UoPeople Online Syllabus Repository (OSR)

MBA

BUS 5112 Marketing Management


BUS 5112: Marketing Management


Credits: 3

Prerequisites: NA

Course Description: Effective organizations, whether in the public, the private or non-profit sector, seek to attract and retain satisfied customers consistent with their mission and capacity. The course will emphasize the theory and practical skills associated with assessing customer interests, desires and needs; identifying organizational fit, and harnessing the organization’s capacity to respond. It will explore the relationship of marketing to other business functions and consider the challenges faced by organizations seeking to serve international and cross-cultural markets. Examples of how both young and mature organizations gain insight into consumer behavior, market services and engage in business-to-business marketing will be analyzed. Marketing for the e-business sector will be discussed, and students will be introduced to the role of marketing in new ventures, and learn cost-effective ways to do market research and leverage available resources in innovative ways to create new markets.


Required Textbook and Materials: UoPeople courses use open educational resources (OER) and other materials specifically donated to the University with free permissions for educational use. Therefore, students are not required to purchase any textbooks or sign up for any websites that have a cost associated with them. The main required textbooks for this course are listed below and can be readily accessed using the provided links. There may be additionally required/recommended readings, supplemental materials, or other resources and websites necessary for lessons; these will be provided for you in the course's General Information and Forums area, and throughout the term via the weekly course Unit areas and the Learning Guides.


Software Requirements/Installation: No special requirements.


Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

By the end of this course students will be able to:

  1. Develop marketing strategies for the local and global markets across the product life cycle.
  2. Employ models, theories, and data analysis to critically examine factors that influence consumer and organizational decision-making and buying behavior.
  3. Assess marketing challenges and opportunities paying particular attention to customers, pricing, distribution channels, communications, and product development.
  4. Design and employ strategies for customer relationship-building and management with the goal of long-term retention customer retention.

Course Schedule and Topics: This course will cover the following topics in eight learning sessions, with one Unit per week.

Week 1: Unit 1 - Developing a Marketing Strategy

Week 2: Unit 2 - Understanding Customer Behavior

Week 3: Unit 3 - Developing a Global Brand Strategy

Week 4: Unit 4 - Marketing Strategy over the Product Life Cycle; New Product Development

Week 5: Unit 5 - Pricing and Sales Promotion

Week 6: Unit 6 - Communications

Week 7: Unit 7 - Channels of Distribution

Week 8: Unit 8 - Customer Relationship Management


Learning Guide: The following is an outline of how this course will be conducted, with suggested best practices for students.

Unit 1: Developing a Marketing Strategy

  • Introduce yourself in the Course Forum
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete and submit the Written Assignment
  • Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity

Unit 2: Understanding Customer Behavior

  • Peer-assess Unit 1 Assignment
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete the Written Assignment
  • Complete the Portfolio Activity

Unit 3: Developing a Global Brand Strategy

  • Peer-assess Unit 2 Assignment
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete and submit the Written Assignment
  • Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity

Unit 4: Marketing Strategy over the Product Life Cycle; New Product Development

  • Peer-assess Unit 3 Case Study
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete and submit the Written Assignment
  • Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity

Unit 5: Pricing and Sales Promotion

  • Peer-assess Unit 4 Assignment
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete and submit the Case Study
  • Begin working on Group Activity
  • Complete and submit your Portfolio Activity

Unit 6: Communications

  • Peer-assess Unit 5 Case Study
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Continue working on the Group Assignment
  • Complete and submit the Written Assignment
  • Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity

Unit 7: Channels of Distribution

  • Peer-assess Unit 6 Assignment
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete and submit the Written Assignment
  • Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity
  • Complete and submit the Group Activity

Unit 8: Customer Relationship Management

  • Peer-assess Unit 7 Assignment
  • Read through the Learning Guide and the Reading Assignment
  • Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum
  • Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
  • Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity


Course Requirements:

Discussion Assignments & Response Posts/Ratings
Some units in this course require that you complete a Discussion Assignment. You are required to develop and post a substantive response to the Discussion Assignment in the Discussion Forum. A substantive response is one that fully answers the question that has been posed by the instructor.

In addition, you must extend the discussion by responding to at least three of your peers’ postings in the Discussion Forum.

