On the other hand, as I have mentioned in the previous paragraphs, bribery is one of the many compromises you are faced with in life. As in other cases, one can refuse to comprise and remain an ethical person, but with the risk of facing other losses. Being able to compromise, in any aspect, will help you to solve some problems easier, but you will probably remain ethically troubled. As an evaluation, small compromises should be acceptable and, in my opinion, bribery is a comparatively small compromise that one agrees to make.
According to one of the many definitions, intellectual property is "any intangible asset that consists of human knowledge and ideas" or "any product of the human intellect that is unique, novel, and unobvious (and has some value in the marketplace)." This generally refers to anything our mind creates that is unique, ranging from inventions to ideas, from perfumes to other products or services.
Counterfeiting may represent a problem in Hungary, mainly because of the products coming from the East, especially from Turkey, and that may enter the Hungarian market. I have already mentioned that there is a strong European legislation that has been adopted to fight counterfeiting, however, one should also be able to strongly impose it. I am not sure that Hungary has yet reached European levels in this area and, even in Western Europe, counterfeiting remains a problem.
Gray markets "happen when unauthorized sellers sell goods to buyers" and by unauthorized sellers, I am referring to unauthorized sales channels, sales which are generally outside the traditional economic cycle and where different rules apply, rules that are not susceptible to control from the authorized persons in the state. In many cases, intellectual property rights are no longer respected on these unauthorized sales channels, mainly because state authorities cannot control these channels.
A d) Software is probably the most exposed to commercialization on gray markets from the list of products. This is strictly related to what I have already mentioned previously. Gray markets have a diminished level of control and of regulative frameworks. This means that software can be easily falsified and sold on the alternative sales channels as it is less likely that the authorities will have the power to check every salesman that commercializes software products in the markets or in small neighborhood shops. For software, there is also an additional problem, related to intellectual property rights. Indeed, a software product bought by one person is quite likely to be installed on 100 or 1000 or 10000 additional computers. It would take an incredibly large police force to be able to check every single computer user and see whether he has installed his software programs in conformity with intellectual property rights regulations.
For music CDs, it is much the same discussion. Not only is it sold on gray markets, but it is further distributed through gray channels, with numerous secondary persons recording the music from the person that purchased the CD.
5. (a) Primary data comes from within the company, generally from the finance and accounting departments, as well as from the human resources department. They are a direct reflection of the company's activity on the market. Problems may appear again when this data is not accurate. This may happen due to miscalculations, for example, but such mistakes in the data processing circuit can be corrected by the use of powerful computers and by a systematized database for data, which will ensure an easy retrieval of facts.
Secondary data is "data that has already been gathered or published for some other purpose." There are several sources for secondary data, including magazines and newspapers, government data, the Internet or private research organizations. The problem with secondary data, as is the case for...
Take for example, a magazine or a newspaper. Data may be presented subjectively, just as much as it may happen that information is simply not accurate. The same commentary obviously applies for the Internet.
As such, an important aspect when dealing with secondary sources is to be able to distinguish from reliable and unreliable sources, so as to be able to obtain the most accurate set of data. From the list of secondary sources I have mentioned, I would suggest as reliable sources, government data and private research organizations. The former has the great advantage that the data provided has governmental backup and support. As for the private research organizations, it is a fact that they make a living out of providing data and research, so the level of accuracy should be higher.
A b) as I have mentioned, governmental data and data from independent research companies seem to be the most reliable. Additionally, I would mention reliable source from the Internet, such as the CIA Factbook, with up-to-date statistical and economic data.
I have used several Internet resources, but only reliable websites, like the one I have mentioned previously. Additionally, I have used official data form the Hungarian government, on the Hungarian government website.
A d) Primary research may be adequate, but the company needs to be seriously evaluating the cost/result ratio before proceeding. Indeed, for an initial market prospecting enterprise, the official data provided on Hungary, especially on economic issues, are quite reliable. One can also used data provided by the European Union on the matter.
6. (a) the first phase of the process should involve gathering data and information about Hungary in general and about the business environment here in particular. This would lead to the decision to commercialize the perfume on the Hungarian market. The second phase would include the particular perfume market in Hungary, with issues like competitors, external environment, etc. The third phase would include drawing up a marketing plan, which would be directed towards analyzing the targeted category of consumers, as well as issues like price, promotion and place. Finally, the fourth phase would refer to the actual implementation of the first three phases.
A b) the first phase would be aimed at deciding whether Hungary represents a potentially profitable market and at bringing arguments for the so-called implementation decision. The second phase is aimed at analyzing the business environment in Hungary, including competition. This will be done both by primary and secondary data, which means that data will also be gathered locally through specialized researchers. The marketing plan will need to take into account phases one and two and decide, following the conclusions drawn from the market analysis, which is the best path of action.
Bibliography
http://ollie.dcccd.edu/mrkt2370/Chapters/ch3/3second.html
2. New Strategies for Property Rights: Gray Markets and the Net. On the Internet at http://www.bubblegeneration.com/?a=a&resource=proprights1
3. Investorwords. On the Internet at http://www.investorwords.com/2526/intellectual_property.html
4. Intellectual Properties. On the Internet at http://www.uta.edu/tto/ip-defs.htm
5. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/hu.html
Investorwords. On the Internet at http://www.investorwords.com/2526/intellectual_property.html
Intellectual Properties. On the Internet at http://www.uta.edu/tto/ip-defs.htm
New Strategies for Property Rights: Gray Markets and the Net. On the Internet at http://www.bubblegeneration.com/?a=a&resource=proprights1
http://ollie.dcccd.edu/mrkt2370/Chapters/ch3/3second.html
