GBUS 623: Marketing Management Master Syllabus
Course Instructor:
Office Number:
Office Hours:
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Course Meeting Times:
Course Website: Canvas
Course Materials
The text for the course is Applied Marketing: Connecting Classrooms to Careers, 3rd Edition, by Daniel Padgett and Andrew Loos, Wiley, 2023. We will cover all the chapters. You have the following options:
- Physical print book option – ISBN 9781394163069. NET Price is: $105.00
- eBook only option- ISBN – 9781394233120. NET Price is: $95.00
- Wiley Plus with full eBook and resources- ISBN: 9781394163144. NET Price is $70.00
I recommend option three so you have access to the videos.
You need to buy a course pack of 4 Harvard cases.
You will need to read and study the text and assigned materials.
Students are expected to keep up with current events in marketing. Marketers must be curious. From time to time, class work and the text will be supplemented by suggestions for outside reading. These suggested materials will be for your interest and development, and they will not be the basis for examinations.
MSM Program Learning Goals and Course Objectives
This course has been designed specifically for the MSM program. All readings, exercises and exams are calibrated to meet your needs and the needs of others in the program.
The course addresses all of the Program Learning Goals, though some more than others. These goals as mapped to the course as follows:
- Teamwork: Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills needed to form, lead, and work effectively with diverse organizational teams.
- You will be put into groups and you will work on exercises with other students throughout the course.
- Knowledge of Functional Business Disciplines: Integrate knowledge of the functional areas of business into a meaningful firm level perspective.
- This is the primary goal of the course. You will be competent to develop and assess marketing plans, understand the scope of marketing activities, how marketers discover and address customers’ needs and how the marketing mix meets those customer needs. Throughout, you will examine how marketers create value for the firm and for its customers.
- Analysis: Analyze ambiguous, complex situations using appropriate tools, techniques and information systems for decision making.
- Virtually all marketing and marketing management deals with complex situations and multiple factors. Through exercises, classroom discussions, course-long assignments, and examinations, you will demonstrate your mastery of marketing-specific analysis.
- Communication: Effectively write, speak, and present information necessary to explain problems and solutions.
- Your work will be evaluated on written work and participation in class and class exercises.
- Global Awareness: Identify relevant factors when considering internationalization and global business practices.
- Most competition is global in today’s marketplaces. You will examine global implications in virtually each unit.
- Ethical Decision Making: Consider a set of relevant factors when making business decisions to ensure ethical business practices.
- Marketing focuses on customers’ behavior, and the marketer accepts an ethical responsibility as part of the professional code of ethics. Marketing is about effecting change, and marketers have an ethical responsibility to ensure the change avoids being harmful or destructive.
As the course objective, at the completion of this course you will have a firm foundation in the discipline of marketing. The focus of the course is to prepare you to be able to make informed, responsible and creative decisions affecting the organization and in marketing.
Your progress against this goal will be measured as noted below.
Class Structure
You are responsible for your learning. Classes will include a brief overview of the topics, but the focus will be on expanding the concepts through related materials, integration of other elements of the text, supplemental materials and the experience you and your colleagues bring to the class.
A typical class will bear this structure:
- Before the class, you will receive a reading assignment, and you are to prepare for the class using the text and assigned supplemental materials.
- Each class will include a discussion—going beyond not repeating—the assigned materials, classroom exercises done in groups; and, classroom discussion of your experience in the Running Case and other cases as per the schedule.
- Most classes will cover two chapters from the textbook.
- You will be assigned specific work each week, either individual or group. You need to look at the syllabus regularly and do the work as assigned in the weekly schedule.
- To enhance your learning, you should review the class, making special note of new information and incorporating that information to what you had developed before the class. This becomes the foundation for the next class.
- There are separate due dates for the assignment deliverables so you need to look at the weekly assignments in the schedule. Trying to do everything the night before is a recipe for disaster.
Class participation is essential for students to get full value from the class and submitting assignments and participation in discussions is necessary. You will be evaluated on the quality of your class participation.
Your learning will be evaluated in different ways:
- Examinations. There will be four tests as per the schedule. These will be taken on Canvas.
- Running Case application exercises will be a group exercise for work out of class in your team as well as individual ones in class. For each chapter you will be assigned one or two of the exercises that are part of the running case in the textbook on the project, This Bar Saves Lives.
