multiple choice questions - fule.at · web view · 2011-09-041. which of the following have...

Chapter 19 Organizational Buyer Behavior

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following have marketers learned with respect to segmenting business customers? A) The segment of small and moderate-sized businesses has a lot of potential. B) The segment of small and moderate-sized businesses has limited potential. C) The segment of large businesses is the most attractive. D) The segment of large businesses is the least attractive. E) Tapping the potential of the small and moderate-sized business segment does not

require adapting the marketing strategy from that used to target larger businesses.

Answer: A Page: 685 Difficulty: moderate

2. Which of the following is FALSE regarding the similarities and differences between organization buying decisions and family purchases? A) Organizations generally have relatively objective and clearly articulated criteria

(i.e., profit maximization) that guide purchases; families lack such explicit, overarching goals.

B) Most organizational purchases are made by individuals unknown to other organizational members and most purchases have little effect on most other members of the organization; many family purchases are inherently emotional and strongly affect the relationships between family members.

C) Businesses often engage in reciprocal purchases, which is not common for households.

D) Many of the general factors that affect consumer buying also influence organizational buying.

E) The extent to which emotions influence organizational purchasing is at least as strong as it is for family decision making.

Answer: E Page: 686-687 Difficulty: moderate

3. The individuals (representing functional areas and management) within an organization who participate in making a given purchase decision make up the _____. A) strategic business unit (SBU) B) decision center (DC) C) decision-making unit (DMU) D) strategic decision unit (SDU) E) functional decision unit (FDU)

Answer: C Page: 687 Difficulty: moderate

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4. Sinclair is from accounting and is a member of a committee to purchase a new mainframe computer system for his company. Sinclair is a member of the _____. A) strategic business unit (SBU) B) decision center (DC) C) decision-making unit (DMU) D) strategic decision unit (SDU) E) functional decision unit (FDU)


5. Decision-making units often function as _____ when they consist of individuals from various areas of the firm, such as accounting, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing, who meet specifically to make a purchase decision. A) buying centers B) purchasing agents C) consultants D) intermediaries E) opinion leaders


6. Which of the following is a characteristic of a decision-making unit? A) They are often relatively permanent for nonroutine decisions. B) Even less important decisions are likely to involve individuals form a wide variety

of functional areas. C) Large, highly structured organizations ordinarily involve more individuals in a

purchase decision than do small, less formal organizations. D) Decision-making units are typically a separate permanent organizational

department in large organizations. E) Small organizations do not use formalized decision-making units.


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7. A difference between large and small organizations when making a purchase decision is _____. A) small organizations generally involve more individuals in the decision-making

process B) large organizations generally involve more individuals in the decision-making

process C) large organizations typically have less specialization D) small organizations typically have more specialized purchasing tools E) all of the above

Answer: B Page: 687 and 698 Difficulty: easy

8. Which of the following influences organizational culture and, thus, organizational buyer behavior? A) culture B) marketing activities C) organizational values D) motives E) all of the above

Answer: E Page: 688 Difficulty: easy

9. Which of the following is an external influence on organizational buyer behavior? A) organizational values B) motives C) emotions D) reference groups E) learning

Answer: D Page: 688 Difficulty: moderate

10. Which of the following is NOT an external influence on organization buyer behavior? A) firmographics B) culture C) perception D) government E) marketing activities


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11. Carlos is trying to understand the organizational buyer behavior of firms in his sales territory. Which of the following is an external influence on an organization's culture that he should examine? A) organizational values B) needs C) desires D) firmographics E) motives


12. Firmographics, culture, government, reference groups, and marketing activities are _____ influences on organizational buyer behavior. A) internal B) external C) insignificant D) primary E) secondary

Answer: B Page: 688 Difficulty: moderate

13. Matt is currently undergoing sales training and is trying to understand the external influences on organizational buyer behavior. Which of the following is an external influence? A) firmographics B) culture C) government D) marketing activities E) all of the above


14. Which of the following is an internal influence on organizational buyer behavior? A) motives B) firmographics C) culture D) reference groups E) all of the above


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15. Which of the following is NOT an internal influence on organizational buyer behavior? A) firmographics B) organizational values C) perception D) motives E) memory


16. Maria is a pharmaceutical sales representative that calls on hospitals. She is taking on a new territory, and she is trying to learn the internal influences on each hospital's culture. Which of the following is something that she should consider with respect to internal influences? A) firmographics B) organizational values C) reference groups D) lead users E) competitors' marketing activity


17. Which of the following is a stage in the organizational decision process? A) problem recognition B) information search C) alternative evaluation D) outlet selection and purchase E) all of the above


18. Which of the following is NOT a stage in the organizational buying decision process? A) vendor support programs B) problem recognition C) information search D) postpurchase processes E) alternative evaluation and selection


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19. Problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation and selection, outlet selection and purchase, and postpurchase processes represent _____. A) external influences B) internal influences C) organizational culture D) the decision process E) types of buying decisions

Answer: D Page: 688 Difficulty: easy

20. Different functional areas of an organization often do all of the following EXCEPT _____. A) play different roles in the purchase process B) utilize different information sources C) use different evaluative criteria D) assign different weights to evaluative criteria E) all of the above are done by different functional areas

Answer: E Page: 689-694 Difficulty: moderate

21. Members of the decision-making unit play which of the following roles? A) information gatherer B) key influencer C) decision maker D) purchaser E) all of the above


22. Which of the following is NOT a role played by members of the decision-making unit? A) information gatherer B) key influencer C) regulator D) user E) purchaser


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23. For which stage of the product life cycle is the size of the decision-making unit typically large? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


24. Bob is an engineer. For which stage of the product life cycle is he likely to be a member of a key function influencing purchase decisions? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


25. For products in which stage of the product life cycle are the engineering and R&D likely to be key functions influencing the purchase decision? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


26. For which stage of the product life cycle is the size of the decision-making unit likely to be neither small nor large, but medium? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


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27. For which stage of the product life cycle is the decision-making unit likely to be small? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


28. For products in which stage of the product life cycle is the purchasing function of an organization likely to be the key function influencing the purchase decision? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


29. Madeline works in purchasing for a major corporation. For purchase of products in which stage of the product life cycle is she likely to perform a key function influencing purchase decisions? A) introduction B) growth C) maturity D) decline E) fortification


30. Which of the following is an organizational purchase situation? A) nominal B) modified rebuy C) limited D) extended E) routine


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31. Which type of organizational purchase situation occurs when the purchase is of minor importance and is not complex? A) nominal B) modified rebuy C) limited D) straight rebuy E) routine


32. Which type of organizational purchase situation is characterized by low purchase importance, low choice complexity, level of decision-making unit (DMU) at low levels of the organization, a very small DMU, very brief time to decision, and very limited decision search? A) nominal B) straight rebuy C) modified rebuy D) new task E) limited


33. Which type of organizational purchase situation is characterized by high purchase importance and complexity, a large and evolving decision-making unit that includes the top of the organization, a long time to decision, extensive information search and analysis techniques, and a dominant strategic focus? A) nominal B) straight rebuy C) modified rebuy D) new task E) limited


34. Juan's job as a purchasing agent consists mostly of reordering basic supplies and component parts. Which type of organizational purchase situation does this represent? A) nominal B) straight rebuy C) modified rebuy D) new task E) limited


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35. The College of Business at a major university is considering the purchase of technology necessary to enable them put their curriculum online. This decision is very important and includes a very large and evolving decision-making unit. Which type of organizational purchase situation does this represent? A) nominal B) straight rebuy C) modified rebuy D) new task E) limited


36. In high-tech markets, who is most likely to recognize a problem or need to purchase? A) CEO B) accounting personnel C) purchasing manager D) head of a department E) consumer

Answer: D Page: 691-692 Difficulty: hard

37. Which of the following can possibly be part of the informal information search process for organizational buyers? A) site visits to evaluate a potential vendor B) laboratory test of a new product or prototype C) investigation of possible product specifications D) discussions with sales representatives E) all of the above are part of informal information search


38. Darryl is a chemist at a pharmaceutical company, and he was asked by the decision-making unit at his company to visit and evaluate potential vendors that will supply his company with the chemicals required to manufacture their products and to conduct laboratory tests of a new product that can be used in the manufacture of their products. Darryl is assisting the company with which type of information search? A) formal B) informal C) priority D) secondary E) direct


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39. Shawn tries to obtain information that might assist his company whenever he talks with sales representatives, attends trade shows, or when he reads the journals related to his industry. Shawn is conducting _____. A) formal information search B) informal information search C) direct information search D) indirect information search E) secondary information search


40. Which type of decision rule is very common in the first step of a two-stage decision for an organizational purchase? A) conjunctive B) disjunctive C) lexicographic D) compensatory E) elimination-by-aspects

Answer: A Page: 692 Difficulty: hard

41. Marcus works in operations. Which of the following evaluative criteria is NOT important to him? A) ease of maintenance of equipment B) competence of service technicians C) vendor offers a broad line D) time needed to install equipment E) product warranty

