1 ASSESSMENT GUIDE BHO6505 - Marketing Management Semester 1 TRI, 2017 ASSESSMENT 1: CASE ANALYSIS REPORT (15 marks) The goal of case analysis is to allow you to consolidate what you have learned in the class and from the book chapters and to apply the knowledge in a written analysis of a real world case. This is an individual assessment. For this assessment you should focus on the core issues underlying the case and illustrate the analysis with appropriate and relevant arguments, logic and theoretical frameworks to demonstrate your mastery and knowledge of the case subject matter and alignment with the chapter topics. Background research, analysing the case based on unit relevant topics, models and frameworks as well as strong arguments backed up by credible and relevant data and facts will be crucial in achieving a good mark. In constructing the case analysis, a report format is preferably advised over an essay format. Case: Leopard Controls finally shows its spots Review the case and based on your chapter learning and topics covered so far, answer the following questions. Question 1. What could a marketing professional do for a company like Leopard Controls? (300 words approx.) Question 1. In some ways the Leopard Controls approach to gaining market share could be considered naive. It may be good for the clients, but it is not necessary good for the business itself. Growth can be slow and erratic because price and service quality perception can fall victim to the mood state of the client. Profitability is also dependent on a high activity level. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to business? (500 words approx.) [Source: Sharp (2013); Marketing: Theory, Evidence, Practice; Oxford University Press. Available on VUCollaborate] Submission Details - Word limit: 800 words (±10%) (Excluding reference list, if any). - You need to state the word count of the assessment on the cover page. - Submission deadline April 21, by 4 pm - Softcopy to be uploaded on VUC Assessment Dropbox AND hardcopy to be submitted to Lecturer Note: The case report along with your class attendance upto session 4 will be considered for “At Risk Assessment” review2 Guidelines for Case Analysis  A case is a scenario that gives you the opportunity to identify problems and recommend a course of action in a business situation. The case may be real or fictional, but will usually represent a complex situation with no ready solutions. Case analysis enables you to improve your critical thinking and analytical abilities, evaluate sources of information and enhance your written communication skills. Written analysis of cases is widely used in major business schools around the world. In constructing this case analysis, a report format is preferably advised over an essay format. Students are requested to directly answer the questions for this assessment.  The case analysis has a relatively short word limit which will be strictly enforced. The intention is to focus your write-up on strategic analysis and analytical recommendations. The one thing to avoid is simple restatement of case data and facts. We are looking for strategic insight supported by logical analysis based on your learning from the lectures and tutorials. Your analysis should be compact, specific, context specific, relevant and directly pertinent to key case questions. Application of ideas and use of relevant marketing concepts, theories, models and frameworks (i.e., covered in class) will strengthen the quality of analysis.  The details of the case are more than sufficient for you to respond to the given questions and you can do your further background research if you require. The case analysis can include references from peerreviewed academic journals, textbooks, business magazines, industry whitepapers, newspapers, credible and reliable websites and marketing textbooks to confirm the strength and quality of your work and analysis. It is expected that students will utilize at-least 3 references for their analysis.  Please refrain from requesting feedback on your draft papers as well as requests for resubmission after marking. Such requests defeat the purpose of evaluating student understanding and performance. Case analysis can be done from various perspectives, objectives and arguments in mind. Adequate assessment guidance and discussions will be done for the assessment.  Any concern and suspicion regarding the authenticity (assistance of ghost-writers) and collusion of the work submitted in your report will be thoroughly investigated and academic misconduct implications will apply. While analysing any business case one should consider the following  Identify the problem(s) in the situation presented in the scenario  Analyse the key issues within the context of the theory and concepts presented in your chapters  Evaluate similar examples and strategy used by various company's/organizations  Develop and compare alternative solutions and outcomes to the problems  Select the best solution, justify your reasons and make recommendations for action  Conduct background research, historical analysis, updates and performance of the selected company  Appropriate analysis, evaluation, synthesis of key facts and contexts  Proper grammar, professional writing, format and style3 Marking Criteria for Assessment 1 Evaluation Criteria Weighting * Excellent Good Standard Satisfactory Passing Substantial work required Evaluation of Question 1 Relevance of discussion to the case question 5 Quality and depth of analysis and recommendation 10 Evaluation of Question 2 Relevance of discussion to the case question 5 Quality, accuracy and depth of analysis and