Faculty of Business & Enterprise
Higher Education Division
 
Master of Business (Marketing)
 
Unit of Study Outline
 
HBM 524/533
Marketing Strategy Development
Semester 1, 2013
Version date 20^th February 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
             

Unit of Study Outline

Unit of study code	HBM524/533
Unit of study name	Marketing Strategy Development
Teaching Term/Semester & Year	Semester 1, 2013
Contact Hours (hrs/wk) or total contact hours	3 hours per week
Prerequisites	All Stage 1 units from the Grad Certificate of Business (Marketing)
Credit Points	12.5

 

Teaching Staff

Name	Role	Campus & Room No.	Phone No.	Email Address	Consultation Times
Barbara Evans	Unit of Study Convenor	BA1036	92148389	bevans@swin.edu.au	By appointment

Aims

This unit provides you with an appreciation of the various issues that are currently significant in developing marketing strategy. It will assist you to develop the ability of monitoring and managing those aspects of running a business that affect competitive position. You will understand the characteristics and concepts of strategic marketing management which are different to those used in operational marketing management.
 

Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this unit, you should be able to:
 

1. Apply relevant marketing theories and models to analyse the situation and formulate marketing strategies for the organisation;
2. Develop marketing strategies for organisations entering new markets, growth markets, mature and declining markets;
3. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of marketing strategy at different levels of the organisation using case studies;
4. Recommend strategic marketing solutions that add measurable value to organisations;
5. Implement and control selected marketing strategies and measure their performance.

 

Content

The following topics will be covered in the lectures:
 
·         Differences between the three level of business strategies – corporate, business and marketing
·         The process of formulating and implementing marketing strategy
·         Understanding market opportunities
·         Measuring market opportunities: forecasting and market knowledge
·         Targeting attractive market segments
·         Differentiation and positioning
·         Marketing strategies for new market entries
·         Marketing strategies for growth markets
·         Marketing strategies for mature and declining markets
·         Marketing strategies for the new economy
·         Organising and planning for effective marketing implementation
·         Measuring and delivering marketing performance
 

Key Generic Skills for this Unit of Study

You will be provided with feedback on your progress in attaining the following generic skills:
·             teamwork skills,
·             analysis skills,
·             problem solving skills,
·             communications skills,
·             ability to tackle unfamiliar problems, and
·             ability to work independently

 

Learning and Teaching Structure

3 hour seminars for 12 weeks. Seminars may include group presentations and discussions around  prescribed readings, case studies and set questions. You should check the unit website as to what sort of preparation is required for any particular seminar.
In a semester, you should normally expect to spend on average, twelve and a half hours of total time (formal contact time plus independent study time) a week on a 12.5 credit point unit of study.

Seminar  Schedule   

Week	Date	Seminar  Topic	Assessment
1	March 5	Introduction, Unit overview Overview of Corporate, Business and Marketing level strategies (Chapter 1 of the Walker Text)
2	March 12	Corporate strategy decisions and their marketing implications (Chapters 2 of the Walker Text)
3	March 19	Business strategies and their marketing implications (Chapter 3 of the Walker Text)	Case Study 1 (G)
4	Mar 26	Understanding market opportunities   & Measuring market opportunities: forecasting and market knowledge           (Chapter 4 & 5 of the Walker Text)	Case Study 2(G)
		Mid- Semester break – Easter
5	April 9	Targeting attractive market segments (Chapter 6 of the Walker Text)	Test 1 (I)
6	April 16	Differentiation and positioning (Chapter 7 of the Walker Text)	Case Study 3(G)
7	April 23	Marketing strategies for new market entries (Chapter 8 of the Walker Text)	Case Study 4 (G)
8	April 30	Marketing Strategies for growth markets (Chapter 9 of Walker Text)	Case Study 5 (G)
9	May 7	Marketing strategies for mature and declining markets and for the new economy (Chapters 10 and 11 of the Walker Text)	Case Study 6 (G)
10	May 14	Organising and planning for effective implementation (Chapter 12 of the Walker Text)	Case Study 7 (G)
11	May 21	Measuring and delivering marketing performance (Chapter 13 of the Walker Text)	Test 2 (I)
12	May 28	Revision and discussion of major assignment	The major individual assignment is due Tuesday, 28 May 9pm in the convenor’s mailbox located on the 10th floor of the BA building and loaded up on Safe Assgn.