Answer: C Page: 694 Difficulty: hard

42. Payments, warranties, delivery dates, and so forth represent _____. A) purchase specifications B) product specifications C) terms and conditions D) postpurchase evaluation E) relationship marketing


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43. Laura's job is to negotiate the payment schedule, warranties, and delivery dates for major purchases made by her company. Laura deals with the _____ of the purchase. A) evaluative criteria B) product specifications C) terms and conditions D) postpurchase evaluation E) relationship marketing aspect


44. Which of the following sources is rated as the most important information source for purchasers and purchase influencers within organization? A) online database services B) B-go-B magazines C) salespeople D) television business networks E) general business press

Answer: B Page: 697 Difficulty: hard

45. The beliefs and attitudes an organization's members have about the organization and how it operates is known as _____. A) policy and procedure B) firmographics C) lifestyle D) organizational style E) organizational culture

Answer: E Page: 698 Difficulty: moderate

46. Organizations have a type of self-concept and lifestyles that the text refers to as _____. A) organizational ethos B) organizational culture C) organizational demeanor D) organizations structure E) none of the above


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47. Which term is often used to refer to the organizational culture of a business firm? A) firmographics B) lifestyle C) corporate culture D) corporate style E) internal style


48. _____ involve both organization characteristics (e.g., size, activities, and location) and characteristics of the composition of the organization (e.g., gender, age, education). A) Firmographics B) Psychographics C) Demographics D) Geographics E) Behaviorgraphics


49. Which of the following variables represents an organization's firmographics? A) size B) activities and objectives C) location D) industry category E) all of the above

Answer: E Page: 698-701 Difficulty: easy

50. Which of the following is NOT a component of firmographics? A) company size B) reference groups C) company objective D) company location E) all of the above are components

Answer: B Page: 698 Difficulty: easy

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51. Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding a firm's size? A) Large organizations are more likely than smaller ones to have a variety of

specialists who attend to purchasing, finance, marketing, and general management. B) The same promotional message needs to be targeted to all of the various functions

in the firm. C) Larger organizations are generally more complex than smaller ones because more

individuals participate in managing the organization's operations. D) The purchase decision in a smaller firm might involve only the owner or manager. E) One message would need to address all the key purchase issues when targeting a

smaller firm.


52. Organizational objectives can be categorized as _____. A) commercial B) governmental C) nonprofit D) cooperative E) all of the above


53. Which of the following is NOT a category of organizational objectives? A) commercial B) governmental C) nonprofit D) cooperative E) temporal


54. Organizational activities can be categorized as _____. A) routine B) complex C) technical D) a and b E) a, b, and c


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55. The American Red Cross participates in fund raising activities all throughout the year. How would this be classified with respect to general organizational objectives and the nature of the organizational activity? A) commercial objective, routine activity B) governmental objective, routine activity C) nonprofit objective, routine activity D) cooperative objective, routine activity E) nonprofit objective, complex activity


56. General Electric commits millions of dollars a year to research and development to develop new products. How would this be classified with respect to general organizational objectives and the nature of the organizational activity? A) commercial objective, routine activity B) commercial objective, complex activity C) commercial objective, technical activity D) cooperative objective, technical activity E) nonprofit objective, complex activity


57. A commercial firm in which stock is widely traded is known as a(n) _____. A) public firm B) cooperative firm C) private firm D) open firm E) trade firm


58. Roger owns 200 shares of stock in Home Depot. Which type of commercial firm is Home Depot? A) public firm B) cooperative firm C) private firm D) open firm E) trade firm


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59. A commercial firm in which one or a few individuals owns a controlling share of the firm is known as a(n) _____. A) public firm B) cooperative firm C) private firm D) open firm E) nontrade firm


60. Robert Mondovi is a well-known winery in Napa Valley, CA. It is a family-owned business and is not traded on any stock exchange. Which type of commercial firm is this known as? A) public firm B) cooperative firm C) private firm D) open firm E) nontrade firm


61. Which of the following is NOT an objective uncovered through research that drives the management of privately held firms? A) building a place for the entire family to work and be involved B) becoming wealthy C) avoiding corporations and working for others D) build a lasting “empire” E) change governmental regulations

Answer: E Page: 699 Difficulty: hard

62. The types of individuals who work in the organization represent the organization's _____. A) size B) composition C) macrosegment D) reference group E) demographic group


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63. The culture of most organizations is influenced most heavily by which of the following? A) government B) overall membership C) founder and top management D) competition E) customers


64. Organizations with distinguishing firmographics can be grouped into market segments through a process called _____. A) industry identification B) infrastructure segmentation C) conjoint analysis D) macrosegmentation E) factor analysis


65. Which of the following statements regarding culture and government is true? A) Variations in values and behaviors across cultures affect organizations as well as

individuals. B) In Europe, bribery and similar approaches for making sales are acceptable. C) In the United States, there is a close working relationship between businesses and

government. D) Worker welfare is more important than corporate profit in most U.S. companies. E) Plant closure laws, layoff regulations, and worker benefits tend to be much higher

in the U.S. than in European countries.


