Instructor: Dr. Randall S. Hansen
Office (LBC 414D) Phone: 822-7495
Office Hours: T/Th, 4:00-6:00; and by appointment

Objective:

Marketing Management is the capstone marketing course. You are all seniors; many graduating seniors. This course is designed to push your analytical and marketing abilities while empowering you to make critical marketing decisions based on a combination of facts, assumptions, and critical judgments. You may leave this course feeling a bit less sure of your marketing genius, but better prepared to handle any marketing issue that comes your way.

Because the course is a senior-level course, one of the last marketing classes you may take, the course is also designed to help bridge your transition to the working world and your marketing careers, both with the way the course is design as well as with some of the assignments.

Class Design:

This class is run as marketing department meetings. Our meetings will begin when the professor calls the group to order sharply at 2:30 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays Do NOT be late. We have daily assignments that must be completed outside of class time. We will use our meeting time to analyze, discuss, and debate the issue of the day. Students will serve the role of marketing assistants and the professor will serve the role of marketing manager.

Dress Code:

Formal business attire only; some business casual days to be announced. See calendar for details.

Not sure what this dress code means? Read When Job-Hunting: Dress for Success.

Student/Employee Benefits:

As with any job, you are entitled to a number of benefits, as outlined below.

• Vacation Days: 2 (Spring Break)
• Company Holidays: 2 (1/31, 4/15)
• Personal Days: 1 (paid; thereafter, penalties)
• Sick Days: 2 (see details below)
• Long-Term Illness Plan: None (contact Dr. Hansen immediately)
• Pay (Grades): Based purely on level of performance. Pay Scale: 93-100 A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B; 80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60-62 = D-; under 60 = F.
• Bonuses: Weekly bonuses to top in-class performers
• Merit Pay: Time off to best marketing assistants

Graded Work (Pay):

There are 24 graded opportunities for you to showcase your marketing abilities, as outlined below.

• Weekly Case Analyses (8 @ 10 pts. each) -- 80 points
• Weekly Case Discussions (6 @ 10 pts. each) -- 60 points
• Midterm Exam -- 50 points
• Major Cases (3 @ 50 pts. each) -- 150 points
• Career Project/Presentation -- 10 points
• Marketing Knowledge Assignments (up to 5 @ 10 pts each) -- 50 points
• Total Potential Pay -- 400 points

Demotions/Penalties:

Marketing Management is a professional class; any deviations from the required elements will result in a zero grade for any class work or various penalties assessed to your final grade. Examples of behavior that will result in penalties:

• Attending unprepared
• Failure to take responsibility
• Improper attire
• Absences (no make-ups)
• Tardiness (no make-ups)
• Disruptions (including cell phones)
• Taking more than 1 personal day
• Taking more than 2 sick days

Sick Days & Personal Days:

You are allowed two sick days (excused absences) and one personal day during the semester. These absences must be communicated beforehand and marked as excused absences. If you have already used your allotted days, you'll have until the beginning of the next class to complete a 2,000-word full case analysis. After two days, you'll lose 10 points off of your final grade for each absence.

Professor Responsibilities:

In keeping with the format of this class, I see myself as your immediate supervisor. In that sense, I plan to mentor each of you so that you learn how to make the best decisions possible, to understand and apply key marketing concepts, and to prepare you to become productive employees upon graduation. I will do my best to help each of you grow into the best marketer you choose to become. Thus, besides class time -- where I will often put you on the spot -- I expect there will be many times we will communicate outside of class, and I will do my best to help you in a timely fashion.

Student Responsibilities:

You are expected to arrive to class on time, professionally dressed, and prepared for the day. You should be fully prepared to discuss and debate the course material assigned for that date. You are expected to participate at all levels and offer objective praise and criticism of your classmates’ analyses and conclusions. This course is not for the meek or timid. You must contribute to the greater understanding of marketing and marketing management. This course is a combination of doing (homework), thinking, and discussing.

Class Format:

Marketing Management is a discussion-driven course, thus the vast majority of our classes will be focused on discussion -- of marketing terms, marketing events, and marketing cases.

Our weekly case discussions will follow this format: For each class period, three students will be chosen to act as the marketing consultants -- providing key information and analysis; four students will be chosen to form the marketing board -- asking pertinent questions and challenging the consultants; and the remainder of the class will be the rest of the marketing department -- participating in the discussion and raising questions or comments to either of the first two groups.