Discussion Forums are only active for each current and relevant learning week, so it is not possible to contribute to the forum once the learning week has come to an end. Failure to participate in the Discussion Assignment by posting in the Discussion Forum as required may result in failure of the course.

Written Assignments & Assessment Forms
Some units in this course require that you complete a Written Assignment. Assignments can vary in type: short papers, research-based, case studies, and the like. You are required to submit your assignments by the indicated deadlines and in addition, to peer-assess three of your classmates’ assignments according to provided instructions. During this peer-assessment, you are expected to provide details in the feedback section of the assignment’s Specimen Assessment Form, indicating why you awarded the grade that you did to your peer. Failure to submit assignments and/or peer-assessments may result in failure of the course.

Any materials cited in this course should be referenced using the style guidelines established by the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA format is widely used in colleges and universities across the world and is one of several style and citation formats required for publication in professional and academic journals. Purdue University’s Online Writing LAB (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style. The OWL website can be accessed here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Portfolio Activities

Portfolio Activities are tools for self-reflection and evaluation within the context of the course. These activities are designed as a means to document and reflect upon your learning process and critical thinking skills. Ideally, you will draw from your experiences inside and outside of the classroom, as well as what you’ve learned in other courses, to showcase your overall growth and examine ways in which you can continue to develop and sharpen your professional goals. Portfolio Activities will be useful to you as part of your Capstone experience.

Course Forum
The Course Forum is the place to raise issues and questions relating to the course. It is regularly monitored by the instructors and is a good place to meet fellow students taking the same course. While it is not required to participate in the Course Forum, it is highly recommended.


Course Policies:

Grading Components and Weights
Each graded component of the course will contribute some percentage to the final grading scale, as indicated here:

Portfolio Activities 25%
Written Assignments & Case Studies
30%
Discussion Forums 20%
Group Activity 25%
TOTAL 100%


Grading Scale
This course will follow the standard 100-point grading scale defined by the University of the People, as indicated here:

Letter Grade
Grade Scale Grade Points
A+ 98-100 4.00
A 93-97 4.00
A- 90-92 3.67
B+ 88-89 3.33
B 83-87 3.00
B- 80-82 2.67
C+ 78-79 2.33
C 73-77 2.00
C- 70-72 0.00
D+ 68-69 0.00
D 63-67 0.00
D- 60-62 0.00
F Under 60 0.00
CR N/A N/A
NC N/A N/A
NF N/A N/A
W N/A N/A


Grade Appeal

If you believe that the final grade you received for a course is erroneous, unjust, or unfair, please contact your course instructor. This must be done within seven days of the posted final grade. For more information on this topic, please review the Grade Appeal Procedure in the University Catalog.

Participation
Non-participation is characterized by lack of any assignment submissions, inadequate contributions to the Discussion Forums, and/or lack of peer feedback to Discussion/Written Assignments. Also, please note the following important points about course participation:

  • Assignments must be submitted on or before the specified deadline. A course timeline is provided in the course schedule, and the instructor will specify deadlines for each assignment.
  • Any student showing non-participation for two weeks (consecutive or non-consecutive) is likely to automatically fail the course.
  • Occasionally there may be a legitimate reason for submitting an assignment late. Most of the time, late assignments will not be accepted and there will be no make-up assignments.
  • All students are obligated to inform their instructor in advance of any known absences which may result in their non-participation.

Academic Honesty and Integrity
If and when you submit any work that requires research and writing, it is essential to cite and reference all source material. Failure to properly acknowledge your sources is known as “plagiarism” – which is effectively passing off an individual’s words or ideas as your own. University of the People adheres to a strict policy of academic honesty and integrity. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in sanctions by the University, including dismissal from the University or course failure. For more information on this topic, please review the Academic Integrity Policy in the University Catalog.

Any materials cited in this course should be referenced using the style guidelines established by the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA format is widely used in colleges and universities across the world and is one of several style and citation formats required for publication in professional and academic journals. Purdue University’s Online Writing LAB (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style. The OWL website can be accessed here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

Code of Conduct
University of the People expects that students conduct themselves in a respectful, collaborative, and honest manner at all times. Harassment, threatening behavior, or deliberate embarrassment of others will not be permitted.

Any conduct that interferes with the quality of the educational experience is not allowed and may result in disciplinary action, such as course failure, probation, suspension, or dismissal. For more information on this topic, please review the Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog.