Unit 2 : Marketing and Operations

Question 1

Give three distinctive facts about field research …

Answer 1

Primary information is obtained
Researcher obtains first hand information
Information is gathered first hand and will be up to date

Question 2

Postal surveys and telephones surveys have the disadvantage of having to keep questions very simple and easy to answer ….
Give another two advantages and disadvantages of this type of field research ..

Answer 2

A: costs can be kept low as doesn’t require a trained interviewer for the phone or at all for postal and a large number of people can be surveyed

D: respondents can be very hostile towards telephone surveys and response rates for postal surveys are very low

Question 3

Give an advantage and disadvantage of personal interviews aside from its two way communication where you can see the instant reaction ….

Answer 3

A: researcher can prompt respond to questions and provide follow up questions can be asked

D : can be costly for a researcher to be selected and trained

Question 4

True of false …
EPOS has the disadvantage of being costly to set up and there is no opportunity to gain customer opinion ?

An advantage is can get accurate quantitive information which is easy to analyse

Answer 4

Both are true

Question 5

What is the only advantage of hall testing which can then be flipped for disadvantages ..

Answer 5

Qualative information can be gathered (opinion) but this is then difficult to analyse

Question 6

Which method ,between capital and labour is where by the majority of the work is carried out by machinery or robots ?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of this method ?

Answer 6

Capital
Machines can operate 24/7 without having to stop for breaks,illness or holidays and the standard of accuracy and consistency is much higher than production by humans

Installation of machinery is very high and production is halted if machines break down until, they are repaired

Question 7

Mechanisation relies on machinery however greater amount of human input to control the work flow …. What is the difference to automation

Answer 7

Production is mainly controlled by robots and a lot of the control is with computers with very small amount of human interaction

Question 8

What method of production are the following advantages and disadvantages from ?
A: employees are more flexible than machines to make products
D : skilled employees demand higher wages and there are also expensive to recruit

Also , give another advantage

Answer 8

Labour

High quality product made as the employees car about the products they make

Question 9

Why does industrial action occur ?

What types of action can a manager take against his employees ?

Answer 9

This occurs when employees are not happy with decisions being made within the business.
However can occur when managers aren’t happy with employees and may do an overtime ban which prevents employees from doing any overtime which reduces their pay

Question 10

What is the main outcome of industrial action …

Answer 10

Productivity of the business is reduced

Question 11

Give three types of industrial action and describe hat they are…

Answer 11

Go slow : employees still complete their tasks that are in heir contract of employment but at a much slower rate

Strike : employees refuse to work but there must be a ballot of members held to ensure majority of people want let go on strike and employees aren’t paid for the days they are on strike

Work to rule : employees only conduct the tasks that are in their contract of employment

Question 12

Describe the disadvantages to a company if the employees go on strike or other type of industrial action ?

Answer 12

Reeuces sales as products aren’t being made which results in loosing profit and customers going to competitors.also crates bad public relations for the company

Question 13

Company’s focusing on the quality of their product should minimise ….

Answer 13

Complaints

Question 14

Explain the term “quality control”

Answer 14

This is where the product is INSPECTED
Raw materials are inspected to ensure they are of the highest quality before production starts.Product is then checked at the end of the process to make sure it’s a good standard and at the rejected products are reworked or discarded

Question 15

What can’t quality control do ?

Answer 15

Prevent problems

Question 16

Give the advantages and disadvantages of quality control ?

Answer 16

A: limits the potential for bad reputations to occur from faulty products as it ensures that faulty goods are not sent to customers

D: leads to high levels of wastage as the quality of the actual product isn’t checked until the end of production.

Question 17

Explain what the term “quality assurance” means ?

Answer 17

This is where the prevention of faults occurs.

Products are checked at points throughout the production process and are discarded when faults are identified

Question 18

Give the disadvantages of quality assurance …

Answer 18

Can slow down production as time taken for inspection as tests carried out throughout production to ensure no faults have occurred.
Costs may rise as business has to fund s quality assurance manager

Question 19

What type of quality if the following advantage part of ?…
Business stays ahead of competition and can react to changing external factors

State a disadvantage of this type of quality

Answer 19

Quality improvement

Employees feel constantly under pressure to continuously keep improving which can demote the them if they don’t improve

Question 20

Explain,fully,what benchmarking is ?