66. Perhaps the most powerful type of reference group in industrial markets is that of _____. A) innovators B) lead users C) government regulators D) market mavens E) business press


500


67. Innovative organizations that derive a great deal of their success from leading change are referred to as _____. A) innovators B) lead users C) government regulators D) market mavens E) opinion leaders

Answer: B Page: 701-702 Difficulty: moderate

68. Which of the following is NOT considered a user reference group in organizational buying? A) lead user B) trade press C) early adopters D) followers E) all of the above are considered a user reference group


69. Microsoft is a company that has derived a great deal of success from leading change, and other computer-related companies look to Microsoft for cues as to where technology will be heading in the future. Microsoft would be classified as which type of user reference group? A) lead user B) industry leader C) early adopters D) followers E) supportive firm


70. Lead users tend to accelerate market adoption, which is labeled as _____. A) market pull B) primary demand C) market push D) secondary demand E) leading indicator


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71. Which of the following is an infrastructure reference group? A) business press B) followers C) early adopters D) lead firms E) government regulators


72. _____ refers to the flow of purchase influence within an industry. A) User reference groups B) Reference group infrastructure C) Diffusion of innovations D) Two-stage decision process E) Buying centers


73. Which of the following can influence an organization's decision to buy or not buy a given product, or to buy or not buy from a given supplier? A) trade associations B) financial analysts C) dealer organizations D) business press E) all of the above


74. Lead users tend to accelerate diffusion of information through infrastructure, which is labeled as _____. A) market pull B) primary demand C) market push D) secondary demand E) leading indicator


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75. Which of the following is a value representative of an innovative organization that seeks to change, views problems as opportunities, and rewards individual efforts? A) Risk taking is discouraged. B) Cooperation is more important than competition. C) Change is negative and actively avoided. D) Hard work comes first, leisure second. E) Rank or status is more important than performance.

Answer: D Page: 703 Difficulty: hard

76. Which of the following is the most important element of the communications mix in most industrial markets? A) advertising B) sales promotion C) sales calls D) public relations E) pricing


77. For which type of industry are average costs per sales call the highest? A) manufacturing B) service C) retail D) wholesale distribution E) nonprofit


78. Which of the following is a reason for the significant role of salespeople in industrial markets? A) Because it is the least expensive form of communication for the selling

organization. B) Business buyers prefer to do business with firms they know, like, and trust, and

sales personnel are the most common representative of the selling organization. C) Because advertising has been shown to not have any positive impact on awareness

and sales. D) Business buyers usually are not allowed to purchase without the assistance of a

sales representative. E) none of the above

Answer: B Page: 705-706 Difficulty: hard

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True/False Questions

79. Various factors beyond functional utility influence organizational decisions.

Answer: True Page: 686 Difficulty: easy

80. Buying units (BU) are the individuals within an organization who participate in making a given purchase decision.

Answer: False Page: 687 Difficulty: moderate

81. Individual power and expertise have virtually no influence on organizational decisions since it is a group process involving DMUs.


82. Decision-making units are likely to vary over the product life cycle.

Answer: True Page: 689 Difficulty: moderate

83. Organizational purchase situations are known as straight rebuy, modified rebuy, and new task.


84. Limited rebuy is the approach used in an organizational buying situation when the purchase is moderately important to the firm or the choice is somewhat complex.


85. Site visits to potential vendors, laboratory tests of a new product, and investigation of possible product specifications are part of formal information search.


86. A conjunctive decision rule is very common in the first stage of a two-stage decision process with respect to evaluation and search in an organizational buying situation.


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87. Power, prestige, security, and similar noneconomic criteria have no role in business purchase decisions.


