Dr. Carol Bienstock

Mktg445: Marketing Strategy (Sections 01 & 02, Index 21729 &21730)

| Home | Vita | Links | Radford University | Department of Marketing| College of Business & Economics |

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

RADFORD UNIVERSITY

Spring 2012	Young 123
Class Hours: Section 01: 9:00am - 9:50am MWF Section 01: 10:00am - 10:50am MWF	Dr. Carol Bienstock
Office: 613 Downey St., #208	Office Hours: MW 11:00am - 2:30pm or contact me for an appointment
Telephone: 540.831.5301	e-mail:  cbienstoc@radford.edu

Course Description and Objectives

This course focuses on business level marketing strategy and is designed to provide an in depth analysis of the issues that impact the marketing function. The work you do this semester will enable you to analyze, compare, and evaluate firms' marketing strategies.This course assumes you have developed a basic understanding of marketing concepts and principles and have had in-depth exposure to some of the specialized areas of marketing.

The primary objectives of the course are:

1. To increase your understanding of the interrelationships among business environments and marketing strategies;
2. To provide you with experience in analyzing strategic marketing issues;
3. To enhance your experiences with group decision making;
4. To improve your critical thinking, analysis, decision making, and communication skills

This syllabus is designed to provide a general plan for the course. Deviations may become necessary.

Prerequisites

MKTG340 (Principles of Marketing)

Required Texts

1. Purchase the book, Outliers: The Story of Success, at the RU Bookstore (or online, e.g., Amazon)

Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell, Malcolm, Hatchette, 2008; ISBN 9780316017923.

2. Purchase your Markstrat Simulation License directly from the publisher using the link below:

The "Markstrat Strategy Simulation" link below contains the publisher's website and instructions for purchasing the Markstrat simulation software, license and software documentation.

Markstrat Strategy Simulation

Markstrat Course ID: A20070

3. Purchase the cases we will be discussing in class directly from Harvard Business School Publishing using the link below:

Harvard Business School Publishing

Academic Integrity

I view academic misconduct as a serious breach of trust and integrity in your roles as a student and a human being. Academic integrity is an essential part of any institution of learning. Radford University's Honor Code outlines certain actions or activities that are not consistent with academic integrity:

• Lying
• Stealing and possessing unauthorized material
• Cheating
• Fabrication and Falsification
• Multiple Submission
• Abuse of Academic Material
• Complicity in Academic Dishonesty
• Plagiarism

I am deeply committed to maintaining an environment of academic integrity in this classroom. Suspected acts of academic dishonesty will be investigated and reported consistent with the policies of Radford University.

Emergency Preparedness

Please note that in the event of a University-wide emergency, course requirements, class meetings, deadlines and grading policies/procedures may be subject to change. Potential changes include: alternative course delivery methods, revised attendance policies, or revised semester calendars. In case of a University-wide emergency, please refer to the following sources for possible course changes:

Course Syllabus and/or Course D2L page

For University information in an emergency situation, please refer to the RU Webpage

Course Grade

	Possible Points
Case Reading Assignment/Simulation Questions (D2L)	200 points
Professionalism	100 points
Outliers Reading Assignments (D2L)	200 points
Ranking of Company Stock Price Index (at end of Period 10)	200 points
Peer Evaluations	200 points
Markstrat Strategy Presentations	100 points
TOTAL	1000 points

Grading Scale:

A >= 90%

B 80% - 89%

C 70% - 79%

D 60% - 69%

F <= 59%

Case Reading Assignment/Simulation Questions During each class meeting, I'll pose a few questions about the case reading assignment or, alternatively, on the Markstrat simulation, in D2L - - the questions are to be answered in class, individually - you may not consult other students.

Professionalism A portion of your course grade will be determined by my perception of your professionalism, i.e., your overall demeanor with respect to the class, e.g., arriving on time, not leaving early (if you have a personal situation, please discuss it with me), submitting assignments on time, not "checking out" during class by visiting websites unrelated to class or using your smartphone (e.g., texting, checking email, Facebook, sports scores).

Most, if not all of you, are seniors, about to begin your professional careers. As you may be aware, there is a growing concern among many private sector companies about appropriate employee computer use. To help you prepare for your professional careers, the Internet use policy for this class is that websites not related to the class are off limits during class meetings. (NOTE: examples of class related websites are Markstrat, D2L, the class syllabus). I expect you to conduct yourselves in a professional manner and abide by this policy. However, if it proves necessary, all non-course related websites will be blocked during class.

Put your cellphone away when class starts. If I see a smartphone or if you are browsing unrleated websites during class your professionalism grade will be reduced.

