Assignment:
Marketing Principles - Environmental Forces
1. Although Wal-Mart Supercenters have generated great customer satisfaction, they have also prompted questions about their impact on communities. These issues relate to urban sprawl, the viability of local "mom and pop" stores, the destruction of historic sites, the ability of local tax dollars to support infrastructure to handle increased traffic, and the impact on local culture. Some communities have successfully fought to keep their hometown identities Wal-mart free. On the other hand, one new Wal-mart supercenter can create 450 jobs and generate millions of dollars in local taxes.
What impact are these supercenters likely to have on the following:
Competitive forces
Economic forces
Political forces
Legal and regulatory forces
Technological forces
Sociocultural forces
2. The six environmental forces are: competitive, economic, political, legal and regulatory, technological, and sociocultural. With which force is each of the following most directly associated?
• Prosperity
• Federal Trade Commission
• Personal computers that understand human speech
• Development and widespread use of cellular phones
• People's willingness to spend
• Contributions to campaign funds
• A society's high material standard of living
• Sherman Antitrust Act
• Better Business Bureau
• Consumerism
• Discretionary income
• Food and Drug Administration
• A monopoly
• Government purchases of goods and services
• Group of people threatening to boycott the sponsors of a television program that they believe contains too much sex and violence
3. Is self regulation an effective way to control and maintain good marketing practices?