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MKTG 240. Marketing Management (Core)
The objectives of the course are to introduce students to the
substantive and procedural aspects of marketing management, and to
sharpen skills for critical analytical thinking and effective
communication. Specifically, the goals are to introduce students to
marketing strategy and to the elements of marketing analysis:
customer analysis, competitor analysis, and company analysis; to
familiarize students with the elements of the marketing mix (product
strategy, pricing, advertising and promotion, and distribution), and
to enhance problem solving and decision-making abilities in these
operational areas of marketing; and to provide students with a forum
(both written and verbal) for presenting and defending their own
recommendations, and for critically examining and discussing the
recommendations of others.
MKTG 331 / 01 - Marketing to Businesses
The overarching
objective of the Marketing to Businesses course is to impart
concepts, tools, and frameworks that students can apply as they
pursue careers as business-to-business marketers, consultants,
service professionals, and venture capitalists. Specific objectives
of the course include (a) an analysis of the unique challenges in
marketing to businesses (e.g., selling to a complex decision making
unit, need for customization), (b) developing problem-solving skills
oriented to business marketing strategy, and (c) identifying tools
for market, segment, and customer selection and management. An
important component of the course will be the INDUSTRAT competitive
marketing simulation, in which teams will compete in an industrial
market and make decisions regarding such aspects as segment
selection, sales force deployment and compensation, alliances,
pricing, and R&D.
MKTG 344. Marketing Research
This course is aimed
at the manager who is the ultimate user of research and who is
responsible for determining the scope and direction of research
activities conducted on his/her behalf. The main objective is to
help you recognize the role of systematic information gathering in
providing sound decision guidance and develop an appreciation for
the potential contributions and limitations of market research data.
Marketing research is simply an organized way of developing and
providing information for decision making purposes. The quality of
the information, for example its validity and reliability, depends
on the care exercised in executing the various steps of the
marketing research process. These steps include problem definition,
research design (exploratory, descriptive and causal), data
collection methods, questionnaire design and attitude measurement,
sampling schemes, and data analysis. In this course emphasis will be
given to both qualitative and quantitative aspects of marketing
research and how they help managers in addressing substantive
marketing problems such as: market segmentation, estimating market
potential, forecasting market demand, developing advertising and
pricing policies and designing and positioning new products.
MKTG 347. Advertising and Communications Management
This course is
designed to increase students' understanding of the key issues,
theories, strategies and tactics associated with marketing
communication decisions. Specifically, the course adopts an
integrated marketing communication perspective and aims to provide
analytical skills useful for the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of various elements of the communications mix, including
advertising, sales promotions, and public relations. Designed from
the perspective of executives for whom advertising is just one of
the many available elements of the communications mix, this course
is intended for students whose career plans involve making marketing
decisions to solve contemporary business problems.
MKTG 356. Global and International Marketing
This course focuses
on the design and implementation of marketing strategies in
developed and emerging international markets. It aims to provide
future managers with the frameworks, knowledge and sensitivities to
better formulate and effectively implement marketing plans in
various countries and regions of the world. The course examines the
added dimensions of opportunities and challenges faced by companies
operating in the global marketplace. Operating in an international
environment provides companies with access to new markets,
additional resource supplies and new sources of ideas to stimulate
innovation. However concomitant with these new opportunities come
the challenges of formulating and managing marketing strategies in
an innately more complex, diverse and changing socio-economic,
cultural and competitive environment. Multinational corporations (MNCs)
play a much more complex competitive strategic game on an
international chessboard with options of fighting skirmishes in
various countries or regions. The course will develop frameworks for
selectively competing in the international arena by identifying
comparative advantages and weaknesses across countries and regions.
