BUSINESS

ASSIGNMENT FRONT SHEET

Student Name:

Certification: I certify that the whole of this work is the result of my individual
effort and that all quotations from books, periodicals etc. have been acknowledged.

Student Signature: Date:

Student Registration Number:

Student email address :

Programme : Masters MBA Year/Level : Stage 1

Academic Year : 2010/11 Semester : 1
Module title : Marketing Management Assignment no. : 2
Module code: BUS724 Word guide: 1500
Percentage Weighting of this assignment for the module: 50%
Issue date : October 2010 Return date :
Lecturer : B Jones/ Alexis McLean Second marker :

Notes for students :

1. Hard copy of assignment should be stapled in the top left corner and submitted to the
Business School.
2. Electronic copy of assignment should be submitted through the Turnitin software.
3. Students should ensure that they comply with Glyndwr University’s plagiarism policy.
4. Students should make correct use of the Harvard referencing method.
Learning Outcomes Tested in this Assignment :
1 Demonstrate a critical understanding for the main ideas, characteristics of contemporary
marketing and apply these principals in the context of practical management problems

2 Demonstrate critical understanding of how an organisation’s overall resources can be

directed to meeting requirements in the light of changing business and organisational
environments

Overall Comment :

Mark (%)

Glyndwr School of Business Feedback on Assignment

Student Academic
2010/11
Number/ Name Year:

Programme
MBA Level Stage 1 / Taught
Title

Marketing
Module Code BUS724 Module Title
Management

Indicative
Assignment
2 Mark /
Title/Number:
Grade:

Would students please note that achievement of the learning outcomes for this
assessment is demonstrated against the assessment criteria shown below (which are not
necessarily weighted equally). Your assignment is marked as a whole and your grade is
more than a summation of your performance as rated below. All marks/grades remain
indicative until they have been considered and confirmed by the Assessment Board

Under 40- 50- 60- 70%

Assessment Criteria 40% 49% 59% 69% +

Demonstrates ability to critically analyse

international marketing strategies in relation
1
to standardisation and adaptation- (for
question-1 only) (40%)
Demonstrates understanding of relevant
aspects of services marketing (special
2 characteristics of services markets and
services marketing mix) – (for question
-2 only) (40%)
Ability to interpret the business issues with
3
the help of relevant theories (50%)

Ability to construct coherent arguments fully

5 supported with referencing throughout
(10%)

Name of Tutor Date

Strengths of this assignment are:

Suggestions to improve this assignment are:

 Grading & Marking Criteria
80 + Outstanding work of exceptional merit which is original in content or
approach allowing a novel perspective, going beyond what is available
in the literature.
70 – Work which is clearly articulated and well substantiated, based on
79 extensive reading, and demonstrates an authoritative grasp of the
concepts, methodology and content appropriate to the subject and to
the assessed task. There is clear evidence of originality and insight and
an ability to sustain an argument, to think analytically and/or critically
and to synthesise material effectively.
60 – Work which demonstrates a very good level of understanding of the
69 concepts, methodology and content appropriate to the subject and
which draws on a wide range of properly referenced sources. There is
clear evidence of critical judgement in selecting, ordering and analysing
content. The work demonstrates some ability to synthesise material and
to construct responses which reveal insight and may offer some
occasional originality.
50 – Work derived from a solid basis of reading and which demonstrates a
59 grasp of relevant material and key concepts and an ability to structure
and organise arguments. The performance may be rather routine but
the work will be accurate, clearly written and include some critical
analysis and a modest degree of original insight. There will be no
serious omissions or irrelevancies.
40 - 49 Competent and suitably organised work which demonstrates a
reasonable level of understanding with minimal analysis and
interpretation. It covers the basic subject matter adequately but is too
descriptive and insufficiently analytical. There may be some
misunderstanding of key concepts and limitations in the ability to select
relevant material so that the work may be flawed by some omissions
and irrelevancies. There will be some evidence of appropriate reading
but it may be too narrowly focussed.
30 - 39 Work lacks evidence of knowledge relevant to the topic and/or
significantly misuses terminology. There is either no evidence of
literature being consulted or irrelevant to the assignment set.
Inaccurate or inappropriate choice of theory. Unsubstantiated/invalid
conclusions based on anecdote and generalisation only, or no
conclusions at all. Lacks critical thought, analysis and reference to
theory.
0 - 29 Insufficient level of understanding and knowledge base unacceptably
weak. No evidence of logical structure and poorly presented.
Referencing is unsystematic or absent.
 Additional Comments from Second Marker or External (if required)

Glyndŵr University

Going international in banking: standardisation or adaptation?

