Learning and Teaching Approaches
Advice and Guidance for Practitioners
National 5 Business Management
Management of Marketing and
Operations
About this resource
The potential learner approaches that follow present the opportunity to
explore the topics in the Management of Marketing and Operations
unit in more depth in order to reinforce knowledge and understanding
of this unit.
For most activities, the range of working methods and presentation
media are left to practitioner/learner choice. Use of ICT for some
activities is recommended and web research will be an integral part of
several suggested approaches.
These suggested learner approaches can be adapted to suit the needs
of practitioners.
Management of Marketing
Welcome to
SuperJam™ is a range of
100% pure fruit jams
sweetened with grape juice and
made using super fruits, such
as blueberries and cranberries.
SuperJam was created by Scottish jam-maker Fraser Doherty
after he was taught to make jam using his Gran’s secret recipes
at the age of 14.
From humble beginnings, the company has gone on to sell
millions of jars, has won a variety of awards and is even
exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland as an example of
an ‘iconic Scottish food brand’.
Watch the interview with Fraser Doherty here.
What do customers want? (1)
Learners could watch the video interview with Fraser Doherty
of SuperJam and use this information as a basis for further
investigation.
Learners could suggest how SuperJam researched the
market during the early stages of the formation of the
company.
In groups or pairs, learners could mind map or summarise the
different methods used to undertake market research and
illustrate which of these methods are primary and which are
secondary.
For reflective questioning or to prompt further discussion,
learners could decide how the information gathered might
have affected the new company and/or which decisions may
have been made with the researched information in mind.
What do customers want? (2)
To further investigate the possibilities of market research,
learners could use their own enterprise or business idea
(perhaps created in the Understanding Business unit) and
create a simple internet survey to research the needs and
wants of their potential market.
The links below lead to internet survey sites where learners
can look at ready-made questionnaires and/or design their
own questionnaire for their business idea or a
product/business familiar to them.
Alternatively, learners could base a survey on SuperJam, with
the aim of further expanding its market.
Survey
Monkey
Polldaddy
Zoomerang
Note: Some sites
may require account
creation or trial
subscriptions.
What do customers want? (3)
In addition to surveys, learners could discuss/list other
methods of market research in groups or pairs.
Learners could then decide on the three methods that they
think would be most appropriate for SuperJam based on the
company information they have (eg market, location, size of
company etc).
Alternatively, learners could decide on the methods of market
research that they would use for their own business idea or
enterprise and justify why they think these would be effective.
Learners could present their findings using an appropriate
method and include their plans for using the market research
information within their organisation.
From launch to decline (1)
Learners could be introduced to this topic using reflective
questions such as:
– Is a product always an instant success?
– What happens to sales at the launch of a product or after
it has been on the market for some time?
– Why and when are products replaced?
Learners could be encouraged to research the different
stages of the product life cycle and to find examples of
products that are currently at each stage, eg video recorders
are in the withdrawal stage.
Using examples, learners could be encouraged to research
and produce product life cycle diagrams for very different
products, eg a novelty product relating to a specific event, a
lifetime success like Coca Cola, a seasonal product like
Crème Eggs etc.
From launch to decline (2)
Learners could again look at the information on SuperJam
and produce a product life cycle diagram for this business,
perhaps explaining to the group which stage of the cycle
SuperJam is currently at.
Learners could select a product familiar to them (or one
provided by a local company) and try to establish the product
life cycle of this product. This could be achieved through
group discussion, working in pairs or internet research. Ideas
could be presented using an appropriate form of ICT.
Additional study could be made on the product life cycle and
extension strategies by using the linked resource below,
which looks at Kellogg’s products and how their success has
been maintained in the market by the company.
The Times 100
Promoting the product (1)
Learners could be introduced to the topic of promotion with an
entertaining approach to marketing demonstrated by the
linked adverts below.
Learners could then be tasked with using internet resources
to find the most effective example of this type of shock
marketing.
Discussion points or possible additional activities focused
around the results of the research could be:
–
–
What are the costs and benefits of this type of marketing?
Can learners come up with a similar type of marketing event or
incident to promote SuperJam, their own business idea or a
local business that is familiar to them?