interpretation 15 Overall evaluation Style: Arguments, clarity, structure, grammar, word-count 5 Referencing: appropriate references and citations, style 5 Total (out of 45) *Note: The total evaluation marks for the above rubric will be scaled to 15% for Assessment 1. Marking Grades Grade Range Marking Grades Grade Range Excellent 80 – 100% (HD) Passing 50 – 59% (P) Good standard 70 – 79% (D) Substantial work required 0 – 49% (N) Satisfactory 60 – 69% (C)4 ASSESSMENT 2: PRESENTATIONS (15 marks) This assessment component involves a seminar presentation on a set marketing topic by a group. The group will also need to submit a short topic brief on the marketing topic along with their presentation. The Marketing Topic  The marketing topics for the presentation are key and influential ‘buzzwords’ that is widely used in the corporate world. Based on the relevancy with the unit contents and learning objectives, the marketing buzzwords have been sourced from various industry reports and whitepapers, textbooks, academic journals, marketing reports and debates, expert opinions etc.  Attempt has been taken to broadly align the marketing buzzwords with the lecture topic for each week/session. There is very low probability that one may find all of the selected marketing “buzzwords” topics in a typical marketing textbook as they are very contemporary and holistic in nature. This assessment opens up the opportunity to bring these contemporary concepts into our seminar discussion.  This is a group presentation (3 members per group). The lecturer will randomly allocate students into groups of 3 members and the topics will also be assigned randomly to each group by week 2 or 3. The presentations will be made between weeks 5 and 10. The “Pecha-Kucha” Seminar Presentation  Students will be required to make a Pecha-Kucha style of presentation on a marketing ‘buzzword’ topic during the weekly seminar. A Pecha-Kucha style of presentation (www.pecha-kucha.org)effectively involves presenting 20 slides for 20 seconds each; hence only a 6 minute 40 second presentation is delivered. The topic is presented in images rather than words or text slides. No presentation headline or slide text is used. No video clips are allowed in the presentation. For BHO6505 the presentation rules are described below.  In order to align the Pecha-Kucha style of presentation with the assessment and the unit learning objectives, groups will be presenting 20 slides for 30 seconds each; hence a maximum of 10 minute presentation is allowed by a group. One introductory slide in the beginning (for topic and team information) and one additional reference slide (with all references used) at the end is required. So a total of 22 slides max will be allowed. More or less than the required number of slides and presentation time will result in lower marks.  Groups are allowed to use (if “really” needed) presentation headlines or titles for each slide. It is strongly advised that the headlines for each slide should be designed to make a point or assertion or statement instead of the usual label or title. You need to think about what you want the people to get from the slide in terms of the argument, the point, the reason, the claim, the take away lesson etc. The following links are useful. http://www.simswyeth.com/20110303-make-your-powerpoint-headlines-sentences/ http://dev.fassforward.com/headlines-vs-labels/5  Team members are expected to make equitable contribution to the presentation and topic brief. All team members have to equally present the Pecha-Kucha presentation. Individual performances will be evaluated. o Teams are strongly advised to contact the lecturer/tutor at the earliest for any major issues or concerns with the team members. Team conflicts should be mitigated between the group members as it is a part of the learning process. Postgraduate students are expected to be professional in team development, team commitment and team communication among themselves. Valid complaints and/or criticism against "free-riders" will be dealt on a case by case basis and will have a negative impact on assessment grade. Valid complaints and/or criticism against a particular team member’s effort, commitment and work needs to be provided in writing. o Lack of team commitment, efforts and communication after repeated attempts will result in the nonperforming team member leaving the team. That person will then need to work individually to complete Assessment 2. We want to avoid any non-performing and non-committing student to negatively impact other team members in any manner  Creativity, inventiveness and thinking out of the box will significantly impact on the quality of the presentation. Students are advised to review the nature and various examples of Pecha-Kucha style of presentation from the web. While a significant amount of research and thinking occurs prior to the presentation, the presentation is quick – to the point – and engages the audience. The following links are useful. http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/bemidji/blogs/presenter-information-and-tips http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/presentation-skills/pecha-kucha-presentation/  The Pecha-Kucha style of presentation is constructed of images. The images chosen should reinforce the ideas. Avoid clipart’s, be imaginative. Try to find images which are illustrations or metaphors of your key points and/or use words-as-image. This makes delivery of your presentation much easier, as you’re not trying to race through a list of points. You can take or use your own pictures to illustrate your point. The following link is useful. http://www.powerpointninja.com/graphics/what-makes-an-image-good-for-presentations-part-i/  Groups will need to provide the references used to construct the ideas and discussions in the presentation. The references should be provided in the last slide as a reference list. The discussions and references would be similar to the topic brief (discussed below).  