The University of Texas at Dallas

Global Leadership Executive MBA Program

Marketing for Managers: MKTG 6301

Section: MIM
Summer 2008: April 21 – June 15, 2008

Professor Contact Information

Abhi Biswas Phone: (972) 883-4734 office Fax: (972) 883.6164
E-Mail: Use Blackboard e-mail

Carolyn Reichert Phone: (972) 883.2726 (W) Fax: (972) 883.6164

Course Manager (972) 867.7088 (H)
E-Mail: Use Blackboard e-mail
Office Location: SM 1.506
Office Hours: By appointment

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

There are no pre-requisites for this class.

Course Description

This course is designed to provide an adequate overview of the field of Marketing from a
managerial standpoint, along with the fundamental concepts which will be systematically
presented and related to their real life applications. Examples, cases and caselets will be
liberally used to highlight the most relevant issues.

The basic objective is to help executives and managers develop relevant marketing skills
and philosophies and to examine the trends and applicable techniques in the area of
marketing management. This course should enhance a better understanding of marketing
problems, the setting in which marketing decisions are made, the tools available to facilitate
these decisions, and the impact of the decisions for the firm and the “larger marketplace.”

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

• Develop an overall understanding of the principles of marketing, in the significant
areas of product management, pricing, promotions, distribution, consumer
behavior, etc.
 • Demonstrate the ability to solve numerical problems in the areas of break-even
analysis, price elasticity, market research, etc.

• Show the ability to apply marketing principles to business settings, such as

analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the
strategic business unit, explaining with examples how marketing actions can
influence the consumer decision making process, etc.

Text: Marketing Management

Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Prentice Hall, 12th edition, 2006

Articles: Listed by Week Due

Cases: Listed by Week Due

Schedule of Assignments

Pre Retreat
Assignment: National Christmas Tree Association Case.
How To Study and Discuss Cases
The Marketing Case Method
Read the case and be prepared for an in-class discussion.

Retreat: Introduction to Marketing

Fundamental Marketing Concepts
Company Orientations Towards the Marketplace
How to Prepare a Marketing Case

Date: Saturday, April 19, 1:00 PM-4:00 PM

______________________________________________________________

Week 1: Strategic Planning

Dates: April 21 – April 27
Lecture: Strategic Planning and Portfolio Analysis

Readings: Chapters 1 and 2

Articles: “Marketing Myopia (with retrospective Commentary)” pdf file

“The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer –Centric
Marketing”

Plan Ahead: Group case 1: ‘Fisher Price Toys’, due May 4

_______________________________________________________________
Week 2: Consumer Behavior & Buying Decision Process
Dates: April 28 – May 4
Lecture: Consumer Behavior & Buying Decision Process

Readings: Chapter 6
Article: “Kid Power,” pdf file

Group 1 Presentation: ‘Fisher Price Toys’ Case Presentation – Group 1

Due date: Posted by Group 1 to the Digital Drop Box by May 4 midnight CST

Case Discussion Forum: Case discussion on ‘Fisher Price Toys’ case on the
Discussion Forum from May 5 to May 11 (one week)
_______________________________________________________________

Week 3: Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

Dates: May 5 – May 11
Lecture: Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning

Readings: Chapters 8 &10

Articles: “Segmenting Global Markets: Look Before You Leap,” pdf file

Group 2 Presentation: ‘Colgate Palmolive’ Case Presentation – Group 2

Due date: Posted by Group 2 to the Digital Drop Box by May 11 midnight CST

Case Discussion Forum: Case discussion on ‘Colgate Palmolive’ case on the

Discussion Forum from May 12 to May 18 (one week)

______________________________________________________________

Week 4: Market Research

Dates: May 12 – May 18
Lecture: Conducting Market Research

Readings: Chapters 3 and 4

Articles: “Every Move You Make,” pdf file
“Three Dimensional,” pdf file

Group 3 Presentation: ‘Nestle Contadina’ Case Presentation – Group 3

Due date: Posted by Group 3 to the Digital Drop Box by May 18 midnight CST

Case Discussion Forum: Case discussion on ‘Nestle Contadina’ case on the

Discussion Forum from May 19 to May 25 (one week)

Web conference: Class Discussion Topic 1

Web conference Date: Sunday, May 18 at 5:00 pm CST
____________________________________________________________

