The four philosophies are production, sales, market, and social market orientations. These four competing philosophies strongly influence the role of the marketing and market activities within an organization.

Production orientation is defined as: A philosophy that focuses on the internal capabilities of a firm rather than on the desires and needs of the marketplace. The goal is to focus on internal efficiency to achieve lower prices for consumers. It assumes that price is the critical variable in the purchase decision. It is when the management assesses its resources and questions: What can we do best, What can our engineers design, and What is easy to produce given our equipment. The goal is to make a lot and let the market come to them.

Sales orientation is defined as: The idea that people will buy more goods and services if aggressive sales techniques are used and that high sales results in high profits. A sale orientation assumes that buyers resist purchasing items that are not essential and that consumers must be persuaded to buy. I

Dogs is defined as: In the portfolio matrix, a business unit that has low growth potential and a small market share. Example: Encyclopedia Botanical had low-growth potential and a small market share, they end up leaving the marketplace, as most dogs do.

Star is defined as: In the portfolio matrix, a business unit that is a fast market leader. Example: DELL, computer industry is a fast growing market. These manufacturers usually have large profits but need a lot of cash to finance rapid growth. Dell must use the tactic for marketing management to protect existing market share and to obtain a majority of new users entering the market.

The external environmental factors are:

Strategic business unit (SBU) is defined as: A subgroup of a single business or collection of related business with in the large organization. SBUs are classified into four categories: star, cash cow, problem child, and dog.

Some topics in this essay:
Competition Understanding, , Example McDonalds, Consulting BCG, Encyclopedia Botanical, Example Wal-Mart, Example Lexus, Jennifer Lopez, Example DELL, Societal Marketing, market share, marketing mix, global marketing, global marketing standardization, marketing standardization, portfolio matrix, business unit, external environment, matrix business unit, matrix business, marketing managers, social ethical, portfolio matrix business, defined portfolio matrix, company’s relationship society,