Answer 20

Benchmarking is a way of ensuring quality.Companies will compare their product producing patterns to the market leader or competitor and try to mirror the process used in a hope to increase their own sales.However it can be difficulty to obtain information from the market leader

Question 21

What is the purpose and advantage of using mystery shoppers

Answer 21

Purpose is to gain an accurate reflection of standards and is a way of monitoring the quality of the service provided.
An advantage is that’s it’s a cheaper method of ensuring quality standards are met

Question 22

What is the main disadvantage of obtaining quality standards ?

Answer 22

The process is very time consuming and expensive as it requires a through review of the company’s procedures,polices and gather evidence.Also there would be bad publicity if a company obtained for a short period of time but the standard of product then began to slip

Question 23

State and advantage to a business if they obtain a quality standard award ….

Answer 23

Customers are more likely to buy the products if they know it’s a good standard and are also willing to pay a higher price.
The award will improve the products image and reputation of the product .Plus it enforces brand loyalty if the customers at satirised with the product which makes it easier to bring out new products .fisnly, there will be less wastage because there are stickter procedures to ensure that faults don’t arise - all which increase sales and profit

Question 24

Give a way in which quality of the product can be comprised aside from the types of quality assurance ?

Answer 24

Employees

Question 25

Describe three ways which training employees can benefit the quality of the product ??

Answer 25

Firstly: if an employee has been trained then they are making fewer mistakes so the consistency of the product should be better Training the employee will motivate them It will give them a better understanding of the entire production and how each stage flows into the other

Question 26

Why is market research conducted ?

Answer 26

So that an organisation can find out if their products will sell or not.

Question 27

In penetration pricing ,once products becomes popular what happens ?

Answer 27

The price will be raised ,low prices are only start term

Question 28

True or false Promotional pricing is when prices are reduced for a short period of time which encourages customers to buy the products which will result in stock levels falling.

Answer 28

True

Question 29

Give 5 examples of pricing strategies used for new products Explain competitive pricing and premium prices

Answer 29

Promotional,premium,penetrating,market skimming and competitive. Competitive : organisation set similar prices for similar products which can help prevent price war.Organisations will compete with non pricing factors like loyalty cards. Premium : high prices are charged and maintained and this method is used by high class expensive products like Apple

Question 30

What factors contribute to pricing strategies ?

