MBA 718 International Marketing Master Syllabus
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Course Description
International Marketing addresses marketing process for products and services within major international markets. Topics include marketing mix strategies using standardization, localization, or globalization approaches. Emphasizes the international market expansion, country/market selection, market entry and marketing mix strategies.
MBA Learning Goals
By the end of the program, students will master:
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Collaborative communication and leadership (written communication)
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Knowledge of functional discipline (functional knowledge)
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Analytical decision-making (critical thinking)
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Knowledge of contemporary issues in business (global awareness)
Course Objectives
The course objectives will map to the Costello College of Business Graduate Learning Goals as follows:
2. Knowledge of Functional Business Disciplines: Identify and represent knowledge of core functional areas of business and an ability to integrate them into a meaningful firm-level perspective. At the completion of this course, you will have a solid foundation in the discipline of international marketing, the tools of international marketing, the international marketing mix and how international marketing is integrated into the organization.
The focus of the course is to prepare you to be able to make informed, responsible, and creative decisions affecting the organization and its marketing.
4. Contemporary Issues in Business:
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Identify relevant economic, political, and social factors that impact business conducted both within and across national boundaries.
At the completion of the course, you will understand the dynamics and factors in assessing international markets, how the individual elements contribute to the whole and, specifically, ethics in an international marketing context.
As the course is integrated into the MBA program, Learning Goals 1 and 3 will not directly be addressed in this course, though the course supports the goals indirectly.
Class attendance and participation are expected. We will be working on team-based assignments and simulations based on the schedule.
Course Materials
The Course Package Requirement: CountryManager Simulation and Foreign Market Entry & Growth e-book as a bundle from Interpretive.com
The ISBN 13: 978-1-885837-72-1
I will need to first email Interpretive Software, Inc. the class list as soon as it is available right before the beginning of the term.
Once they receive the class list, you will receive a welcome email with your unique user ID and Password from Interpretive Simulations to register on their site.
- (For late enrollment after the first day of class, please contact me first)
You will use this to login at Interpretive Software, Inc. From there you can register using either the access code you have purchased at the bookstore or using your credit/debit card on their site.
Once you purchase access, you will receive materials available such as your student manual and demo video.
Based on Interpretive.com, you must purchase access to the bundle (the simulation is not available on its own for anyone in this class. The e-book is available via the simulation course website only (which requires internet access and may not be downloaded.)
As participant, when purchase directly on the Interpretive.com, please use your official George Mason email for your email for communication and registration where appropriate.
Please sign up and purchase the course package by …, in time for team formation by …!
Hotline Support from Interpretive.com
Their support team will answer all simulation questions submitted online, within 24 hours. For assistance, you can email support@interpretive.com for registration or technical simulation help.
Grades
Your learning will be evaluated in several different ways:
- Quizzes: There will be 4 quizzes.
- Team project: Team based simulation assignments, debriefer, & performance
You can earn up to 1000 points for this course. The 1000 points may be earned as follows:
| Quizzes (Individual) | 200 points | |
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200 points | |
| Team based Simulation project | 800 points | |
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100 points | |
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100 points | |
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100 points | |
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100 points | |
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400 points | |
| 1000 points |
Your final grade for the course will depend on the total number of points you earn:
| Points | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 980 –1000 points | A+ |
| 930 – 979 points | A |
| 900 – 929 points | A- |
| 870 – 899 points | B+ |
| 830 – 869 points | B |
| 800 – 829 points | B- |
| 770 – 799 points | C+ |
| 700 – 769 points | C |
| 600 – 699 points | D |
| 0 – 599 points | F |
There is no rounding up.
Quizzes
There are 4 quizzes for cases and concepts. The 4 quizzes are Simulation Case quiz, Simulation Case Quiz (Asia), Simulation Concept Quiz, and Simulation Concept Quiz B.
It has 10 True or False and Multiple-Choice questions and is worth 50 points or 5% of the total grade. Each quiz question is worth 5 points or 0.5%. Four quizzes x 50 points (5%), totaling 200 points or 20% of the total grade.
The quizzes assess the basic knowledge of the simulation case and concepts. You will need to read the relevant chapters plus the simulation case and concepts before attempting to do the quiz. The quiz is open-notes and in multiple choice and True/False question format on a specific date. Please read the quiz instruction document on the Canvas for further details in terms of the format, timing, and instructions relating to the quiz.
