MARKETING STRATEGY 37000-04 WINTER 2013 SYLLABUS ...

Preliminary, Subject to Change Posted: 11.15.2013MARKETING STRATEGY 37000-03WINTER 2014 SYLLABUSCOURSE DESCRIPTIONThe objective of the course is to provide an introduction to marketing management. The course develops acommon framework (3Cs/4Ps) used to analyze problems in business cases and synthesize recommendationsaddressing strategic marketing issues. Goals of the course include:1. To introduce marketing strategy and the elements of marketing analysis: Customer analysis, Companyanalysis, and Competitor analysis (3Cs) extending these to practical applications including marketsegmentation, target market selection and product positioning.2. To develop familiarity with the tactical use of elements of the marketing mix - product strategy, pricing,promotion, and placement/distribution (4 Ps) – in a manner consistent with marketing analysis andstrategy.3. To provide exposure to business case analysis and the critical thinking common in business schoolcoursework.COURSE FORMATClasses will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:10 to 11:30 in Harper Center Classroom-C10. Thecourse is divided into 10 modules (including the introduction) plus a take-home individual final exam. Eachmodule consists of a lecture and a business case analysis. Lectures are dedicated to the presentation anddiscussion of theories, concepts, analytical techniques and empirical findings useful in marketing strategy. Thepresentation slides that will be used in class will be available on the Chalk website before class. A printed copywill not be provided in class. Students are encouraged to briefly review the slides before class. Cases related tothe module will be discussed in the class following the lecture. The emphasis is on the practical application of thecourse materials and most of the modules also have group exercises that will generally be presented in class.GRADINGEach student’s overall course grade will be based upon the following:a. Final individual case write-up (Aqualisa Quartz) 20%b. Class participation 5%c. 3 Group case write-ups (10% each) 30%*1) Omnitel Pronto Italia2) Kone: The Monospace Launch in Germany3) Virgin Mobile USA: Pricing for the Very First Timed. 3 Individual case write-ups (10% each) 30%*e. 3 Group Exercises (5% each) 15%*The scores of 6 case write-ups will be used to determine student grades. Up to 2 additional write-ups can besubmitted to replace the scores of write-ups with lower grades. Additionally students will be allowed to presentnew venture challenge entrepreneurial product analysis using tools from the course on the last day of class toreplace one of the lower scoring write-ups (with permission from the instructor).COURSE READING MATERIALAll course materials (articles, cases, and slides) are available on ChalkRequired Reading:Background material and business cases will be required reading for each class. The background reading isintended to provide an introduction to concepts that will be developed further in class. Memorization of thecontent of these readings is not necessary as the readings will be available to you for all of your work.Familiarization with the basic concept is all that is expected before class. AN IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDINGOF THE BUSINESS CASES IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE CLASS. Class discussion of the cases will bedependent upon class understanding of the case.1

Preliminary, Subject to Change Posted: 11.15.2013Optional Reading:Optional reading assignments are intended to provide greater exposure to the course material. These readingstypically address a broader range of topics than those covered in the lectures or address a topic in greater depth.Time permitting, these topics may be discussed in class but if they aren’t noted in the course slides they won’t beused for grading. The class has followed 2 textbooks in the past (Marketing Management: The Big Picture,Author Christie Nordhielm, 2006 and Principles of Marketing 13E by Kotler and Armstrong, 2010) and readinglists incorporating materials from these texts can be provided for students who want to explore the topics in moredepth.CASE WRITE-UPSSTUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO USE THE CASE WRITE-UP TEMPLATE FOR BOTH INDIVIDUAL ANDGROUP CASE WRITE-UPS. The template is included below with details available on Chalk. The template willbe presented in the first class as part of the Gallardo’s case discussion. A template will be provided on Chalk inMicrosoft Word for each case with the Problem Statement and Drivers of the case already provided. Students willsimply need to complete the rest of the template. Your write-up should take the point of view of a consultant. Thebusiness case is the background that has been provided by your client. Don’t summarize the case or repeat casefacts in your write-up except to support an argument; your client provided you with the case and already knowsthe facts. References are not needed. Limit yourself to analysis of information in the case. USING OUTSIDEMATERIALS, DISCUSSING THE CASE PRIOR TO ITS PRESENTATION IN CLASS OR USING OTHER’SWORK IN YOUR WRITE-UP WILL BE CONSIDERED A VIOLATION OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL’SHONOR CODE. Additionally, using information outside of the written case will typically lead you well offpoint. PAPERS SHOULD BE EMAILED TO THE INSTRUCTOR AT JMCKINNE3@MSN.COM BEFORETHE START OF CLASS IN WHICH THEY WILL BE DISCUSSED. Late papers will not be accepted.Some cases don’t have purely correct answers. Your grade is more dependent on how you support yourrecommendation than your answer being right or wrong. Each case write-up will be graded on a 10 point scalewith a focus on the Problem Solution Framework, the Analysis and Interpretation, and the Recommendationsections. Each of these sections will be scored simply with a +, ̌, -.- Represents incomplete work, again not necessarily the wrong answeř Represents complete work, again not necessarily the right answer+ Represents exceptional work. Exceptional work isn’t long; it is concise and well supported.A preferred solution for each case using the template will be posted on chalk following the case discussion inclass (including Gallardo’s).Case Write-Up Template:1. Problem Statement: What problem(s) are you trying to solve? Often several questions have to beaddressed to solve the problem. (Problem Statements and Drivers will be provided in the Chalk template.)2. Drivers: Key facts or issues stated in the case. These may include the firm’s stated goals or intentions inthe case. What is driving the problems encountered in the case? NOT A CASE SUMMARY.3. Problem Solution Framework: How should the problem be solved? Is there a framework that could beused? Why approach it this way?4. Analysis and Interpretation: What does the analysis mean?5. Recommendation: Concisely written recommendation for what the firm should do to address issuesdeveloped in the problem statement with detailed support.6. Limitations: What are the limitations of the recommendation or analysis?Group Case Write-Ups: Each study group is required to submit case write-ups for the Omnitel Pronto Italia,Kone: The Monospace Launch in Germany, and Virgin Mobile USA: Pricing for the Very First Time cases.Additional group case write-ups will not be accepted.Individual Case Write-Ups: Each student is required to submit at least 3 case write-ups INDIVIDUALLY inaddition to the 3 group case write-ups. USING OUTSIDE MATERIALS, DISCUSSING THE CASE WITH2

