Azerbaijan University
School of Business
MKT 3010: BACIS MARKETING
Semester II, 2010
(Saturday, 9:00-12:00 AM)
Assistant Professor: V. Ahmadov
Bachelor of Business Adminstration
Azerbaijan University
AZ 1102, Baku, R.Safarov 17
Telephone: 050 355 87 70
E: mail: vugarah@yahoo.com
Office hour: by appointment
Class hour: Saturday 15:00-18:00
1. Course General Description
Marketing is the key business function that identifies customer needs and wants,
determines which target markets the institutions can serve best, and designs
appropriate products, services, and programs to serve these markets. It guides
the entire organization how to be successful in a dynamically competitive
environment. The goal of marketing is to create customer satisfaction by building
value-based relationships with customers, in conjunction with other internal and
external business units.
The course provides the student with a comprehensive and innovative,
managerial and practical introduction to marketing. Finally, the instructor will
demonstrate practical examples and applications of marketing concepts in a reallife.
2. Credit hours: 3.0 credits
3. Course Pre-requisites: MATH 1070 Elementary Statistics
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4. Required Computer Skills Prerequisites: Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office
(Word, Excel and Power Point 2003)
5. Books:
Required text book:
1. “Principles of Marketing” Authors: Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong, 2008.
Publisher: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-712827-4
6. Dates for course:
Month
February
Date
6
February
13
February
20
February
27
March
6
March
March
March
13
20
27
April
3
Course Material
Chapter 1: Marketing: Managing
Profitable Relationships;
Chapter 2: Company and Marketing
Strategy: Partnering to build
customer relationships;
Chapter 3: The Marketing
Environment;
Chapter 4: Managing Marketing
Information;
Chapter 5: Consumer Markets and
Consumer Buyer Behavior;
Chapter 6: Business Markets and
Business Buyer Behavior;
Project Development
Chapter 7: Customer-Driven
Marketing Strategy: Creating Value
for Target Customers;
Chapter 8: Product Services, and
Branding Strategy;
Mid-term*
Presentations
Chapter 9: New-Product
Development and Product LifeCycle Strategies;
Chapter 10: Pricing Products:
Understanding and Capturing
Customer Value;
Chapter 11: Pricing Products:
Pricing Strategies;
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Key deadlines
Class starts
Essay 1 due
Essay 2 due
Team Project 1 due
Essay 3 due
April
10
April
17
April
24
May
May
1
8
May
15
Chapter 12: Marketing Channels
and Supply Chain Management
Chapter 13: Retailing and
Wholesaling;
Chapter 14: Communicating
Customer Value: Integrated
Marketing Communications
Strategy;
Chapter 15: Advertising and Public
Relations;
Chapter 16: Personal Selling and
Sales Promotion;
Chapter 17: Direct and Online
Marketing: Building Direct
Customer Relationships;
Chapter 18: Creating Competitive
Advantage
Presentations
Chapter 19: The Global
Marketplace;
Chapter 20: Marketing Ethics and
Social Responsibility;
Final Exam*
Essay 4 due
Team Project 2 due
Note: * Mid-term and final test date and time will be determined by Dean Office and the
provided date will possibly change.
7. Instruction Evaluation

You are required to complete an Instructor Evaluation Form for this course
(you may also choose not to complete the evaluation, but you must indicate
so.)

