological innovations are created only by private companies.
e.
We can expect the pace of technological change to slow down as more technology-oriented startups choose to
go public and become more conservative with their business strategies.
198. The following are some predictions from Smithsonian Magazine regarding the future sociocultural dynamics in the
world:
1. The United States population will expand by 100 million.
2. The portion of the population that is currently at least 65 years old is expected to increase from 13 percent to 20
percent by 2050 in America.
3. By 2050, the working age group of people between 15 and 64 years old is expected to grow by 42 percent in the
United States, but decline by 10 percent in China, 25 percent in Europe, 30 percent in South Korea and 40 percent
in Japan.
With respect to these predictions, which one of the following statements is true?
a.
All of these predictions refer to population demographic characteristics.
b.
By 2050, the United States will have proportionately less workers in its population than Japan will have.
c.
If these predictions come true, the average age of the populations of Japan and South Korea will be lower
than the United States.
d.
If these predictions come true, there will be less of a strain on environmental resources in the years to come.
e.
Based on these predictions, it is expected that the average age of the population in the United States will be
lower in 2050 than it is today.
199. Based on data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Civilian Labor Force Participation Rates for men and
women in the United States are as follows:
Demographic Group
Month
Participation Rate
(Percent of Group)
Men
May 2014
69.2
Women
57.1
Men
May 2004
72.9
Women
59.1
Men
May 1994
74.8
Women
58.7
With respect to this data, which one of the following statements is true?
a.
The labor participation rate of men in the United States impacts the marketing environment, and it is
increasing faster than the rate for women.
b.
The labor participation rate for women impacts the marketing environment, and it has been less stable over
the last 20 years than the rate for men.
c.
In terms of proportions, fewer women were working in May 2004 compared to May 2014.
d.
The labor participation rate is an economic force that impacts the marketing environment.
e.
The labor participation rate is a political force that impacts the marketing environment.