Preliminary, Subject to Change Posted: 11.15.2013OTHERS OR USING OTHER’S WORK IN YOUR WRITE-UP WILL BE CONSIDERED A VIOLATION OFTHE BUSINESS SCHOOL’S HONOR CODE. Any 3 cases can be used except Gallardo’s (the introductorycase), Omnitel, Kone, Virgin (the 3 group cases), and Aqualisa (the take-home final case).FINAL EXAM WRITE-UPS – Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better ShowerThe final exam is an INDIVIDUAL case write-up that students will write in class. The Aqualisa Quartz: Simply aBetter Shower case is in the Coursepack and should be read and analyzed prior to the exam. The questions for thecase will be distributed in class on Tuesday March 11th. THE CASE WRITE-UP TEMPLATE IS NOTINTENDED TO BE USED FOR THE EXAM. The exam is a take-home, open book exam. USING OUTSIDEMATERIALS, DISCUSSING THE CASE WITH OTHERS OR USING OTHER’S WORK IN YOUR WRITE-UP WILL BE CONSIDERED A VIOLATION OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL’S HONOR CODE. Completedexams should be emailed to the instructor at jmckinne3@msn.com by Tuesday March 18 th at 5:00 PM Chicagotime. Late submissions will not be accepted.STUDY GROUPSThe course relies on group work for group exercises and group case write-ups to highlight the practicalapplication of the course content. Each student will select or be assigned to a 4 to 6 person study group.Participation in the group is not optional. A well-functioning study group can be a valuable asset in developingyour understanding of course content as well as your ability to integrate concepts into application for theexercises. It provides an opportunity to refine your work through the unique skills and insights of a diverse groupof your classmates. However, working in groups can be difficult. Learning to work effectively in a group will becritical to your performance. Please inform the instructor is you need assistance finding a group. Students willnot be allowed to change groups once they have submitted work with a group. The requirements for the groupcase write-ups are detailed above.Group Exercises: A PowerPoint template for each of the 3 group exercise will be available on Chalk. Groupswill submit their group exercises using the template as an email attachment to the instructor. Some of theexercises will be discussed in class (selection will be based on teaching value not the degree of completion orcorrectness) although all of the exercises will be posted on Chalk with feedback. Assignments are intended to takeless than two hours of preparation. The exercises are intended to provide practical examples of the tools fromclass using products and companies familiar to the students (as opposed to the instructor’s “war stories”).Topics (products and companies) for the group exercises must be approved by the instructor prior to submission.This is primarily intended to eliminate redundancy between groups (multiple groups using the same product orcompany for the same exercise). Topic approval will be based on appropriateness and on a first-come, first-servedbasis. Groups should use the same product/company for all 3 exercises. Group exercise 1 is due Sunday February2 nd at 6:00 PM, group exercise 2 is due Sunday February 16 th at 6:00 PM and group exercise 3 is due SundayMarch 9 th at 6:00 PM.CLASS PARTICIPATIONHow much you learn in this course will be partially dependent upon class participation (both yours and yourclassmates). Each student is expected to be present and prepared to participate in class (cold calling may be usedin class). Quality is more important than quantity with regards to participation. Grading for participation isnecessarily subjective. Some of the criteria used includes:1. Preparation and analysis: Do your comments reflect an in-depth analysis of the case or readings that addsto the understanding of the situation or does it merely restate data or information in the materials?2. Continuity: Are your comments relevant to the discussion? Do they build on previous points in thediscussion and evoke further discussion? Do your comments lead the discussion off on a tangentunrelated to the topic?3. Clarity: Are your comments clear, concise and convincing?4. Civility: Do you monopolize the discussion? How do you deal with classmates who disagree with yourpoints? Is your criticism constructive or destructive?3

Preliminary, Subject to Change Posted: 11.15.2013Group exercise 3 is due Sunday March 9 th at 6:00 PMTuesday March 11, 2014Case: Virgin Mobile USA: Pricing for the Very First Time (REQUIRED GROUP CASE WRITE-UP)*Questions for the final exam will be distributed at the end of the class.Thursday March 13, 2014Discussion of student led New Venture Challenge projects or guest lectureTuesday March 18 th Take-Home Final Exam Due at 5:00PM Chicago time (email to instructor atjmckinne3@msn.com)6