88. People from different functional areas of an organization in a DMU will always use the same evaluative criteria.


89. Payments, warranties, delivery dates, as so forth are examples of a purchase's terms and conditions.


90. Organizational culture is a concept that is similar to consumer self-concept and lifestyle.


91. Organizational objectives can be categorized as commercial, governmental, nonprofit, and cooperative.


92. In Japan and most of Europe, bribery and similar approaches for making sales are considered acceptable.


93. Early adopters are innovative organizations that derive a great deal of their success from leading change.

Answer: False Page: 701-702 Difficulty: moderate

94. To process information, a firm must go through the same sequential stages of exposure, attention, and interpretation as consumers.


95. Emotion plays no role in organizational buying.


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Essay Questions

96. Identify the internal and external influences on organizational buyer behavior.

Page: 688 Difficulty: easy Answer: External influences include firmographics, culture, government, reference groups, and marketing activities. Internal influences include organizational values, perception, learning, memory, motives, and emotions.

97. Compare and contrast the organizational purchase situations of straight rebuy, modified rebuy, and new task with respect to situational and purchasing characteristics.

Page: 690 Difficulty: hard Answer: Table 19-2 summarizes the characteristics influencing each type of purchase. Two situational characteristics are listed:a. Purchase importance--low for straight rebuy; moderate for modified rebuy; high

for new task.b. Choice complexity--low for straight rebuy; moderate for modified rebuy; high for

new task.

Several purchasing characteristics are listed:a. Size of DMU--very small for straight rebuy; medium for modified rebuy; large,

evolving for new task.b. Level of DMU--low for straight rebuy; mid-level for modified rebuy; top of

organization for new task.c. Time to decision--very brief for straight rebuy; moderate for modified rebuy; long

for new task.d. Information search--none/very limited for straight rebuy; moderate for modified

rebuy; extensive for new task.e. Analysis techniques--none/price comparisons for straight rebuy; several for

modified rebuy; extensive, complex for new task.f. Strategic focus--none for straight rebuy; limited for modified rebuy; dominates

for new task.

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98. Harry is a sales representative for a provider of computer network systems. Part of his job entails that he understand the firmographics of companies he tries to sell his company's products and services to. Explain the concept of firmographics, and discuss the different factors that make up a firm's firmographics and implications for marketers.

Page: 698-701 Difficulty: moderate Answer: Firmographics involve both organizational characteristics–for example, size, activities, objectives, location, and industry category–and characteristics of the composition of the organization–for example, gender age, education, and income distribution of employees. Six firmographic factors were discussed in the chapter:a. Size--large organizations are more likely than smaller organizations to have a

variety of specialists who attend to purchasing, finance, marketing, and general management. That there are often multiple individuals involved in the purchase in a large organization means advertising and sales force efforts must be targeted at various functions in the firm, each emphasizing issues of concern only to that function. Marketing communications targeted to a small firm, however, are more likely to be able to use one message.

b. Activities and Objectives--organizational objectives can be categorized as commercial, governmental, nonprofit, and cooperative, and the general nature of organizational activities can be described as routine, complex, or technical. Each combination implies different concerns for buying organizations (see Table 19-7 on page 699).

c. Location--regional subcultures within the U.S. influence organizational cultures as well as individual lifestyles. Location-based differences are magnified when doing business in foreign cultures.

d. Industry Category--firms of similar size, location, activity, objective, and ownership can still have sharply differing cultures due to being in differing industries.

e. Organization Composition--the types of individuals who work in the organization also heavily influence organization cultures.

f. Macrosegmentation--organizations with distinguishing firmographics can be grouped into market segments through this process.

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99. Name and describe the various reference groups that influence organizational behavior and purchasing decisions.

Page: 701-702 Difficulty: moderate Answer: Perhaps the most powerful type of reference group in industrial markets is that of lead users. Lead users are innovative organizations that derive a great deal of their success from leading change. Other reference groups such as trade associations, financial analysts, and dealer organizations also influence an organization's decision to buy or not buy a given product, or to buy or not buy from a given supplier. Reference group infrastructure refers to the flow of purchase influence within an industry. Figure 19-2 combines the concept of lead users with reference group infrastructure to give a more comprehensive picture of organizational reference group systems.

100. List five of the eight common business values representative of an innovative organization that seeks change, views problems as opportunities, and rewards individual efforts.

Page: 703 Difficulty: hard Answer: The eight common business values listed in the chapter are (students only have to list five):a. Risk taking is admired and rewarded.b. Competition is more important than cooperation.c. Hard work comes first, leisure second.d. Individual efforts take precedence over collective efforts.e. Any problem can be solved.f. Active decision making is essential.g. Change is positive and is actively sought.h. Performance is more important than rank or status.

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multiple choice questions - fule.at · web view · 2011-09-041. which of the following have...

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