1. Over the past decade or so, marketers have begun to realize that eventually everything comes down to how good of a service a firm can provide, referred as service dominant logic (SDL). a. True b. False

2. Strategy is a long-term plan of action for an individual, organization, government, or a business entity to achieve its goals and objectives. a. True b. False

3. “Value” reflects the relationship between benefits and costs. When expressed mathematically it is the ratio between what one gets over what is sacrificed (given). a. True b. False

4. A firm can have competitive advantage if it provides more value for the same price or same value at a lesser price or a mix of both such that a customer perceives higher value obtained at relatively a lesser price. a. True b. False

5. The concept of “positioning” refers to how firms, themselves or their offerings, want to be perceived in the minds of consumers in a target segment of the market. a. True b. False

6. “Demands” are wants or specific needs of prospective consumers not supported by their ability to purchase. a. True b. False

7. A target market is that segment(s) of the larger market on which a company will focus its marketing effort. a. True b. False

8. “Marketing Strategy” refers to development of an optimal marketing mix to achieve the goals and objectives of a firm, which maps on to its business as well as corporate strategy. a. True b. False

9. The outcomes of a firm's marketing strategy are determined by its interaction with the consumer decision process. a. True b. False

10. Marketing across cultural boundaries is a difficult and challenging task. a. True b. False

11. Collectivism is a defining characteristic of American culture. a. True b. False

12. Cause-related marketing (CRM) is marketing that ties a company and its products to an issue or cause with the goal of improving sales or corporate image while providing benefits to the cause. a. True b. False

13. Demographics describe a population in terms of its size, distribution, and structure. a. True b. False

14. Gerontographics is one segmentation approach to the mature market that incorporates aging processes and life events to the physical health and mental outlook of older consumers. a. True b. False

15. A subculture refers to segments of ethnic, religious, or regional sub-groups of a larger culture whose members share distinguishing values and patterns of behavior. a. True b. False

16. The Choctaw are the largest Native American tribe. a. True b. False

17. India is a homogeneous country. a. True b. False

18. Muslims in America are culturally diverse, including Arab Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics. a. True b. False

19. Firms can create value with product by offering the following: a. Product line width b. Product depth c. Product variants d. Peripheral product e. All the above

20. Decisions involving how to compete in a marketplace such as whether to be a cost leader, product differentiator, or a mix of both are part of a ___________ of the company. a. Corporate Strategy b. Business Strategy c. Marketing Strategy d. All the three e. None of above

21. _____ is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. a. Marketing b. Consumer behavior c. Psychographics d. Demographics e. Psychology

22. To survive in a competitive environment, an organization must provide its target customers more _____ than is provided to them by its competition, sometimes referred as the “competitive advantage” of the organization. a. product b. service c. value d. feedback e. attention

23. Which of the following are considered as the first step of marketing strategy development? a. the company's own ability to meet customer needs b. competitors' capabilities and strategies c. consumers' needs d. conditions in the market e. all the above

24. Which of the following is NOT evaluated when analyzing a company's own ability to meet customer needs? a. competitors b. financial strengths c. general managerial skills d. production capabilities e. reputation

25. What is the first step in the consumer decision process? a. problem recognition b. budget setting c. information search d. outlet selection e. alternative evaluation and selection

26. Which is NOT an external influence on consumer behavior? a. culture b. family c. social status d. perception e. marketing activities

27. The totality of an individual's thoughts and feelings about him or herself is known as _____. a. lifestyle b. self-concept c. internal influences d. external influences e. consumption outcomes

28. Karen was at the checkout at the grocery store and remembered that she was out of chewing gum that she normally likes to keep in her purse. Without much thought, she grabbed two packages of the gum she likes. What type of consumer decision does this illustration? a. primary decision b. top-of-mind decision c. low-involvement decision d. automatic decision e. self-related decision

29. _____ is the complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society. a. Reference group b. Government c. Culture d. Authority e. Gestalt

30. Which of the following is a cultural factor that affects consumer behavior and marketing strategy? a. demographics b. values c. language d. nonverbal communications e. all the above

31. The boundaries that culture sets on behavior are called _____. a. rules b. norms c. prescriptions d. precepts e. sanctions

32. _____ values reflect a society's view of the appropriate relationships between individuals and groups within that society. a. Other-oriented b. Environment-oriented c. Self-oriented d. Externally oriented e. Internally oriented Conceptual

33. Which of the following is an example of a self-oriented value? a. religious/secular b. individual/collective c. risk taking/security d. tradition/change e. diversity/uniformity

34. The United States is comprised of a culture that accepts a wide array of personal behaviors and attitudes, foods, dress, and other products and services. Thus, the United States values _____. a. uniformity b. collectivism c. power d. diversity e. cooperation

35. A shift back to an emphasis on postponed gratification in America would most likely _____. a. increase the use of credit b. decrease the use of credit c. alter the timing of television commercials d. expand the use of Internet shopping e. none of the above

36. Which of the following is a segment used to describe consumers with respect to their environmental activism? a. True Blues b. Eco-Centrists c. Ailing Recluse d. Healthy Hermits e. Green Earths

37. Marketers have responded to Americans' increasing concern for the environment with an approach called _____. a. green marketing b. clean marketing c. environmental marketing d. activist marketing e. cause-related marketing

38. A woman who is married where both she and her husband work and share homemaking and child care responsibilities is classified as _____ with respect to gender orientation. a. transgender b. gender inconsistent c. traditional d. modern e. cutting-edge