Answer 30

``` Cost of manufacture Target market Position in product life cycle Time of year Competitors pricing ```

Question 31

Why is pricing important ?

Answer 31

As the organisation must ensure it covers the cost of production and advertising to allow them to make a profit

Question 32

Explain what market skimming is ...

Answer 32

Where an initial high price is charged for the product but as competition in the market increases,price will fall in line with competitors

Question 33

Describe two other pricing strategies not used for launching new products ?

Answer 33

Loss leaders : range of products in the shop will be a lower price to indices the customer in and then they will but other normall priced products aswell Price discrimination : different prices charged for same product or service as different times of the year such as holidays

Question 34

What factors need to be considered before selecting a supplier for your raw materials ?

Answer 34

Delivery reliability Quality and standard is consistent Locally sources as improves image if your socially responsible as well as reducing delivery time Ensuring a suitable price to make sure your making a profit but the quality of materials is still good

Question 35

Give 5 negatives of over stocking ....

Answer 35

Waste of money Perishable items may to out of date More liable to theft Space is used up in the warehouse meaning money is lost as having to spend it on rent,security and insurance is high end goods money is tied up in goods which can't then be used in hiring more staff

Question 36

What does the term economic ( maximum) stock level mean ?

Answer 36

Highest quantity of stock that should be held at any time and should be the lowest possible level to allow activities to continue without interruption.Meaning that the organisation is not holding so much stock that unnecessary costs are incurred

Question 37

Give 4 negatives of understocking ....

Answer 37

Loose money as can't sell any products Constantly understocking can create bad public relations which results in loosing customers Increased admin and delivery costs as always reordering

Question 38

What is the re order level ?

Answer 38

Level at which new stock should be ordered which is calculated using the daily usage plus the delivery time

Question 39

True or false .. | Lead time is he amount of stock required to return stock levels to max level ?.....

Answer 39

False Lead time is the time taken between placing the order and the order being delivered. The description is re order quantity

Question 40

Explain what minimum stock level is ....

Answer 40

Stock level that ensures there will always be stock available for production including time for order and delivery .includes a buffer which is an emergency supply in case of delayed delivery

Question 41

In the marketing mix , what does place represent ?

Answer 41

How the product gets from the manufacturer to the customer

Question 42

In the marketing mix , what does place represent ?

Answer 42

How the product or service gets from the manufacturer to the consumer ..

Question 43

Under the place category in the marketing mix , what are two advantages and two disadvantages of retailers ?

Answer 43

Dis / more expensive for customers to buy and the retailers may not have specialist product knowledge Ad/ since it's located close to the customer, a customer base can be established which also allows after sale service

Question 44

A) what are wholesalers ? B) give and advantage and disadvantage

Answer 44

Wholesalers buy in bulk from the manufacturer and sell to retailers for example Costco. A) saves the manufacturer from incurring high storage costs due to the wholesalers purchasing in bulk which also saves money being tied up in stock B) manufacturers have to trust the wholesalers as the control of the product image and interaction with customers is left with them

Question 45

The channel of distribution is ________ the product gets from the manufacturer to the consumer. What are the three channels of distribution and what is the most expensive for customers ?

Answer 45

HOW Manufacturer to the customer Manufacturer to the retailer to the customer Manufacturer,wholesaler,retailer and customer The last channel is the most expensive for customers as wholesalers and retailers need a profit too.

Question 46

Give examples of factors which impact the channel of distribution ...

Answer 46

Government restrictions for example medicines must be sold through pharmacies. Product and service being sold as Gucci bags will just be sold in exclusive outlets to manage the image of the product

Question 47

What factors need to be considered with regard to method of distribution ?

Answer 47

Environmental impact | Socially responsible

Question 48

For all four methods of transport - state an advantage and disadvantage ?

Answer 48

ROAD - Lorries can operate 24 hours a day and refrigerated Lorries allow perishable items to be transported.Road works can delay the transport which isn't environmentally friendly and drivers are restricted by law to only drive certain amount of hours. AIR - this allows large amounts of only small products can be transported and it's more faster than sea.Requires road haulage as products need to be transported to the airport and loaded I tot he craft which also means large items cannot be transported. SEA - this method allowed the import or export of bulky goods and can be transported worldwide.Very time consuming however. RAIL - large products and quantities are transported but it's not a door to door service and there isn't a train station in every location .

Question 49

What three factors are included in the extended marketing mix and what do they represent ? ....

Answer 49

PEOPLE - the employees who work for the company and their skills and knowledge.Organisation must ensure they recruit the right employees to provide an adequate product or service. PHYSICAL - is in the form of service and the atmosphere created.Does the service include free wifi,uniform,logo,payment systems or seating areas. PROCESS- different elements to making a product or service eg ; souvenir raw materials and how customers are handled - self service,drive through...HOW the service is provided

Question 50

What are the three aims of promotion ...

Answer 50

INFORMING customers of the product REMINDING customers that the product exists PERSUADING customers to buy the product

Question 51

State what the term promotion means and what it plays an important role in ... State the two types of promotion and features of both

Answer 51

Promotion is the way in which the organisation makes the customer aware of the features and benefits of the product.This plays an important part in gaining new customers and retaining existing ones. BELOW the line - is directly controlled by the business and targets customers directly , it's SPECIFIC is direct mail ABOVE the line - uses media as larger audience and will target people not interested in the product, non specific

Question 52

The aim of extension strategies is to keep the product in the maturation stage for as long as possible ..The 9 types of extension strategies are ...

Answer 52

IMPROVING the product NEW uses for the product ALTERING PACKAGING to appeal to new customers Change the CHANNEL of distribution Altering the PRICE ( put word new on it ) Using different PROMOTIONAL activities ( to rather than magazine) RE-BRANDING Product LINE extensions ( Coke life , Diet Coke , Coke Zero ) Target a different SEGMENT