- Other comprehensive cases as assigned.
- Class participation
Grades
Points may be earned as follows:
| Tests: 4 tests as per schedule (110 points each) | |
| Points from tests | 440 points |
| Running Case answers (7 at 20 points each) | 140 points |
| Class participation | 80 points |
| Comprehensive cases. (4 at 85 points each) | 340 points |
| TOTAL POINTS TO BE EARNED | 1,000 points |
Your final grade for the course will depend on the total number of points you earn:
| Points | Grade | Grade Points |
| 940-1,000 | A | 4.0 |
| 900-939 | A- | 3.7 |
| 870-899 | B+ | 3.3 |
| 830-869 | B | 3.0 |
| 800-829 | B- | 2.7 |
| 730-799 | C | 2.3 |
| 600-729 | D | 2.0 |
| Below 600 | F | 0.0 |
You may earn up to 1,000 points during the course of the class. Your grade will be determined by the total points you earn. Individual exams and assignments are not given letter grades.
The MSM program has specific expectations of students in terms of grades.
Excellent demonstrations of understanding, application, integration and clear understanding will distinguish efforts that receive the highest points in assignments. Concise, insightful responses and comments are preferred over rambling, unfocused responses.
Tests
Tests will consist of multiple-choice questions. They will be on Canvas. As the schedule permits, the class will review major concepts before the tests.
The tests will cover the textbook materials, supplemental materials from the class and all inclass presentations.
For the tests on Canvas, the student is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Any violation of the Honor Code will seriously jeopardize your academic standing.
Consistent with University policy, only provable, i.e., documented, absences due to personal illness or family emergencies constitute acceptable absences for missing exams. If a test is missed, you must make up the exam within one week. Unless you have made prior arrangements, a missed test will result in a penalty of 20 percent of the total for the examination.
Specific Responsibilities
To meet the course objectives, you will use readings, cases, assignments, project, discussion and research. Emphasis will be placed on learning and applying theories and techniques to a variety of situations.
Attendance is expected. Much of the material will be developed in class and in discussion. If there are emergencies or unavoidable absences, you should contact me prior to the class. All reading and assignments will be posted on the schedule and found in Canvas.
You must read the text. Lecture, notes and summaries will help you understand the text, but they cannot be considered an adequate substitute for reading the text.
Assignment Summaries
Running Case
Points to be earned (total): 140 points out of the 1,000 points available in the course. (20 points per week for 7 weeks). These are group assignments.
We will also do some discussion of the running cases in class and therefore you need to read the schedule regularly.
Due dates: As per the Schedule.
At the conclusion of each chapter in the text is a segment of the Running Case involving the development and marketing of the snack bar This Bar Saves Lives. In addition, there are short videos accompanying each chapter which demonstrates application of the chapter material.
Other Cases in the Harvard Course Pack
Points to be earned (total): 340 points out of the 1,000 points available in the course. (85 points per week for 4 weeks). These are group assignments.
We will also do some discussion of these cases in class and therefore you need to read the schedule regularly and prepare accordingly.
Due dates: As per the Schedule.
Class Participation
Exercises and discussion will be a part of classes. All students are expected to be prepared for discussions (mainly cases) and to participate in them.
Marketing is enhanced by dialogue, and this class will be greatly enhanced when students actively participate. Discussion and dialogue are essential to develop communication skills and explore topics in depth.
Class participation will be worth up to 80 points toward the course grade. You will be evaluated on participation including both speaking and listening, demonstrating the ability to evaluate others’ comments constructively, demonstrating familiarity with assigned readings and working effectively in class.
To earn the full points for class discussion, you should:
- Volunteer examples, insights and responses in class.
- Demonstrate having read assignments, thought about the questions and analyzed materials.
- Build on the comments of others—disagreeing where appropriate but also supporting the comments and integrating viewpoints.
- Share expertise and experiences relevant to the discussion.
- Comment on the substance and topic of the classes demonstrating integration of the materials.
Not everyone likes speaking up in a class situation. If, however, a student does not enter into the discussions, there is no way to tell if he or she is learning or understanding the concepts presented. Further, every student has something to contribute to a topic from his or her own experience. Each student is expected to contribute. You cannot participate if you do not attend class. However, simply showing up and not participating will not earn you very many points.
