Programme
BA (Hons) Business Administration
Marketing (Top Up)
BSc (Hons) Management Marketing
Cohort
BBAM/12/FT (TP) Aug
BMAN/10/FT (2) Aug
M&F
BMAN/09/PT-M&L
Examinations for 2012 – 2013 Semester II/
2013 Semester I
MODULE: GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT
MODULE CODE: MKTG3108
Duration: 2 Hours
Reading time: 15 Minutes
Instructions to Candidates:
1.
This question paper consists of Section A and Section B.
2.
Section A is compulsory.
3.
Answer any three questions from Section B.
4.
Always start a new question on a fresh page.
5.
Total Marks: 100.
This question paper contains 6 questions and 5 pages.
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SECTION A: COMPULSORY
QUESTION 1: (40 MARKS)
Case study
Global Marketing - Harley Davidson targeting adventure seekers with an
American classic
Over the past decades, export marketing has enabled Harley Davidson to dramatically
increase world- wide sales of its heavy weight motorcycles. Export sales rose from
3,000 motorcycles in 1983 to 32,000 units for the 1999 model year. By 1999, non –U.S
sales exceeded $537 million, up from $400 million in 1996. From Australia to Germany
to Mexico City, Harley enthusiasts are paying the equivalent of up to $25,000 for an
American-built classic. In many countries, dealers must put would-be buyers on a six
month waiting list because of high demand.
Harley’s international success comes after years of neglecting overseas markets. Early
on, the company was basically involved in export selling, symbolized by its
underdeveloped dealer network. Moreover, print advertising simply used word for word
translations of the U.S. ads. After recruiting dealers, by the late 1980s, in the important
Japanese and European markets, company executives discovered a basic principle of
global marketing. ‘As the saying goes, we needed to think global but act local.’ says
Jerry Wilke, vice president for worldwide marketing.
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As such in Japan, Harley’s rugged image and high quality helped make it the bestselling imported motorcycle. The local president was not satisfied. He feared that the
American concept did not connect with the Japanese riders. He managed to convince
Milwaukee to allow him to launch a Japan-only advertising campaign, combining images
from both Japan and America, such as American cyclists passing a rickshaw carrying a
geisha. After learning that the riders in Tokyo consider fashion and customized bikes to
be essential, Harley opened two stores specializing in clothes and bike accessories.
Today, Japan is largest market outside the United States.
Harley discovered that in Europe an ‘evening out’ means something different than it
does in America. The company sponsored a rally in France, where beer and live rock
music were available till midnight. Recalls Wilke, ‘People asked us why we were ending
the rally just as the evening was starting. So I had to go persuade the band to keep
playing and reopen the bar until 3 am or 4am.
While biking through Europe, Wilke also learned that German bikers often travel at
speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. This required the company to investigate design
changes to create a smoother ride at high speeds. Harley’s German marketing effort
also caused it to being focusing on accessories to increase rider protection.
Despite high levels of demand, the company intentionally limits production increases in
order to uphold Harley’s recent improvements in quality and to keep the product supply
limited in relation to demand. Harley is still careful to make home-country customers a
higher priority than those living abroad; thus, only18% of its production goes outside the
North American Division. The Harley shortage seems to suit company executives just
fine. James H. Patterson notes, ‘Enough motorcycles are too many motorcycles.’
Source: Harley-Davidson Annual Report 1999.
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Required:
(i)
Is the Harley Davidson classic motorcycle an international or global
product? Justify your answer.
(ii)
(6 marks)
Describe the possible bases on which the Harley Davidson bike
could be segmented globally.
(iii)
Explain how you would position the bike in the various target
markets?
(iv)
(9 marks)
(10 marks)
Illustrate, with relevant examples, how knowledge of global culture
could be useful in selling Harley Davidson motorcycles in worldwide
markets.
(15 marks)
SECTION B: ANSWER ANY THREE QUESTIONS
QUESTION 2: (20 MARKS)
If an organisation decides to start trading internationally, besides exporting, it has
various modes of entry. Critically explain and evaluate each mode of entry with
emphasis on their risk and control factors.
QUESTION 3: (20 MARKS)
Doing business internationally can prove to be very profitable. Yet it is not always so.
Why do businesses meet with failures? What are the main factors that they have to
consider when they are operating internationally to ensure success?
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QUESTION 4: (20 MARKS)
“Since the setting up of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947, many
countries have adopted various forms of regional integration, such as free trade areas,
customs union, common market, economic union.”
Explain this statement and what are the characteristics of each form of regional
integration with emphasis on their similarities and their differences. Give an
example of each of the above.
QUESTION 5: (20 MARKS)
There is an ongoing debate between “standardization” and “adaptation” pertaining to
global advertising. Critically evaluate the different sides of the arguments in the global
context.
QUESTION 6: (20 MARKS)
(a)
The Self-Reference Criterion (SRC) is strongly associated with culture.
Explain what is SRC and what are the 4 steps to avoid SRC.
(b)
(4 marks)
The various stages of international marketing involvement is strongly linked to
the Ethnocentric/Polycentric/ Regiocentric/Geocentric (EPRG) schema.
Explain each component of the EPRG schema and how they are linked to the
different stages of international marketing involvement.
(16 marks)
***END OF QUESTION PAPER***
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