While doing your research for your topic please keep in mind that you are to source credible, reliable, relevant, factual and recent information from online business news and information sources, company reports and websites, industry whitepapers, business magazines, expert opinions, marketing textbooks, academic journals and suggested additional readings as an evidence to substantiate your illustrations, thoughts and arguments. Please avoid unknown and un-reliable online websites as well as commentary and opinion from unknown and non-expert commentators and personal blogs. Although Wikipedia is a great source, students are advised not to refer or cite it because it is a reader-produced encyclopedia with a probable lack of accuracy or completeness of entries on a lot of cases. When evaluating sources always consider why and how is it relevant to your analysis; why and how does it matter to your analysis; and how it can add value to your analysis.6 The Topic Brief  The topic brief for this assessment refers to a short 2 page document which gives the reader a quick over-view of the marketing topic presented. The topic brief may include definitions, why it matters, how it is used, best practice examples, debates surrounding the topic, positive/negative criticisms, etc. For clarity and illustration purposes groups can complement the topic brief with relevant models, frameworks and images as they see fit. It is expected that the topic brief discussions will be presented in the Pecha-kucha presentation. There is no set or ideal format for developing the topic brief, but the advice is to structure it in a manner which will allow the reader to have a quick and reasonable understanding of the topic and that the brief it could be used as a reference document for the topic.  Groups are advised to be creative in structuring their information as it is short document. It is expected that topic briefs will be different between groups. Each group has the freedom to construct the brief in a manner that is useful and informative. For example, tables can be used to concise information. Merely filling up the two pages with oversized pictures, tables or frameworks to cover up the space will lower the overall quality of the topic brief.  For the topic brief it is important that groups follow proper referencing and in-text citation rules. References can be part of the two pages or groups can organize the references in page 3. Please refrain from filling up page space with a detailed reference list. Discussions and examples for the concept topics may be sourced from textbooks, industry reports, whitepapers, reliable websites, journal articles etc. Absence of references will have a negative impact on the overall quality of the topic brief.  You will be provided with a blank 2 page template for the Topic Brief. Topic Briefs will need to be uploaded on VUCollaborate in order to be shared with the class. Plagiarism rules will apply.7 Seminar Presentation Schedule and Submission Details  The presentations will be held between weeks 5 and 10. Two (2) topics can be presented in each seminar. Hence two (2) groups may be presenting in each seminar. The presentations may be held before or after the lectures for each week. Your lecturer will coordinate with the groups regarding the timing of the presentations.  Submission requirements of each group (at the start of the seminar) - Upload softcopy of the Pecha-Kucha presentation AND Topic Brief document on VUC Assessment Dropbox - Provide hardcopy of the Pecha-Kucha presentation (6 slides in one page, double sided print) AND Topic Brief (double sided) to the lecturer BEFORE the start of the presentation. - Non submission of the presentation file and the topic brief document on due date of the presentation will be treated as late submission and usual late submission penalties will apply.  The following table lists the tentative topic schedule for the Pecha-Kucha presentation for each week. Each group will be presenting only one topic. The same topic cannot be presented by both groups. Topics will be allocated by lecturer. Weekly Seminars Topic 1 Topic 2 Week 5 Seminar 1. Extreme Consumers 2. Holistic Marketing Week 6 Seminar 1. Marketing Myopia 2. Guerrilla Marketing Week 7 Seminar 1. Brand Storytelling 2. Brand personality Week 8 Seminar 1. Double Jeopardy 2. Green Marketing Week 9 Seminar 1. Conversion marketing 2. Social Marketing Week 10 Seminar 1. Online value proposition 2. Community Marketing8 Marking Criteria for Assessment 2 – Presentation (15 marks) Topic: Seminar / Date: Team: Evaluation Criteria Weighting* Excellent Good Standard Satisfactory Passing Substantial work required PECHA-KUCHA PRESENTATION (10 MARKS) Presentation requirements (slides and timing) 5 Concept understanding 10 Slide organization, visual appeal and creativity 10 Individual presentation skills (clarity, confidence) 10 1. 2. 