Review the online <"Course Schedule by Clicking Here".>

Enter the Chat Room <"Here".>

Enter the Teaching Assistants' Site <"Here".>

Review the list of organizations that students had previously selected
for their group projects <"by Clicking Here".>

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIAL
A set of readings and cases will be distributed in class which if read in advance gives you exposure to the subjects. Class sessions will be devoted primarily to probing, extending and applying the material in the readings and the cases.
Otherwise I strongly recommend (needed) this textbook:
Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, Principles of Marketing, (most recent Edition), Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall.

COURSE OVERVIEW
Marketing represents one of the most dynamic and exciting areas of business and is a fascinating subject because it combines principles from many disciplines (e.g., economics, sociology, psychology, political science, and management).
We live in a rapidly exchanging world. Marketing is about these exchanges -- exchange of goods, services, and/or ideas between or among individuals, organizations or some combination. We will explore concepts, theories and issues regarding customers, competition, the environment and the traditional marketing mix (Product, Distribution, Price, and Promotion). This raises both exciting opportunities, as well as difficult challenges. To help you develop marketing decision-making skills this course includes lectures, discussions and exercises, readings, videos, and exams.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Marketing 304 is an introductory course in marketing for the undergraduate who has completed some college level study, and in particular, has completed the economics prerequisites.
Students enrolling in Marketing 304 should also know how to use the Internet since all the handouts, study guides and other required material are available only from the course web pages. The Internet can be accessed from the computer labs on campus or from outside the campus using appropriate equipment.
The integration of this course with other core courses in the business curriculum should provide a student with a complete view of the scope of business activities and decision-making processes The most basic objectives of this course are to provide you with a broad introduction to marketing concepts, the role of marketing in society and its inter-relationship with other business functions, and the various factors that influence marketing decision making. Like other introductory courses, you will be exposed to and expected to learn the "language of marketing" used by marketers.
Students whose primary interests lie in other fields will come away with the foundation to understand how marketing relates to their primary area of interest.
Those interested in pursuing a career in the marketing field will acquire a sound basis for further study. Not only will successful students have a thorough understanding of Marketing, but also improved skills that are required by employers today in all business.
You will achieve a number of core marketing competencies such as how to apply key frameworks and tools for analyzing creative selection of target markets and blending decisions related to product, price, promotion, and place to meet the needs of customers.

In conclusion, it is expected that by the end of this course you will be able to:

• Understand and explain marketing terminology, concepts and systems;
• Identify and describe the impact on marketing decisions;
• Describe elements of the marketing mix: product, place, promotion, and price;
• Create and justify marketing decisions at both tactical and strategic levels.

TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE
The course focuses on the process of marketing management with a strong end application. As a result, success in this course relies heavily on class attendance, regular work and team project. Learning will result from active student participation in class and continuous project preparation, and student's strong motivation and curiosity in searching information outside the class to cumulate the business knowledge.
Reading assignments should be prepared thoroughly prior to the session for which they are assigned. Lectures will parallel the text in most instances but will be supplemented by additional material, thereby making attendance a necessity. Each student is expected to participate regularly in class discussion, both as called by the instructor and on a voluntary basis.
Past experience shows that success in this course is often related to:

Reading of the chapter and completion of homework assignments prior to class lecture;

The degree of your participation;

Willingness to expose your viewpoints to the critical judgment of your classmates or team members; and

Ensure adequate study time prior to the examinations.

Early commitment to the team project and strength of this commitment.

USING THE WEB PAGE
This course relies extensively on the Internet to communicate information to students. For example, the Internet page provides detailed discussion of issues such as my grading philosophy and the learning competencies you want to achieve.
The class web site will also provide a great deal of useful information about examination questions, class participation techniques, group project writeup and presentation guidelines, procedures for addressing group member delinquency, and links to key sources of information about consumer behavior. Finally, every week, I will post on the web page the name of one student from each session who has been the best class participant for that week amongst my classes (qualitative, not quantitative). Hope to see you on this list!!

The Internet page is continuously upgraded and that is where you will find the most recent and accurate information. Check regularly the "News" and "Course Schedule" sections to review the changes.
Students will also note that copies of all of the PowerPoint presentations are available for review on the Internet when using a specific password (change each semester). The purpose behind making these presentations available to students is to allow students to listen to the lecture, as opposed to mostly taking notes.
Beware! Do not make the mistake of thinking that because the PowerPoint presentations are available on the Internet, you do not have to come to class. I will regularly bring additional testable materials to class that will not be available from the Internet course page.


ASSIGNMENTS, EXAMS AND GRADING PROCEDURES

Class Participation (10%)
Class participation is considered very important in this class, and the instructor will evaluate class participation throughout the course. Your class participation, and indeed your overall experience in this class, will be effective and enjoyable if you make sure to read the assigned readings the day before coming to class.
At any point in time, you must be willing to make a 5 minute presentation about the topic of discussion.
Regular attendance in class is strongly encouraged. A lot of material will be covered in the class, and the instructor will frequently summarize key information as well as go beyond the facts in the text. Also, your class participation grade will suffer if you are absent, since you can not participate if you are not present in class. In short, you will enjoy and do well in this class only if you are committed to regular attendance and active participation.
You will note a large number of homework assignments in the following class schedule. These homework exercises will be compiled into both an individual electronic and a group assignment over the course of the semester. There is a detailed presentation of the expectations associated with each one of these homework assignments in this course web page. You are responsible for reading and knowing these expectations.
You may ask general questions about these issues to the Instructor during office hours, by appointment or when convenient.