Nike
Coca Cola
Bravia
Promoting the product (2)
Learners could use the linked information below to
suggest the most appropriate/accessible/cost-effective
marketing tools for SuperJam, their own product or
service idea, or a product that is local or familiar to them.
Learners could produce a mini marketing pitch for the
group, with discussion and sharing on the most effective
marketing strategies.
Guerrilla
marketing
Promoting the product (3)
Learners could explore the use of promotional pricing with an
initial web research task where pairs or teams compete to find
as many different promotional pricing strategies as they can
on internet advertising sites.
Following this task, learners could produce a ‘top five’ of the
most effective strategies, working as a whole group, and
decide why these are the most effective.
Learners could then research the different methods of pricing
and link the defined methods to the examples they have found
using the internet.
Links are given to assist in finding a range of pricing methods
and to an additional activity that could further support this
topic.
Pricing strategies
Pricing activity
Brand beautiful (1)
Learners could begin investigating branding by creating their
own short definition of branding using a well-known product to
illustrate the key points of their definition. This information
could be presented as a short report or presentation using an
appropriate form of ICT.
A more detailed approach to this may be to task learners to
create the brand for their own product or service idea and to
‘pitch’ this to the rest of the group, inviting comment from
peers on the effectiveness of their brand. A time limit could be
set for pitches and an evaluation system developed by the
group to assess each presentation on the same basis.
The learning objective in this approach would not be to
establish ‘winners’ but to share consumer information on
branding amongst the group as peers play the part of
consumers offering comment on each branding presentation.
Brand beautiful (2)
In further investigation of branding, the objective here would
be for learners to explore the benefits of branding to an
organisation.
This could be approached using a familiar Scottish product
such as Irn Bru, which has a strong and very distinctive brand.
Other iconic products could be used and/or strong local
brands.
Learners should research the brand using a range of
resources, including the internet, the media and even product
packaging.
Learners then summarise what the brand represents, how it is
effective for the organisation and what benefits the strong
brand may bring to the organisation.
Ideally, each small group or pair could work on different
brands and then present their findings to the whole group.
Brand beautiful (3)
Finally in this topic, learners could review the information
available from SuperJam.
Learners could then comment on the branding of this product
using the following suggestions for extended discussion or
summary of their ideas:
– Does the brand represent the objectives of the company?
– Does the brand display the product positively? How?
– What makes this brand distinctive from others?
(In order to answer this, learners could research
competitor products and the branding they use. Links are
given below to support this.)
– Could any changes be made to this brand to make it
more effective?
Hartley’s
Mrs Bridges
Mackay’s
Marketing and ICT (1)
Learners can explore how ICT can be used to enhance
marketing using the following approach:
– From the linked list of marketing tools below
learners could establish how many rely on
methods of ICT.
– Learners could then define how the use of ICT
enhances these methods and the benefits
brought to marketing through an increased use
of ICT.
Marketing tools
Marketing and ICT (2)
Learners could use an appropriate method of ICT to
produce/suggest three marketing strategies that SuperJam
could use.
Suggested approaches could include:
– producing leaflets/fliers using desk-top publishing or
word processing
– using email to circulate company information or special
offers information
– using a website or internet advertising to reach a wide
market.
Learners could opt to produce marketing materials using ICT
or to summarise and outline how they would use ICT to
promote SuperJam and why this would be effective.
Management of Operations
Getting it right (1)
Fraser Doherty of SuperJam says finding the right
companies to work with was a challenge when he first
set up in business.
Learners could explore the factors for consideration in
finding good suppliers and working partners for
SuperJam, their own business idea or a local business.
Learners could work in groups or pairs to establish a list
of factors they would have to consider in choosing the
right supplier or working partner.
Thinking in more detail about the production of a specific
product and what is involved in producing, packaging
and distributing products may support learners in this
activity.
Getting it right (2)
Following on from the previous slide, learners could
collate their group ideas and decide through
discussion and debate which would be the top three
priorities to consider when choosing a supplier.
Learners could summarise these three factors,
including their justification for why they are the most
significant factors and what impact the wrong
decision could have on the business they have
chosen to study.
Too little or too much? (1)
Fraser Doherty of SuperJam says he was making up to 1000
jars of jam per week when he first set up the business.
Learners could discuss how the correct level of production
could be decided for SuperJam or for their own business idea.
