MARK 301: Introduction to Marketing Course Syllabus Winter 2018
Alberta School of Business
Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law OVERVIEW
Instructor: K.B. Koo Office: BUS 4-27
E-mail: [email protected] (Please write MARK 301 in the subject line of all emails) Office Hours: Wednesdays 12:00pm – 2:00 pm or by appointment
Course Website: https://ulearn.ualberta.ca Class Schedule: M/W/F 11:00am – 11:50am Classroom: BUS 1-5
Prerequisites: ECON 101 and 102, MATH 113 or equivalent
**Instructors cannot approve entrance to a class without prerequisites—this must be done via the Business Undergraduate Office.**
Course Materials
Text: Armstrong, Kotler, Trifts, Buchwitz (2017), Marketing: An Introduction, 6th Canadian Edition, Pearson Education Canada, ISBN – 9780134470528.
Course Objectives
The objective of this course is to help you understand the basics of marketing, both as a management tool and as a force in society. What is marketing? What role does it play in modern organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit? What makes for a good marketing strategy and what tactical tools bring such a strategy to life?
You will first learn to analyze and understand the marketing environment (market analysis), and then how to implement successful marketing strategies in such an
environment (marketing strategy). By the end of the course, you will have developed the following course specific skills or knowledge to:
1. Recognize and understand key terms, concepts, and problems within marketing.
2. Explain marketing concepts and theories, including how and why different concepts interact or overlap.
3. Analyze and evaluate real-world and hypothetical examples of marketing concepts and decisions.
4. Navigate marketing problems and select feasible marketing strategies or solutions.
This course incorporates the Learning Goals of the BCom Program, in particular: Critical Thinking, Ethical Awareness, Oral Communication, and Teamwork.
Course Format
The course will incorporate both lectures and discussion. Lectures will reinforce and expand upon material found in the text. Discussions and in-class activities are designed to foster active application of what is learned in class and to bring new perspectives to course material. Students are expected to have read the text and assigned materials before class so that discussion can occur during class time. Class discussions make the learning experience more enjoyable and fulfilling for everyone involved.
Try to attend each class as exams will cover all materials taught in class, including those not in the textbook. If changes in class meetings, exam procedures, materials coverage, etc. are announced in class, you are responsible for knowing this information.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
The University of Alberta academic policy on grading states the following: “Grades reflect judgments of student achievement made by instructors. These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in class.”
In accordance with the academic policies at the University of Alberta, there will be no pre- mandated quota to the grades in this course. However, the letter grade distribution will follow a relative distribution rather than absolute cut-offs.
Summary of Evaluative Criteria
Midterm Exam #1 15%
Midterm Exam #2 15%
Final Exam 40%
Presentation 15%
Professionalism 10%
Research Participation 5%
_______________________________________________________
Total 100%
Exams
There will be two midterm exams and a final exam, covering the lecture notes, class
discussions, and assigned readings. Both non-cumulative midterm exams will be comprised of multiple choice questions. The comprehensive final exam will include non-cumulative multiple choice questions and cumulative short/long answer questions. There will NOT be a make-up midterm exam. If you miss one or both midterm exams, the weight of the final exam will increase accordingly.
If you feel strongly that your grade on an exam is unfair, you have the right to appeal. You must submit a written note to me stating the test item you are questioning and your rationale for the appeal. You have one week after exam grades are posted to submit an appeal for that particular exam. Students should familiarize themselves with the University’s guidelines regarding exam deferrals, absences, and appeals.
Presentation
Each student will be assigned to a group of 3-4 students and give a 9-minute marketing strategy presentation. Peer grades will account for half of the presentation grade, and my grade will account for the other half. Specifically, on the day of your presentation both your peers and I will evaluate your presentation out of 10 possible points. You will then receive the combined score (an average of your peers’ grade plus mine for maximum 20 points).
