Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer
Nigel Barker
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
MGSM820
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides students with a systematic approach to evaluate and apply advanced marketing frameworks, concepts and methods to make strategic marketing decisions that sustain a broader corporate strategy; building on tactical marketing areas covered in other units, such as marketing communication, market research and CRM. As such, we focus on how to develop, design and adapt marketing strategy within the constraints of a company’s overall objectives, business model, competitive environment, life-cycle stage of the market and relationship with its customers and stakeholders.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Marking criteria will be made available in class/ iLearn
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Strategy Workbook | 10% | No | 10 June 2018 |
MarkStrat Performance | 15% | No | Each Session |
MarkStrat Performance Review | 15% | No | Session 10 |
Audit Report | 20% | No | 10 June 2018 |
Final Examination | 40% | No | 11 - 16 June 2018 |
Due: 10 June 2018
Weighting: 10%
The strategy workbook component commences in the second session.
Students will apply concepts discussed in class to a product/company of their choice. Over the sessions, the Strategy Workbook will help students to identify the areas of marketing strategy that pose critical threats and opportunities to their chosen product/company. At the conclusion of the coursework, students will use the content of their strategy workbook as a starting point for their marketing strategy audit and plan.
Due: Each Session
Weighting: 15%
Students will participate in the computer-based marketing management and strategy simulation Markstrat Online. It is a sophisticated marketing simulation that provides a challenging decision-making exercise in which complex strategic marketing decisions must be made within a competitive and realistic context. Students will participate in their allocated study group and, as a group, will manage their hypothetical firm in competition with other teams over the course of the program. The objective of this exercise is to place students into a realistic operating environment that requires the integration of complex strategy, marketing research, planning and decision-making. Groups will be evaluated on the basis of their overall strategies and competitive results. Groups are expected to be democratic and self-managing. The decision rules of the game are detailed and extensive. Thus, it is essential that each student has access to a copy of the student manual and makes continual reference to it. The game requires seven decisions to be made simulating seven years of operations. Decisions will be made according to the program in this guide. Decisions must be received by due dates as the simulation closes at the time of the beginning of each lecture. Teams will also be expected to give an informal debrief outlining their initial strategies, where they went right (and wrong), their results and key conclusions.
The Markstrat licences will be supplied by MGSM. The licences and details will be distributed in the first class.
Due: Session 10
Weighting: 15%
Each company will present in class a briefing to the new team that will take over the management of their firm.
Each company will have a maximum of 20 minutes to verbally present and will also be required to submit an overview report (powerpoint slides will be acceptable) immediately after the presentation. The presentation component is worth 15%.
Mark allocation: The written assignment is worth 15% of your total grade. Marks will be allocated as follows:
Analysis of past performance
1 marks
Main strategies pursued
2 marks
Main adjustments made to changes in the environment
3 marks
Key points learned through past successes and failures
4 marks
Recommendations for the future
3 marks
Delivery/style
2 marks
Total
15 marks maximum
Due: 10 June 2018
Weighting: 20%
You will be required to make recommendations for the future marketing strategy for the company/product you have been using as the focus of your strategy workbooks.
The purpose of the assignment is to give you practical experience in strategic marketing planning. For your assignment, you will:
Mark allocation: The written assignment is worth 20% of your total grade. Marks will be allocated as follows:
Identification of critical issues
max 5 marks
Quality, clarity and integration of strategic recommendations
max 10 marks
Use of primary and secondary data to support recommendations
max 5 marks
Total:
max 20 marks
Formatting and referencing: You should use normal assignment format: (e.g. one and a half spacing minimum, at least 2.5 cm/one inch margins and 12 point font). In the document, you should pay close attention to acknowledging all sources of data, especially existing internal company documents, plans, market research studies etc. You should also give careful attention to presentation and the use of appropriate essay style and format. In particular, you should cite any references fully and in an acceptable style e.g. following the style of The Journal of Marketing, or the European Journal of Marketing.
The word limit is absolute. Assignments which are longer than the prescribed limit will be penalised up to one grade.
Extra supportive material can be included as an appendix. Any appendices should be clearly numbered and referred to in the body of the report.
Submission: You should submit an electronic copy of your assignment by the indicated due date/time into iLearn. The electronic copy will be submitted to automatic plagiarism software (Turnitin).
You are also expected to submit one hard copy of your assignment by the same due date in the assignment dropbox which is located opposite the café entrance.
Late assignments will be penalised up to 10% per day unless you have applied for special consideration, and that application is considered acceptable. Applications for extensions must be made before the submission date, and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. Since most of us suffer from constant pressure of work, it would not be considered an ‘exceptional circumstance’.
Please note that no extension will be given.
You will be given additional information about the suggested content and format of the assignment in our first session.
Due: 11 - 16 June 2018
Weighting: 40%
Duration: 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time
The exam format will be CLOSED book, and will consist of a case study with a combination of short answer and essay style questions.
Required Text
Walker, O., Gountas, J., Mavondo, F., Kriz, A., Osborne, C. and Mullins, J., 2015, Marketing Strategy - A Decision-Focused Approach, 3rd Edition, McGraw Hill, ISBN: 9781743078778
For information on textbook prices and online ordering, please refer to the Co-Op Bookshop webpage at http://www.coop.com.au
Recommended Text
Hooley, G., Piercy, N. and Nicoulaud, B. (2008), Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning – 4th Edition, Prentice Hall.
