Managerial Marketing Cases
M&L 4203
Fall Semester 2012
Tuesdays 12:45 – 2:05 p.m.
Professor Leslie M. Fine, PhD
550 Fisher Hall
Office Hours: anytime by appointment
(E-mail is the best way to reach me)
Objective: The purpose of this course is to make you competent and confident to analyze and solve a variety of marketing problems. This takes practice…lots of practice! This course uses business cases to give you experience in analyzing a variety of marketing problems, and using data to justify appropriate marketing solutions. The cases present information about businesses at a particular point in time, and your job is to recommend strategies the businesses must pursue to continue to move forward. You will be evaluated on your ability to understand the problem, the underlying causes and to justify the solutions to the marketing problem.
PLEASE NOTE:
You are all consumers, and therefore you have implicit theories about how marketing works (or doesn’t work). These theories might be true for you, but are not an adequate basis for strategic decision making in an organization unless you are the organization’s only customer! You are probably not the target audience for most organizations we will study, so you have to be careful to avoid thinking that what YOU want is what the actual target audience wants. However, I do hope that learning more about how marketing works will help you to be a better consumer, and to more effectively evaluate organizations who desire your business.
Course Materials: Packet of cases, available from Uniprint.
Academic Standards:
Each student should carefully review the Code of Student Conduct, which is available at http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp. Pay particular attention to the Academic Misconduct section. Any instances of suspected academic misconduct will be handled in accordance with section 3335-23-05: Initiation and investigation of code violations. Ignorance of this code is NOT an excuse for violations.
Attendance:
I do not take attendance, but being in class is necessary if you are to perform well on the final exam. If you cannot attend regularly, you should not plan to take this course this quarter. If you have competing interests that require you to be out of class, you should be prepared to accept any consequences of your absence. Emergencies or extreme circumstances should be discussed with the instructor and with your team with as much advance notice as possible.
Evaluation:
Team Homework Assignments: 7@ 10 points: 70 points
Each team will submit 7 homework assignments. The assignments are listed in the course syllabus. The homework assignments will help you to be prepared for class so that you can effectively participate in and learn from the class meetings.
Final Exam: 30 points
A comprehensive final exam will be administered on-line during a time window which will include the last class session. Details about the exam will be shared in class and on Carmen later in the quarter.
Peer Evaluations:
A student’s grade will be reduced when the peer evaluations, administered at the end of the course, consistently show that the student was not an effective contributor to the group’s efforts. The severity of the reduction will be based on the consistency and magnitude of the peer evaluations. Consistent and very poor peer evaluations will result in a greater reduction than less consistent or less harsh peer evaluations. Peer evaluations are confidential but not anonymous.
Working in teams is a reality of the workplace and learning to work in teams is an important part of your training here at Fisher. At work you do not choose your colleagues, and you must produce required outcomes in any team to which you are assigned. That is also true in this course. You will not choose your teams, but you are expected to contribute in an effective way to the team because that is a requirement of the course.
General Grading Information:
There are no “do-overs” or extra credit. The course is demanding but you are expected to provide the highest quality deliverables on the first attempt. If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, how can you possibly make time to do it again? Your grade on any assignment serves a diagnostic role – poor quality outcomes will receive poor grades.
Grading Scale:
94 – 100 A 74 – 77 C
91 - 93 A- 71 – 73 C-
88 – 90 B+ 68 – 70 D+
84 – 87 B 64 – 67 D
81 – 83 B- 61 – 63 D-
78 – 80 C+ 60 and below E
General Course Guidelines:
· Please let me know if you are a client of Student Disability Services and need accommodations to make the learning environment more effective.
· You are responsible for everything that takes place in class, whether you are present or not. Please do not call or e-mail the instructor to ask what you will miss on any class day. The syllabus contains all relevant information. If you are absent you should speak with a colleague about sharing notes or insights that you missed.
· Class is far more interesting and enlightening when everyone is prepared, and when everyone participates.
· Team work is an important part of the learning model and is an important part of most work environments.
· If you must be late to class, or to leave early, please enter as unobtrusively as possible. This behavior is not encouraged, however.
· Turn off your electronic devices…music devices, phones, blackberries, etc. Do not wear ear phones in class. Do not take calls in class. Do not send or receive text messages during class. You may use iPads or laptops for note-taking, but if I see that you are doing anything other than class work I will require you to shut it down.
· E-mail is the most effective way to reach me. In your e-mail subject line, please use the words "Marketing Student" so I know the message is from a student.
· Have fun!
What you can expect of the instructor:
· Timely feedback on graded assignments.
· Class is conducted in an organized fashion, instructor is prepared and class will begin on time and end on time.
· Timely response to e-mail.
· Changes to the syllabus or to normal routine will occur only for very compelling reasons.
· Differences of opinion will be treated with respect – independent thinking based on solid evidence is encouraged.
· All attempts will be made to create a class that is challenging and interesting.
Course Schedule: Cases (in italics) should be read and analyzed prior to each class meeting
Meeting 1: August 28 / Course Introduction, review of syllabus
Meeting 2: September 4 / A review of useful business analysis tools
(SWOT, 5 Forces, Marketing attractiveness/competitive advantage, Strategy Canvas)
Team Assignments
Meeting 3: September 11 / Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines
HBSP Case: 9-602-065
Trial Homework (not to be submitted): Calculate 1) the number of passengers per employee and 2) the number of employees per aircraft for Southwest and its competitors. Why is this data relevant to the key problem in the case?