If you need to discuss grade-related issues after the final exam/test, please
contact me only after AU has published your course grades (timing when the
evaluation is still in the progress).
8. Grading Policy and Evaluation
Essays
10 points
Team Project 1
15 points
Team Project 2
15 points
3
Mid-term exam
20 points
Final exam
30 points
Attendance
10 points
Course total:
100 points
9. Letter Grade Policy
Letter grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
Total points
97-100
93-96.9
90-92.9
87-89.9
83-86.9
80-82.9
77-79.9
73-76.9
70-72.9
60-69.9
Below 60
10. Exams (mid-term and final):
The tests will be based on the assigned readings as well as the contented
presented by me and discussed with students during classes. If need for review
sessions before both of exams is identified, I will organize a half class session to
review the material involving students. In general, review questions help
students to clarify issues that they could not completely clarify during classes or
own their own.
11. Method of Instruction:
Various method of teaching will be employed to encourage proactive
involvement of students and make learning process successful. Mostly employed
methods and techniques to expect are discussions, lectures, written and video
case-studies. I also expect students to actively ask questions and discuss the class
materials with their other student colleagues.
12. Team Projects:
Team Projects are to be completed by students to demonstrate their competency
and understanding of key marketing concepts and buyers’ behaviors using real
life data and presenting its findings in the class. Students are encouraged to work
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in a group of two to three students. I am always available to discuss the topics
that a group of students chooses for their projects. It is important that students
approach me before brief project statement is due.
I expect students to present their own work and students will be penalized for
copying other’s works without properly citing them.
13. Essays:
Instructor will assign four home-essays covering topics assigned by instructor
related to the class material. Each of those essays must be completed
independently by students. Students are encouraged to form group discussions
to analyze home-essays but are expected to honestly turn in their individual
home-essays. Home-essays are expected to be turned in as hard copies, no faxes
and emails are accepted.
14. E-mail:
Students can contact me for arranging meetings and asking urgent questions by
e-mail. But I encourage them to contact me in person to discuss substantive
matters such as a class absence, exams, or grade assignments.
15. Office hours:
My office hours are Saturday at 1:00 – 2:00 P.M. (Other times: yes, but by
appointment only)
16. Policy on Class Attendance
1. Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes and take all tests. I
will also grade attendance to ensure the discipline in the class.
2. If the student misses a class, the student is still responsible for catching up
on the material covered in the absence of that student before coming to the
next class session. Therefore, it is responsibility of the student to arrange
with student colleagues to obtain notes if he or she misses a class or
classes.
3. Excessive absence: Four or more classes. Depending on the circumstances,
the instructor may initiate some kind of penalty with dean’s office.
17. Policy on Make-Ups

Mid-term and final: do not miss them. There are no exceptions for those.
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
Home-essays and project presentations are due on the dates announced
and late submission means no grade for that home-essays and
presentations.

Requests for make-ups may be granted only under exceptional
circumstances.

Avoid requests for reasons of personal convenience;

Any make-up exams, if granted, must be taken prior to the next meeting of
the class.

