phone: 315-341-2658; email: owen@oswego.edu (don't send excuses!)
URL http://www.oswego.edu/~owen for this and other class documents
This take-home exam is being substituted for an in-class exam. 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. Indeed, answers on past exams which apparently relied on library research had a tendency to wander off of the issue of the question (i.e., were lousy answers receiving low marks).
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 work. Your answers may reference personal experiences, news events, etc. in addition to the text materials used in the course. Do be sure to support and substantiate your answer. You should not be attempting to "core dump" on an exams such as this. That is, don't 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 and your answer will be marked on the depth of substance. An additional document is available at the above URL which might be a useful orientation for approaching graduate level exams.
In answering the following questions, you MUST adhere to the following rules:
1. Your answer must be typed: double space, one-inch margins.
2. 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. Do not identify yourself on any page except a cover sheet; the cover sheet should be the LAST page of your submission.
6. Type the question number and the first line of the question above each answer.
7. Type the question number and the first line of the question above each answer.
8. 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).
9. Limit the entire exam to ten pages in length. The length of each individual answer may vary, but the entire submission must not exceed ten pages in length. Note that not all question carry the same weighting in the total score.
PART I:
You MUST answer the following required question. 50% of total exam score.
1. A friend has just inherited a bottling plant from a rich uncle. She is considering the launch of a carbonated iced tea drink. What current environmental (marketing) factors play a role in her decision? How should you go about designing a survey to estimate consumer acceptance of this proposed product?
PART II
Answer any TWO (only) of the following questions. 25% each of total exam score.
2. One student made the statement, "Marlboro has never gone out of style." Isn't this counter to the concept of the product life cycle?
3. How is the marketing of a government agency different from the marketing of a microcomputer line?
4. One student with an operations/manufacturing background has made the comment, "Marketing makes the calls and we do what we have to get the product out. The research and customer feedback continuously creates [the need for] product reformulation and plant modifications. The operations/plant is controlled by marketing." Comment.
5. To be announced after class presentations.