S Y L L A B U S
Business to Business Marketing (MBAC 663)
Instructor:
Dr. Annie H. Liu
Office & Hours: Hilton #321; Monday 12-1; 2-3, & Wednesday 12-1; 2-5
Phone/E-mail: (310) 338-3039; aliu@lmu.edu
Texts
James C. Anderson & James A. Narus (1999), Business Market Management: Understanding, Creating,
and Delivering Value, Prentice Hall.
Course Objectives
1. Develop a basic understanding of the concepts and frameworks of business market management.
2. Develop critical analysis and problem-solving abilities with respect to business market
management
3. Gain a first-hand understanding of working relationships within and between firms in business
markets.
Evaluation
Participation. Each student must be prepared to thoroughly discuss each case. This demonstrated
ability will be a heavy determinant of each student’s class participation grade. Since case write-ups will
not be collected for grades (although I strongly recommend the exercise), verbal case discussions in
class indicate your commitment & leaning. Students are expected to contribute to case discussions
and are encouraged to actively share ideas & issues that are relevant to cases & chapter objectives.
Bonus points will be assigned to those who make organized & systematic presentation on relevant
ideas & current issues. The purpose of this presentation is to further stimulate classroom discussions.
As such, presentation should be limited to 15 minutes & discussion questions should be integrated.
Case Presentation/Discussion. Everyone (in a group of 2) is required to present & lead the discussion
of 1 assigned case study. Each group should plan on a 20-30 minute presentation, and another 20
minutes for activities and Q&A to stimulate class participation and discussion. Be creative and
involve class in your presentation/discussion. Boring presentations or unprepared discussions
are not acceptable! Presentation grades will be based on: (1) identifying critical issues & exploring
options/solutions (including necessary financial analysis and conceptual issues to support your
options), (2) tying your solution to chapter objectives & concepts (3) stimulating class participation
through planned activities & Q&A, and (4) professional presentation & communication.
Exams. Exams will require the analysis of a case. 2 Exams will be given. Exam cases & questions will
be given the week prior to the exam date. Exams must be turned in to my office by 7 PM on the
exam date. Exams should be typed and should not exceed 10 pages.
Grading Procedure
Participation
Case Presentation
Exam 1
Exam 2
Group Project
Project Presentation
Bonus presentation
15%
15%
20%
20%
20%
10%
100%
2%
Tentative Class Schedule
Date
Topic
Reading
(before class)
1
August
28
Business Market Management
September
4
Project Research – Company Background & Group Member
September
11
3
September
18
September
25
October
2
Company Background & Group Member – DUE
Market Sensing & Understanding Firms as Customers
CASE: Bose Corporation
Crafting Market Strategy
CASE: Marketing at Bain & Company
Managing Market Offerings
CASE: Cumberland Metal Industries
EXAM 1 - DUE
October
9
6
October
16
October
23
New Offering Realization
CASE: Guidant (A)
“Can This High-Tech Product Sell Itself?”
Business Channel Management
CASE: S.C. Johnson and Son, Limited
Project Research
October
30
10
November
6
November
13
Customers Relationships (Guest Speaker)
CASE: SaleSoft, Inc. (A)
Reseller Relationships
CASE: Atlas Copco (A)
EXAM 2 – DUE
November
20
Project Research
November
27
December
4
Project Papers – DUE 11/27
Project Presentations
Project Presentations
4
5
7
9
General Policies
* NO late assignments will be accepted.
* NO make-up exams or in-class exercises will be given.
You are expected to do original work for all assignments, including cases, exams, and projects. Students are
responsible for their own conduct and all cases of dishonesty will be reported to the proper university
officials. Please do not put yourself in an embarrassing or unfortunate situation.
All written assignments must be well organized using an interesting writing style that is grammatically correct
(regardless of what your native language is). Expect a severe grade reduction for poor grammar.
Working Relationship Group Research Project
Purpose
The purpose of this project is for you to gain better understanding of and insight into working
relationships between firms in business markets. This will be accomplished through your
group conducting a set of personal interviews with a supplier firm about problems that it is
experiencing in its relationships. The supplier firm can be either a manufacturer or a
distributor. The firsthand experience that you will gain in this research place you far above
the typical student in your understanding of business marketing.
