UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
TERM TWO 1999-2000
GSBA 509 - Marketing Management
Instructor:Shantanu Dutta
Office: Accounting 306C
Office Hours: By Appointment
Office phone: 213-740-5038
E-mail: sdutta@sba2.usc.edu or First Class
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the course are to introduce you to the substantive and procedural aspects of marketing
management, and to sharpen your skills for critical analytical thinking and effective communication. Specifically my
goals are:
1.To introduce you to the analysis underlying marketing strategy formulation: customer analysis, competitor
analysis, company analysis and collaborator analysis.
2.To familiarize you with the elements of the marketing mix (product strategy, pricing, advertising and promotion,
and distribution), and to enhance your problem solving and decision making abilities in these operational areas of
marketing.
3.To provide you with a forum (both written and oral) for presenting and defending your own recommendations,
and for critically examining and discussing the recommendations of others.
Effective marketing management results not from simply internalizing marketing facts and institutional
detail, but from systematic critical thinking and the reasoned application of several general, underlying principals.
COURSE MATERIALS
Required Materials: Reader consisting of cases and articles.
Recommended textbook: Kotler, Philip, Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning and Control (Prentice-Hall).
EXPECTATIONS
1)I expect you all to have carefully read the assigned materials (articles and/or assigned cases) before you come to
the class.
2) The cases should be analyzed carefully keeping in mind the framework we will discuss in class. Further, work
through the various numbers in the cases when analyzing the cases. From time to time I will send you some analysis.
Make sure you go through them before you come to the class.
Preparing for Class Discussion of Cases:
For a typical case study, I will ask one or more individuals to start the class by providing an analysis of the case. This
analysis will include the assessment of the customers (e.g., what are the benefits which customers care about, the
segments of customers in the market), the analysis of the firm in terms of its capabilities, and analysis of the strengths
and weaknesses of competitors and assessment of any role for collaborators. After the initial analysis the discussion
will be open to the rest of the class. In these discussions, each person is expected to be prepared to share his or her
individual views with the class. The principal objective of the discussions is to examine completely all aspects of the
situation: facts, suppositions, alternatives, final action. The case discussion will be more valuable if some of you
arrive at a different set of recommendations based on your analysis of the case facts and are willing to debate with
others in the class. A key benefit of case discussion is to develop different perspectives so that we develop a richer
understanding of the business problem.
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In these sessions, I will act to facilitate discussion: first to obtain all views and finally to help pull together the
prevailing views of the discussion. Note that the direction and quality of the discussion is the collective
responsibility of the group, not the sole responsibility of the instructor.
A typical request at the end of a case discussion is: What is the answer? Let me emphasize here that the case method
of learning does not provide the answer. In most case discussions several viable "answers" will be developed and
supported by various participants within the total group. What is important is that you know what you would have
done in that specific marketing situation, and that you begin to construct your framework for approaching more
general marketing problems.
In preparing for class, I recommend that you read the case three times. The first reading should be a quick runthrough of the text in the case. It should give you a feeling for what the case is about and the types of data contained
in the case. Your second reading should be in more depth. Many people like to underline or otherwise mark up their
cases to pick out important points that they know will be needed later. Your major effort on a second reading should
be to understand the business and the situation. For example, analyze the case with respect to customer behavior and
trends, competitor's behavior and trends, and the firm's strengths and weaknesses.
On your second reading, carefully examine the exhibits in the case. It is generally true that the case writer has put
the exhibits there for a purpose. It contains information that will be useful in analyzing the situation. You may find
that you will need to apply some analytical technique to the exhibit in order to benefit from the information in the
raw data.
On your third reading you should have a good idea of the fundamentals of the case. Now you will be searching to
understand the specific situation. You will want to get at the root causes of problems and gather data from the case
that will allow you to make specific action recommendations. Before the third reading you may want to review the
assignment questions in the outline of class assignments. It is during and after the third reading that you should be
able to prepare your outline answers of the assignment questions.
As is often the situation in actual practice, cases may not have all the data you would like. Nevertheless, it is critical
that you develop a reasoned plan of attack on the basis of the data available. Moreover, you should not attempt to
find out what happened to the company or business as a basis for making your decision. At no time should papers or
notes from previous or concurrent marketing courses be used. These criteria apply to both in-class and written case
analyses.