39. What is the approximate population of the United States today? a. 100 million b. 249 million c. 320 million d. 350 million e. 498 million

40. Which of the following factors define a person’s socio-economic status (SES)? a. income b. education c. occupation d. all the above e. none of above

41. Juan is interested in knowing occupational influences on purchases of satellite radio systems. Which of the following occupations are most likely to purchase this type of product? a. wholesale and retail trade b. professional, scientific and technical c. mining and construction d. all the above e. none of above

42. Budweiser is a popular brand of beer. Part of this company's market research of U.S. consumers looked at education levels of beer consumers. What education level is the likely consumer of beer (that with highest propensity to buy and consumer beer) to have attained? a. did not graduate high school b. graduated high school c. attended college d. graduated college e. none of the above

43. Martha is 93 years old, but she perceives herself to be about 65 years old. Sixty-five is Gertrude's _____ age. a. felt age b. real age c. cognitive age d. perceptual age e. chronological age

44. A(n) _____ is a group of persons who have experienced a common social, political, historical, and economic environment. a. census age group b. age cohort c. cognitive group d. chronological group e. demographic group

45. Which generation is NOT part of the mature market? a. pre-Depression b. Depression c. Generation X d. baby boomers e. All the above are part of the mature market.

46. Which of the following are bases for subcultures in the United States? a. ethnic groups b. religions c. geographic areas d. generations e. all the above

47. Which of the following is predicted to be the fastest-growing racial group in the United States between 2010 and 2030? a. Whites b. Blacks c. Hispanics d. Asian e. South Americans

48. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, which generation of Hispanic adults is born in the United States to U.S. born parents, has the highest education and income levels, is most likely to identify themselves as Americans, is most likely to have English as the primary language, and is somewhat less likely to ascribe to traditional values? a. first-generation adults b. second-generation adults c. third-generation adults d. primary-generation adults e. secondary-generation adults

49. Which subculture is the most diverse group, with numerous nationalities, languages, and religions? a. Hispanics b. African Americans c. Asian Americans d. Native Americans e. Asian-Indian Americans

50. Which type of subculture arises because of the climatic conditions, the natural environment and resources, the characteristics of the various immigrant groups that have settled there, and significant social and political events? a. ethnic b. regional c. religious d. generational e. transient

Data. See Excel spreadsheet “GroupProject1.xlsx”. It contains the monthly returns of value-weighted equity indexes divided into various groups: • North America — Canada and the United states • Japan • Asia Pacific — Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Singapore • Europe — Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom • Global – All of the above countries All index returns are in US dollar terms. In addition, the file contains the 1-month US risk-free rate.

Questions 1.) On a single chart, plot the value of $1 invested in each of the five indexes over time. I.e., for all ?, plot the cumulative return series for each index: ??? = (1 + ?1)(1 + ?2)… (1 + ??) What patterns do you observe?

in each region of the world we adapt to cultural norms and nuances, but we hold true to our standards and best practices that benefit our owners, team members, and guests. This impacts our approach to every aspect of our business—from the ways we train and engage our team members to our customer marketing campaigns and service delivery. Our strategic perspective is that a brand is a promise consistently delivered. Equally important, we strive to be culturally relevant. Cultural differences largely come to life in food and beverage and leisure amenities, such as spa offerings. For example, our eforea: spa at Hilton treatment menus are designed so that each hotel offers core elements that our guests expect, but the menus also give our owners in China flexibility to add treatments specific to their local market. Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe will feature spa treatments such as a foot massage and a variety of full-body massages inspired by traditional Chinese aromatherapy oils.

As a global brand with hotels in 78 countries, we invest a great deal of time and research into understanding the needs and expectations of travelers today, and we are prepared to meet these needs as they evolve over time. Research tells us that travelers have a great deal of trust for Hilton, particularly when traveling abroad. Because traveling abroad is a new experience for many of our guests from mainland China, our brand gives them confidence that the hotel experience will meet their needs so that they can focus on exploring a new destination.

From our more than two decades of experience operating in mainland China, we see two trends that differentiate the Chinese traveler. These trends are similar to the trends we have historically experienced with other rapidly expanding customer segments. First, we must provide our guests with familiar comforts, and make it a point to have team members fluent in Mandarin on staff at our hotels outside China. The recent global launch of the Hilton Huanying program is helping us achieve this goal.

Second, we recognize that most travelers from China are booking through government-approved travel agents and tour operators, rather than booking directly with a hotel or online. This affects how we communicate with our customers when they are considering lodging options. With more than 20 years of experience serving the China market, we have developed longstanding relationships with government travel agencies and tour operators. Hilton Worldwide opened its first international sales offices in Beijing and Shanghai in 2005, so we have teams in the market who really understand the travelers and communicate regularly with government travel agencies and tour operators. With Hilton Huanying, for example, we invited many of the tour operators to participate in the global launch events in San Francisco, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Our brand also has an aggressive marketing campaign in China, offers a Chinese version of our consumer site (www.hilton.com.cn) and recently launched a Chinese version of our global press site (www.hiltonglobalmediacenter.com.cn) as a resource for Chinese media

QUESTION

How do Hiltons china operations differ from its operations elsewhere?

Ignoring individuals by states is an internationally accepted practice.

True or False

Illustrate the ways in which globalization has eroded the power of states

What are the benefits of incorporating businesses in high-tax states such as California?

Should the states take stronger measures against the federal government?

How are Tax exemption statuses monitored by the states and/or federal government?

What are the pros and cons of not expanding medicaid compared to other states?