TINIVERSITYOFCOLOMBO,SRILANKA

FACULTYOFMANAGEMENT& FINANCE
Postgraduate
& Mid-CareerDevelopmentUnit
Masterof BusinessAdministration(MBa) in Finance
(HRM)
MBA in HumanResourceManagement
- June2007.
(First-HalO
Examination
Semester-ll
MBA 536- Marketing
Three(03) Hours

Instructionsfor candidates
AnswerIqqE.jED questionsincludingquestionNunber 0 I .

on this
"Marketingis a business
philosophy,a functionanda skill". Elaborate
statement.
relationshipbuijding.
Explainthequalitiesof successful
(10Marks)
ii

the
Whatis the greatestsingledifferencebetweenthe marketingconceptand,respectively,
production,product,and sellingconcept? Which conceptsis the easiestto apply in the
shortrun?Whichconceptoffersthebestlong run success?
(04 Marks)

iii.

is reallynot as strong
JohnKennethCalbraith(1958)hasaguedthatconsumersovereignty
as neo- classicaltheorywould haveus believe.......He contendsthat modembusinesses
demandfor theirproductswill existwhenthesegoodsare
mustmakesurethat an adequate
controlthe
eventuallymadeavailableto the consumer.Accordingto him thesebusinesses
and salesorganization.Do you agreetvith
demald for their productsthroughadve.tisiDg
this argument?
Give reasonslbr youranswer.
(04 Marls)

lv,

a
b

Explaintherelationshipbetween,,tharke|
ing

concept,and"marketing/e.r?a/c&.',
Describethe main pillarsofmarketing
concept_
Whatis meantby the .totalmarket
orientation'?
(08 Marks)

Differenriare
followingpairs
a.
b.

Marketingmyopiaandcompetitormyopla
Iledonicbenefitsandutilitarianberteiits
(04 Marks)

vl,

Thoughthe demald for compactdisks

is graduallyincreasingin the marketplace
the
XY companystifl producescassette
piecessinceit can manufacture
themat law cost.
Wheredoesthe Xy Companyfall
in the following matrix (Figure1.1)?
llow can the
concept'pe.lbrmancesynergy,,be
relatedto this scenario?
Figure 1.1: principal combinations
of efrtcienc! tud effectiveness
Ffficienf

Effecrive

Ineffective

Inefficient

(05 Marks)

Describe
the altemative
waysby whichpeoplecanobtainproducts
and identifythe

vll,

most effectivealtemative.
Justifyyour identihcation.What conditionsshouldbe
satisfied
to occurthisaltemative.
(05 Marks)
(Total ilo Marks)

'The fact that people

have needsand wantsand can place value on productsfully
definesmarketing.'Examinethevalidily ofthis statement.
(04 Marks)

ll,

"The mutualdependence
of corporationand societyimpliesthat both br:siness
decisions
andsocialpoliciesmust follow theprincipleof sharedvalue. That is, choicesmustbenefit
both sides. If eithera businessor a societypursuespoliciesthat benefitits interestsat the
expenseofthe other,it will undenainethelongte.m pfosperityofboth.,,
Explainhow a companycanput the broadprinciplesof sharedvalueinto practice.
How does'Responsive
CSR' differ from 'strategicCSR ?
b.

Examinethe primaryapproaches
to CSR.Whataretheir limitations?

(16Marks)
(Total20Marks)

Table I showsthe classification

of tlreats of a companywith four strategicbusiness
units
(SBUs). EvaluateeachSBU andrecommend
actionsthateachSBU shouldtakero manage
its threats.What are the possibleoutcomesof the principalcombinationsof opportunities
and0ueats?

Table 1 Classificationof Threats

Threats
SBU

Probabilitv of occurrel

Seriousness

Low

Low

Low

High

High

Lo*

High

High

(06 Marks)

1l

At leastsomeotherfactorsare
How a companycompetesis not the only key to success.
andthus of a strategythat
competitiveadvantage
requisitefor the creationof a sustainable
Justifyyouranswer.
will be successful
overtime. Do you agreewith statement?
(06 Marks)

iii

What techniquesshould the businessunits set up 10 track trelds and important

of an
developmentsin the marketingenvironment? Explain how the attractiveness
opportunitycan be evaluated?On u'hatfactorsdoessuccessprobabilityof an opponunity
depend?Elaboratethesefactors
(08 Marks)
(Total 20 Mrrks)

An analysisof the cost stucture of a companycan revealwhich value addedstage

in a key value
represents
the largestpercentage
oftotal cost. Obtair-inga costadvantage
whetherthat
competitiveadvantage
addedstagecan rcpresenta significantsustainable
andexpiain
advantage
is usedto strppona low priceor a differentiationstralegy.Suggest
that yieid either
a modelthat a companycan employto identify significantcomponents
customerbenefitsor reducecos!.
(08 Marks)

ii.

What is the end result of positioning?what does point of difference(POD) mean?

in choosingPODs.How docs categorypoint of
Explain the importantconsiderations
paritydiffer from competitivepoint of parity?
(08 Mark$

lt!.

The marketingmanagerof a hotci wantsto increasethe hotel's marketshare. Her

throughprovidingbetterfood,clearrooms,
stategyis to build up customersatisfaction
and better-trained
hotel stafi Yet he has no authorityin thesematters.The catering
uses
department
departmentchoosesfood that keepsdown food costs;the maintenance
cleaningservicesthatthat keepdowncleaningcosts;andthe humanresourcedepartmenl
hires people without regardto whetherthgy are friendly and inclinedto serveolher
people.Analysethis scena o with a suitableconcept.

(04Marks)
(Iot8l 20Marks)

The rationalefor a separate

treatmentof servicesmarketingcenterson the exlstenceot a
numberof characteristics
ofservices.Explainthe fundamentar
differences
betweenserylces
and physicalproducts. Describehcw dimensionsof service quality differ from
the
dimensionsof physicalproductquality
(10Marks)

U,

Table2 bringssomeinformationrelatedto the strategicbusinessunits(SBUS)of the peR

Companyto light. Suggestappropriatemodelsthat the firm can employto diagnosethe
marketpositionof eachSBU. prescribestrategies
andmarketingobjectivesto eachSBU.
Whatwill be the futurepositionofthe Companyasa whole?

Table2 lhlormation on Stralegic BusinesslJnits _peR Company.

Variable

SBU I and 6

SBU2 and5

Sale

Rapidiy
rising

Low

High

High

Lo\l

Low

Average

High

Low

Low

Rising

No

Declining

High

Laggards

Middlemajority

Declining

Stablenumber

MarktGrowth

SBU3
Declining

SBU4 and7
PeakSales

Rate

Cost per
customer
Profit
Customers
Competitors

Earlyadopte.s

Innovators

Growing
number

Relativmarket

High

beginningto decline
Low

Low

High

share

(10Marks)
(Total20Marks)

l.

Whatdoesthe"StrategicWindow"conceptsuggest?
(06 Markt

ii.

Why should marketing managerstarget their market? Explain the requirementsfor

effectivesegmentation?
How canthe attractiveness
ofeachsegmentbe evaluated?
(06marks)

iii.

Explaintherole ofmarketingin the follouing networks

a. Verticalnetwork

b. Inter-marketnetwork
c

Customeropportunitynetwork

(08 Marks)

(Total 20 Marks)