3. TOTAL (35) The total evaluation marks for the Pecha-Kucha presentation rubric will be scaled to 10 TOPIC BRIEF (5 MARKS) Concept understanding 10 Concept application / example(s) 5 Alignment with presentation slides 5 Layout and structure 5 TOTAL (25) The total evaluation marks for the Concept Topic rubric will be scaled to 5 Note: Marking Grades Grade Range Marking Grades Grade Range Excellent 80 – 100% (HD) Passing 50 – 59% (P) Good standard 70 – 79% (D) Substantial work required 0 – 49% (N) Satisfactory 60 – 69% (C)9 ASSESSMENT 3: MARKETING PLAN (35 marks) A Marketing Plan provides a vision and strategy proposal to position a business or product or service in the marketplace. The right marketing plan identifies who the target customers are, how to reach them, what strategies to use, and how to retain your customers over time. This assessment involves the preparation of a marketing plan based on the marketing activities of a selected company. 1. This is a group project (3 to 4 members per group) and the marketing plan effectively needs to be developed throughout the semester. For the project, your group can choose any one of the local businesses (or a product or service of that business) from the following and identify a marketing challenge and/or opportunity of interest for the company / product / service.  Victoria University  A SME of your choice  Actual Project a. If you are choosing Victoria University, you are expected to choose a particular product/service of VU. For example as you could develop a focused marketing plan for a specific I. VU course/degree programs (e.g, Master of Marketing, Bachelor of Forensic Science); II. VU services (https://www.vu.edu.au/campuses-services/our-services) III. VU research centres (https://www.vu.edu.au/research/research-focus-areas-expertise/institutesresearch-centres) IV. Etc. b. If you are choosing a SME (small to medium enterprise), you are expected to develop a marketing plan for a small to medium company/enterprise. Examples of such type of companies could be small businesses, restaurants, trade service providers, support services for other companies, home based businesses, coffee shops, travel agencies, retail shops, small boutique companies selling various types of products and services etc. You would be required to contact and source the company and initiate discussion about your willingness to do a marketing plan for a product/service or the company itself. They need to approve your efforts as you will need to source market, customer, product, financial etc. information from that company. c. Under Actual Project, if you are working in an organization or have access to an organization insights and resources and would prefer to undertake this piece of assessment on that organization you may do so. However, you will be required to have written permission from a company owner, decision maker or senior management within the organization. Please speak with the unit coordinator if you are planning to do any actual projects. Time to time, we may also have actual projects from interested industry partners who would allow our student groups to gain hands on experience through developing strategies and solutions on projects of their own. The unit coordinator will notify you of any such available projects. Please speak with your unit coordinator if you know of any companies who would want to participate in such class projects. 2. The assessment is a group project and 3 to 4 students are allowed to form a single group. Ideal would be to have 3 members per group, but based on class size and special cases, the lecturer will have the final say for group formations. Groups and their preferred marketing plan companies will have to be finalized by week 4. By week 5, any person who has not initiated to form a group will have to work individually.10 3. Marketing Plan Approval Document a. By week 6, every group has to submit a single page “Marketing Plan Approval” document for review and endorsement by the unit coordinator/lecturer. The “Marketing Plan Approval” document is available on VUCollaboarte and it states the following: i. The company / product / service selected ii. The rationale behind the need for a marketing plan for that company's product/service iii. Approval from the company (if possible) allowing your group to conduct the marketing plan for their product/services iv. Signature of all group members v. This is a compulsory document submission for Assessment 3 b. Groups cannot progress with their Assessment 3 report without the “Marketing Plan Approval” document authorized by the unit coordinator/lecturer. Delay in submission of the approval document will result in a 10% deduction of overall grade of Assessment 3 for every week after week 6. Non submission of the “Marketing Plan Approval” will result in non-acceptance of the Assessment 3 report in Week 12. The document needs to be uploaded through VUCollaborate Assessment Dropbox. 4. Team members are expected to make equitable contribution to the completion of the report. Teams are strongly advised to contact the lecturer/tutor at the earliest for any major issues or concerns with the team members. Team conflicts should be mitigated between the group members as it is a part of the learning process. a. Postgraduate students are expected to be professional in team development, team commitment and team communication among themselves. Valid complaints and/or criticism against "free-riders" will be dealt on a case by case basis and will have a negative impact on assessment grade. Valid complaints and/or criticism against a particular team member’s effort, commitment and work needs to be provided in writing. b. Lack of team commitment, efforts and communication after repeated attempts will result in the nonperforming team member leaving the team. That person will then need to work individually to complete Assessment 3. We want to avoid any non-performing and non-committing student to negatively impact other team members in any manner. 