Your peer grades will be based on content (how well your group addresses the four questions below) and delivery (communication skills). My grade will be based on content, delivery, and how well you stick to the time limit. If your presentation is less than 8
minutes or more than 10 minutes long, you will lose 1 point per minute from the maximum 10 points I use to grade you.
The presentation will consist of analyzing a company with respect to their marketing strategy as it relates to your assigned topic (e.g., What is your company’s branding OR pricing strategy?). Your presentation should cover the following:
1. What is the company’s current strategy in terms of your assigned topic?
2. Why are they using this strategy?
3. Is this an effective strategy?
4. What other strategies could they use?
For example, a group may be assigned to the topic of “channels/retailing” and then analyze how Apple manufactures, wholesales, and retails its products, and what conflicts arise in this process.
Students will select three topics of interest from the list of topics during the first week of class, and will be added to a group based on their topic interests. Groups will do an oral presentation on the topic to which they have been assigned. Groups will be announced along with a presentation schedule on uLearn no later than Tuesday, January 16th. The first presentation is Wednesday, January 24th.
Your group is allowed to pick any company, but in selecting a suitable company you should consider your ability to answer the above questions. A blog will be available on uLearn where you can post your chosen company and see what companies other groups have chosen in order to avoid duplication. Your choice is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please use PowerPoint to prepare your presentation, and email your slides to me ([email protected]) by 10 pm the evening before your presentation. If your
presentation is submitted after this time, you will lose 1 point from the maximum 10 points I use to grade your presentation for every hour beyond this time.
Professionalism
Students are expected to contribute to class discussions and to engage in in-class activities.
It is especially imperative to show up on presentation days in order to show support to fellow students and also to provide feedback. For each attendance at other groups’
presentation days (measured by peer grading), you will receive 2 points out of maximum 10 professionalism points.
In addition, students who behave in an unprofessional manner will have their professionalism grade reduced by 5 points. Examples of acting in an unprofessional manner include:
• Arriving for class late on a regular basis
• Leaving class early on a regular basis
• Sabotaging or interrupting the progress of other students in the class (e.g., entering/exiting the classroom during a presentation)
• Poor attention in class, particularly if it disrupts others—this includes texting, checking email, checking websites or using apps, listening to music, talking to other students, etc.
• Addressing the instructor or other students in an inappropriate or disrespectful manner
Laptops may be used only for legitimate classroom purposes, such as taking note, downloading class information from uLearn, or working on an in-class exercise. Email, instant messaging, surfing the internet, reading the news, or playing games are not
considered legitimate classroom purposes; such inappropriate laptop use is distracting to those seated around you and is unprofessional.
General courtesies are expected in terms of controlling cell phone/laptop sounds and personal conversations for everyone’s comfort of learning in class.
Research Participation
Background. One of the key factors influencing both the national and international reputation of a university is the academic research that it produces. You will be given an opportunity to participate in a number of research projects conducted by members of the School of Business. The purpose of this is two-fold: (1) to familiarize you with a number of procedures and methods used in academic research and (2) to provide you with an
awareness of the types of research conducted by faculty members.
Confidentiality & Consent: All research projects conducted at the University of Alberta are carefully screened by an ethics committee to ensure they meet the University of Alberta’s ethical standards. Any information collected will be held in the strictest of confidence.
Further, all such research is premised on informed consent. This means that the person conducting the study must provide you with sufficient information to enable you to
determine whether or not you wish to participate. For example, if a person were evaluating the impact of graphic violent imagery in advertising, they would be obliged to let you know the nature of the materials prior to you viewing them. Note that at any time during the course of a session you have the right to discontinue participation without penalty. Further, even if you initially consent to participate, you may choose to stop participation at any time
without any loss. Using the above example, you might consent to participate, even after being told about the graphic imagery, but after viewing one image you may feel that you no longer wish to participate.
Research Credits: Research credits are worth 5% of your final grade. In order to obtain the full 5%, you must participate in five studies for credit throughout the course of the term:
one online study, and four lab studies.
