GTE’s Sylvania Lighting Division introduced “Prestige Partnership,” a program aimed at helping its 2,200 distributors do a more effective job of marketing Sylvania products. In particular, the program will help the distributors locate market segments for which Sylvania products are especially well suited. Through a database called Sylvania Source, detailed data will be provided on the names, addresses, and phone numbers of businesses, as well as the names of the individuals in charge of ordering lighting products, the annual sales potentials of the customers, and the number of lighting fixtures each customer has. Sylvania and its distributors also do a road show with a “Lightmobile” created by Sylvania to provide customers with a mobile educational program on lighting applications. All this augments Sylvania’s “Techniques for Better Lighting” information kit, which the distributors make available to final customers. The partnership has been wholeheartedly embraced by distributors, according to Sylvania, and has motivated them to become better marketers of Sylvania products. Why do you think Sylvania’s partnership program is effective? Discuss from the stand point of the distributors’ needs and problems. Does the partnership program suggest effective leadership on Sylvania’s part? Explain.