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UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE
Postgraduate& Mid-career DevelopmentUnit

Masterof BusinessAdministration/ Masterof BusinessAdministrationin Finance/

Masterof BusinessAdministrationin HRM / Masterof BusinessAdministrationin
Marketing( Semesterll, First-Half)Examination- october. 201I

MBA 536 - Marketing Management

Three (03) Hours
A n s w e r T h r e e ( 0 3 ) q u e s t i o n si n a l l i n c l u d i n gq u e s t i o nn u m b e r o n e ( 0 1 ) i n p A R T - O N E ,
questionnumber two (02) in PART-TWO and any one question from PART- THREE.
Answers for each PART should be written in separateanswer books.

PART-ONE

l. AnsweranySix (06)of thefollowingquestions.

"Marketing Enhancesthe people'sStandardof Living". Explainthis statement
with suitableexamples.
ll.

"Marketing can be seenas a businessphilosophyas well as a businessfunction".

Discuss.

lll.

Differenciatecustomerobjectiverealityand customerperceptualreality.

tv.

vi.

vii'

viii.
ix.

Accordingto Prof' Levitt, myopiacan

acquireseveralforms and manif'estitself
throughdifferentsymptoms.Statethose
symtomsthat can takepracein an
organaization.
'Behavioral
segmentation
is the mostpowerfultype of segmentation,.
comment.
'Positioning
startswith a product.a service,a company,
an institutionor evena
person'But positioninghasnothing
to do with productper se,it is all about
whal
you do to the mind of the prospect''
Explainthe statementin relationto conceDt
of productpositioning
" Marketingmust move on froni
the traditionalrationallogic of modernism
into a postmodernera governedby
the unconventionar,
wherethe rulcs. that are
not followed"' Explain your undestanding
of Modern Marketinga'd postmodern
Marketing
What is compensatory
decisionrule.

Explain.

Identify and briefly dcscribethe Horistic

marketi'g dime'tions.
(05 markseach)
(Totalmarks:30)
PART _ TWO

2'

Assumethat you have beenrecruited

to the post

of Headof Research& Development

(R&D) of a well-established
businessentity.The managementwants
yolr to f.indout the
marketfbasibilityfor organicvcgetables.
i'

what infbrmatipnwould help you

to assess
the marketfeasibility?(prepareyour
informationlist)

ii.

How would you collectthis information?

iii' Preparetop most irnportant5 questions

you

( l0 marks)
(05marks)
would useas a datacollectiontool.
( l0 marks)

What method/sof datacollectionyou

would usein this case?provide a justification
for

your method.

(05marks)

v.

what challenges,difficultiesor limitationsyoLlmay encounter?How would you

address thern?

(05marks)
(Total marks: 35)

PART-THREE
3.

As we move toward a world of serviceeconomy,marketersneedto know more

about marketing serviceswherethey are characterizedby unique characteristics
which differentiatethem from commoditymarketing.Eachcharacteristic
poses
problemsand marketingrequirements
throughwhich find ways to tangiblisethe
intangibles,increasethe productivity,standardize
the quality and improve
demandmovementsand supply capacities.
Take a position,yoU as a customer
and discussthe aboveby applying into organizationof your choice,( I g marks)
It

Good servicecompaniesfocusattentionon both customersand employees.They

understandthe service-profitchain,which links servicefirm profits with
employeeand customersatisfaction.
Servicemarketingstrategycallsnot only fbr
externalmarketingbut alsofor internalmarketingto motivateemployeesapd
interactivemarketingto createservicedeliveryskills amongserviceproviders.
ConsiderYoU as a marketerand reporthow an organizationof your concern
operatestowardsachievingthe aboveobjectives.

( 1 7m a r k s )
(Totalmarks:35)

4. i.

Managingand coordinatingthe entirecommunications

processcallsfor
integratedmarketingcommunications
(IMC): marketingcommunications
planningthat recognizestl-readdedvalueof a comprehensive
plan that evaluates
the strategicrolesof a varietyof communications
disciplinesan{ combinesthese
disciplinesto provideclarity,consistency,
and maximum impacttliroughthe
seamlessintegrationof discretemessages'.
Discussthis statementby providing

evidencesand examplesfrom companiesof your choicefrom local and

internationalscenario.

(l 8 nrarks)

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11.

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In assessing
the collectiveimpactof an IMC program,the marketer'soverriding
goal is to createthe most effectiveand efficientcommunicationsprogranl
possible.As a solution,how integrated
is your company'sIMC programcanbe
evaluatedthroughSIX specificcriteriasuggested
by Brand Guru. Kevin Keller
in his strategicbrandmanagement
text book. List and apply thesespecilic
criteriainto the communications
activitiesof anorganizationof vour choice.
( 17 rnarks)
(Totalmarks:35)