School of Business and Economics

Marketing and Society

BUS 3541

Instructor: Dr. Regina P. Schlee

Office: McKenna 216

 E-Mail: rschlee@spu.edu

Phone: 206-281-3638

Office Hours: M, W, F: 11:00 - 12:20, or by appointment

REQUIRED TEXT: Marketing: Best Practices, by Czinkota, et al., Dryden Press, 2000.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: To provide students with a working knowledge of marketing theory and practice. The emphasis of the course will be on enabling students to have an understanding of marketing issues and to formulate effective marketing strategies in real world situations.

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

1. Understand the marketing concept and the marketing manager’s framework.

2. Obtain information about the marketing environment using a variety of print, electronic, and on-line resources.

3. Analyze the marketing environment for various industries/businesses.

4. Assess market opportunities.

5. Analyze marketing activities and diagnose problems.

6. Integrate this knowledge into marketing plans and action recommendations.

7. Evaluate marketing decisions from an ethical perspective based on the Christian faith.

During the quarter we will jointly work to apply a Christian perspective on marketing practice. We will also reconstruct cases where we may perceive a conflict between Christian values and marketing opportunities. The ethical issues we will discuss will include the following topics: ethics on information gathering from consumers, competitive intelligence, product development, predatory pricing, psychological pricing, discriminatory pricing, deceptive advertising, targeting vulnerable groups, sexual images in advertising, promoting irresponsible behavior, sales promotions to the trade, strong sales tactics, misleading sales tactics, return policies, customer service policies, and channel conflict. By anticipating areas of possible ethical conflict, we will be better prepared to apply and maintain a Christian perspective in business situations.

In addition, this course assists you in developing core competencies in the following areas:

a. written communications

b. working in groups

c. secondary data research (library, CD-ROM, and on-line research)

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS/SUGGESTED READINGS:

Many copies of marketing plans are on reserve at the SPU library under my name. Students are encouraged to read two or three of these marketing plans.

INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT/CLASS METHOD:

There are volumes of academic research that indicate that students learn and remember more of what they have learned by working on projects. My personal experience in college validates this research. There is very little information presented in lecture that I still remember from my undergraduate studies. In contrast, I remember almost all my class projects and class discussions (even those class discussions where at the time I felt we were wasting time). Thus, I believe that students learn more by being active participants in the educational process than passive recipients of information conveyed by the professor. Of course, information presented in lecture is important, but it will only be transferred into your long-term memory if you use it in case analyses, class discussions, or your group project.

Group Project: You will work together with 1 to 3 other students to prepare a comprehensive marketing plan for a client. An outline of the steps you need to follow will be provided. Several examples of past projects are available on reserve at the Library. Nevertheless, I realize that at the beginning of the quarter you will approach this task with a great deal of apprehension because (a) you do not know what a marketing plan is and yet you are asked to prepare one, (b) you are working with a "live" client, (c) you are working with people you do not know very well.

About three to four weeks into the quarter, you apprehension would have been focused almost exclusively on the performance of other people of your group. Communication problems will abound. Personality conflicts will also become evident. You will find that working on group projects is much more time-consuming than working on term papers. And you will wonder, "if my professor knows all this, why is she forcing us to work in a group project?" "Does she enjoy tormenting students, or is she merely following the current fad in business education?" The reason you are working on a group project is that it most closely approximates the work environment. At work, you will have to work with others to complete a task. You will not always like all your co-workers. You may also find that some of them do not complete the assigned work, while others perform low quality work. Unfortunately, your supervisor will evaluate your performance both in terms of the quality of your work and your ability to work with others. It is for this reason that all of your business professors here at SPU feel that group projects not only help you to learn the subject matter better, but also help your collaborative and leadership skills.

Rest assured that while you are preparing a group project, each person of the team is responsible for his or her own contribution to the group project. Group members need to evaluate each member’s strengths and weaknesses at the beginning of the quarter, and utilize everyone’s strengths. For example, some of you may excel in data analysis, while others have artistic talent. There is room for both these types of individuals to make a significant contribution to the group project. Similarly, foreign students may have difficulty conducting interviews in English, but they may excel in being able to interview other foreign nationals or in conducting library research. It is the responsibility of the group to try to integrate all group members in the project, however, each person is ultimately responsible for contributing as much as others in the group.