The course will examine the challenges faced by MNCs in managing
global brands and new product introductions across regions where
local cultural and market demands conflict with the need for global
consistency and efficiency. A module in the course will cover the
strategic decision MNCs face in selecting the sequence in which to
enter foreign markets by evaluating macro-level country information
with market focused customer and competitive information and their
own strengths and weaknesses. Regions and countries will be analyzed
and compared as markets to make decisions regarding appropriate
marketing strategies and resource allocations. Regions and countries
covered will include China, Japan, India, Russia, North and South
America, Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The course will also
cover the added dimensions introduced in the marketing mix elements
for companies operating beyond their national boundaries. This will
include issues of standard versus adapted marketing programs, global
versus local advertising, international pricing strategies,
selecting and managing distribution channels in different regions of
the world, international retailing, and managing international
brands and product lines over the product life cycle. Cases in the
course will also raise issues regarding selection and management of
various types of strategic alliances between MNCs and local
companies including how these partnerships evolve over time. The
integration of international marketing strategies with other
functional strategies to optimally configure and manage activities
in the value chain for obtaining more effective synergies will also
be covered. The course will also discuss international marketing
organization and control issues including formulating and managing
headquarter - subsidiary relationships to best leverage the
potential advantages of global efficiency with localized
responsiveness to achieve maximum sustainable competitive advantage.
The course is primarily intended for those aiming for a marketing
career in companies that operate internationally or compete with
MNC's in their local markets. The course should also be of interest
to those who wish to learn more about how differences in local
market structure, as well as consumer behavior and culture impact
the development and management of marketing strategy.
MKTG 357. Brand Planning
An increasing number
of firms of all types have come to the realization that one of the
most valuable assets they have are the brand names associated with
their products or services. Brand Planning is an advanced MBA
elective that addresses important branding decisions faced by a
firm, including how to: 1. understand brand (e.g., determining brand
positioning and value propositions for the key brands); 2. craft the
brand (e.g., identifying brand elements and determining marketing
programs); 3. measure the brand (e.g., including quantitative
asssesment such as brand valuation); and 4. manage the brand (e.g.,
moving a brand upscale or down, assess brand extensions, brand
repositioning, brand architecture). The goal of this course is to
provide theories, models, concepts and methods that will help
address these challenges. Note the class is not a traditional "brand
management" course (a la P&G); it is one focused on services as well
as products, large as well as small companies. An important
component of the course is the brand audit project - where students
form teams, focus on a brand of their choosing, assess sources of
equity and suggest ways to improve and leverage that brand equity.
Empirical data is collected to support the recommendations.
MKTG 371. Pricing Strategy and Analysis
Pricing right is
fundamental to a firm's profitability in a competitive business
environment. Yet firms in diverse industries implement ad-hoc rules
and trial-and-error approaches to pricing that significantly reduce
profits. This course will draw on analytic marketing techniques,
marketing strategy, and economic theory to describe approaches that
are useful for optimal pricing decision-making. The main objective
is to help students develop a systematic and structured framework to
think about, analyze and develop strategies for pricing right. Some
of the questions we will address in the course include: How does a
firm determine the price of a new product? How does a firm assess
whether the current price is appropriate? What is price leadership?
What is value pricing? What is price segmentation? A combination of
cases, lectures, and empirical applications will be used in the
class. The course is aimed at students who will, in their careers,
be involved with formulating, analyzing and/or recommending pricing
polices in the context of an integrated marketing strategy for the
business. Students with an understanding of marketing and
microeconomic principles will benefit most from the course.
MKTG 561. Channels Management
The design and management of channels of distribution are critical
components of business strategy and key elements in organizing and
implementing marketing strategy. The course aims to introduce
frameworks and develop practical managerial learnings for effective
design, implementation and management of channel networks and
systems. The course begins by identifying and analyzing some
fundamental decisions to be made regarding the design of channel
structures and systems. Issues discussed will include selection of
types of channel intermediaries, number of tiers of resellers to be
used, targeted intensity of market coverage, desired channel length
and breadth, and the terms of contracts between channel members. The
merits and demerits of using various forms of resellers at each
level of marketing channels will be evaluated. Types of channel
members discussed include wholesalers, dealers, distributors and
retailers. The course also covers franchise systems, issues relating
to multiple and hybrid channel systems, and the impact of electronic
I-media channels on channel structures.
The latter part of the course identifies the linkages of channel
management with other elements of the marketing mix, and covers
issues regarding ongoing management and coordination of channels as
markets evolve, including how channel conflict and channel power
influence behavior of channel members and affect channel function
and performance. Case studies are used to exemplify how, over the
channel life cycle, firms have grappled with the challenge of
building channel cooperation and working relationships among channel
members to improve the productivity and efficiency of channels in
national and international markets. Some special types of channel
structures extant in certain regions of the world will also be
covered. The course will be extremely useful for students intending
to pursue a career in marketing or corporate strategy development
since effective channels are a key source of competitive advantage.
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