If you miss a test without prior notice or arrangement, no grade (zero
grades) is automatically assigned to the missed test.
18. Class discipline
1. Please arrive on time to the class. Being late to class without a reason is no
respect to the instructor and student colleagues as it interprets the session.
2. Do not eat food in class: please use lounge or other related areas.
3. Cell phones, e-mails, and any possible other electronic devices must be
turned OFF while in class and during the test.
4. Students are expected to talk about class topics and no other topics are
expected to be discussed.
19. Academic dishonesty
Azerbaijan University has no tolerance for acts of academic dishonesty. The
responsibilities of both students and faculty with regard to academic dishonesty are
defined by education policy of Azerbaijan University. By teaching this course, I have
agreed to observe the entire faculty responsibilities described in that document. By
enrolling in this class, you have agreed to observe all of the student responsibilities
described in that document. Academic dishonesty in this course includes copying or
collaborating during an exam, discussing or divulging the contents of an exam with
another student who will take the test, and use of homework solutions from another
students.
COURSE DETAILS
My course is designed to help students to gain knowledge and skills upon successful
graduation:
1. Definitions of marketing and the marketing process, Development of
marketing strategy for company, and the marketing environment
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o To define marketing and outline the steps in the marketing process;
o To explain the importance of understanding customers and the marketplace, and
identify the five core marketplace concepts;
o To identify the key elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and discuss the
marketing management orientations that guide marketing strategy;
o Discuss customer relationship management, and identify strategies for creating value
from customers in return;
o To explain companywide strategic planning and its four steps;
o To discuss how to design business portfolios and develop growth strategies;
o To explain marketing’s role in strategic planning and how marketing works with its
partners to create and deliver customer value;
o To describe the elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and mix, and the
forces that influence it;
o To list the marketing management functions, including the elements of a marketing
plan, and discuss the importance of measuring and managing return on marketing
investment;
o To describe the environmental forces that affect the company’s ability to serve its
customers;
o To explain how changes in the demographic and environments affect marketing
decisions;
o To identify the major trends in the firm’s natural and technological environments;
o To explain the key changes in the political and cultural environments;
o To discuss how companies can react to the marketing environment;
2. Collection of market information through identifying business and consumer
markets, business and consumer buyer behavior.
o To explain the importance of information to the company and its understanding of the
marketplace;
o To define the marketing information system and discuss its parts;
o To outline the steps in the marketing research process;
o To explain how companies analyze and distribute marketing information;
o To discuss the special issues some marketing researcher face, including public policy
and ethics issues;
o To define the consumer market and construct a simple model of consumer buyer
behavior, name the four major factors that influence consumer buyer behavior;
o To list and define the major types of buying decision behavior and the stages in the
buyer decision process;
o To describe the adoption and diffusion process for new products;
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o To define the business market and explain how business markets;
o To identify the major factors that influence business buyer behavior;
o To list and define the steps in the business buying decision process;
o To compare the institutional and government markets and explain how institutional
and government buyers make their buying decisions;
3. Development of customer-driven marketing, new product, services, and
branding strategy, product-life cycle strategy.
o To define the four major steps in designing a customer-driven market strategy: market
segmentation, market targeting, differentiation, and positioning;
o To list and discuss the major and business markets;
o To explain how companies identify attractive market segments and choose a market
targeting strategy;
o To define product and the major classifications of products and services;
o To describe the decisions companies make regarding their individual products and
services, product lines, and product mixes;
o To discuss branding strategy – the decisions companies make in building and
managing their brands;
o To identify the four characteristics that affects the marketing of a service and the
additional marketing considerations that service require;
o To explain how companies find and develop new-product ideas;
o To list and define the steps in the new-product development process and the major
considerations in managing this process;
o To describe how marketing strategies change during the product’s life cycle;
o To discuss two additional product and services issues: socially responsible product
decisions and international product and services marketing;
4. Identifying pricing for products, managing marketing channels and supply
chains and organizing retails and wholesales
o To answer the question “what is price?” and discuss the importance of pricing in
today’s fast-changing environment;
o To discuss the importance of understanding customer value perceptions when setting
prices;
o To discuss the importance of company and product costs in setting prices;
o To identify and define the other important internal and external factors affecting a
firm’s pricing decisions;
o To describe the major strategies for pricing imitative and new products;
o To explain why companies use marketing channels and discuss the functions these
channels perform;
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o To discuss how channel members interact and how they organize to perform the work
of the channel;
o To identify the major channel alternatives open to a company;
o To explain how companies select, motivate, and evaluate channel members;
o To discuss the nature and importance of marketing logistics and integrated supply
chain management;
o To explain the roles of retailers and wholesalers in the distribution channel;
o To describe the major types of retailers and give examples of each;
o To describe the major types of wholesalers and give examples of each;
o To explain the marketing decisions facing retailers and wholesalers;
5. Communication of customer value and personal selling and sales promotion
through advertising and public relations, direct and online marketing
o To discuss the process and advantages of integrated marketing communications in
communicating customer value;
o To define the five promotion tools and discuss the factors that must be considered in
shaping the overall promotion mix;
o To outline the steps in developing effective marketing communications;
o To explain the methods for setting the promotion budget and factors that affect the
design of the promotion mix;
o To define the roles of advertising in the promotion mix;
o To describe the major decisions involved in developing an advertising program;
o To define the role of public relations in the promotion mix;
o To explain how companies use public relations to communicate with and influence
important publics;
o To discuss the role of a company’s sales people in creating value for customers and
building customer relationships;
o To identify and explain the six major sales force management steps;
o To discuss the personal selling process, distinguishing between transaction-oriented
marketed and relationship marketing;
o To explain how sales promotion campaigns are developed and implemented;
o To define direct marketing and discuss its benefits to customers and companies;
o To identify and discuss the major forms of direct marketing;
o To explain how companies have responded to the Internet and other powerful new
technologies with outline marketing strategies;
o To discuss how companies go about conducting online marketing to profitably deliver
more value to customers;
o To overview the public policy and ethical issues presented by direct marketing;
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6. Creation of Comparative Advantage in Global Marketplace
o To discuss the need to understand competitors as well as customer through
competitor analysis;
o To explain the fundamentals of competitive marketing strategies based on creating
value for customers;
o To illustrate the need for balancing customer and competitor orientations in becoming
a truly market-oriented organization;
o To discuss how the international trade system and the economic, political-legal, and
cultural environments affect a company’s international marketing decisions;
o
To describe three key approaches to entering international markets;
o To explain how companies adapt their marketing mixes for international markets;
o To identify the three major forms of international marketing organization;
7. Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility
o To identify the major social criticisms of marketing;
o To define consumerism and environmentalism and explain how they affect marketing
strategies;
o To describe the principles of socially responsible marketing;
o To explain the role of ethics in marketing;
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