MBA PROGRAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

MARKETING MANAGEMENT (MBA- 622) –TAKE HOME EXAMINATION
NAME: Girma Abate Debebe ID NO: EMBA/100/12 SECTION: 04 - EXTENSION
Instructor’s Name  Instructor’s Name 

Ashenafi Haile (Ph.D) Gashaw Tibebe (Ph.D)

gashawtibeb@gmail.com
ashu21haile@yahoo.com

Adanech Gedefa(Asst. Prof)

adanech2129@gmail.com 

Instructions: Please carefully read the instructions below

1 The exam must be taken completely alone. Checking your exam answers or discussing any of the materials
or concepts with any other person is forbidden. If the students’ exam answers are found the same, it shall be
voided automatically

2 You can work on the exam for 48 hrs. Please submit the exam answer file typed in a word document or
scanned image to your course instructor via email only BEFORE 1:59 PM ON TUESDAY, June 30,
2020. Unequivocally no postponements - Late submissions are totally unacceptable. The only option for
submission is by email. Email problems will not be accepted for any case. It is your responsibility to make
sure that your email works properly and that your instructors receive the submission on time.

3 While sending the email, write your section and program (extension/weekend) in the subject line
4 Once exam answer file is submitted for grading, no requests for amendments or supplements will be
permitted.

5 Once you submit your exam answer file, you will receive a confirmation email from your course
instructor. If you have not received confirmation email within two hours of sending your email,
please contact your instructor.

Answer sheet – Write your answers below

1. Consumer buying behaviour is defined as the behaviour of individuals or households that
consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and
services that they expect will satisfy their needs.

COVID-19 highly affect our buying and consumption behaviour in different ways. Some of the
effects are as follows:

 Scarcity of different types of good and service with increasing of their price
 Increased interest in the acquisition of products that maintain well-being or health
 Prioritization of products for infection containment (e.g. Face masks, hand sanitizer)
 Higher purchases of shelf-safe products and increased store visits
 Out-of-home campaigns and in-person events will likely see a decline for months to
come. Marketers will need to consider adapting their media mix going forward.

 While purchases are currently centered on the most basic needs, people are shopping
more consciously, buying local and are embracing digital commerce.

 To manage isolation, consumers are using digital to connect, learn and play—and they
will continue to.

 Moving forward, we will see an increase in the virtual workforce as more people work
from home and enjoy doing so.
 Increased online shopping, decreased store visits and first signs of strain on the supply
chain
 Consumption of fruits and vegetables is declining, that trade is affected by travel bans
and reduced competition, and that farmers face lower prices and reduced access to inputs
 Consumers will continue to turn to delivery services for restaurant and grocery food
items.
 Luxury purchases will likely decline significantly as consumers continue to reduce their
discretionary spending.
 Greater media consumption, especially online video content like TIKTOK or Youtube,
depending on target audience demographics.
  There’s a sharp increase in the Indulgence Food category such as Cooking oil sales, soft
drinks branded pulses and Salty Snacks.
 Interestingly, female contraceptive and condom sales have gone through the roof.
 Demands for laptops, smartphones and tablets in are highly increased.
 There’s an increase in the demand for online courses and tutors.
 The demand for fitness apps is increased.

2) the undertaking legal/political and economic analysis affect the marketing practices of
the automotive market in Ethiopia in the following way.

Political effect: - Currently, Ethiopia is going through deep political/legal transformation which
changes different aspects of our life. The automotive industry is one of that affected by such
storms. The regulations come from government which highly concerns for the environment and
the concern for safer automotive makes the industry market to discouraged due to sophisticated
bureaucracy.

Internally, our country is not stable due to different political crisis in different regions. There are
a lot of chaos here and there. Therefore, this problem obviously affects the market of automotive
industry adversely. Also, externally the country is in challenge with neighbourhood problems
which directly affect the fuel importing process. This affect the industry as fuel is the key item in
automotive market fluctuation.

Economic effect: - Opportunities in Ethiopia's automotive market is somewhat limited by the

high cost of vehicles, which excludes the vast majority of its population from owning vehicles.
This is due to the high import duties on imported vehicles (both new and used), which is set to
become even higher on the back of the government's draft excise tax proclamation to the House
of People’s Representatives that would see a sharp rise in the taxation of second-hand imported
vehicles. As a result, we believe that local vehicle production, especially of affordable vehicles,
offers the best opportunities in the country's automotive sector. even higher on the back of the
government's draft excise tax proclamation to the House of People’s Representatives that would.

Also, the scarcity of foreign currency and high interest rates of private and governmental banks
which the country currently facing are some of the economic effects on the automotive market.
 Case Study # 1: Trap-Ease: The Big Cheese of Mousetraps

A. There is different information which Martha and the Trap-Ease need to evaluate this
opportunity in the marketing environment.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity because the investors see this great potential. The idea
is great: to be able to get rid of a rodent problem without having to use poison, or deal with
traps that can be dangerous, let alone handling the mice. Investors saw the potential and
figured that people would buy it because it would be a product that would be an alternative to
something that is associated with something that is messy, toxic, and violent. The
information needed to evaluate the opportunity is the study of the market, competitors, and
other products. Also, the buzz and awards surrounding Trap Ease helped investors see the
high potential for this product. Positioning is concerned around dead mice and this product.
They value their product and want to show its usefulness. Generally, I think the group would
assess the working environment as the above explanation and it can be summarized and
illustrated in the following diagram.
B. Has Martha identified the best target market for Trap-Ease? What other market
segments might the firm target?
Martha identified the target for Trap Ease as stay at home women. Women do not want to have

to deal with traps, poisons or the clean-up associated with removing mice. But it seemed that she

focused on a fast train of thought to come up with this conclusion, not statistics. There are more

women who are in the professional environment than ever before, and that number is growing.

