Principles of Marketing Syllabus

Sana’a Campus: Principles of Marketing Syllabus

Course Code: BMKT 300 – Section A

Course:  Marketing Theory & Practice

Instructor:  Dr. Sharaf M. Alkibsi

Class Location  21 B

Required Course Textbook:

Author: Phillip Kotler & Gary Armstrong, Principles of Marketing, 12^th International Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.

Course Description, Objectives, & Contents:

      Marketing is much more than just an isolated business function. It is a philosophy that guides the entire organization toward sensing, serving, and satisfying consumer needs. And this course is a foundation course in marketing. Therefore, it is the gate to the diverse and essential components in the marketing field. Students will learn about managing customer relationships, products, services, product life cycle, branding, and pricing. Moreover, they will understand the marketing environment and the marketing channels. In addition, they will also be informing of changes that faces our world today because of the digital age revolution and e-marketing. Furthermore, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, and direct marketing will be covered through different chapters.  As well, the course will discuss creating competitive advantages. Finally, the students will learn about the importance of social responsibility and marketing ethics.

Evaluation and Determining Course Grade

1. Mid-term Exam    30 %
2. Final Exam     40 %
3. Team Project     20 %
4. Participation, Homework & Quizzes  10 %

      The grade for this course will not be determined by effort — how hard you had to work on the course requirements or how many hours you had to work. The grade will be determined based on achievement and performance — your meaningful accomplishments. Grades when submitted are final and will not be changed unless there was a computational error or other error on the part of the instructor. If you need a certain grade in this course to maintain or increase your grade point average, you must put the appropriate amount of effort into the class requirements to earn that grade. Please refer to this Principles of Marketing Syllabus every week.

Academic Honesty

      You must always submit work that represents your original words or ideas. If any words or ideas used in a class assignment or projects do not represent your original words or ideas, you must cite all relevant sources and make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source.

The following list describes the types of academic misconduct that will not be tolerated in any way in this class:

0. Cheating: Use of an unauthorized “aid” while taking a test, having another person take an exam or quiz in the place of the student, stealing an examination, using learning team work as an individual student’s work, unauthorized use of assistance from a lab or computer technician. Note: If the instructor or an exam proctor sees/finds a paper or electronic device with course information during the exam, this will be considered as cheating and the student will receive a zero for the exam and possibly an “F” in the course. It is incumbent on the student to assure that all books, papers, notes, and electronic devices that contain course information are securely stored away — there is a no tolerance in this area.
1. Fabrication: Falsifying data in laboratory results, inventing information for a report, falsifying citations to sources of information.
2. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Aiding another student in committing academic misconduct.
3. Interference: Stealing, changing, destroying, or impeding another student’s work. Impeding includes stealing, defacing, or mutilating resources to deprive someone the use of resources.
4. Plagiarism: Using the ideas, words, or statements of another person without giving credit to that person. A student shall give credit to the works of others if the student uses another person’s words, ideas, opinions, or theories or borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material unless the information is common knowledge.
5. Violation of Course Rules: A student shall follow course rules in the course syllabus when those rules are related to the course content or to the enhancement of the learning process in the course.

      “Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course work in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal. The faculty member may also present the case to the office of student affairs for disciplinary sanctions.

Method of instruction and course requirements Principles of Marketing Syllabus

The Teaching Methodology of the course consists of the following:

• Assigned Readings: Assignments drawn from the course textbook, and outside reading-articles extracted from journals or taken from other books.
• Lectures: Power point presentations designed to clarify the assigned readings, case studies, and handouts. (if needed)
• Class Participation: it includes active participation in materials introduced through subject discussions or personal experience.
• Case Studies: Students will have to prepare and discuss cases in class. Cases will act as a support to the chapter discussed and it will highlight examples from today’s challenges.
• Internet Exercise: Students will be given interactive Internet exercises to familiarize them with different ways to use the internet.
• Review Questions: The review questions will be given as homework. This will enable students to understand key points in each chapter.
• Individual Project & Learning Team Project: It is the research and fact- finding assignments, which constitute an integral part of the course, are designed to allow the student to apply course concepts, learn how to interact within the team, and understand the challenges of working in a competitive environment.

Attendance Policy

1. Attendance in all classes during the entire time is required. There are no exceptions to this policy. If you are not in class, then you missed the material discussed in class. While students may encounter very extenuating circumstances (sickness of such severity that it prevents the student from attending classes, serious illness or death in the family), the fact that you are not in class means that you have missed the discussed topics.
2. A “sign-in” sheet will be passed every class. If you do not sign the sheet, you will be marked as absent even if you attended part or all the class session.  If you walk into the class late or leave early, the instructor may still mark you absent.  Your signature has to be clear and consistent every time you sign, if the signature does not match your previous ones, you may also be marked as absent.  Signing for another student is considered a breach to the honesty policy, under no circumstances a student may sign on behalf of someone else.