Assignment to Teams
Team Meetings
Meeting 4: September 18 / The Fashion Channel
HBSP Case #2075
Homework 1 due: Each team must complete the spreadsheet in Exhibit 4 of the case (page 11).
Meeting 5: September 25 / Rosewood Hotels and Resorts: Branding to Increase Customer Profitability and Lifetime Value
HBSP Case #2087
Homework 2 due: Each team must complete the top part of the spreadsheet, covering 2003, in Exhibit 8 (calculate the Average Guest Retention Rate and Average Gross Profit Per Guest). You do not have to complete the 0-6 year NPV calculation – we will discuss in class, though.
Meeting 6: October 2 / Atlantic Computer: A Bundle of Pricing Options
HBS Product # 2078
Homework 3 Due: Each team must submit a spreadsheet (or sheets) showing the calculations of selling price for each pricing option described on Page 6 of the case, plus the expected revenues of each option.
Meeting 7: October 9 / XM Satellite Radio (A)
HBS Case 9-504-009
Part 1:
Homework 4 Due: Each team must submit a spreadsheet showing the calculation of the retail selling price of XM enabled radios based on cost to manufacture and margins demanded by manufacturers and retailers.
Meeting 8: October 16 / XM Satellite Radio (A)
Part 2:
Class Discussion: Be prepared to make recommendations for channel partners, target audiences and whether or not to launch XM with advertising.
Meeting 9: October 23 / Corona Beer (A)
HBSP Case 9-502-023
Part 1:
Homework 5 Due: Each team must submit a spreadsheet which shows the relative effectiveness (case sales) of the advertising expenditures of Corona vs. Heineken.
Meeting 10: October 30 / Corona Beer (A)
Part 2:
Class Discussion: Be prepared to make recommendations for which audiences to target, and which consumption experiences (on premise or off premise) should be the focus of promotions.
Meeting 11: November 6 / Executive Health Group
HBS case 9-599-048
Homework 6 Due: Each team must submit a spreadsheet which calculates 1) the average number of exams provided by EHS’s largest (top 15%) corporate accounts and 2) a comparison of the cost per exam of spending on new client acquisition versus spending on retaining clients.
Meeting 12: November 13 / Centra software
HBS Case #9-502-009
Homework 7 Due: Create a spreadsheet that compares the efficiency and effectiveness of telesales reps versus field reps.
November 20 / NO CLASS MEETING: ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY
Meeting 13: November 27 / Saxonville Sausage
HBS Product #2088
Class Discussion: How do you make a decision about where and how to launch the Italian sausage when the data isn’t entirely clear?
Meeting 14: December 4 / Comprehensive final exam, covering all cases and class discussion, administered on-line. Details to be announced during the quarter.
Note: All homework is due by NOON on the appropriate date to the Carmen drop box. Each team must submit ONE entry. Make sure your homework is correct and complete before you submit it to Carmen to avoid multiple entries. Each member of the team will receive the same grade for the homework. Late submissions will be penalized. Don’t be late!
Every student must take the on-line exam during the assigned time period (usually 24 hours). If there are EXTREME circumstances that make this impossible, please discuss with the instructor as far in advance as possible. I will not make exceptions for travel, job interviews, etc. as the exam window will include the regularly scheduled class time when each of you is expected to be available.
Homework Instructions:
Each team will complete 7 homework assignments. The homework assignments are due at NOON. Please check the syllabus for the specific due dates for each assignment. Late homework will be penalized. No homework will be accepted once class begins. So don’t be late!
You will complete your homework as a team. Yes, this process puts a burden on you to have to work with your team almost continuously during the quarter. However, you should be able to manage your time and efforts so that most, if not all, of your work can be done virtually. Each person on the team receives the same grade on the homework. Team peer evaluations administered at the end of the class will be used to identify people who did not contribute effectively. Peer evaluations can lower grades substantially. Be a good team member. It is not a suggestion, it is the expectation of the course.
Each homework requires you to perform a quantitative analysis. These analyses do not require complex mathematics. The point of the analysis is not to give you practice in math – no one wants or needs that – the point is to help you learn how to take basic data and analyze it for the INFORMATION that it can provide to help solve a problem. This is a challenge you will face daily in your work life, and practicing to become competent will give you an edge at work.
Each homework assignment is worth 10 points. You will receive the full 10 points if your analysis is complete and essentially correct (we can disagree on subtle points that could be resolved with discussion, but your base logic must be consistent with the case facts and you can’t “make up” data). If the analysis uses data incorrectly, or is not complete, then points will be deducted accordingly. There is no re-do of homework assignments. We will discuss the analysis in class, and therefore we will be providing solutions during the discussions, making a re-do completely irrelevant.
If you cannot commit to a full semester of attention to this homework schedule, please take the class during another semester when you can devote the necessary time to the course.
General Instructions: Analyzing a Case to Determine the Strategy
A case is a set of facts in search of a solution (strategy = directions for action).
In class, we will discuss what we have learned about the organization by doing the homework, and will then expand the discussion to actually help the organization develop a strategy to solve the problem it is facing. In most cases, the organization has to act; doing nothing is rarely an option in these cases. Also, you can’t dodge the situation by a recommendation of “do more research.” The organization must move forward with the information at hand. Seldom do organizations have all the information they would like to have before making tough decisions.