This activity is important because companies introducing a new product face a decision critical to its long-term success: How should the firm position its new product such that prospective buyers view it as desirable as compared to those products offered by its competitors? For the purpose of the activity, imagine that you are a marketing manager working for a startup golf equipment company that is introducing a new line of golf clubs. The company must decide how it wants to enter the market and, more importantly, how it will position this new line of clubs. The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of the different types of product and promotion strategies firms utilize as part of their global marketing programs.

Paar corporation bought 100 percent of kimmel, inc., on january 1, 2012. on that date, paar’s equipment (10-year life) has a book value of $420,000 but a fair value of $520,000. kimmel has equipment (10-year life) with a book value of $272,000 but a fair value of $400,000. paar uses the equity method to record its investment in kimmel. on december 31, 2014, paar has equipment with a book value of $294,000 but a fair value of $445,200. kimmel has equipment with a book value of $190,400 but a fair value of $357,000. the consolidated balance for the equipment account as of december 31, 2014 is $574,000. what would be the impact on consolidated balance for the equipment account as of december 31, 2014 if the parent had applied the initial value method rather than the equity method? the balance in the consolidated equipment account cannot be determined for the initial value method using the information given. the consolidated equipment account would have a higher reported balance. the consolidated equipment account would have a lower reported balance. no effect: the method the parent uses is for internal reporting purposes only and has no impact on consolidated totals.

This exercise illustrates that poor quality can affect schedules and costs. a manufacturing process has 130 customer orders to fill. each order requires one component part that is purchased from a supplier. however, typically, 3% of the components are identified as defective, and the components can be assumed to be independent. (a) if the manufacturer stocks 130 components, what is the probability that the 130 orders can be filled without reordering components? (b) if the manufacturer stocks 132 components, what is the probability that the 130 orders can be filled without reordering components? (c) if the manufacturer stocks 135 components, what is the probability that the 130 orders can be filled without reordering components?

Zara, a global retail and apparel manufacturer based in spain that has successfully implemented this idea by having a continuous flow of new products that are typically limited in supply. zara has created a system that draws its clientèle into its stores, on average, 17 times per year as compared to 4 times per year for most stores. how is zara using it to gain competitive advantage? what specific technologies are used by zara to maintain this advantage over its competition?