Other Readings
Additional readings will be provided in class as required.
Useful references include the marketing academic journals i.e.
Trade publications:
And general management journals:
The American Marketing Association has an excellent website covering a range of marketing issues at https://www.ama.org/ including an online dictionary: https://www.ama.org/resources/Pages/Dictionary.aspx
Many of these references can be reached on-line through on-line databases such as EBSCOhost. For a direct link to the library databases, see the MGSM student home page under the section ‘Research links’
Writing resources
If you lack confidence in writing in English, particularly academic writing and/or business reports, The Macquarie University Library provides three excellent web sites covering writing skills, researching online and a guide to citations and referencing http://www.students.mq.edu.au/support/learning_skills/
http://www.mq.edu.au/about/campus-services-and-facilities/library
MGSM iLearn
The web page for this unit can be found at: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MGSM
Block dates: 18-20 May 2018; 2-3 June 2018 (9am-5pm)
Session |
Date |
Topic |
Walker et al |
Other readings |
Laying the foundations for Marketing Strategy |
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1 |
18 May |
Introduction to marketing strategy |
Chapter 1 |
Markstrat Student Manual Kumar, N. (2008). The CEO's Marketing Manifesto. Marketing Management, 17(6), 24-29
Rosenzweig, P. (2007). Misunderstanding the Nature of Company Performance: The Halo Effect and Other Business Delusions. California Management Review, 49(4), 6- 20. |
2 |
18 May |
Fundamental decisions – who are we? What are we all about? |
Chapters 2, 3 |
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3 |
19 May |
What’s going on? Who to attack? Environmental and competitor analysis (Markstrat decision 1)
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Chapter 4 |
Bock, T., and Uncles, M. (2002). A Taxonomy of Differences Between Consumers for Market Segmentation, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 19(3), 215-224.
Christensen, C., Cook, S., and Hall, T. (2005). Marketing Malpractice, Harvard Business Review, 83(12), 74-83.
Gilmore, J and Pine, B. (2007), Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, Harvard Business School Press; Chapter 9, 179-218.
Kapferer, J. N (2008). The New Strategic Brand Management – 4th edition , Kogan Page, Chapter 2, 31-49.
Hatch, M., and Schultz, M. (2009). Of Bricks and Brands: From Corporate to Enterprise Branding. Organizational Dynamics, 38(2), 117-130
Hooley, G., Piercy, N. and Nicoulaud, B. (2008), Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning – 4th Edition, Prentice Hall; Chapter 13, 371-392
Deschamps, J and Nayak, P (1995), Product Juggernauts, Harvard Business School Press; Chapter 3, 70-112.
Michel, S., Brown, S., and Gallan, A. (2008). Service-Logic Innovations: How To Innovate Customers Not Products. California Management Review, 50(3), 49-65. |
4 |
19 May |
What makes us different? Sources of competitive advantage and weapons of war. (Markstrat decision 2) |
Chapters 6, 7 |
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5 |
20 May |
The marketing strategy toolkit. Segmentation, targeting, positioning and branding (Markstrat decision 3) |
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Strategic options |
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6 |
20 May |
Innovation strategies (Markstrat decision 4, 5) |
Chapters 8, 9 |
Von Krogh, G and Cusumano. M. (2001). Three Strategies for Managing Fast Growth. MIT Sloan Management Review, 42(2), 53-61.
Ritson, M. (2009). Should You Launch a Fighter Brand?. Harvard Business Review, 87(10), 86-94.
Füller, J. (2010). Refining Virtual Co-Creation from a Consumer Perspective. California Management Review, 52(2), 98-122.
Ambler, T. (2001), What does marketing success look like? Marketing Management, 10(1), 12-18.
Kumar, N (2004) Marketing as Strategy, Chapter 8, 211-245. |
7 |
2 Jun |
Competitive strategies (Markstrat decision 6) |
Chapters 10, 11 |
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8 |
2 Jun |
Strategies for maintenance and CRM (Markstrat decision 7) |
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Strategy Implementation, Measurement and Improvement |
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9 |
3 Jun |
Implementation and marketing ethics (Markstrat decision 8) |
Chapters 12, 13 |
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Course Wrap-up |
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10 |
3 Jun |
Syndicate Group Presentations |
n/a |
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11-16 June 2018 Exam Week |
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Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by:
No changes from the previous offering
Leadership: The unit develops skills required of leaders with respect to the synthesis of a wide array of marketing information in order to make well-informed and robust strategic decisions.
Global mindset: The unit enhanced my ability to assess the implications of strategic decisions from a whole of entity perspective, across of a wide spectrum of stakeholders.
Citizenship: The unit developed my ability to apply an ethical and fair view approach to marketing decision making.
Creating sustainable value: The unit demonstrated adoption of a forward-looking perspective on the impact of decisions on the position and performance of an organization.
The interactive environment of the classroom is central to the MGSM experience. Students are required to attend the full duration of all classes for the units in which they are enrolled. We recognise that exceptional circumstances may occur, such as unavoidable travel on behalf of your organization or the serious illness or injury of you or a close family member.
Special consideration may be given for a maximum of 20% non-attendance for such circumstances as long as lecturers are contacted in advance, and supporting documentation provided, to request exemption from attendance. Failure to abide by these conditions may result in automatic withdrawal, with academic and/or financial penalty. The full Student Attendance Policy is published in the MGSM Student Handbook at https://students.mgsm.edu.au/handbook.
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