For a new business, the lack of historical sales data would be
a factor. Learners could decide how they would overcome this
and predict the level of demand at the start of the SuperJam
business or their own business idea.
Learners could discuss the consequences for their own
business idea or for SuperJam of producing too many
products or too few products.
Too little or too much? (2)
At the start of his business, Fraser Doherty would have
produced SuperJam products to satisfy demand so would not
have had to store any products.
Learners could discuss the implications of having to store
products and what additional costs this may lead to for
SuperJam or for a local business familiar to them.
Learners could create a list of consequences of stocking too
many products versus having too few products in stock. What
are the costs of each option?
Learning could be guided in this activity using the following:
– What might be the costs of stocking too many products?
– What may be a consequence of not holding enough
stock?
– What factors would have to be considered when deciding
on stock levels of SuperJam?
Ethical production (1)
To begin this topic, learners could use internet
resources and other information sources to research
what ethical production means and to find at least
two examples of ethical production practice from a
real-life organisation.
The links below may help to support learners with
the first part of this activity.
Ethical
production 1
Ethical
production 2
Ethical production (2)
Following on from their previous research, learners could
investigate the following:
– an example of ethical production in a Scottish
organisation
– an example of non-ethical production in an organisation.
Learners could then discuss/summarise in groups or pairs:
– what benefits ethical production may bring to the Scottish
organisation
– what impact non-ethical production may have had on the
organisation.
Adidas
Click on the links to read about nonethical production.
GAP
Designer
brands
Ethical production (3)
Finally in this topic, learners could investigate the possible
ethical practices of SuperJam.
Using the information provided and the SuperJam website,
learners could research and suggest possible ethical
practices that the business may already use or could adopt.
Learners could summarise their findings, presenting their
information as a report for Fraser Doherty of SuperJam,
highlighting the benefits that these practices may bring to the
business. Learners could use an appropriate form of ICT to do
this.
Alternatively, learners could produce a report on their own
business idea or a local business familiar to them and suggest
what ethical practices could be adopted and what benefits
may be achieved by doing this.
Quality production (1)
As an engaging and active introduction to the topic of quality,
learners could do the following practical exercise:
– Using the range of cut-out templates provided, learners
form production groups and decide how many models
they will produce in the time given. All groups should
make the same model.
– At the end of production time, each group’s products
should be quality checked by a quality group. This group
should accept or reject models following a set of quality
guidelines drawn up earlier.
– Each group should review their performance against the
quality indicators and discuss how they could improve the
quality of their production in future.
See the quality production worksheet Appendix 2 in the
Advice and Guidance booklet for full instructions and
templates for models. A full range of models is available
using this hyperlink.
Paper Toys
Quality production (2)
Following their production activity, learners could
research all current methods of quality assurance using
a range of available resources.
Learners could then decide which method(s) would be
most appropriate to apply to their own business idea, a
local business they have studied or SuperJam.
Learners could produce a short report or presentation
outlining their chosen methods of quality assurance and
the costs and benefits of each method.
This could be an oral presentation, use ICT or be handwritten as appropriate for each learner and practitioner.
Technology in production (1)
As an initial research exercise, learners could be asked
to use internet resources to find at least three different
examples of how technology can be used in production.
Learners could summarise their findings using an
appropriate form of ICT.
Learners could then use information about SuperJam to
decide which forms of technology may be used in the
production of this product.
Learners could mind map this information and work in
groups or pairs.
Technology in production (2)
Using the hyperlinked information below as an example
or starting point, learners could be asked to find real-life
examples of three of the technologies highlighted. For
example, learners could select robotics, databases and
computer-aided design.
Learners then present three case studies of the use of
this technology in production or operations and outline
the possible costs and benefits that each example has
brought to the real business organisation.
Three sample case studies are also accessible through
this hyperlink.
Technology
Technology in production (3)
Finally, learners could be asked to apply the theoretical
knowledge they have gathered to their own business
idea or enterprise (or a local business familiar to them).
Learners should decide how the use of technology could
improve the operation of the organisation and what the
costs of employing this technology may be.
Learners could be encouraged to think beyond the
financial cost and to consider employment of staff,
maintaining and researching new technology, training
issues and other more complex factors.