In order to receive a grade for this component of the course, you must complete ALL FIVE studies.
Partial credit will NOT be provided (e.g., for just doing one study).
• MARK 301 Online Study **Required** (1 credit)
o This required online study is to be completed early in the term; you will complete this study through the Sona Research Participation website (described below).
• Lab study sessions (4 credits)
o Four additional lab studies must also be completed. Over the semester, these four study sessions will be made available through the Sona Research
Participation website, and you may select a time and date that works for you for each session. You must complete each of these four sessions to get full credit. Sessions generally run for 50 minutes and are worth one credit. The location will be specified when you sign up; most sessions take place in the basement of the Business School, in B-06 or B-10. Please arrive ON TIME.
The lab door will be closed when each session begins. If you are late, you will not be able to participate and you will have to sign up for another session.
o Each study session will be available on various weekdays and times for the dates listed below.
▪ Session 1: January 8 – 26
▪ Session 2: January 29 – February 9
▪ Session 3: February 12 – March 9
▪ Session 4: March 12 – March 30
▪ Makeup sessions: April 2 – 13 (you may complete any of sessions 1-4 during this time)
o For the lab studies, you will not receive credit for participation alone. After each lab session, you will complete a form with a series of questions
regarding the research studies in which you participated; information relevant to these questions will be provided in a debriefing at the end of the session. For each study, credit will be awarded based on your answers to these questions. Answers are graded on a pass/fail basis. Credit will be awarded within 72 hours of the study session.
Research Participation Website (SONA): To gain access to the Sona Research Participation website, you do NOT need to sign up. You will be automatically signed up before classes begin, and you will receive an email at your UAlberta account with login information.
Please DO NOT create your own account.
**If you register after January 8, please contact IST with your name, CCID, and course section, and request a “Sona Research Participation” account. If you drop the course, please email to have your account removed.**
Once you have received your login information, you can sign up for the “MARK 301/320 Online Study” and for other studies here: https://ualberta-business.sona-systems.com. You can also use this site to track the number of credits you have earned.
You will receive notification emails to your UAlberta email when new studies are posted;
please keep an eye out for these.
**Regularly checking the Sona Research Participation website yourself is the best way to keep on top of which studies are currently available.**
There is a Sona Research Participation app, called “Sona Mobile”, available for Apple and Android phones. If you’d like to download it to sign up for studies and to check or update your scheduled studies from your phone, please feel free! Note that this app does NOT offer
“push” capabilities, so it won’t notify you when new studies are available. For that, remember that you will receive emails at your UAlberta account.
If you have problems accessing Sona Research Participation website, first, please try resetting your password through the "Forgot Password?" link on the Sona website, using your [email protected] email address. If this does not solve your issue, or if you have another issue, please contact IST (online at https://ist.ualberta.ca/contact-us or via email at [email protected]). Make sure you refer to “Sona Research Participation” and
“MARK 301” in the subject line of your communication.
If you have specific questions about a study—for example, if you have not received credit—
please contact the researcher directly through Sona (there is an email button to contact the researcher on each study page).
Please note that this research component pertains to studies conducted by members of the Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law. As such, you will not receive credit for studies you participate in for other courses (e.g., psychology).
Alternative Credit: This research participation experience is intended to be educational.
You are not required to participate in any of the research projects. If you choose not to participate and wish to receive equivalent credit, you are asked to write a short paper. This paper will be structured so that it takes approximately the same amount of time as
participating in the studies and answering the questions. If you wish to pursue this option, please discuss it with your instructor.
COURSE POLICIES Academic Integrity
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are
particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour and avoid any behaviour, which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism are serious forms of academic dishonesty that are completely at odds with the values of the University and will be dealt with severely. Code of Student Behaviour Students should be familiar with the Code of Student Behaviour are descriptions of unacceptable behaviour for Students in the University. The Code is available online:
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/en/CodesofConductandResidenceCommunityStandar ds/CodeofStudentBehaviour/COSBIndividualHyperlinkedSections.aspx).
