4. Edgar, the production manager at a textile factory, has noticed a decline in the production capacity of the factory. He wants to understand the reason behind this trend and make a decision on how to resolve the issue. In the context of rational decision making, which of the following is the first step that Edgar should ideally take?
a. Identifying and defining the problem
b. Computing the optimal decision
c. Generating alternative courses of action
d. Identifying decision criteria

This activity is important because as a marketing manager, you must allocate resources to reach your target market. during the strategic marketing process, managers move through three important phases to determine how to optimally allocate resources: a planning phase, an implementation phase, and an evaluation phase. in this interactive exercise, you are asked to review various strategic marketing actions and determine where in the strategic marketing process the action would occur. the goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your understanding of the strategic marketing process and related marketing actions.