Procedure
Your group will want to gain multiple perspectives on the selected firm’s working
relationship strategy and problems. Therefore, you will need to interview several individuals
within the firm that you consider most germane. To foster multiple perspectives and promote
candor, the interviews should be conducted sequentially. Avoid interviewing the research
participants together. Ensure the respondent that his/her responses will be held in strictest
confidence and that you group upholds this confidence. Do not interview others outside the
firm, such as customers, without the explicit permission of the firm.
The actual content of the paper should include these sub-titled sections:
1. Company and Industry Background. Give a brief description of the nature of the firm’s
business, the technology employed and size of the firm (or business unit, if applicable).
Briefly describe the industry in terms such as number of competitors , the number of enduser markets served, and the firm’s position within the industry. The names, titles,
company addresses and telephone numbers of individuals should be provided in an
Appendix to your paper.
2. Market Strategy, Value Assessment, and working Relationship Strategy and Practice.
Briefly describe the firm’s market strategy. What segmentation approach, if any, does it
employ, and how does its offering vary by market segment? What, if any, value
assessments does the firm do? How does the firm gain an understanding of the value it
provides to customers and how this value varies across customer characteristics such as
application, capabilities and usage situation? Briefly describe the firm’s working
relationship strategy. How, if at all, do the firm’s working relationship strategy and
practices vary across customer accounts and market segments?
3. Working Relationship Problems. What recent or recurring problems has the firm had in
building or sustaining working relationships? Conclude this section with the specific
working relationship problem that is of special interest to your group and on which the
remainder of the research paper will focus. Briefly relate why this is a problem for the
firm and what is its significance.
4. Alternatives and Analysis. What alternative ways of solving this problem has the firm
considered? What, if any, additional ways can your group offer? In discussing each
alternative, provide an analysis of it. This entails marshaling supporting evidence (as well
as consideration of any contrary evidence) to provide a compelling rational for resolving
the problem. Integrate within this analysis germane concepts from the course readings,
particularly how better understanding, creating, or delivering value could help the firm
resolve its problem.
5. Recommended Actions. What specific, implementable course of action should be taken
in addressing the identified problem? A cogent rationale that supports your
recommendations and that rules out alternative courses of action should be provided.
Implementation of these actions must be made apparent to the reader. Finally, a means or
method for feedback must accompany these.
6. Appendices. Directly useful, adjunct material such as computations, lengthy anecdotes,
and detailed lists which do not appear in the text should be included in appendices.
Appendices should be labeled alphabetically in the order in which they are cited. Note
carefully, though, that the text of the research paper must be able to meaningfully stand
alone.
7. Executive summary. A one-page, single-spaced executive summary of your research paper
should be included in the beginning of the paper. In addition, this summary will be
distributed to the class prior to your presentation of the paper, so make enough copies for
each student to have one. Be sure to include your group members’ names.
Timing & Format of the Research Paper
Submit the name of your firm and its brief history by September 11th for approval. This
should include the names, titles, company addresses and telephone numbers of individuals
your group intend to contact. Late submission of or changing company in the later day will
result in one lower grade.
The completed paper with the interview dialog should be turned in by November 27th. It
is your responsibility to coordinate among your group members to complete your project by
the due date. Keep a copy of your paper and presentation for your own record. Papers will
not be returned. The completed paper should include Table of Contents, 10 to 12 pages of
Content (double-spaced, 12pt. Times New Roman, 1 inch margin), a complete References
(check end of each chapter for the exact format) and, any relevant Figures / Tables / Pictures
in Appendix. LATE PROJECTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Peer Evaluation will be integrated for case presentation & for research project, respectively.
Individuals receive zeros for case or project from group members will also receive a zero for
case or project will also for project.
Peer Evaluation Form -- Project Presentation
Please specify (in terms of percentages) the relative allocation of work/effort/commitment that you &
your partners devoted to your group project. The percentages must sum to 100%. For example, in a fourperson group, if each partner devoted an equal amount of effort to the project, assign each partner 25%.
My Name:_____________________________________
Partner1: ______________________________________
Partner2: ______________________________________
Partner3: ______________________________________
Total
Percentage
Allocated
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
100%
Peer Evaluation Form -- Case Presentation
Please specify (in terms of percentages) the relative allocation of work/effort/commitment that you &
your partners devoted to your case presentation. The percentages must sum to 100%. For example, in a
four-person group, if each partner devoted an equal amount of effort to the project, assign each partner
25%.
Percentage
Allocated
My Name:_____________________________________
_____________
Partner1: ______________________________________
_____________
Partner2: ______________________________________
_____________
Partner3: ______________________________________
_____________
Total
100%