 

Resources and Reference Material

You are expected to purchase the following prescribed text from the bookshop:
 

• Walker, Gountas, Mavondo and Mullins (2012) Marketing Strategy: a decision-focused approach, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Australia.

 
Other reference materials:
 
The Library has a large collection of resource materials, both texts and current journals. Listed below are some textbook references that will provide valuable supplementary information to the lectures. It is also recommended that you explore other sources to broaden your appreciation of the complexity of marketing planning:
 
·         Baker, M.J. (2000), Marketing Strategy and Management, 3^rd edition, Macmillan Press Ltd.
·         Brown, L.  (1997) Competitive Marketing Strategy, 2nd Ed.,Nelson Australia
·         Day, G. S., (1986) Analysis for Marketing Decisions, West Publishing.
·         Kotler, P. (1997), Marketing Management, 9^th edition, Prentice-Hall International
·         Lehman, D. R., Winer R. S., Analysis for Marketing Planning, Irwin, 1997
·         Oster, S. M., Modern Competitive Analysis Oxford University Press 1994
·         Summers, J and Smith, B, (2003), Communication Skills Handbook, John Wiley and sons, Australia

Assessment

a. Assessment Task Details:

 

Assessment Task	Individual/ Group Task	Related Learning Objective(s)	Weighting	Due Date
Case study presentation and report	Groups of 4	LO 1,2,3 & 4	Presentation 10% Report 20%	Seminars 3-11
Tests (Team-based Learning)	Individual and Groups	LO 1,2,3 & 4	30%	On-going in class
Major assignment	Individual	LO 1,2,3,4 & 5	Part 1: 15% Part 2: 25%	Due Tuesday, 28 May 9pm in the convenor’s mailbox located on the 10th floor of the BA building and loaded up on Safe Assgn

 

b. Participation Requirements

You will find a Group Participation Form in the Appendix. This is to be used as a record and assessment of the group function while completing the case study presentation and report. Please submit this individually and confidentially after the case study presentation in the convenor’s mailbox (Box No. 66 located on the 12^th floor of the BA building)

c. Assessment Criteria:

Details of both the assignments and the associated assessment rubrics are provided in the Appendix. Assessments associated with the Team-based Learning (TBL) will be explained in the class.

d. Submission of Assignments:

Every assignment submitted needs to be accompanied by an Assignment Cover Sheet, which can be obtained from this unit’s website.

e. Extensions and Late Submissions:

All assessment tasks should be submitted on the required day. Extensions are not normally granted but in exceptional circumstances or where there is genuine hardship, a limited extension may be granted by the unit convenor. Any applications should be made in writing to the convenor at least 48 hours prior to the due date and where appropriate documentary evidence such as a doctor’s certificate should be attached. Where an assignment is submitted after the specified due time and date, the assignment mark will be penalised at the rate of 10% per day or part thereof. If late assignments are received after marked assignments have been returned, the late assignments will not be awarded any marks.

f. Email Communication

For privacy and reliability reasons SUT will only communicate with you via your official Swinburne email account. It is your responsibility to check this account regularly for important official communication.

g. Plagiarism:

Swinburne University of Technology defines Plagiarism as the action or practice of taking and submitting or presenting the thoughts, writings or other work of someone else as though it is your own work. Plagiarism includes any of the following, without full and appropriate acknowledgment to the original source(s):
(i)  The use of the whole or part of a computer program written by another person;
(ii)  the use, in essays or other assessable work, of the whole or part of a written work from any source including but not limited to a book, journal, newspaper article, set of lecture notes, current or past student’s work, any other person’s work, a website or database;
(iii)  the paraphrasing of another’s work;
(iv)  the use of musical composition, audio, visual, graphic and photographic models,
(v)  The use of realia, that is objects, artefacts, costumes, models and the like.
Plagiarism also includes the preparation or production and submission or presentation of assignments or other work in conjunction with another person or other people when that work should be your own independent work. This remains plagiarism whether or not it is with the knowledge or consent of the other person or people. It should be noted that Swinburne encourages its students to talk to staff, fellow students and other people who may be able to contribute to a student’s academic work but that where independent assignment is required, submitted or presented work must be the student’s own.
Enabling plagiarism contributes to plagiarism and therefore will be treated as a form of plagiarism by the University. Enabling plagiarism means allowing or otherwise assisting another student to copy or otherwise plagiarise work by, for example, allowing access to a draft or completed assignment or other work.