Since the fall of communism in 1989, the Polish banking sector has seen huge changes.
Before 1989, the sector was very tightly regulated and all the major banks were state-
owned, serving different geographic and other niches with little or no overt competition
between them. The levels of service were low and customers did not expect much more than
basic products such as current accounts or savings accounts. Many individuals even did not
have any bank accounts. They mainly received and made payments in cash and investment
opportunities were very limited.

After 1989 that began to change. Under economic reform programmes, the sector was
deregulated and opened up to domestic competition, mergers and foreign investment. Many
foreign banks saw Poland as an attractive market with a lot of potential and began to invest.
Thus by the end of 2000, Western banks had taken over seven out of the 10 major Polish
banks, or at least had major shareholdings in them, and had come to dominate
approximately 70% of all bank assets of the Polish market.

Internationalising banks need to make crucial decisions about their marketing strategies.
They have to decide whether it is better to adapt their strategies to the polish market
environment, whether a standardised strategy appears more likely to succeed, or whether
elements of their strategies require a certain degree of adaptation while others could be
standardised. Banks come to contrary conclusions but nevertheless operate very
successfully. This case study therefore, looks at two specific foreign banks and the rationale
behind their initial entry to the Polish market in terms of marketing decisions.

The American bank St. Lawrence Bank started from scratch but opted for a two-step entry
strategy when it first entered the Polish market. The first step was to offer services for
corporate clients and the second step was to target private clients. The first step was
undertaken in 1991 when the first multinational companies came to Poland and St.
Lawrence Bank felt that it would have to follow its customers. At that time, St. Lawrence
Bank saw no potential for establishing a retail banking business. By 1997, the situation had
changed due to Poland’s rapid economic growth, and the emergence of more affluent and
increasingly demanding private customer segments. In 1997 St. Lawrence Bank thus
launched its first retail product, namely the credit card, and has expanded its product range
gradually since then.

St. Lawrence Bank has a notable sense of standardisation and strives to utilise its
experiences drawn from other markets. With the help of dedicated product portfolio for
different world regions, the American bank offers fairly standardised products around the
world. St. Lawrence Bank is also striving for a consistent image across markets. For this
purpose, the bank uses the same brand name, the same font and the same logo across the
world. The overall promotion concepts are designed centrally before they are adapted to the
local markets, acknowledging, for example, local socio-cultural peculiarities such as the
importance of the Catholic Church in Poland. St. Lawrence Bank employs the national
branches of the same advertising agency worldwide. This enables it to benefit from the
parent agency’s familiarity with St. Lawrence Bank’s promotion strategy and the national
branch’s expertise on the national markets. The relatively small size of St. Lawrence Bank’s
Polish operation forced the bank to adapt its distribution strategy, however. It also employs
agents who distribute its products in Poland. The reason for this is that Poland is a
comparatively under-banked and geographically large and diverse market which is difficult
and expensive to cover with a comprehensive branch network. Worldwide, St. Lawrence
Bank does not compete on price but on service. Prices are calculated using very similar
models in all markets, although the price decisions are made locally since inflation,
competition, interest rates and other macroeconomic factors differ across countries.
Standardised profit margins only apply to multinational corporate clients.

Standardisation is considered a part of the corporate culture. This clearly impacts on the way
of thinking and is even reflected by slightly minor aspects, such as the use of the English
language or written communication. However, St. Lawrence Bank acknowledges the need
for some degree of adaptation. Different approaches for different world regions have
therefore been developed. For example, St. Lawrence Bank leaves it to local management
to decide which retail product to introduce at what time. St. Lawrence Bank seeks
economies of scale by means of standardisation, but cost reductions are not considered a
main objective of the bank’s standardisation strategy.1

Questions:

1. Critically examine the views of the St. Lawrence Bank on the advantages and
disadvantages of standardisation and adaptation.

2. How do you think generally that the international marketing of financial services
products might differ from the international marketing of fast moving consumer goods
(FMCG) such as toiletries and cold drinks

1
Adapted from Principles of Marketing, 3rd edition by Brassington and Pettitt (the name of
the bank involved has been disguised)
Please note that all questions carry equal marks.