Consistent with University policy, only provable, i.e., documented, absences due to personal illness or family emergencies constitute acceptable absences for missing exams. Preplanned weddings and vacations are not acceptable absences. There are no make-up exams or adjustments to satisfy the convenience of those who missed exams without prior approval.
Team based project: Assignments, simulation performance, and evaluations
The class will be divided into groups. You will be assigned into a group of 4 or 5 members, including yourself, depending on enrollment.
As a group, you will work together to complete various assignments related to the simulation and all 6 simulation rounds. The final product will be worth 800 points or 80% of the total grade. For further details, please review the instruction document available on the Canvas:
| Country/Market Attractiveness assignment | 100 points |
| Plant Location assignment | 100 points |
| The Seven Tube Survey based on Allstar Brands | 100 points |
| Simulation debriefer | 100 points |
| Simulation performance evaluation | 400 points |
Teamwork is always challenging. Each team member is responsible for making the group work. Free riders and bullies will not be tolerated. As an incentive, the team will collectively evaluate all members of the group at the end of the semester. It is therefore in everyone’s interest to work effectively. Your individual marks for the group projects will be given proportionately according to your overall contribution rated by your peer evaluation and quality of your work at the end of the semester.
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Team Assignment and Further Details Available on the Canvas |
Description |
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Country/Market Attractiveness assignment See: Instructions for CountryManager Country Attractiveness Analytic Assignment |
The Market Attractiveness assignment helps you to evaluate the list of countries in Asia to decide which country to enter. The assignment uses a market attractiveness spreadsheet to rank the attractiveness of the most attractive country based on the subjective and objective rating of a list of selection criteria and data from the simulation. |
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Plant Location assignment See: Instructions for CountryManager Optimal Plant Location Analytic Assignment |
An opportunity to explore the factors in locating a plant in the region. By default, all production takes place in the home country unless you build a plant in one of the countries in the Asia region. You can decide to source products from only one or two locations (home country and one other location/country) and export products from the plant location(s) and import them into the markets where you sell your products. This will involve the calculation of Total Costs (COGS + Shipping + Tariff) based on a few cost components (e.g. shipping, COGS+Shipping, Tariff %, and Tariff $) for all 6 countries in addition to home country. You will also calculate the unit costs for different product sizes, administrative costs and their breakdown, sales force costs and breakdown, and fixed costs. Taking these costs into consideration, the final assessment will involve selecting the optimal one or two plant locations including the home country. |
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The Seven Tube Survey based on Allstar Brands See: Instructions for CountryManager 7tudes Analytic Assignment |
Based on the case study on Allstar Africa Expansion and reading of Chapter 7 of the e-book on “Mastering the Global Mindset”, this assignment will help you to understand how to assess the Seven Tudes that firms need to assess prior to embarking on foreign initiatives. Each team member will first need to complete its own Seven tudes survey and produce a spider graph/radar chart and then the team will compose an overall team’s radar chart for the 7 tudes and explain and justify the team’s recommendations for its readiness to expand into Africa. |
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Simulation debriefer See: Instructions for CountryManager Debriefer Assignment |
At the end of the term, the teams are required to submit a debrief of your strategy for the simulation rounds, so keep track of your decisions and why, what did you learn about marketing dynamics, marketing strategy, and from your decisions. To prepare for the debriefer, you should take notes and prepare a diary for each round comprised of the relevant key elements of the debriefer, except on the final recommendation for the debriefer. That way, you will have the summary information for each round to condense and create the debriefer. Debriefer: The debriefer should include Main strategies pursued, Analysis of performance for each round, Key points learned through past successes and failures, Main adjustments made to changes in the environment, and Regional market plan with recommendations on what country to enter, when, why, target markets, SKUs, and marketing mix for the future (beyond the six competition rounds). |
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Simulation performance evaluation See: Simulation Description |
The CountryManager simulation enables you to experience international market entry and expansion by playing the role of a manager for Allstar Brands, a major consumer products company. The CountryManager environment is introduced through a case and a series of simulation rounds, while assignments help deepen your understanding of simulation concepts. Your team will make a series of 6 simulation round decisions. Your decisions will compete against simulated competitors in the simulated environment. The CountryManager simulation has a built-in tool to grade teams at the end of the course based on your team’s performance in the simulation. By default, the tool will use a “weighted score” to assign weights to the desired measures for each round. The weighted score is composed of Share of Mfr. Sales (30%), Cuml. Reg.Contrib. (40%) and Brand Equity Index (30%). The 6 rounds of simulation are worth 400 points or 40% of the total grade. Practice sessions for simulations are not graded. The weighted score for the first five rounds/years is also not graded. Only the weighted score for final round (Year 6) will be used to grade overall performance of each team based on ranking from high to low. The grading scale for the 400 points allotted for the simulations is as follows (individual marks will vary based on peer evaluation): Team ranks first receives a 100% points = 400 Team ranks second receives a 93% points = 372 Team ranks third receives an 85% points = 340 Team ranks fourth receives a 77% points = 308 Team ranks fifth receives a 70% points = 280 |
Email Communications/Privacy
Student privacy is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and is an essential aspect of any course. Please ensure that George Mason Email must be always used for correspondence with the instructor. No exceptions. Students should clearly identify themselves and their course number and section in any Email correspondence. Unfortunately, I will not respond to messages sent from or send messages to a non-George Mason email address.
