An assignment consisting of five progressive submissions will be due throughout the tutorial program for the semester. The first four submissions will be worth a maximum mark of 5%. The final fifth submission is worth a maximum of 10%. All marks are contingent on class contribution and discussion.

You are required to answer each set question in paragraph form. Your focus should be primarily on the marketing theory you are being asked to discuss. The application of a practical example should be a secondary consideration.

You must find one journal article from the university databases each week to support your answer, you must find two journal articles to support the final 5^th assignment submission.

Information from the journal article(s) should be used to support your solution and you must correctly reference the article both in-text as an in-text citation using the Harvard author date method, as well as at the end of your solution by including a full reference to the article.

They are to be formatted as follows; one single A4 page (strict page limit), size 11 times new roman font, single line spacing, registered student name, and student ID number printed at top of page along with topic title of submission. Each submission should be approximately 400 words in length.

They are to be submitted to your tutor in hard copy at the start SHARP of each tutorial. Submissions will not be accepted part way through the tutorial or at the end. They must be typed and printed.

Please bring a second printed copy of your solution to class in preparation for class discussion and presentation. You will be split in to your formal groups for discussion.

Your tutor will either set the product or service example, or they will select two class representatives in advance of each week’s tutorial and will ask them to bring/find/show a real world product or service example to class as an example of “show and tell.” The groups will then be required to apply the weeks set question to this new product or service example during class (brainstorm activity). The groups will then be randomly called on by the tutor to present their findings during the class.

The set questions are outlined in the presentation schedule contained below:

Choose a recent non-habitual purchase that you have made i.e. a product or a service that you do not purchase very often.  Discuss your purchase with reference to each of the 5 stages of the consumer decision making process. In your answer analyse the situational, group and individual factors that affected your decision-making process at each stage of the consumer decision making process.  

Penalties:

Assignment submissions will only be considered for the maximum mark per piece if the student attends the duration of the tutorial in which he/she is submitting his/her submission. If a student does not attend the class, or arrives late/leaves early, the submission will not be accepted or marked. Late submissions are not accepted and will be graded as a zero. Exceeding the page limit will lead to a two mark reduction out of the total marks available. Incorrect referencing in-text or in the reference list will lead to a deduction of two marks of the total marks available. Late submissions not accepted. Must be handed in at the start of your tutorial in which they are due.

Note: Knowledge of the content in the presentations will assist with preparing for the exam. Feedback and grades will be available via your tutor in the following week of tutorial class.

Students will be placed into groups in the first class.

Step 1. Choose one chapter from Kotler from either Chapter 9 OR 10.

Step 2. Select the theoretical topic that matches your chosen chapter;

·         Chapter 9; psychographic segmentation

·         Chapter 10; the nature of services

Step 3. Select one industry from the following that matches your chapter and theoretical topic;

·         Chapter 9 – select one from; Alcoholic beverages OR luxury goods

·         Chapter 10 – select one from; travel and tourism OR retailing

Step 4. Find at least six journal articles* from peer reviewed marketing journals on your topic to support your research

Step 5. Find at least two industry reports* from the Passport database on your industry to support your research

* Not meeting this minimum will result in an automatic 20% penalty.

Step 6. Discuss your selected theory and industry

·         Literature: Using your text as a starting point, and focusing on content from the journal articles you have chosen – How is this area defined? Why is this aspect important? What does the literature say about this area and marketing challenges faced within it? What has been researched and what has been found?

·     Application: Using your industry reports – Review the industry you have selected including the market, competitors, trends, growth, and opportunities. Then apply the theories/journal article research you have discussed to your chosen industry and outline the practical and managerial implications. NB. Your level of discussion should be based on an industry sector analysis level, and not on a specific brand within the industry.

NB. All group members must each complete the four research modules on iLearn. Completion of the modules counts towards your final group report. A penalty of 1% of the total report marks available will apply for each group member who does not complete all four modules. The four modules include; Harvard referencing, Peer-reviewed articles, Google scholar and searching and databases. Each contains a series of questions which you must complete correctly to progress to the next module.

Assessment requirements and tips

Tips: do some research and choose your industry FIRST to ensure that enough information is available to write your report.

Start by looking at the Passport database to see what information is available. Then look at the theories of marketing you wish to select and check to see whether there are journal articles available to support your theories using google scholar.

Choose a topic which has lots of data available so that you can write a high quality, fully informed, evidentially based piece of work. You must support all of your writing with research. It is not enough to write your report or any aspect of your report based primarily on the text, mere speculation or personal opinion/observation. This is a common weakness and will lead to a fail grade.