Participation, Homework, and Quizzes:

      Participation is expected during all classes. Students need to read their book chapters ahead of the class. Students need to conduct research related to the material in order to gain understanding of the subject. Pop up quizzes will be conducted from time to time in class in order to make sure that students have read the material assigned for the class on that date. Students also are expected to have reviewed previous material and last class discussion.

      Pop up quizzes cannot be made-up if you miss a class. Missing a class would affect your attendance score. In addition, if a pop up quiz happens during a class in which you were absent, your quiz score will be zero. There are NO EXCEPTIONS. Your Participation, Homework, and Quizzes score will be affected because of not being in class during the pop up quiz.

      However, since things may come up, and life is not always as we want it to be, your lowest two quizzes grades will be waived when calculating your total Participation, Homework, and Quizzes grade at the end of the course.

Exams:

1. There will be one midterm exam and one final exam. Each exam will cover the material discussed in class plus reading assignments. Anything that takes place in class to include discussions, videos, guest speakers etc. is testable. The exams will cover the whole material as indicated by the instructor.
2. Exams in this course are typically multiple choice, true/false, and/or short answer questions, essay form, and case studies.
3. Students must be present for all exams. Students who miss exams for reasons other than those stated under the special circumstances provided under “Attendance Policy” above will automatically loose points off the make-up exam score for every day or part of a day the exam is not taken.
4. Exam dates * are as follows:
   1. Midterm: Principles of Marketing Syllabus
   2. Final Exam: please refer to the university calendar and exam schedules under Principles of Marketing Syllabus

Project due dates *:

1. Part I (Individual paper): November 12, 2011.
2. Team notification: November 19, 2011.
3. Part II (Team paper): December 7, 2011.
4. Part III (Team Oral Presentation): December 31, 2011.
5. Learning Team Evaluation Form: Will be included with the final exam.

*Dates are subject to change. Principles of Marketing Syllabus

Attention!

Make sure that you read the chapters assigned for class before you walk into the class based on the Principles of Marketing Syllabus. Expect a quiz on the material during the session. The quiz may address previously discussed topics.

Course & Reading Schedule:

Week 1

Introductory Session Principles of Marketing Syllabus

Chapter 1 Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationships

Week 2

Chapter 2 Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to build Customer Relationships.

Week 3

Chapter 3      The marketing environment (Macro environment, just briefly, microenvironment in details)

Week 4

Chapter 7      Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning: Building the Right Relationships with the Right Customers

Week 5

Chapter 8 Product, Services, and Branding Strategies

Week 6

Chapter 9 Product Life Cycle and product lifecycle strategies

Week 7

Overview – Midterm

Chapter 10 Pricing Considerations and Approaches

Week 8

Chapter 11 Pricing Strategies

Week 9 

Chapter 12 Marketing Channels and Supply Chain Management 

Week 10

Chapter 13 Retailing and Wholesaling (Types of retailers) Wholesaling 

Week 11

Chapter 14    IMC strategy (Steps in developing effective communication),

Week 12

Chapter 15 Advertising, Sales promotion, and Public Relations (briefly)

Chapter 16 Personal Selling and Direct Marketing (briefly)

Week 13

Project Presentations

Week 14

Project Presentations, Revision.

Week 15

Final Exam

The schedule and procedures in this course, as outlined in this syllabus, are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances and/or as deemed appropriate by the professor. Principles of Marketing Syllabus

Project Guidelines

Part I (Individual Project)

