Management of Change

The objectives of this course are to introduce to you the fundamental principles and practices of marketing and to develop your ability to understand and use marketing processes and techniques. The development of your analytical and presentation skills will also be emphasised in this course. Marketing performs a specific role within the organisation. It seeks to increase certainty in the revenue stream today and into the future (Ambler, Marketing and the bottom line, 2000).

The philosophy that underpins how this is achieved can be simply stated as seeking to understand and satisfy customer needs and wants as part of the process of achieving the organisations objectives (Kotler et. al. 2009). To execute this philosophy to fulfil its role within an organisation, marketing follows a process that comprises a number of components and tools. The apparent simplicity of the task as portrayed above, masks a complexity that will keep you engaged in the discipline for many years.

Good marketers are able to draw insights from the theory, apply it to the day-to-day and develop innovations in marketing activity that delivers success to the organisation. It is, therefore, suggested that organisations which embrace marketing are more effective and efficient at generating revenue than that those which do not. A more technical explanation of the process of marketing is that companies aim to deliver value to their customers in a range of situations and contexts via a product or a service.

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The concept of value is one we consider early in the course. Companies usually deliver value to customers by developing a strategically planned and managed approach and by understanding their markets—that is, their customers, who are usually divided into groups of people (referred to as market segments) who share similar aspects or characteristics. The notion of identifying and understanding (target) segments is the basis of consumer behaviour; a key aspect of the course.

The way in which companies actually design, and deliver a product or service to meet the needs, wants and demands of their markets lies at the very heart of the marketing concept and this is the marketing mix. This multi-faceted topic covers the remainder of the lecture series. There are four key parts of the marketing mix we focus on: product, price, place (logistics), and promotion. In fact, there are also three other Ps—people, physical evidence and process. We do not cover these in this course—not because they are not important but because we simply do not have the time (they are covered in many textbooks).

Each part of the marketing mix (and indeed, of marketing as a whole) has to deliver carefully planned value to the market—so we return to the critical concept of value which lies at the very heart of marketing. The above focuses on how companies provide value to customers (known as customer value). However, customer value also has another meaning - the financial value customers provide firms via their purchase of goods and services and the consumption of pre- and post-sale services. The financial outcome associated with the company’s marketing program is a critical issue for Boards and senior management.

On completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Recognise and understand the fundamental core concepts and processes of marketing
• Explain marketing and its role in society and identify the principles that underpin marketing orientation
• Describe the variety of marketing activities necessary to fulfil the marketing management process
• Have acquired an understanding of the fundamental concepts and processes of marketing and the principles underlying the development of marketing strategies
• Select appropriate methods and tools for implementing marketing strategies
• Demonstrate and apply this knowledge to provide solutions to marketing problems
• Solve marketing problems, and write cogent academic and business reports to meet academic and business criteria
• Differentiate between organisations that are marketing oriented and those that are not values Appreciate the marketing situations that can occur for a range of products, services and ideas, and the marketing practices of various organisations in the public and private sectors including the not-for-profit organisations
• Understand and appreciate the role of the marketer as one which contributes to an organisation’s goals through satisfying the needs of the consumer and the longer term needs of society (values/attitudes based objectives). You will be introduced to the marketing concept and its evolution. The role of marketing in a modern business environment will be discussed including the way in which the marketing system interrelates with influencing variables. Current topical issues, including ethical considerations and green marketing, will be raised.

The critical concepts of ‘value exchange’ and ‘customer value’ will be emphasised. Marketing’s role within the organisation and the underlying principles and techniques for marketing decision making, marketing planning, marketing research and the development of marketing strategies will be discussed. You will gain an understanding of the forces affecting market dynamics and an introduction to consumer behaviour, market segmentation, target marketing and positioning.

The elements of the marketing mix and associated concepts will be covered including the product life cycle, new product development, brands and packaging, pricing, distribution and supply, advertising and communications.

The organisation, control and evaluation of the marketing activities within a firm will be introduced. Teaching Method Classes will be informal, interactive and involving.

Class exercises and discussions will be complemented with DVDs/video clips on various topics where appropriate. The lecturer will vary the format, style, pace and flow to meet your needs but remember—your willingness to participate and share your knowledge/experiences will help your learning and that of the other students.

If you have not studied marketing before it helps your learning if you start to become a highly aware consumer. This means, for example:

1. When you see an advertisement on TV or in a magazine ask yourself the following; a. ho is the target market? What has led you to this conclusion? b. what is the key message? How is it being communicated? c. is this the best medium to reach this target market?

2. When you’re at the supermarket take note of; d. what products/brands are placed in the best locations (where in the store/on what shelf) e. whether house brands are taking space from national/international brands f. what price or sales promotions are being run g. determine, if at all, how these marketing tactics affect your buying behaviour

3. Take note of how you go about your shopping for a variety of goods/services—just buy what you always buy, search for products and prices on the Internet first, speak to friends, who makes the final decision, who purchases the product

4. If you’re not happy with a product or service be an active consumer—contact the firm and assess how they handle your feedback/complaint—this is a good way to find out just how customer oriented a firm is.

It is emphasised that this course requires a significant commitment outside of formal class contact. The learning tasks in this course may include classes (lectures, tutorials or seminars), required reading, the preparation of answers to set questions, exercises and problems, and self-study. In addition, students may be required to complete an assignment, test or examination.

Students who do not submit a task(s) or fail a task(s) in the semester will be identified as a ‘student at risk’ of unsatisfactory academic progress (outlined in the Business School Handbooks) and will be directed to the School’s Intervention Program. Students who encounter difficulties or who are otherwise concerned regarding their progress should consult their lecturer. Assessment criteria set out the details by which performance in each task will be judged. This information will give a clear and explicit understanding of the expected standards to be achieved relative to the marks awarded.

You will form groups and answer specific questions and present to the class. You will review a sample of a ‘model’ report of this assignment which will give you clear indications of what is required to earn a high mark. 4. 5Assignment Two—Group Presentation and Report Due Date: Report—Due week 11 Submit a hard copy at MIT Melbourne level 7 no later than 30th January 2013 by 4pm. Presentation— 31st January 2013 Hard copy of the presentation is to be handed to the lecturer before the presentation. Submit a hard copy at MIT no later than tutorial and lecture time. Weighting:25% (10% for the presentation and 15% for the report)

Length:2,500 to 3,000 words for the report and an oral presentation of around twenty minutes followed by about ten minutes for questions. The presentation is usually accompanied by about 20 PowerPoint slides but again, you will be advised by your lecturer. This is a higher level assignment compared to Assignment One. Now we ask you to include some discussion, analysis, and creative thinking. In essence, you can now also provide more of your own ideas, viewpoints and thoughts about the topic. This a real life case study and this will be discussed by your lecturer.

You will pick a real company to be the focus of your case study. The company could be the company as a whole, but it could instead be a product, or a service or, indeed, a range of products or services. History shows that it is easier to do this assignment if you focus on one specific product (or service) such as American Express Platinum Card rather than looking at the entire American Express suite of offerings or the company as a whole. The presentation and the report need to cover the following issues, although there may be some variation: talk to your lecturer.

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