Week 5: Product Strategies

Dates: May 19 – May 25

Lecture: New-Product Development & PLC Strategies

Readings: Chapters 10 and 20

Article: “Making Old Brands New,” pdf file

Group 4 Presentation: ‘WalMart’ Case Presentation – Group 4

Due date: Posted by Group 4 to the Digital Drop Box by May 25 midnight CST

Case Discussion Forum: Case discussion on ‘WalMart’ case on the Discussion Forum
from May 26 to June 1 (one week)

________________________________________________________________

Week 6: Pricing Management

Dates: May 26 – June 1

Lecture: Pricing Strategies and Programs

Readings: Chapter 14
Article: “Mind Your Pricing Cues,” pdf file
Group 5 Presentation: ‘Dell’ Case Presentation – Group 5
Due date: Posted by Group 5 to the Digital Drop Box by June 1 midnight CST

Case Discussion Forum: Case discussion on ‘Dell’ case on the Discussion Forum
from June 2 to June 8 (one week)
________________________________________________________________

Week 7: Distribution Management

Dates: June 2 – June 8

Lecture: Managing Marketing Channels and Retailing

Readings: Chapter 16
Article: “The Old Pillars Of New Retailing” pdf file

Group 5 Presentation: ‘Optical Distortion’ Case Presentation – Group 6

Due date: Posted by Group 5 to the Digital Drop Box by June 8 midnight CST
Case Discussion Forum: Case discussion on ‘Optical Distortion’ case on the
Discussion Forum from June 9 to June 15 (one week)

Web conference: Class Discussion Topic 2

Web conference Date: Sunday, June 8 at 5:00 pm CST

Week 8: Promotion Strategies

Dates: June 9 – June 15

Lecture: Integrated Marketing Communications

Advertising & Sales Promotion

Readings: Chapters 17 and 18

Articles: “A New Age For The Ad Biz” pdf file
“Subliminal Advertising” ppt file

Final Exam: Individual case analysis submission: Assigned Case will be posted
on Monday, June 9
Due date: Individual case questions posted to Digital Drop Box by June 15
midnight CST

Peer Evaluation Due: Peer evaluations for all Groups (submitted individually) due
June 15

Course Evaluations: Course Evaluations

Due date: June 16
____________________________________________________________

Grading Policy and Evaluation

• Emphasis in this course is on content mastery, critical thinking, and

demonstrated ability to apply marketing concepts to business situations

Group Case Presentation 40% Approximately 25-35 PowerPoint slides

posted by presenting group on
Blackboard. Group will be evaluated on
its PPT presentation as well as the
handling of the weeklong case
discussion and Q&A on Blackboard.

Peer Evaluation 10% Evaluate yourself as well as your other

group members using a Peer Evaluation
Form.
Final Exam 25% The final exam will be in the form of an
 Written Case Submission individually submitted case write-up.

Class Discussion 15% Online case discussion responses,

comments, Q&A pertaining to all the
assigned group case presentations.

10% Web Conference responses &

comments to the 2 class discussion
topics.

Total 100%

Group Case Presentation Weight 40%

A marketing case will be randomly assigned to each group. Each group will be randomly
designated a date for its case presentation. Each group will develop, analyze and
present its case analysis on its assigned case by posting a 25-35 PowerPoint slide
presentation on Blackboard.
A group member will post the PPT case presentation as a message attachment on the
designated topic area on the discussion board.
Other class members will then ask questions, make observations and/or critique each
case presentation (limit of maximum 2 well thought out discussion entries per student).
Group members will answer questions and interact with the class on their case analysis
and presentation. The discussion board will be active for the entire week following each
case presentation.
Refer to the grading criteria given further below for “final written case submissions” – the
same apply to these group case presentations as well.

The group case presentations will be evaluated using the following rubric:
Problem Statement 5%
Situation Analysis/case issues 20%
Evaluation of Alternatives 30%
Recommendation/Plan of Action/Implementation 20%
Overall report structure, clarity, thoroughness 15%
Handling of Q&A 10%
100%

Peer Evaluation Weight 10%

Students need to complete a peer evaluation for the group Case presentation. The peer
evaluation is an electronic document whose link is located on Blackboard (Bb) in the
course area under the Information button. Students allocate 100 points among the
group members to reflect the level of contribution made by each group member on their
assigned Case presentation as well as handling of its weeklong case discussion and Q&A
on Blackboard.