1. Each student will make contact with a company; manager in the marketing field and shadow that company or manager/marketer. This will entail being with the manager/marketer for the entire period to determine the duties and responsibilities of that individual. (Note: The time spent with the manager needs to be continuous.) A 5 – 20 page report (not counting the title page or any attachments) will be written describing what was learned /observed during the shadowing time.
2. It is incumbent on you, the student, to find a manager/marketer or a company in the field of marketing in which you are interested. You may use banking, insurance, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, airline feeding, recreation, tourism, companies, etc. First, make contact with a manager/marketer in the area of your choice. Explain to them the objectives of this project. Negotiate a time that is mutually convenient for both you and the manager/marketer. You want to find the time where you will see the most in terms of what the manager/marketer does. Remember, you need to be the one who is most flexible. Please note that this project must be completed at a time other than class time.
3. When you do your shadow project, you are representing our faculty as well as yourself. As our representative, you must be professionally/appropriately dressed and demonstrate professional conduct at all times. Remember, the managers/marketers you are shadowing are potential future employers and they are evaluating you as well as our faculty respectively our university.
4. If you are already working in either of the above mentioned places (part 2), it is best if you choose a different sector so you are exposed to both sides. For example, if you currently work or have a lot of experience in the hotel side of the industry, it is to your advantage to choose the restaurant side to do your project so you have the opportunity to learn more. Do not assume you will only like one side of the industry just because the majority of your experience is there. Once you commit to either hotel or restaurant and begin accumulating experience in that sector, it becomes increasingly more difficult and threatening to switch.
5. The objectives of this project are:
   1. To determine the roles and responsibilities of marketers in the field.
   2. To determine if the marketing field is the professional area for you.
   3. To determine if the marketing major is for you.
   4. To see what it takes to be a marketer in the market and to evaluate if you have what it takes.
   5. What marketing concepts are applied within the market place?
   6. To develop communication skills.
6. When you are spending time with the manager/marketer, keep in mind that he/she is also forming an impression of you. You may want to parlay this contact into a practicum/internship/job later on. Think about questions to ask before you go so you are prepared. Look sharp — be sharp!
7. Some suggested areas you might be interested in pursuing include (but are not limited to) the following. Address only the areas that apply to your situation.

You need to describe the operation where you are shadowing. This would include (as appropriate) some of the following information: Principles of Marketing Syllabus

1. Description of the location and local trading area(as in part 2) — who is their competition
2. For places such as mentioned above: capacity, approximate dollar sales volume per week/month, cost percentage, labor cost percentage, number of employees, number of managers — as available to the student.
3. For the financial aspects, some managers may not want to share this information for private reasons. Tell them that you do not need exact figures but approximate figures. If they are still reluctant to provide this information, ask them what they would consider good performance figures for an operation their size.
4. What are the typical problems they face in any given day
5. What are the most critical problems they have to deal with on an ongoing basis
6. Where do they have management jobs/opportunities in their organization
7. What is their opinion of the market as a place for employment and why
8. What is their opinion of the future of marketing
9. What are their typical daily responsibilities
10. How many people do they supervise
11. How many hours per week do they work
12. What methods do they use to control costs
13. Observe and evaluate the traffic flow throughout the organization — comment as appropriate
14. What do they like best about their job and why
15. What do they like least about their job and why
16. What personal characteristics and competencies should an individual have in order to make it in the hospitality industry

Be sure to think about what you would want to know and learn before you shadow the manager/marketer. Have your questions ready and write down the answers so you do not forget them.

8. When you write your paper, keep in mind that this project is intended to give you an in-depth look at what a manager/marketer in the company does in a day. Be sure to capture this information in your paper. Also, do not use a question and answer format when writing your paper. This paper is an essay paper and should not be written as if you are talking to the instructor. Avoid using the words “I” and “you” in the project as much as possible.
9. On a separate sheet attached to the back of your project, list the complete name of the manager you shadowed, his/her title, name of the business where the manager/marketer works, business address, and the business telephone number where the manager/marketer can be reached.
10. The paper is to be type written double-spaced with 1″ margins on each side. (Note: if you use MS Word, the default margins are set for 1.25 inches. You will need to either adjust the margins or add an additional page.) Use only Times New Roman type-faces — no fancy or bold fonts please. The font size should be 12 points — no bigger or smaller. Papers should be written using good grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling since English usage will count a certain percentage of the grade on the paper. Make sure that you proofread your paper before you submit it. It can be a good idea to have a friend to help you proof reading it before you submit it. Another percentage of the grade will focus on how much you learned from your observations. Short projects will detract from the content grade so be sure you have the required number of pages with the correct margins and font size. Your project must include a cover page with a title for your project, name of organization where you shadowed the manager, your name, and date. All projects should be binded.
11. The deliverable is an academic paper that is at least five FULL pages as described. In addition to coversheet. The cover sheet should include the student ID number.