Each student graduating from the School of Business is expected to be able to participate and contribute meaningfully in his or her chosen career. While some students may initially not feel comfortable about speaking up in class due to personal approaches or cultural differences, speaking up gets easier through practice. This is the time to push past boundaries that will inhibit career growth and explore in a safe situation how you can enhance your future in business. As we will discuss, if you do not speak up in meetings, either with clients or your colleagues, your career will not advance.
Written Materials
All work is due on the due date. Late work will not be accepted unless specific, prior arrangements have been made with the instructor. If accepted late, late work will receive a lower score. All work must be completed by the final examination.
You must adhere to the George Mason University Honor Code. In writing, sources must be cited. Please note that paraphrasing is welcomed, as long as the original sources are cited. Inserting direct quotations does not mean you have learned; all it means is that you know how to “cut and 6 paste” in word processing. You should use the writing assignments to enhance your learning and your professional skills.
In scoring your written materials, I look for internal validity (that your analyses are based on appropriate principles and are consistent) and external validity (the analyses are reasonable given the environment in the marketplace). Additionally, organization, understanding, originality, breadth, depth of coverage and clarity of expression are important evaluation criteria.
All written reports should be neatly typed, legible and free of errors in grammar and spelling. Documents should be formatted as follows:
1.5-spacing, Times New Roman or Garamond font, 12-point font, with one-inch margins. Pages after the first page must have a header showing the course title, assignment title and page number.
To cite and reference professional or academic sources, please use APA style. Specific instructions for in-text citations and referencing are found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition or at the Purdue Owl. To help manage the citations and seamlessly create reference lists, Mason supports free software called Zotero.
Part of the evaluation of each written assignment will be the quality of the writing, with specific emphasis on solid business prose.
If your writing is not sufficient for good business communication, you will be required to work with The Writing Center. Each student is encouraged to take advantage of this invaluable resource. Every writer must always work on polishing his or her craft and becoming a better writer.
You must submit the assignments electronically. You will make these submissions through Canvas.
Topics, Reading Chapters, Assignments, Due Dates, and Exam Schedule
Notes:
- All classes meet Tuesdays at 7:20 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- All readings from Applied Marketing: Connecting Classrooms to Careers, 3rd Edition, by Daniel Padgett and Andrew Loos, Wiley, 2023.
- Harvard cases as assigned.
| Week | Topics and Objectives | Preparation | Due Dates |
| Week 1 |
What is Marketing and Organizing and Planning for Marketing Introduction to course, course materials, and assignments; marketing defined; philosophy and history of marketing; strategy; planning, implementation and control Learning Objectives:
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Chap. 01: What Is Marketing Chap. 02: Organizing and Planning for Marketing |
Due dates for reading: March 18 Read the running case, page 20 for class discussion |
| Week 2 |
The Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour Marketing, micro- and macroenvironments; model of customer behaviour; influences; consumer vs. business buying; ethics Learning objectives:
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Chap. 03: The Marketing Environment Chap. 04: Customer Behaviour Read Running Case in chapter 3 on page 61. Have a Group meeting to discuss and answer the running case questions on page 62 (All 5 questions). Read case: All Birds |
Chap. 03: The Marketing Environment Chap. 04: Customer Behaviour, read by March 25 Group Hand in of Running Case, page 61. Group leader to hand in on behalf of group on Blackboard by Wednesday March 26 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 62 (All 5 questions). Read case: All Birds. Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday March 26th by 11:59 p.m. |
| Week 3 |
The Role of Marketing Research in Marketing. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Marketing research; research design and implementation; practical considerations; segmentation; applied segmentation; segmentation as a foundation for strategy Learning objectives:
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Chap. 05: The Role of Research in Marketing Chap. 06: Using Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning to Distinguish a Brand Within a Market Read Running Case in chapter 6 on page 143. Have a Group meeting to discuss and answer the running case questions on page 144 (All 6 questions). Quiz #1 (Chapters 1 through 4 online) |
