MARKETING MANAGEMENT (752)
Spring, 2008
H. Lee Mathews
534 Fisher Hall
292-2700
Office Hours:
By Appointment
Course Materials
1. Case Packet available at Cop-ez.
An Overview of Marketing Strategy Formulation and Implementation
This course is concerned with the strategic marketing management of corporations. The first portion of the course focuses on the formulation of marketing strategy. It begins by establishing an understanding of the importance of strategic direction and leadership. Most of the time is devoted to an analysis of the structure of the industry(ies) in which a firm participates, the behavior of competitors, and their implications for the marketing strategy of the company.
In essence, the materials covered establish that marketing economic decisions are not made in a vacuum. Marketing strategy must be formulated and carried out in an economic, political, and social arena. Once a strategy has been selected, the appropriate systems must be in place in order to facilitate implementation: systems for control, information, planning, compensation, and the like.
In most instances, the perspective taken in this course is that of the marketing V.P. who is responsible for the long-term viability of the entire enterprise or a division thereof. Management at this level requires not only a broad vision of the firm, but also an in-depth understanding of operations. Thus, it will be necessary for you to draw heavily on the knowledge gathered from the functional and analytical courses. Successful managers are highly competent in problem identification and analysis and have a strong action orientation. One purpose of this course is to provide an environment to allow you to develop these skills while, at the same time, gaining a conceptual understanding of the complexity of the strategic manager’s task.
It is important for you to realize that marketing management is more than analysis. While strategic analysis is a major part of this course, there are tradeoffs inherent within organizations that consist of many players with multiple competing objectives. Thus, strategic marketing management requires only part of running a business. Knowing how to execute the selected strategy is essential. Effective implementation does not happen simply because a general manager analyzes and conceptualizes brilliantly and snaps his or her fingers. Things tend to get done only if others share the commitment and champion the cause.
Course Objectives
1. Development of a clear understanding of the concept of marketing strategy and the importance of strategic thinking.
2. Development of an awareness of the variety of effects external environmental forces have on corporations and their strategies.
3. Practice in distinguishing basic causes of business problems versus attendant symptoms.
4. Development of habits of orderly analytical thinking and skill in reporting conclusions effectively in both written and oral form.
5. Practice in utilizing a conceptual framework for analyzing industries and competitors.
6. Development of an appreciation for both the scope and depth required of effective marketing managers.
Classroom Performance
Class Preparation
Your preparation for and participation in class will be fundamental to the course objectives stated above. The course is designed around the case method, and all reading assignments have been selected to assist you in case analysis.
In order to derive maximum benefit from this method, it is essential that you mentally “get inside” the case situation. Do not approach a case as you would a chapter in a book or an article in a magazine. You are not an observer but a participant. If a case centers on a decision that needs to be made, put yourself in the shoes of the decision maker. Feel the frustration he or she feels with respect to data limitations. Feel the pressures he or she feels with respect to difficult tradeoffs, limited resources, political conflicts, or whatever. Once in class, share your ideas with others as we work jointly to resolve the issues.
In preparing a case, it is recommended that your first reading be a relatively quick one. Who and what are involved here? What seem to be the major questions or issues? With your second and much more thorough reading of the case, test your preliminary conclusions from the first reading concerning the major problem(s) and key players. Begin sifting through the facts in the case and sorting them out in terms of which are useful to you in analyzing and resolving what appear to be the major issues. Keep in mind that case facts are presented in a more orderly fashion than they tend to be in the real world, but that one should not assume that they are all equally useful or that they are properly and fully related as presented in the case. A statement on page 3, when combined with the data in a table found on page 10 may be of great significance. There may also be factual gaps which you will need to fill with reasonable assumptions which are clearly identified as such. Perhaps most importantly, you should keep in mind that the mere collection and recitation of case facts are of little value. It will be assumed that everyone in the classroom will be quite familiar with the facts of the situation. Thus, the problem is not one of citing facts, but of identifying problems and using the facts in analysis which offers insights with respect to the nature of the problems and their solution. A third careful reading of the case should enable you to test your earlier analysis and modify it or enhance it with data or insights which may have been overlooked in the first two readings (if you had the luxury of reading a case ten times, it is very likely that you would learn something new even with the tenth reading).
You are encouraged to test your ideas on others prior to the class meeting. Students tend to find study groups to be enormously beneficial in this course. For the sake of preparation, you should assume that every class will begin with a request for your group to lead off the discussion.
In the Classroom
Each class session will begin with one student or study group being asked to provide a ten to fifteen minute lead-off presentation of his or her analysis of the case. Most likely, we will assign one group to prepare and present each case. This presentation will be a discussion of the issues involved in the case.
An effective lead off can do a great deal to enhance a case discussion. It provides a structure, a tone and a quality level which may encourage the class to probe more deeply into the issues of the case. After the lead off presentation, the discussion will be opened to the remainder of the class. Others may choose to build on the lead off discussion, present a significantly different alternative, or focus sharply on one or more issues which seem to have been developed inadequately or perhaps overlooked. You are strongly encouraged to prepare an outline of your analysis of each case which could be used for your lead off if you should be called upon to start the class session.