As you complete sections of the marketing plan, you need to turn them in to me so that I can give you feedback on your progress. I also encourage groups to bring to my attention any interpersonal conflicts that arise during the first part of the quarter. I will attempt to resolve these conflicts, but in the event of an impasse, groups also have the option of "firing" a group member; just like in "real" life. Also at the end of the quarter, each group member will indicate exactly what he or she contributed to the group project and will evaluate the performance of other group members. Each page of the report should have the name of the primary author, as well as the names of individuals who edited or provided some other contribution to the section. Upon completion of the project, you will submit a copy to me and a copy to your client. I also recommend that each group member keep a copy of the marketing plan for their portfolio to be used for future job interviews.

The marketing plan enables each group member to practice two other important skills: written and oral communications. Since this class involves a sizable writing component, you get W credits for your efforts. I will give you guidelines as to the proper format of marketing plans, and provide feedback about the written material you turn in. You can revise your project numerous times. You are only graded on the final draft you submit on March 18. Each group also required to give a formal oral presentation of their work. I will provide you some guidelines regarding oral presentations in the business community. Your final report will be graded 80% for content, 20% for clarity, style, and presentation.

Term Paper: Some students may opt to do a term paper instead of a marketing plan. The topic of the term paper will be something you and I have to agree on. To eliminate the possibility of receiving "previous owner" papers, we will customize your topic so that it is relevant to the materials we are discussing in class. Please note that if you do a term paper, the highest grade you may get in this course is a B+. Term papers should be 8 to 10 pages long on an approved topic related to marketing. The term paper should be typed (double-spaced) and complete references and notes should be submitted to your professor. You should have a minimum of 10 to 15 references from books and periodicals available at the SPU Library or from approved on-line resources. If you have other resources available at your disposal, you must share this information with me before you complete your paper.

Internet Assignment: The internet is a vast resource of data relating to any industry or business. I am continuously amazed at the growth of resources available on the internet. After attending a presentation on on-line resources, you will be asked to search the internet for information relating to the marketing environment where your client’s business operates in. A summary and/or copies of the internet resources you found will be submitted to me and will be evaluated in terms of thoroughness as it relates to number of search terms used and number of search engines utilized.

Case Analyses/Class Exercises: During the quarter will discuss 6 cases or marketing exercises in class. You will receive 10 points for each of the case/exercise discussions you participate in. You need to be present in class to obtain these points. Opportunities to make up a case analysis or exercise will only be given in situations where I was notified before class of an illness or family emergency. No student will be allowed to make-up more than two case discussions or exercises unless he or she can provide proof of serious illness or serious family emergency.

Participation in on-line discussion: During the week of April 16-20, you will need to log on to our on-line classroom and participate in the discussion forum. Each student is required to participate in the discussion on 2 different days. To get the full number of points, you have to engage in a meaningful discussion with your classmates. Responses such as "I agree" will not be enough to get the full number of points for these discussions. Instructions on how to access the on-line components will be given in class.

EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING/EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Grading philosophy: A’s are given for exceptional work, work that exceeds basic expectations of student performance for the course. B’s are given for strong performance in the course. B quality work represents a high level of performance. C’s are given for work that meets basic or minimal expectations for the course. D’s or E’s are given for work that does not meet basic expectations for the course.

Tests: The tests will be based both on lecture and textbook material. Three tests are scheduled during the quarter.

Class Attendance and Participation: I believe that class attendance and participation greatly facilitate student learning. Students are expected to be present in class lectures and participate in class discussions and group activities. Please let me know if you need to miss class for health reasons or family emergencies.

Participation is also measured by the way you behave in class. Positive participation activities include the following: being polite towards others, being helpful, encouraging others, being friendly, showing interest in what others are saying, reaching out and trying to include all group members in group activities, and doing your personal best in group activities. Negative participation activities include the following: being habitually late for class, talking while someone else is involved in a class discussion or while I am lecturing, mocking someone or being disrespectful, leaving someone out of group activities, disrupting class activities, independent reading while I am lecturing or while we are engaged in a class discussion, being engaged in unrelated activities in class, behavior that disrupts others’ ability to participate in class, etc.

Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. If someone is caught cheating or plagiarizing, he or she will receive a grade of 0 for the test or assignment.

Grading: The following number of points will be made available:

4 Tests 500 points

Group Project 275 points

or Term Paper 200 points

Presentation 25 points

Internet Assignment 100 points

Case Analyses 60 points

On-line Discussion 10 points

Class Participation 30 points

TOTAL POINTS 1000 points

Please note that you may do either a group project or a term paper. If you choose to do a term paper, the highest number of points you can accumulate is 900 out of 1000.