5. There are various templates and models of marketing plan available in various textbooks, industry whitepapers, Internet resources, journal articles etc. Effectively they all cover the same core concepts and topics in various orders. To have a structured and unified guide for developing a marketing plan as well aligning the core topics of a plan with the unit contents and discussion, we will follow Chapter 17 from Dawn Iacobucci’s text book which solely focuses on developing a Marketing Plan. Students are strongly advised to follow this chapter contents and the marketing plan guidelines and structures to complete this assessment task. The assessment evaluation and marking criteria will be based on the marketing plan framework discussed in the unit. 6. The following sections are required for the marketing plan. The detailed content and requirements of sections A, C, D, E and G are elaborated in Chapter 17 from Dawn Iacobucci’s textbook. Groups can also utilize guidelines and strategies from textbooks, best practices and external resources to the complement the section requirements. The expected details for each of the sections will vary based on the nature of business, competitive environment, product/service strategy, availability of information and analytical capability of the11 group. Please review the mark weightings (in the evaluation criteria) assigned to each of the sections to construct your report accordingly. Section Guideline A. Executive Summary Review Chapter 17 for detailed guideline B. Marketing Plan Objective A rationale for the marketing plan, what it is about and what it hopes to achieve. The value proposition, purpose of study, alignment with company mission etc. to be discussed here. C. Situation Analysis (5Cs) Review Chapter 17 for detailed guideline D. Market Analysis and Strategies (STP) Review Chapter 17 for detailed guideline E. Tactical Plans (4Ps) Review Chapter 17 for detailed guideline F. Conclusion G. Appendices Review Chapter 17 for detailed guideline 7. The word limit for the whole report will be strictly enforced. Make effective use of tables and charts to portray detailed information in brief. Use appendix for any additional analysis, exhibits etc. Refer to the marking criteria for the relative weight and sub-topics for each of the major sections for the marketing plan. 8. The marketing plan should include a minimum of 3 (three) references from textbooks and peer-reviewed academic journals and an additional minimum of 7 (seven) relevant references from business magazines, industry whitepapers, company reports, credible and reliable websites, online business news and information sources, and marketing textbooks to confirm the strength and quality of information and analysis. Please avoid unknown and un-reliable online websites as well as commentary and opinion from unknown and non-expert commentators and personal blogs. Although Wikipedia is a great source, students are advised not to refer or cite it because it is a reader-produced encyclopedia with a probable lack of accuracy or completeness of entries on a lot of cases. When evaluating sources always consider why and how is it relevant to your analysis; why and how does it matter to your analysis; and how it can add value to your analysis. 9. Any concern and suspicion regarding the authenticity (assistance of ghostwriters) and collusion of the work submitted in your report will be thoroughly investigated and academic misconduct implications will apply. All group members will be equally liable in this regard. 10. This is a post-graduate unit. Therefore, demonstration of highly developed analytical skills in expression, presentation and writing is expected. Poorly constructed report with lack of clarity in meaning, referencing, weak arguments, grammar and formatting issues, etc. will lower the overall quality of the report. 11. Submission Details - Word limit: Maximum of 3000 words (±10%) o (Excluding executive summary, reference list, tables, figures and appendices). - Marketing Plan Approval document submission in Week 6. - Full report submission deadline June 16 by 4 pm - Full report softcopy to be uploaded on VUC Assessment Dropbox AND hardcopy to be submitted to Lecturer12 Marking Criteria for Assessment 3 Company: Team: Evaluation Criteria (report layout) Weighting* Excellent Good Standard Satisfactory Passing Substantial work required A. Executive Summary 5 B. Marketing Plan Objective 10 Developing a rationale for the marketing plan C. Situation Analysis 20 Relevant characterization of the Customers, company, context, collaborators and the competitors D. Market Analysis and Strategies 20 Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning E. Tactical Plans 20 Product, Price, Place and Promotion strategies F. Conclusion 5 Appropriate referencing and citations 5 Style: Arguments, clarity, grammar, word-count 5 Total (90) * The total evaluation marks for the above rubric will be scaled to 35% Note: Marking Grades Grade Range Marking Grades Grade Range Excellent 80 – 100% (HD) Passing 50 – 59% (P) Good standard 70 – 79% (D) Substantial work required 0 – 49% (N) Satisfactory 60 – 69% (C)13 BHO6505 – Marketing Management Assessment 3: Marketing Plan Approval 12. The company / product / service selected 13. The rationale behind the need for a marketing plan for that company's product/service 14. Approval from the company (if possible) allowing your group to conduct the marketing plan  Contact details of the decision maker / owner  Any email or written approval (attach with this document) Group member signature Member 1 Name & Signature Member 2 Name & Signature Member 3 Name & Signature Member 4 Name & Signature Date: _______________________