A. Competitive forces
B. Cultural forces
C. Geography and infrastructure
D. Economic forces
E. Political/legal forces
The uncontrollable elements of the foreign environment are political/legal forces, economic forces, competitive forces, level of technology, structure of distribution, geography and infrastructure, and cultural forces. Refer to Exhibit 1.3-The International Marketing Task.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 01-03 The scope of the international marketing task
Topic: The International Marketing Task
49.Compared to the foreign environment uncontrollable variables, which of the following elements is excluded from the domestic marketer’s list of uncontrollable variables?
A. Political forces
B. Competitive structure
C. Economic climate
D. Cultural forces
E. Legal forces
Cultural forces are a controllable element for the domestic marketer, while they constitute an uncontrollable element for the international marketer. Refer to Exhibit 1.3-The International Marketing Task.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 01-03 The scope of the international marketing task
Topic: The International Marketing Task
50.Amy Sims has been assigned the task of preparing a marketing plan for her company for the next year’s business activities. She knows that she should begin her plan by examining the variables that she has some control over. These controllable variables would include price, product, channels-of-distribution, and _____.
A. demand
B. political forces
C. competition
D. economic climate
E. promotion
Price, product, promotion, research, firm characteristics, channels of distribution, and research are the controllable elements for a domestic marketer. Refer to Exhibit 1.3-The International Marketing Task.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 01-03 The scope of the international marketing task
Topic: The International Marketing Task
51.M&M, a company producing musical instruments, had dominated its home market for several years before venturing into international markets. The company was focusing more on international operations until a German company in the same business entered its home market. The German company started selling good quality products at prices much lower than M&M’s and affected its sales adversely. Which of the following elements in the marketing environment has affected the business of M&M in the above scenario?
A. Level of technology
B. Structure of distribution
C. Competition in the domestic market
D. Cultural forces
E. Promotion of the product
Competition within its home country affects a company’s domestic as well as international plans.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 01-03 The scope of the international marketing task
Topic: The International Marketing Task
52.Ralph Waite is a marketing manager at a video game console manufacturing firm. Ralph has been asked to review the marketing opportunities of his company in a foreign market. Ralph is aware that he can modify certain elements of the marketing environment to suit the foreign market needs. He is primarily focusing his attention on the factors that are not under his control and might affect their business prospects. Which of the following uncontrollable elements is most likely to affect the company’s business prospects in the foreign market?
A. The pricing policies in the foreign market.
B. The trade policies in the home country.
C. The promotional activities required to market the product.
D. The level of technology in the targeted market.
E. The product distribution channels adopted by his company.
The uncontrollable elements in an international environment include political/legal forces, economic forces, competitive forces, level of technology, structure of distribution, geography and infrastructure, and cultural forces. These forces constitute the principal elements of uncertainty an international marketer must cope with in designing a marketing program..