FINAL VERSION

MKT 521 Marketing Management

EXAM 2

Due by Friday, 9 AUG 02, 12:00 noon

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This take-home exam is being substituted for an in-class exam due to the loss of a class period.  Rather than a time limit, you have a limit on length.  This is not a research project: These are questions that you should be able to answer on a timed in-class exam and in the context of class our discussions.  This is an MBA level exam for which MBA level knowledge, insights, and writing are expected.

Note that this is an individual project.  Although it is expected that students have been discussing the readings and other course related issues outside of class, the final written exam document should be your own individual work.  Your answers may reference personal experiences, news events, etc. in addition to the readings used in the course.  Do be sure to support and substantiate your answer.  You should not be attempting to "core dump" on an exam such as this.  That is, do not attempt to confuse your answer with everything that you have learned: just answer the question that is asked.  Your answer should, however, be based substantially on the sorts of issues that have been part of class discussions, student presentations and hand-outs, and assigned readings, and your answer will be marked on the depth of substance. 

In answering these exam questions, you MUST adhere to the following rules:

  1. Put your REAL NAME on a cover page that is the LAST page of the exam.  Do NOT put your name on any other pages of the exam.  Your exam can then be blind graded.

  2. Your answer must be typed: double space, one-inch margins.  Use a standard size and style of font - e.g., 12-point Courier, Times, etc.

  3. Use plain white paper with a staple in the top left corner; no report folders.

  4. Scoring is based substantially on substance and clarity; printing with an old dot-matrix printer on fan-fold paper is acceptable.  Errors of grammar, spelling, typing, etc., however, are not acceptable.

  5. Type the question number and the first line of the question above each answer.

  6. Start a new question on the page wherever the last one ends (i.e., do not leave any white space by starting a new question on a new page).

  7. Limit the entire text of the exam to SIX pages in length; you may add additional pages as an appendix to footnote supporting calculations if necessary.  The length of each individual answer may vary, but the entire submission (excluding an appendix) must not exceed six pages of text in length. 

PART I: analysis

You MUST answer the following required question.  One-third of the total exam score.

1. Alice, a young girl, wants to run a lemonade stand at the end of her driveway in a suburban neighborhood.  Her father has agreed to build the stand, but he expects to be reimbursed for lumber and any other materials that he uses.  Her mother has agreed to make the lemonade and to supply other associated materials, but she expects to be reimbursed for these materials.  The family just moved into this neighborhood a month ago, so it is not possible for Alice to make an accurate forecast of sales.  Write a brief but persuasive report that Alice can submit to her parents to convince them that she is likely to be able to pay back their material assistance.

PART II: strategy

Choose ONE of the following two questions.  One-third of the total exam score.

2. Kim is thinking of selling souvenir T-shirts on an island that has more tourists than residents.  Is she using a market segmentation strategy?  Why or why not?

3. "You need to narrow down your target market to something more specific than 'anyone older than a newborn.'"  Is this statement universally true?

PART III: ethics, global marketing

Choose ONE of the following two questions.  One-third of the total exam score.

4. Why are issues of ethics and social responsibility important to marketers?  Isn't the bottom line simply to sell more stuff?  Be specific and refer to issues raised in class discussions.

5. In what ways is an understanding of culture important to someone who is only doing domestic marketing in the US?  Be specific and refer to issues raised in class discussions.