h. Assessment and Appeals Policy and Procedure

The information outlined in the Assessment sections above is covered in more detail in Swinburne’s Assessment and Appeals Policy and Procedure. Students must be familiar with the Policy and Procedure, found at http://policies.swinburne.edu.au/ppdonline/showdoc.aspx?recnum=POL/2007/9
The Policy and Procedure provides details about:

• Assessment issues such as the conduct of examinations, plagiarism policies and details explaining how to apply for a review of results and other appeals, and
• Student progress issues such as unsatisfactory academic progress and early intervention procedures, and
• Information for students with disabilities and special needs and procedures for applying for special consideration.

Students should make themselves familiar with all aspects of the Policy and Procedure, as failure to do so is not grounds for appeal.
Students are advised to seek advice from the staff at the Swinburne Student Amenities Association SSAA ( http://www.myssaa.com.au/ ) if they require assistance with advocacy for Sections 12 (At-Risk and Progress Review) and 13 (Appeals) of the Policy and Procedure.

j. Ethical Conduct at Swinburne

During your studies you may carry out research projects or case studies where you will discuss business issues with personnel or customers of organisations. Any research activities relating to assignments should be under academic supervision. Your unit convenor is required to fully inform you of what and how you may be required to research.
Your activities as a Swinburne member (staff or student) are expected to be in accord with the Code of Conduct. The code is available at: http://policies.swinburne.edu.au/ppdonline/default.aspx?mode=glossary&word=Conduct 
If you are conducting research you must also be familiar with the University’s Ethics Policy (available at http://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/ethics/ ). You may not contact any organisation or person until you have agreed to abide by these policies.
You should be grateful for the goodwill granted to you by individuals and organisations who agree to assist you and you are required to behave in a professional and ethical manner at all times. At no time are you to divulge confidential information of any organisation (including your employer) in any assignment or report without the written permission of the organisation.
Students collecting information for assignments and reports must disclose:
 

• That you are a student of Swinburne University of Technology
• Information on the assignment or report to the contact
• Your employment status and who your employer is, if employed
• Any potential conflict of interest

Under no circumstances are you to use any form of misrepresentation or unethical practices to obtain information. If you are unsure whether your data collection falls within the university’s Ethics Guidelines, contact your Unit Convenor.
 

k. Blackboard Site for this Unit of Study

Important information concerning this unit of study is placed on the Swinburne course management system (Blackboard), accessible via http://iLearn.swin.edu.au/
It is your responsibility to access on a regular basis
·         the Blackboard site for your unit of study,
·         the Announcements section on Blackboard, and
·         any emails sent by the teaching staff to your student email address via Blackboard.
·         If you access your email through a provider other than Swinburne, it is your responsibility to ensure that your Swinburne email is redirected to your private email address. To redirect your Swinburne email, go to http://live.swinburne.edu.au/login.html
·         Type in your ID number and your password. Note your ID number is the first six numbers of your student ID and your password is initially set to your date of birth in the format DDMMYY
·         Under 'Email forwarding' enter the email address to which you would like your Swinburne emails to be forwarded.
·         Now click 'Change'

l. Student Feedback:

Swinburne seeks student feedback in a number of ways, including through periodic “Student Feedback on Units” and “Student Feedback on Teaching” surveys, as part of the university’s approach to quality assurance and improvement. Possible improvement based on both student and staff feedback is considered by Unit Convenors, Unit Panels made up of relevant teaching staff, Program Panels, Faculty Academic Committees, and the Academic Programs Quality Committee, as appropriate.
Recent updates and improvements made to this unit of study include re-organisation of the Marketing Game.

m. Safety Standards and Conduct Requirements:

The University executes safety drills without warning. Be prepared to follow instructions from staff and/or wardens to evacuate the building in a safe and orderly manner.
All students are expected to respect the rights and sensibilities of their fellow students and teaching staff. This also applies in respect of the content of video and audio work submitted for