Martha needs to market this product to more than the stay at home mom. She needs to market

businesses, restaurants and especially environmentalists. It’s easy, clean, safe, and will make

many targets happy. It is safe in a house with small children due to no poison or traps, easy to

dispose of without having to see the mouse or handle it.

C. How has the company positioned the Trap-Ease for the chosen target market? Could it
position the product in other ways?
It seems that the Trap-Ease mouse trap has positioned itself in the market as being a very
innovative and well-engineered product, brand new, excellent mousetrap. It has done this by
winning awards that it received from trade shows, People Magazine, and talk shows. Her
confusion on why the product is not selling is based on her assumptions that Trap Ease is the best
on the market. They could position the product in other ways that emphasis on customers and
their product. Trap Ease is not just a great product, but it is easy, hassle free, safe, mess free, and
you get value for money.

D. Describe the current marketing mix for Trap-Ease. Do you see any problems with this
mix?
The marketing mix of a company consists of the four P’s: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Currently Trap-Ease only has one product, their mouse trap. They probably could create a couple
different versions of their mouse trap in order to offer more variety. The higher price of their
mouse trap seems to be consistent with a quality differentiation strategy but they probably could
offer a wider range of prices on the different models of their trap if they chose to widen their
product range. Right now, they are trying to distribute their product through stores like Kmart
and Safeway. A really good market to hit would probably be the internet. People on in the
internet are often times into quality, ease of use, and innovativeness and don’t mind spending a
little more money to get what they want. It is also a high profit market because it reduces
transportation costs and there are no middle man costs. The promotion of the Trap-Ease mouse
trap seems to be one of their largest problems. They should promote over the internet for certain
on sites that they think their target market will be visiting and they should also think about
putting out ads on TV. In this changing high-tech environment magazine ads aren’t enough
anymore.

Case Study # 2

A. There are five alternative concepts under which organizations design and carry out their
marketing strategies. these are:
 Production Concept  Marketing Concept
 Product Concept  Societal Marketing Concepts.
 Selling Concept
According to the given case, the company employed the concept of production philosophy.
Because it is producing massive amount of its products by assuming that customers will buy
whatever the company produces. This indicate that the company holds the idea that consumers
will favor products that are widely available and the management should therefore focus on
improving production and distribution efficiency.

B. As a professional, by considering the given case, I recommend the company to implement the
Societal Marketing Concept. Because, the case says that the environment is deteriorating
and there is also explosive population growth. And therefore, implementing societal
marketing concept is recommendable since it holds the concept that the organization’s task is
to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired
satisfactions. Also, this concept is an appropriate philosophy in an age of environmental
deterioration, resource shortages, explosive population growth, world hunger and poverty,
and neglected social services. Are companies that do an excellent job of satisfying consumer
wants necessarily acting in the best long-run interests of consumers and society
 Case Study #3: Schott: Positioning for Success

A. According to the given the given case one is failed due to positioning errors.

Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive
place in the target market’s mind. The marketer’s goal is to build a strong and defensible position
on one or more bases that are relevant and important to the consumer-and do it better than the
competitors.

The type of errors that SCHOTT has committed are:

• Under positioning: Some companies discover that buyers have only a vague idea of
the brand. The brand is seen as just another entry in a crowded marketplace.
Because: Schott had failed to position Ceran at all among the manufacturers'
customers. The material was still virtually unknown, not only among final consumers
but also among dealers, designers, architects and builders.
• Doubtful positioning: Buyers may find it hard to believe the brand claims in view of
the product’s features, price or manufacturer. Positioning statements and claims
should be well supported with product’s performances.
Because: the company was attempting to position the product on the wrong benefits.
When selecting a hob to buy, customers seemed to care less about the sophisticated
engineering that went into it and more about its appearance and clean - ability. Their
biggest questions were 'How does it look?' and 'How easy is it to use?'
 On the other hand, the other succeed due to the adopted repositioning strategies.
SCHOTT has enforced to reposition its product due to Customers’ expectations and needs
change. Therefore, they decide to implement Radical repositioning.

 Radical repositioning: is implemented where an increasing gap between what the

brand offers and what the market wants leads the management team to think about a
major strategic change.
 They shift the position strategies from its impressive technical and engineering
attributes shifting emphasis towards the material's inherent beauty and design
versatility.
 B. Explain how steps of positioning actually implemented by Scott?
SCHOTT implemented some basic steps to avoid these problems from its product. The steeps are
as follow:

1. Problem identification: First, two problems are identified and revealed by the research
from Schott's advertising agency. One of the problems was that Schott failed to make the
product known among final consumers, dealers, designers, architects and builders due
unproper positioning. The second problem was that Schott tried to position the product on
the wrong benefit (i.e. attempting to focus on sophisticated engineering rather than its
appearance and clean - ability).
2. Setting a solution: as a solution,
i. Schott propose a repositioning strategy (i.e. Shifting emphasis towards the
material's inherent beauty and design versatility.)
ii. Persuading the designers to add Geran to their palette of materials (i.e. design
improvement.)
iii. Launching an extensive promotion campaign (i.e. To communicate the new
position to middle-market and final buyers.)
iv. Establishing a massive public relation (i.e. For substantial coverage in home
improvement publications.)