Why we use cases: The methodology of this course is to learn by doing. You will develop better decision-making skills by learning how to use marketing concepts to analyze the case histories of actual companies and the marketing problems/opportunities their management team faced. You will then practice using your analyses to formulate critical marketing decision-making processes in the form of alternative solutions and recommendations.

Graded Assignments:

Marketing Management is a case-driven course, thus for just about every week of the semester we will be analyzing and discussing cases.

1. Weekly Case Analyses. We will analyze 8 cases during the semester. We will discuss each case for 2 class periods. You will complete two different analyses for each case, explained in detail by following this link to Marketing Management Case Worksheets (URL: http://www.randallshansen.com/marman_case_worksheets.html). Your two analyses for each case will be graded as one assignment -- with a total possible point value of 10 points.
2. Weekly Case Discussions. Six times during the semester you will serve as a member of the consulting team or marketing board. You will be graded purely on your verbal presentation of the material and your degree/level of participation. These assignments will be random, so you must come to class prepared to discuss the case. Each discussion has a value of up to 10 points.
3. Midterm Exam. Near the middle of the semester, as stated in the calendar, there will be a midterm examination. The exam will be worth up to 50 points.
4. Major Cases. Three times during the semester you will complete a detailed written case analysis. Your analysis should follow the pattern we establish in the weekly case analyses. Each case is worth up to 50 points. A complete description of this assignment, with detailed guidelines, can be found here: Writing a Marketing Management Case (URL: http://www.randallshansen.com/marman_case_writing.html).
5. Career Project/Presentation. Because many of you are now job-hunting -- or should be -- this course has an element of career transition in it, as well. You are to clearly define the type of marketing job you seek upon graduation and then identify 5 companies where you would like to work. Be sure you have complete information about each company: the full name, the location (including address), name of the hiring manager, key products/services, and other vital information. You will discuss your findings on a designated class day and submit a full written report. This assignment is worth up to 10 points.
6. Marketing Knowledge Assignments (MKAs). You will be assigned, during the course of the semester, five marketing concepts to define and discuss. Your goal should be a detailed understanding of the term and how it is used in marketing. You may also be asked to discuss your results with the class. MKA reports should be no more than 500 words, but fully cited and sourced. Each MKA is worth up to 10 points.
7. Bonuses: Up to two people each class period will be eligible to receive bonuses for performances that are clearly superior to the efforts of the rest of the class. Any bonus points earned during the semester will be added to your final grade. These are not brown-nosing points; think of them as quality work points.
8. Merit Pay: At some point in the semester, 10-20 percent of the best (highest average grades) performing marketing assistants may be excused from completing written elements of a case.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the semester, you will know how to:

• Critically analyze information and material presented to you;
• Use marketing concepts to develop a clear understanding of a company’s product line, target market, positioning, distribution, promotion, and price strategies -- leading to a specific problem statement and a discussion of underlying problems.
• Analyze the opportunities and threats in the external marketing environment.
• Formulate detailed alternative solutions that rationally address how to solve the problem.
• Analyze and evaluate alternative solutions and make a cogent recommendation on what solution needs to be taken to resolve the problem.

Texts:

Case Book: Strategic Marketing. Cravens & Piercy

Readings: Fortune

Classroom Rules/Etiquette:

Personal responsibility is the name of the game. Know what is expected of you and come to class prepared.

Professionalism is required in all aspects of your classroom behavior. I expect heated discussion and arguments when discussing these cases -- but you must always keep the conversation professional.

Please do not hold conversations with classmates whenever the professor or another student is speaking. Your undivided attention in class is a must. An atmosphere of mutual respect is in order.

All cell phones and other devices MUST be turned off or to silent mode.

Please note: The professor reserves the right to request a student to leave if his or her behavior seems inappropriate and disrespectful.

Class will begin and end as directed by the professor. Please do not shuffle papers, close books, or offer other hints as to the time.

Useful Tools/Advice:

This course is time and labor intensive. Be certain to schedule enough time in your weekly planning to accomodate.

You need to have good access to the Web and an e-mail account. Your e-mail account can be your free Stetson account, or any other of your choosing -- as long as you check it on a regular basis.

Please always do your best work.

Etc.:

Times and dates are subject to change -- check the Marketing Management Calendar for the most current due dates. Be prepared.

It is expected that all work you submit for a grade in this class be original and prepared for this class only.

I am always willing to see my students and will go out of my way to schedule meetings. Please make sure that if you make an appointment, that you keep it.

Finally, as will quickly become apparent, e-mail is by far the easiest and most reliable method to reach me.

Go back to Dr. Randall Hansen's Courses Page.