BBM's Managers Are Attempting to Build a New Product, a Better

question 40

Multiple Choice

BBM's managers are attempting to build a new product, a better mousetrap. They began by determining the features customers wanted and what they would pay for those features. BBM's engineers then reverse-engineered a competitor's product to understand its design and related production processes. Their analysis indicated that customers would pay $10.00 for a better mousetrap. Why was it important for BBM's engineers to understand the product design and production processes of its competitor?

• A) Most of the mousetrap's product costs are committed by that point in the value chain
• B) They needed to explain them to customers to justify the better mousetrap's cost
• C) The better mousetrap will only succeed if it is identical to their competitor's product
• D) Understanding product design and production processes is not typically important; the engineers just wanted to better understand the process.

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Definitions:

West Indies

A region in the Caribbean Sea consisting of numerous islands that were crucial during the colonial period for their agricultural production, especially sugar.

Indentured Servants

Individuals who agreed to work for a certain period in exchange for transportation to the New World, living expenses, and sometimes land at the end of their service, a common practice in the American colonies.

Pennsylvania Colony

The Pennsylvania Colony was one of the original thirteen colonies in North America, founded in 1681 by William Penn as a haven for persecuted Quakers and others seeking religious freedom.

Indian Slave Trade

The historical trade of indigenous peoples of the Americas as slaves, particularly prevalent during the colonial and early post-colonial periods in various regions.