Final Exam Written Case Submissions Weight 25%

Evaluation of the final case written assignments will be based on thoughtful, insightful
and well-constructed analyses. Case write-ups are usually about 15-25 pages, double-
spaced.

• A ---Excellent: Understanding of all key issues; no important analytical errors

or omissions; concise, very well written and organized, makes appropriate
use of charts and tables.
• B---Good: Understanding of most issues; only a few important issues not
discussed; few analytical errors; well-written and well-organized, makes
appropriate use of charts and tables.
• C---Adequate: Understanding of many issues, but not all important aspects
covered; various analytical errors; excessive case recitation unsupported by
analysis; poorly written or organized, makes inappropriate use of charts and
tables.

Web conference Discussions Weight 10%

The purpose of the web conferences is to discuss marketing topics related to the class
material. Participation in the web conferences will assist you in understanding the
course content and more importantly allow a forum to explore the applications to real life
situations. Participation will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• A --- Excellent comments: answers questions appropriately; understands all

key issues; often develops discussion by building on or integrating others’
comments
• B --- Good comments: answers most questions appropriately; understands
most key issues; introduces some new issues or adds to others’ comments
• C --- Adequate comments: answers few questions appropriately; understands
some issues, but not all important aspects; introduces issues without
reference to prior discussion or repeats previous points.

Online Case Discussion Participation Weight 15%

• Students are expected to post responses that reflect content knowledge, analytical
skills and add value to the case discussions and all case presentations posted by
the groups. Grades for case discussion participation will be based mainly (but not
solely) on the quality of the postings. Contributions should be well considered,
insightful and relevant to the discussion topic and demonstrate understanding of
the concepts and ability to appropriately apply concepts and ideas from course
content to online discussions.

• A: Excellent contribution --- Insightful; key points and ideas set tone of other
contributions.
• B: Good contributions --- Used key points and issues to add value to the
overall discussion thread.
• C: Acceptable contribution --- Contribution was on topic; built on other’s
ideas.
• D: Unacceptable contribution --- Contribution did not add much value.
 • F: No posting

Course & Instructor Policies

Format for Written Assignments

Written assignments should be Word documents (no html formats) that are:
• Double-spaced, 12 pt. Arial or Times New Roman font
• Clearly identified by author or team
o For an individual assignment, the student name needs to be on the first
page of the document AND as part of the document name, i.e.
Sullivanexam.doc when it is submitted.
o For a group submission, the group number and names of team
participants on the first page AND the group number as part of the
document name i.e. Group2NTCA.doc when it is posted
o There is no need for a separate cover pages

Submission
Assignments should be posted on Blackboard (Bb) within the course area by the due
date. Assignments are submitted to the Digital Drop Box under Tools tab. Be sure to
use the SEND command to submit to the Drop Box. Do not use ADD command to post.

Late Assignments
If you need to miss an assignment deadline, you must pre-notify the instructor and
course manager before the deadline. You should provide the reason for missing the
deadline and an alternative date for submitting the assignment. The instructor and
course manager must approve the extension and the new deadline. If you do not pre-
notify the instructor, the instructor may determine the appropriate grade deduction for
the assignment.

Retreats: Attendance at the retreat is a course requirement. Missing the retreat may
be grade affecting and may require makeup assignments at the discretion of the
instructor.

Evaluations:
Peer Evaluation
Students need to complete a peer evaluation for the group assignment. The peer
evaluation is an electronic document whose link is located on Blackboard (Bb) in the
course area under the Information button. Students evaluate the team members to
reflect the level of contribution made by each team member on a specific assignment.

Course Evaluation
The completion of a course evaluation is a course requirement. Students need to
complete a course evaluation form which is an electronic document whose link is
located on Blackboard (Bb) in the course area under the Information button. Students
who do not submit a course evaluation by the due date will receive an incomplete grade
for the course.

UTD Policy on Cheating:

Students are expected to be above reproach in all scholastic activities. Students who
engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the
possibility of failure in the course and dismissal from the university. "Scholastic
dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission
for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another
person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair
advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." Regents' Rules and
Regulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22.
Professors randomly use “Turnitin.com” to screen papers against other published works
on the web to insure against plagiarism.