Cheating is any deceptive or dishonest practice relative to any part of this course. Examples of cheating include but are not limited to the following behaviours or attempts to do so:
- copying another person’s work
- obtaining unauthorised assistance of any kind
- usage of unauthorized materials or unauthorized communication during exams - having someone take an exam in your place
Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s language, ideas, images or other original material without referencing the source. This also applies to materials posted online or other student works. You will need to rewrite text/materials in your own words and properly reference materials. Text copied verbatim need to appear in quotes and needs to be
referenced. Note that cheating or plagiarism may result in expulsion or a suspension of up to three years.
The "Don't Cheatsheet" is available on the University Governance website
at: http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/en/StudentAppeals/~/media/Governance/
Documents/GO05/CAM/Dont%20Cheatsheet/Updated.pdf Student Accessibility Services
Students registered with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) who will be using
accommodations in the classroom, or who will be writing exams through SAS, are required to provide a "Letter of Accommodation" to the course instructor during the first week of classes. If you are not already registered with SAS, and require special accommodations, contact their office immediately (1-80 SUB, [email protected]; phone 780-492-
3381; website: http://www.ssds.ualberta.ca/AboutUs.aspx.
Recording Lectures
Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).
COURSE OUTLINE Week Date Topic
1 Jan 8 Course overview
Ch 1: Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value Jan 10 Ch 1: Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value Jan 12 Ch 1: Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value
2 Jan 15 Ch 2: Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships
Jan 17 Ch 2: Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships
Jan 19 Ch 3: Sustainable Marketing, Social Responsibility, and Ethics 3 Jan 22 Ch 3: Sustainable Marketing, Social Responsibility, and Ethics
Jan 24 Presentation #1
Ch 4: Analyzing the Marketing Environment Jan 26 Ch 4: Analyzing the Marketing Environment 4 Jan 29 Presentation #2
Ch 4: Analyzing the Marketing Environment
Jan 31 Ch 5: Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights Feb 2 Ch 5: Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights 5 Feb 5 Ch 6: Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behaviour
Feb 7 Ch 6: Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behaviour Feb 9 Ch 6: Understanding Consumer and Business Buyer Behaviour 6 Feb 12 Ch 7: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Feb 14 Midterm Exam #1 (Ch 1-6) Feb 16 Class cancelled
7 Feb 19 Family Day – no class Feb 21 Reading Week – no class Feb 23 Reading Week – no class
8 Feb 26 Ch 7: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Feb 28 Ch 8: Developing and Managing Products and Services Mar 2 Ch 8: Developing and Managing Products and Services 9 Mar 5 Presentation #3
Ch 9: Brand Strategy and Management Mar 7 Ch 9: Brand Strategy and Management
Mar 9 Presentation #4
Ch 9: Brand Strategy and Management
10 Mar 12 Ch 10: Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value Mar 14 Ch 10: Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value Mar 16 Presentation #5
Ch 11: Marketing Channels 11 Mar 19 Midterm Exam #2 (Ch 7-10)
Mar 21 Ch 11: Marketing Channels Mar 23 Presentation #6
Ch 12: Retailing and Wholesaling
Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing 12 Mar 26 Ch 12: Retailing and Wholesaling
Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing Mar 28 Presentation #7
Ch 13: Communicating Customer Value: Advertising and Public Relations Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing
Mar 30 Good Friday – no class 13 Apr 2 Easter Monday – no class
Apr 4 Presentation #8
Ch 13: Communicating Customer Value: Advertising and Public Relations Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing
Apr 6 Ch 13: Communicating Customer Value: Advertising and Public Relations Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing
14 Apr 9 Ch 14: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing Apr 11 Ch 15: Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing
Exam review Apr 13 Presentation #9
Exam review
Tentative Final Exam date: April 23 (Monday), 9am
**This course outline may be revised as required.**