Question 53

State the features of the development and introduction stage of a product life cycle ...

Answer 53

D- costs are high and there are no sales or profit I - product is launched and customers first become aware of the product.Advertising and promotional costs are high to increase awareness but sales and profit are still low

Question 54

What happens in the growth stage of the product life cycle...

Answer 54

Sales rise quickly - the product begins to become profitable and more customers are aware of the product.Competitors will launch their own versions of the product.

Question 55

What is the difference between product line and product diversity?

Answer 55

L- range based on existing product | D- different products to add the to existing products

Question 56

A product portfolio reduces the risk as its spread over all the products ... give some other advantages and disadvantages of product portfolio

Answer 56

Advantages Increases the market share of the business making it closer to being market leader. Profitable products can support the launch of new ones Don't suffer from seasonal fluctuations Increase brand awareness and increases profits Attracts new customers and widens the original customer base Targets different segments of the market DisA Difficult to manage if it spreads too wide Loose sight of key objectives Advertising costs for all products can be high

Question 57

The decline stage of the product life cycle is when the product is ______ as sales and profits continue to fall.

Answer 57

withdrawn

Question 58

Describe the maturation and saturation stage of the product life cycle ...

Answer 58

M- product is fully established and at this stage the sales will have peaked to their highest.Less money will be spent on advertising since the product is more profitable and costs will be repaid. S- competition becomes fierce and price tumbles,sales and profits continue to fall and consumes become interested in other products.

Question 59

Explain what penetration and promotional prices are ..

Answer 59

Penetration - a price lower than competitors,set to tempt away from competitors.Once the product becomes popular and then the price is raised in line with competitors. Promotional - is short term and prices are reduced,consumer interest peaks and stock levels drop.

Question 60

Give two descriptions of pricing strategies not used for new products ...

Answer 60

Price Discrimination - different prices are charged for the same product/service at different times of the day,month or year. Loss leaders - a range of products are advertised at a low,unprofitable price which will encourage customers to enter the store over competitors store and customers will often then go on to purchase other fully priced products

Question 61

Labour intensive uses mainly manual labour ... Give two disadvantages and two advantages of this production ...

Answer 61

Cheaper than purchasing and maintaining equipment and employees can use their initative when required. The accuracy and quality of work from person to person can vary and it costs money to recruit,select and train new employees

Question 62

State two advantages and disadvantages of using capital intensive ...

Answer 62

Machines can operate 24/7 and do not need breaks, holidays or sick days.They can also produce a consistent and standardised accuracy and quality of work. Individual customer requirements cannot be met and breakdowns can occur which can be expensive and whole line of production stops.

Question 63

State the five most important reasons for having cash budgets?

Answer 63

SET TARGETS for the employees and managers to work towards. MEASURE PERFORMANCE of the organisation as a whole or individual departments MONITER & CONTROLL provides a business with a tool for comparison of budgeted with actual results HIGHLIGHT periods of SURPLUS which allows investment for the future or POOR FLOW and then allows corrective action to be taken

Question 64

Cash budgets make ...... and record the estimated movements of ....

Answer 64

Projections into the future | Cash in and out of an organisation

Question 65

Give five examples of how cash comes into a business and how cash flows out of a business ...

Answer 65

IN - sales of stock, loans received , retained profits , sale of fixed assets and increase in creditors. OUT - dividend paid , purchase of stock , loans repaid ,losses sad purchase of fixed assets

Question 66

State examples of what causes poor cash flow ..

Answer 66

Owners taking too much drawings Spending too much on stock which hasn't sold Giving customers too long to pay money they owe Not receiving enough money from sale of goods Bad management decisions eg a lot spent on marketing which hasn't generated enough sales

Question 67

Market research helps identify what ...

Answer 67

The consumer wants next

Question 68

Give five reasons why market research is important and state five things that market research helps indentify

Answer 68

Gives info about the best place to sell the product and most successful channel of distribution. Helps organisations avoid costly mistakes and indicates the size and potential growth of the market. Gives ideas how best to promote and advertise Information about competitors products How consumers feel about current products What consumers want next and why they purchase products

Question 69

State four reasons why target marketing is important?

Answer 69

Ensures the product meets customer needs/ wants Sells the product in the right place The correct price for the consumer Appropriate promotions

Question 70

What is the difference between differentiated and undifferentiated marketing ...

Answer 70

D - sells products to particular market segments U - aiming products at population as a whole

Question 71

Sales record is a type of internal desk research .... give three advantages and disadvantages ...

Answer 71

By looking at past performance targets can be set. Easy to access Plentiful information records kept for many years Records will need updated regularly New organisations may not have access to a lot of internal info Significant costs involved in setting up such records in terms of software cost and training staff to use it

Question 72

External desk research can be a census or Internet website ... Give advantages and disadvantages

Answer 72

Easy to access, cheap to obtain and useful info on pestec factors Competitors also have acces to the same info Information put biased or unreliable / out if date Time consuming to gather

Question 73

What are the three types of sampling and state and advantage and disadvantage of each ..

Answer 73

Random - no chance of bias & simple to do - may not focused on a particular market segment Quota - cheaper method and stats showing proption of different groups within population Stratified - population is divided segments such as socio economic

Question 74

What three words describe marketing ...

Answer 74

Anticipation,identification and fulfilment of customers needs

Question 75

Give four examples of marketing purposes

Answer 75

Raise awareness of the product Raise the profile of the organisation Attract new customers moniter customer tastes Inform about products through advertising