At the beginning of each class there will be a sign up sheet. Please stop at the front desk and initial your name. I will use this list to call on people for participation grades. Since the class begins with a lead off presentation, you must sign in before the presentation starts; other wise you will be counted absent and not eligible to participate in the participation portion of the class.
This outline will lead to a much more effective lead off than sifting through all of your notes and trying to collect your thoughts on the run. In addition, it will serve as a useful reference as you evaluate and contribute to the class discussion, even if you do not start the case. If you are inadequately prepared to lead off the discussion of a particular case, you may:
1) ask me before class not to call on you,
2) pass when you are called, or
3) “wing it.”
These actions are listed in increasing order of negative evaluation.
The instructor’s role in the class is to help facilitate discussion. In part, I serve as a recording secretary, clarifier, and intensive questioner in order to help you present and develop your ideas. My primary role is to manage the class process and to assure that the class achieves an understanding of the case situation. While I may probe to encourage you to develop the implications or foundations of a comment, this is done in a spirit of enhancing the effectiveness of the class discussion. I will make every effort to avoid embarrassment of any class member.
Clearly, there is no single correct solution to any of these problems. There are, however, solutions which are inadequately supported with analysis, and there are solutions and analyses which are ineffective because they are not presented in an orderly and persuasive fashion. We should work together to see to it that each class session is a lively, stimulating, and intellectually rewarding venture in group learning. We are individually and collectively responsible for achieving that end. There may be occasions in which the class will be allowed to wander to no apparent productive end. The frustration of such occasions should provide you with a perspective within which to evaluate your performance as a class and encourage you to work together to prevent recurrence. You should not rely on the instructor to hand you a structure for analysis or to identify crucial issues for you. Development of these skills is an important objective of the course.
Each case has its own integrity and, thus, it stands on its own. You are expected to deal with the case as it is presented and not to draw on other published materials or analyses or notes which have been prepared previously by others. You may draw on personal experiences if you believe they are substantive, insightful, and generalizable. Generally, we are not concerned with what was the actual outcome of the case. Such an approach would imply that there was a “right answer.” The outcome of the situation may or may not reflect a good solution. In those instances where there was a particularly interesting outcome, it will be shared with the class.
Evaluation of Class Discussion Contributions
The vast majority of general managers’ interactions with others are oral. They generally spend very little time reading and even less time writing reports. For this, reason, the development of oral skills is given a high priority in this course. The classroom should be considered a laboratory in which you can develop and test your ability to engage in a productive exchange of ideas with your peers and to convince your peers of the correctness of your position. Some of the issues related to effective class participation are:
1. Are the points that are made relevant to the discussion in terms of increasing everyone’s understanding, or are they merely a regurgitation of case facts?
2. Do the comments take into consideration the ideas offered by others earlier in the class, or are the points isolated and disjointed? (the best class contributions following the lead off tend to be those which reflect not only excellent preparation, but good listening, interpretative, and integrative skills as well).
3. Do the comments show evidence of a thorough reading and analysis of the case?
4. Does the participant distinguish among different kinds of data; that is, facts, opinions, assumptions, et cetera?
5. Is there a willingness to test new ideas or are all comments cautious/”safe”?
6. Is the participant willing to interact with other class members by asking questions or challenging conclusions?
7. Are the comments crisp and to the point, or does the participant wander around the point or ramble after the point has been made?
In essence, the two key dimensions of classroom participation are the value of what you have to say and the effectiveness with which you say it. Clearly, you must participate in class if either of these dimensions is to be evaluated and if you are going to engage in an exchange of ideas with others. There is not need to speak in every class. Some of the best contributors may speak in only three or four sessions, but their contributions will be insightful and persuasive. The issue is one of quality not quantity or frequency. A single minute of wasted class time not only represents one and one-third man-hours of potential productivity, but it also limits the opportunity of others to contribute.
The class size also makes it likely that there will be times when you experience the frustration of not being called on. If you feel you are having a problem either of being passed over regularly or in getting your hand up (stage fright), please see me. To preserve order and fairness, I will request that students speak only when called upon.
Oral Strategy Presentation
Each group in the course will be asked to participate in a presentation on one aspect of marketing strategy. Students will be organized into groups of five or six for this assignment. Groups should feel free to formulate their own structure and the approach that they think will be most effective in communicating their strategy paper. Each group will be allowed a maximum of twenty minutes for its presentation so the format and organization should be precise and hard-hitting. Every member of the group will speak. Handouts will be appreciated.
Evaluation
Your grade in the course will be based on the following weights.
Class Discussion Contribution 35 percent
Oral Presentation on Strategy 20 percent
Lead Off Presentation (s) 20 percent
Written Case Analysis (2 cases) 25 percent
The two written cases may not be the one you are asked to develop a lead off presentation