Individual Online Assignment (15%)
This assignment is intended to provide you with an opportunity to practice and discover for yourself how certain concepts work and how much you know about them. You must work alone and this should be a good training in view of the class exam. This assignment will reflect topics emphasized in class lectures, discussions and exercises. The exam will be closed book/note with 50 multiple-choice questions consisting of a mix of identify, define or describe, relate and application questions. Anything discussed in class (text material, examples, exercises and videos) is potential exam material.
It will be available online in the course page at a defined date (see course schedule). "Access Here". You may access these Multiple-Choice Questions at any time before the deadline announced in the "Course Schedule". You can only submit this exam once. Your are responsible for its submission. You will submit a SCANTRON form to the instructor not later than the deadline indicated in the course schedule. In general, you have approximately 4 days to work on this online exam.

Class Multiple Choice Questions (20% x 3)
These 3 quizzes follow the same format than the individual online submission apart that you will be in the classroom setting. It is intended to help assess the degree to which you have met the learning objectives. As mentioned above, these mini-tests will reflect topics emphasized in class lectures, discussions and exercises. These quizzes will be closed book/note with 50 multiple-choice questions consisting of a mix of application questions. Anything discussed in class (text material, examples, exercises and videos) is potential exam material.

Only 2 of the 3 mid-term quizzes will count in the final grade, i.e., the best grade obtained for 2 of the 3 quizzes will be kept for each student. You can miss only one of these 3 quizzes (e.g., being sick). You can choose to miss one because you are satisfied with the grades you have received to 2 previous quizzes (including missing the final quiz).

Exams will cover text and other material emphazised in class. Questions may be multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in, and short-answer essay. Many will be application questions, requiring you to apply marketing concepts to realistic business situations. Bring a SCANTRON Form 882-ES and No.2 pencil to each exam.

Group Work (35%)
You may prepare for class sessions either on your own or as part of a study group; your answer in class, however, should be your own. You will become part of a four or five-person group for the marketing plan or the written case study, and if you wish you may also use this group as your study group. It is recommended that these groups be self-selected of exactly 4 or 5 students. If not, you will be assigned a group by the lecturer. All groups should be formed during the fourth week session and recorded by the end of the fifth class session. We will confirm these groups during the group engagement letter accreditation to allow maximum time to prepare for the marketing plan. Note that the Group Engagement Letter is worth 5% of the total grade.

Team Project
Over the course of the session, your group will develop a complete marketing plan. The written plan is due on the day indicated on the course schedule. The written plan is due at the beginning of class on the day indicated in the course schedule. Plans turned in late will be penalized with one letter grade for every day. A specific outline for the marketing plan will be discussed in class (see also link to the "Detailed Marketing Plan Guidelines" ) and should be followed in your document. In brief, a report write-up should include the following items: A statement of the major marketing issues facing the organization An analysis of the situation using available tools Identification of the most important tool for that product. Finally, a solution (i.e., recommended direction) and justification.
There is not a "right" page length for this marketing plan (suggested size = 18 to 20 pages). However, the plan is to be submitted typed, and the lecturer will only consider the first 20 (maximum) pages (single-spaced) of each submission (excluding illustrations and appendices - but absolutely no more than this). Please keep reasonable margins of about one inch (2.5cm) on all sides, and do not use a type size smaller than 12, or you will be penalized.
The report should focus on situation analysis and should be suitable as the first part of a larger strategic plan. All reports must have some sort of market background that explains the nature and objective of the report to your targeted readers, a SWOT analysis of your organization, and some sort of recommendation for the proposed "new and improved" product/service.

To complete the written assignment you must first do the following:

Individual Engagement Letter:

This engagement letter is evaluated with a pass or fail grade and is compulsory. It is due on the day indicated in the course schedule. This document will allow you to make a team, ie, match your expectations and intentions with other people. Follow this link to access the guideline page for the "Engagement Letter".

Group Engagement Letter:

Then, you will complete the same document but this time with your team. At this stage it is expected that this Group E. Letter be better than your individual E. letter since you will have completed it with your team. Not that the Group E. Letter is graded from 0% to 100% and is worth 5% of the final letter grade.


OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
"Students with disabilities must register with the Disability Resources and Educational Services office and complete a services agreement each semester. Staff within the DRES will verify the existence of a disability based on the documentation provided and approve accommodations. Students who are approved for test taking accommodations must provide an Alternative Testing Form to their faculty member signed by a DRES Counselor prior to making testing arrangements. Disability Resources and Educational Services is located in Bayramian Hall, room 110. Staff can be reached at 818.677.2684."