Part II: Application of Marketing Concepts (Learning Team)

1. Once you have completed Part I, you need to get into learning teams of 2-5 people in each team. Each team needs to agree on how they will work together, a leader needs to be assigned, and a one-page note needs to be submitted to the class instructor with the names of the team members, the team leader, and the selected project.
2. Once your team is formed, you need to choose one of your individual targeted companies to continue to part II, and part III. The decision needs to be made by the team as of which company to choose. Thus, all team members need to agree on the targeted company, and to continue together as a team.
3. The grade earned by the team will be assigned to each of the team members. However, the instructor may deviate from such assignment, and reflect different grades for different members in the same team. It is important that each member of the team contribute effectively and to the maximum in order to get the project to the maximum effort of the entire team. Therefore, a student evaluate form will be filled by each member evaluating his/her teammate. This evaluation will help the instructor in individual team member evaluations and grade assignment.
4. You, as a team, need to apply the marketing concepts studied during the course on your chosen company. As you proceed in the course, you will learn many marketing concepts. You need to start to look for these concepts in the company you have been monitoring.
5. You will choose ten concepts that have been studied during this course. Then you need to illustrate their application or use in your chosen company. These concepts need to come from six different chapters of the book. Each concept is minimum one page; make sure you follow the writing procedure explained earlier.
6. You will define the concept in your own word. You may use your textbook, thus, you are encouraged to use other sources. Students may use the university library, or online databases for further research about interested topics. Make sure that you cite any references that you use. If you need to cite the exact words of other authors, make sure that you cite the work, and include the references. Any exact works need to be placed between quotations. Copy and paste from books or other online or offline sources and presenting them as your own work can result to plagiarism, please refer to the academic honesty article.
7. After you define the concepts, explain what the company does or the marketing manager is doing that corresponds to the concept. The student should be able to explain and discuss what the company is doing that reflects the marketing concept.
8. Part of the analysis will be the student’s view, comments, or recommendations. These should be based on the marketing concepts studies in the course. Recommendations should address areas where the company can apply marketing concepts in order to become more effective, efficient, and profitable. This analysis should reflect understanding of the marketing concepts, and the company’s business.
9. Make sure that you submit your assignment as a team. The cover page should include the names of all team members, the team leader should be identified in the coversheet. There should be one paper submitted by each team.  The paper should be formatted as previously have been explain. Remember that you need to cite and reference any material that is not your team’s original ideas or words, otherwise an academic honesty issues will be initiated.
10. Example discussion:

You may choose a marketing concept such as “Branding.” Then you need to explain the concept in your words such as “Branding is the corporate identity that identifies the company from its competitors. Branding includes the logo, slogan, colors, fonts, image, culture, styles, size, themes, and personality of the company. Branding is the set of dimensions that present and identify the company’s products and services. Then you need to indicate what the company does in regards to “Branding”. You can say something like “The company has the below logo, slogan …” Then you insert them in your document. “The company’s logo, slogan … is printed in all the company’s brochures, business cards, advertisements…” Then you need to analyze it. For example, “noticed that the logo is not the same everywhere, some of their distributors have destroyed the logo colors” …. , “the company’s website indicates a different slogan that the one on their letterhead papers”. The recommendation can be something like “The company needs to specify its artwork of the brand and promote it consistently in all of its printouts” … “as well as its distributors” … “The slogan is too short, and suggest that the company use this one then you indicate a suggested slogan for the company. Because it will relate to the company’s xyz product specification.”
You can indicate that you recommend, “the company needs to design the paper packages with the corporate colors to reflect its brand. This is because all competitors have the same package color. If the company changes the package to an xyz color, customers will be able to identify the brand easier.”

Part III: Presentation of the work

1. Part III is a power point presentation of the previous two parts. Any individual components from part one should be removed. The power point presentation should be 15-35 slides presented for 15 – 30 minutes. It should illustrate what the team has done towards targeted company.
2. The slides need to include phrases or sentences. Do not copy and paste your papers into a power point presentation. You need to have the presentation clear with consistent font and theme. It needs to be visually appealing. Do not exaggerate in making it so fancy. Please make sure that you preview PowerPoint tutorials online.
3. The presentation should be addressed to the company that you have shadowed during the semester. You need to cover the following points:
   1. Introduction to the company and the business (Two slides)
   2. What have you learned during your shadowing time (Two slides)
   3. What marketing concepts that you have analyzed. (Ten slides at least)
   4. Recommendations and Conclusions (One slide)
4. The entire team needs to present, presenters need to dress professional in business uniform. The team needs to rehearse the presentation several times before the scheduled presentation time. Public speaking tutorials are advised to be taken in order to get the experience of business presentations and public speaking. There is a probability that business experts from the community will attend these presentations. Therefore, Look sharp — be sharp! Be ready for questions!
5. You will have the opportunity to ask questions to other groups as they present their project. Extra credit may be assigned for critical discussion arising from these questions.
6. Deliverables for this assignment are the following:
   1. A copy of the PowerPoint Presentation and Part II paper need to be emailed to the instructor.
   2. A hard copy provided to the instructor before the presentation.
   3. Oral presentation of the MS PowerPoint presentation, Q&A, and discussion.

Principles of Marketing Syllabus