Suggested simple structure of your report (NB. You can vary this suggested structure as long as you address the report topic as per step 6):

a.    Introduction – name your industry category, and the theory you are reviewing. Set the context for your report. Your introduction should be a roadmap for the reader so they know where you are taking them.

b.    Industry – Overview of the market: size of the market, brand leaders, competitive set, changes in the market place, trends in consumer behavior influencing the market, opportunities, challenges, strengths, weaknesses etc – this section must be informed by at least two reports sourced from the Passport database

c.    Marketing theory – this section should be based on the text chapter (as only a basic starting point) and must be strongly supported by at least six journal articles. When using journal article research you should aim to;

·         Critically analyse, discuss, and evaluate the literature in relation to your chosen theory, topic and industry

·         Demonstrate use of written skills to insightfully integrate marketing concepts, create a coherent and rigorous discussion, and draw well supported conclusions

·         Demonstrate thorough, detailed and deep application of theory.

·        Tip. In addition to journal articles about your chosen theory, some journal articles also actually apply theory to specific industry sectors.

d.    Managerial implications, and strategies– incorporate and intertwine information from the industry reports and journal articles and link both to the managerial implications you put forward.

Penalties:

You must not exceed the 3000 strict word limit (this does not include the reference list but it does include all appendices, in text referencing, diagrams, tables, abstracts and title pages). Exceeding the limit by any amount will lead to an automatic deduction of 20% of the total assessment marks.

Reports must be formatted in size 12 font single spaced with a coversheet outlining group members names and ID numbers, title of submission, word count, and tutorial number

You must use Harvard author-date referencingsee http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/harvard.html. See also the University of Western Sydney YouTube channel for detailed practical examples.

You must submit your report via Turnitin. Any group with a similarity rating of 15% and above will automatically receive a grade of zero. You will be able to resubmit drafts to Turnitin in order to reduce your similarity index to the required level. Assessments submitted to other units cannot be used for submission in this unit.

Any submission made after the deadline will be graded as a zero. THIS IS STRICT. Exceptions will not be made for submissions that are late.

The lecturer has the final say in the adjustment of group-work marks. You may be removed from the group, if in the opinion of others and on the decision of the lecturer /tutor you are not contributing. Students in this situation will submit all group work on an individual basis. There is to be no-free riding in this course . In disputes over contributions to group work, you have 24 hours to provide physical evidence of your contribution to the unit coordinator. If you cannot do so the decision to moderate your group mark and or remove you from the group stands.

Your report must be submitted online VIA iLearn for MKTG101:

Submit softcopy to the plagiarism detection system ‘Turnitin’ VIA iLearn before the deadline on Sunday May 25 by 11:59pm. Please select one group member to upload on behalf of the group. You will need to find your tutorial’s dropbox, it will be labeled as follows:

            Tutor’s name

                                 For example:

                                    Jana’s Tutorials:

Please make sure that you are submitting to the correct dropbox.

Please note the following:

·         Your soft copy must include a title Page with full official student names (last name in CAPITALS), student ID numbers, tutors name, tutorial day, tutorial time and tutorial room number. It must also include your reference list. Please name your file as follows: Surnames_Tutor_Final Report.doc

·         Report should be formatted as follows; size 12 times new roman font, single line spacing, fully justified, each paragraph indented, headings in capitals and bold, sub-headings in upper and lower case and bold italics.

·         Reports will be marked electronically via GradeMark on Turnitin using iLearn, annotated with comments from the marker and your grades will be available for viewing on the Grades link via iLearn approximately 2-3 weeks after submission. An announcement will be made on iLearn when assignments have been marked.

Plagiarism Detection Software Use in Unit

It is the University's task to encourage ethical scholarship and to inform students and staff about the institutional standards of academic behaviour expected of them in learning, teaching and research. Students have a responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity in their work. Students must ensure they do not plagiarise. Plagiarism and the consequences of plagiarizing are discussed in section 10. In order to detect evidence of plagiarism in students’ work, this Unit utilizes the plagiarism detection software Turnitin. You must upload a soft copy of your essay to the appropriate section of Turnitin (through iLearn: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au), In order to familiarise you with Turnitin, we will undertake a practice run in week 4.

PLEASE NOTE: TURNITIN cross checks your essay against: websites, journal articles, books, and other student papers worldwide. Do not fall in to the trap of believing that you will get away with plagiarizing other authors work.

A final examination is included as an assessment task for this unit to provide assurance that:

i)             the product belongs to the student and

ii)            the student has attained the knowledge and skills tested in the exam.

A 2 hour final examination for this unit will be held during the University Examination period.You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations.

http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam

The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. The University’s policy on special consideration process is available at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/special_consideration/policy.html

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. (Individual Faculties may wish to signal when the Faculties’ Supplementary Exams are normally scheduled.)

The Macquarie university examination policy details the principles and conduct of examinations at the University.  The policy is available at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/examination/policy.htm

This 2 hour examination is worth 40% of your course assessment.  

The weighting of your final exam is as follows:

3 Essay Questions

(From a choice of 5)

Worth 40% of your total assessment

The exam will cover all Chapters from the textbook outlined in the Learning activities schedule, as well as all material discussed during lectures and tutorials.  It is the students’ responsibility to read the relevant textbook chapters and attend all case study presentations as part of the overall course requirements.

The University Examination period commences June 16 until July 4 2014.