- Students must use their George Mason email account to receive important University information, including communications related to this class. I will not respond to messages sent from or send messages to a non-George Mason email address.
Laptop policy and/or electronic device policy for your on-campus class
- The Costello College of Business undergraduate laptop policy can be found here.
- The Costello College of Business graduate laptop policy is here.
Writing Guidelines
- All writing assignments should be formatted as follows, unless otherwise specified: double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font, and 1-inch margins. Use APA style to cite and reference all sources. Specific instructions for in-text citations and referencing are found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition or at: APA Style (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University
- George Mason University has a writing center that can help you improve your English writing skills. More information is available at the Writing Center website.
MBA 718 Course Schedule
| Date | Reading | Quizzes and Cases and Assignments | Quizzes and Cases and Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 |
Syllabus and Group Project Description Introduction to the simulation Chapter 1 Why International Expansion (Why) |
Purchase course package and must sign up for simulation latest by Wednesday, May 22 Read simulation documents for assignments and team project. Read “Simulation Case”: Background, Decisions, and Key Issues – Asia Scenario Watch case video – Asia. Review “Country Background” – Asia Scenario Review the Student Manual for the Simulation - Asia |
Introduce yourself in Global Meeting Place Be familiar with Zoom and Microsoft Teams Group meeting to appoint a team leader and complete group contract. Team formation by Friday May 24 (Individual) Simulation Practice Round 1, By Sunday, May 26 |
| Week 2 |
Chapter 2 International Marketing (What) Chapter 3 Country Selection (Where) |
Quiz 1: Case Quiz by Sunday, June 2 Market Attractiveness Assignment (Top 3 countries) - Asia By Sunday, June 2 |
(Individual) Simulation 2 Practice Rounds by Sunday, June 2 Group Contract due by Sunday, June 2 |
| Week 3 | Chapter 4: Market Entry and distribution (How – Part 1) |
Quiz 2: Case Quiz - Asia By Sunday, June 9 Plant Allocation – Asia by Sunday, June 9 |
Team-based Simulation Year 1 - (limited to top 3 countries – China, Japan, and India) Due Sunday, June 9 |
| Week 4 | No class (to accommodate global residence) | ||
| Week 5 | Chapter 5: How to expand: Product, service, and brand equity (How – Part 2) | Quiz 3: Concept Quiz By Sunday, June 23 | Team-based Simulation Year 2 due Sunday, June 23 |
| Week 6 | Chapter 6: How to expand: pricing, export mechanics, and managing exchange rate risks (How-Part 3) | Quiz 4: Concept Quiz B by Sunday, June 30 | Team-based Simulation Year 3 due Sunday, June 30 |
| Week 7 | Chapter 7: Global mindset | Complete the Seven Tudes Survey assignment based on case study: Allstar Africa Expansion by Sunday, July 7 | Team-based Simulation Year 4 due Sunday, July 7 (open all 6 countries: China, Japan, India, South Korea, Philippines, and Thailand) |
| Week 8 | Teamwork to complete final project debriefer | Team-based Simulation Year 5 Due Sunday, July 14 | |
| Week 9 | Teamwork to complete final project debriefer | Final Group Project Debriefer and Complete peer evaluation due by Thursday, July 18 | Team-based Simulation Year 6 Due Thursday, July 18 |
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