Outliers Reading Assignments Over the course of the semester, we'll be reading Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell (who also wrote Tipping Point). Periodically (see Tentative Class Schedule for dates), I'll ask you some questions that are to be answered individually, during class in D2L for the section of the book assigned. The idea is to stimulate class discussions of the reading assignments.

Company Stock Price Index (at end of Period 10) At the end of Period 10 of the Markstrat simulation, the stock price indices for each team will be ranked in descending order, and each member of the team will receive points based on their team's stock price index ranking, as well as their individual peer evaluations. The means that all team members may not necessarily receive the same number of points for the team's stock prices index.

The stock price index is affected by multiple factors, e.g., market share, net contribution, cumulative net contribution, R&D expenditures, in other words, how well you manage your Markstrat company. All teams begin the simulation with an equal chance to win.

Peer Evaluations Twice during the semester I'll ask you to evaluate yourself and your simulation team members in terms of their contributions to your team's performance in the Markstrat strategy simulation. The format of this evaluation will be an online survey - I'll send you the link at the appropriate time. Deadlines for submission of Peer Evaluation 1 & 2 are on the Tentative Class Schedule.

Markstrat Strategy Presentations At the end of the semester, after the simulation is completed, your team will present the results of their efforts. This presentation is your final exam for the course.

A final note: I appreciate and expect that you are all adults who face many demands and are here to get as much out of this course as possible. Your attendance and active participation is essential if we are to have a lively and useful course experience. This means coming to class, being prepared, asking intelligent questions, contributing when appropriate, and listening attentively when appropriate.

Please grant me and your fellow students the courtesy of arriving for class on time and not leaving before class is over. Individuals who come into class after it has started or leave before it is over are exhibiting unprofessional behavior by creating a distraction for me and their fellow students. Furthermore, please do not expect to receive credit for an assignment if you attend class only to respond to the assignment, with the intention of leaving class after the assignment is over. This is unprofessional behavior and you will not receive credit for your response to the assignment. If you have a personal situation that requires you to leave class early, or come to class late, please discuss it with me.

Tentative Class Schedule

Date	Topic(s) & Activities	Assignment
1/18		Course Introduction Class Pictures
1/20	Introduction to Markstrat Simulation Markstrat Course ID: A20070	Markstrat Introduction I & 2
1/23	Introduction to Markstrat Simulation	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L Markstrat Registration must be completed by the time you come to class today
1/25	Introduction to Markstrat Simulation	Markstrat Tutorial (R&D 1) Questions in D2L
1/27	Introduction to Markstrat Simulation	Markstrat Tutorial (R&D 2) Questions in D2L
1/30	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
2/1	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
2/3	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
2/6	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
2/8	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 1 Decisions Due
2/10	Case #1 Discussion "Natureview Farm"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
2/13	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L Discuss Markstrat Period 2 Decisions
2/15	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 2 Decisions Due
2/17	Outliers Reading Assignment #1	pp. 3-90
2/20	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 2 Results
2/22	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
2/24	Case #2 Discussion "Google in China (A)"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
2/27	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
2/29	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 3 Decisions Due
3/2	Outliers Reading Assignment #2	pp. 91-158
3/3 - 3/11
3/12	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 3 Results
3/14	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 4 Decisions Due
3/16	Case #3 Discussion "IKEA Invades America"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
3/19	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L
3/21	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 5 Decisions Due
3/23	Case #3 Discussion "IKEA Invades America"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
3/26	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Simulation Quiz Questions in D2L DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PEER EVALUATION I: 5:00PM TODAY
3/28	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 6 Decisions Due
3/30	Case #4 "Marvel Enterprises, Inc."	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
4/2	Outliers Reading Assignment #3	pp. 161-232
4/4	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 7 Decisions Due
4/6	Case #4 "Marvel Enterprises, Inc."	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
4/9	Case #5 Discussion "XM Satellite Radio (A)"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
4/11	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 8 Decisions Due
4/13	Case #5 Discussion "XM Satellite Radio (A)"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
4/16	Case #6 Discussion "Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
4/18	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 9 Decisions Due
4/20	Case #7 Discussion "Apple Inc. in 2010"	Case Discussion Questions in D2L
4/23	Outliers Reading Assignment #4	pp. 232-285
4/25	Markstrat Simulation Team Meetings	Markstrat Period 10 Decisions Due Markstrat Strategy Presentation Information for Final Exam
4/27	NO CLASS MEETING	.
4/30		DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PEER EVALUATION 2: 5:00PM TODAY
FINAL EXAM	Markstrat Strategy Presentations	Section 01: 8:00am Wednesday, May 2 Section 02: 10:15am, Thursday, May 3