ASSIGNMENT BBARO 4th Semester Subject Code: CA0019 - Business Strategy Set 1

Note: Each Question carries 10 marks 1. Describe the roles of different strategists.
five different roles the initiator of the decision, the person who influences the decision, the decision maker, the buyer and the user. Consumer behaviour is complex, since the same person may play all the roles, or there may be more than one person playing different roles. Depending on the roles being played, the behaviour and decision making process may change. In addition, consumer behaviour is a complex interplay of several factors. According to Philip Kotler, consumer behaviour is influenced by both internal and external factors. His model of consumer behaviour is illustrated by the diagram given on the next page Philip Kotlers Model of Factors influencing Consumer Behaviour: In the figure above, external factors include cultural and social factors, while internal factors include personal and psychological factors. Cultural factors exert the broadest influence on consumer behaviour. One has to study both the internal factors and the external environment to have a better knowledge of consumer behaviour. Only when we are able to decipher this process, can such knowledge be used in taking decisions that would be most effective in achieving the marketing objectives. We will study these factors in greater detail in the next few chapters. 1.3 Application of Consumer Behaviour Knowledge to Marketing Consumer behaviour can be studied from two different perspectives. The most popular, traditional way is to focus on this subject as a pure science, wherein the research findings from behavioural sciences like psychology and also from social sciences like sociology, anthropology and economics, are drawn to explain the various facets of consumer behaviour. The other perspective is to analyse this subject as an applied science, with emphasis on its application in business organisations. a) Consumer Perspective In this approach, the focus of consumer behaviour study is on enquiring into how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy, more as a pure science, rather than for application to marketing decision-making. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, socio-psychology, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer consumption process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics, psychographics, and behavioural variables, in an attempt to understand peoples wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. This approach focuses more on the nature of the consumption experience, rather than the purchase process. This approach may throw many insights that may or may not be actionable from a marketers perspective. There is no sufficient emphasis on the consumer purchase decision process. Hence this approach may have limited use for marketers, since they must understand how consumers take purchase decisions if they have to influence the consumers. b) Managerial Perspective In this approach, consumer behaviour is studied as an applied social science and the main objective of such an approach is to find a basis for marketing strategies in business organisations. From a managerial perspective, the stress is on

predicting the action sequence of a consumer decision process, in order to help a marketer in deciding on suitable marketing strategies. As an improvement of this, a new approach was enunciated by Sheth & Mittal, who expanded the study of consumer behaviour to include several facets, which would be more practical while applying this knowledge to practical situations in business organisations. There are two variations in this approach, which are more meaningful from the managerial perspective: a) All the different aspects of consumer behaviour study have been applied in this new approach to business organisations as consumers. Normally, most textbooks limit such analysis to individual consumers and some of them extend it to households. However, in the new approach, the behavioural aspects are looked at from the angle of business-to-business transactions, which are very relevant and useful in such situations. b) The second approach is in extending the study of consumer behaviour to include different roles of a customer in understanding the decision making process. Traditionally, the consumer is the user of the product or service and most of the studies limit the application of this knowledge to understand the behaviour of customers as users/consumers. The new approach considers three roles of the customer viz. User, Payer and Buyer as important, to apply this knowledge in real life situations in business organisations. In fact the title of the study is called Customer Behaviour instead of Consumer Behaviour, to make it amply clear that all three roles of the customer have to be looked at in order to analyse and apply the various research findings more effectively. In the traditional methods of study of consumer behaviour, the applications get limited to mostly fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and also to individual/ household users/ consumers. The second approach expands the applications of these studies to encompass practically all markets and products, in all types of marketing situations that would make more sense from a managerial perspective.

For Complete Solved SMU Assignment @ 1500 Rs Email: mba8182@gmail.com Ph: 09873669404
2. Describe the steps in formulating strategy. 3. Explain the significance of Business Policy. What are the factors influencing business policy? 4. What is meant by Strategic Management? Explain the strategic management process. 5. (a) Describe SWOT Analysis. (b) What are various barriers to change? 6. Define Strategic evaluation. Explain the importance of Strategic evaluation. Nov 2011

BBARO 4th Semester Subject Code: CA0019 - Business Strategy Set 2

Note: Each Question carries 10 marks 1. Write a note on Management of change

For Complete Solved SMU Assignment @ 1500 Rs Email: mba8182@gmail.com Ph: 09873669404
2. What are the reasons for lack of creativity? How to motivate creativity in organisations? 3. What is Strategic planning? What are the advantages and disadvantages of strategic planning? 4. (a) Explain the concept of value chain. (b) Describe in detail the generic competitive strategies. 5. Discuss the various reasons for restructuring in business. In what ways can restructuring of business be done? 6. What is meant by contingency planning? What are the various steps in contingency planning?