Chap. 05: The Role of Research in Marketing Chap. 06: Using Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning to Distinguish a Brand Within a Market Due date April 1. Group hand in of Running Case, page 143: Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday April 2 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 144 (All 6 questions). Quiz #1, opens on Monday March 31st at 12:30 a.m. and closes on Tuesday April 1st at 11:59 p.m. |
| Week 4 |
Applying the Marketing Mix. Delivering Products and Brands that meet customer needs. Applied marketing mix; 4Ps to 4Cs; current practice and the marketing mix; what products mean to customers; new products and innovation; product life cycle; brands and branding Learning objectives:
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Chap. 07: Applying the Marketing Mix Chap. 08: Delivering Products and Brands that Meet Customer Needs. Read Running Case in chapter 7 on page 161. Have a Group meeting to discuss and answer the running case questions on page 162 (All 5 questions). Read Case: Brand Storytelling at Shinola |
Chap. 07: Applying the Marketing Mix Group hand in of Running Case, page 161 Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group Wednesday April 9 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 162. (All 5 questions). Read Case: Brand Storytelling at Shinola Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday April 09 by 11:59 p.m. |
| Week 5 |
Place Decisions and Customer Convenience. Managing Price and Customer Cost Perceptions. Supply chains; importance and design of supply chains; retailing; power and conflict in supply chains; relationship marketing; Price/Customer Cost relationship; price setting influences; pricing strategy, calculations and price setting; legal issues Learning objectives:
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Chap. 09: Place Decisions and Customer Convenience Read Running Case in chapter 9 on page 210. Have a Group meeting to discuss and answer the running case questions on page 211 (All 5 questions). Quiz #2 (Chapters 5 through 8 online) |
Chap. 09: Place Decisions and Customer Convenience Group hand in of Running Case, page 210: Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday April 16 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 211 (All 5 questions). Quiz #2 opens on Monday April 14 at 12:30 a.m. and closes on Tuesday April 15 at 11:59 p.m. |
| Week 6 |
Using Group Promotion to Communicate with Customers. Personalized promotion to Communicate with Customers. Managing the promotion mix; group promotion; personalized promotion; connections in the digital age of marketing; trends in digital marketing; social and other media Learning objectives:
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Chap. 11: Using Group Promotion to Communicate with Customers Read Running Case in chapter 11 on page 263. Have a Group meeting to discuss and answer the running case questions on page 265 (All 3 questions). Case: Headspace vs. Calm: A Mindful Competition. We will discuss this in class |
Chap. 11: Using Group Promotion to Communicate with Customers Group hand in of Running Case, page 263: Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday April 23 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 265 (All 3 questions). Case: Headspace vs. Calm Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday April 23rd by 11:59 p.m. |
| Week 7 |
Encouraging Participation to Connect with Customers. Measuring Marketing Effectiveness through Metrics. Measuring effectiveness; marketing metrics for each element of the marketing mix; integrating and supporting; the core marketing mix linkages; final marketing mix solution Learning objectives:
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Chap. 13: Encouraging Participation to Connect with Customers Read Running Case in chapter 13 on page 309. Have a Group meeting to discuss and answer the running case questions on page 311 (All 6 questions). Quiz #3 (Chapters 9 through 12 online) |
Chap. 13: Encouraging Participation to Connect with Customers Chap. 14: Measuring Marketing Effectiveness Through Metrics Due date Thursday April 29 Group hand in of Running Case, page 309: Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday April 30 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 311 (All 6 questions). Quiz #3 opens on Monday April 28th at 12:30 a.m. and closes on Tuesday April 29th at 11:59 p.m. |
| Week 8 |
Finalizing the marketing plan. Implementation and monitoring. Learning Objectives:
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Chap. 15: Finalizing the Marketing Plan Read running case in chapter 15 on page 355 for class on May 06. We will discuss this in class Case: White Claw. We will discuss this in class. Quiz #4 (Chapters 13 through 15 online) |
Chap. 15: Finalizing the Marketing Plan Due date: May 6 Read the running case on page 355 for class on May 06. Group hand in of Running Case: Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday May 7 by 11:59 p.m. Answer the running case questions on page 356 (All 5 questions). Case: White Claw. Group leader to submit answers on behalf of group by Wednesday May 7 by 11:59 p.m. Quiz #4 opens Wednesday May 7th at 12:30 a.m. and closes on Thursday May 8th at 11:59 p.m. |
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