EVALUATIONS
Your final grade in the course will be based on both individual and group work. The evaluation is based on:
Class Participation: 15%
First group assignment: 20%
Second group assignment: 25%
Individual Final Examination: 40%
Class Participation: Grading class participation is necessarily subjective. However, I do have criteria for evaluating
effective class participation. One thing is certain: Your grade for class participation is not simply a function of the
amount of "air time" you take up. In general, I will evaluate you on how well you respond to my questions and on
how effectively you take into account the comments and analyses of your classmates. The criteria I use to judge your
participation includes:
1.Does the participant attend class regularly and show up to class on time? Is the participant prepared?
2.Do comments show evidence of analysis of the case? Do comments add to our understanding of the situation?
Does the participant go beyond simple repetition of case facts with analysis and conclusions? Do comments show an
understanding of theories, concepts, analytical devices presented in class lectures or reading materials?
3.Is the participant a good listener? Are the points made relevant to the discussion? Are they linked to the
comments of others? Is the participant willing to interact with other class members?
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4.Is the participant an effective communicator? Are concepts presented in a concise and convincing fashion?
Group Assignment:
The case write-ups are a group project, and all group members will receive the same grade. Unless peer evaluation
suggests different assignment.
ASSIGNMENT #1: The first group assignment is based on the SEALED AIR case (9-582-103). Assume that Barett
Hauser has decided to enter the uncoated bubble market. Which segment of the market should Sealed Air target
(define segments based on benefits sought by customers). Also keep in mind Sealed Air’s capabilities and try to
address the issues that Sealed Air has to address as part of entering this uncoated market. Finally, how should Sealed
Air position itself in this uncoated market.
For the first assignment there is a strict upper limit of three pages with 11 point font and standard margins and a
maximum of three pages of exhibits (use at least line and 1/2 spacing). If you submit more, it will not be read.
Keep in mind that exhibits should not be used simply as an extension of textual material.
ASSIGNMENT #2: The second group assignment is based on the ROHM AND HAAS case(9-587-055). Prepare a
marketing plan for Macey. The plan should include the targeting of segment(s) and the marketing mix to deliver and
capture value from those target segment(s).
For the second assignment there is a strict upper limit of five pages with 11 point font and standard margins and a
maximum of four pages of exhibits (use at least line and 1/2 spacing). If you submit more, it will not be read.
Keep in mind that exhibits should not be used simply as an extension of textual material.
Peer Evaluation:
Peer evaluation forms will be used for all group work. Peer evaluations are evaluations that the group will make
about each individual member's contribution to the case write-up. For each group assignment, please fill out a group
form with the names of your group members and the percentage of the grade that your group feels should be assigned
to that group member. Thus in a group of four, 25% for all members would imply that the all group members will
receive the same grade. However, a 30% weighting would imply that somebody is going to get a grade higher than
the rest of the group (and by the same token, somebody else is going to get a grade lower than the rest of the group).
If the group can not agree, I suggest that each individual member write a separate score and give them to me, asking
me to compute an average figure.
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COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS
Date
Topic and Readings
Module I
Analysis Underlying Marketing Strategy Formulation
November 15
Introduction to Marketing
Readings: Note on Marketing Strategy by Robert Dolan (9-598-061).
:Note on Consumer Market Segmentation. (9-590-055)
November 17
Readings: Optical Distortion Inc. A(9-575-072)
:Note on Consumer Market Segmentation. (9-590-055)
November 22
Reading: Barco Projection Systems (A) (9-591-133)
Reading from Term I: The Core Competence of The Corporation by Prahalad
and Hamel
November 29
Lecture on Targeting Segments
Reading:Note on Marketing Strategy by Robert Dolan (9-598-061).
December 1
Readings: Colgate Palmolive (9-593-064)
Note on Marketing Strategy by Robert Dolan (9-598-061).
December 6
Readings: New York Life (9-591-051)
Levitt, Marketing Success Through Differentiation, (HBR No. 80107)
December 8
Readings: Calyx and Corolla (9-592-035)
Note on Marketing Strategy by Robert Dolan (9-598-061).
Module II
Understanding The Marketing Mix and Integration
December 13
Readings: Land Rover North America, Inc. (9-596-036)
December 15
Lecture: Pricing
Reading: Value Based Strategies for Industrial Products, Forbis and Mehta
First group assignment due in class: Sealed Air Corporation(9-582-103)
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January 10
Readings: American Airlines: Value Pricing (9-594-001)
: Value Based Strategies for Industrial Products, Forbis and Mehta
January 12
Reading: San Fabian (9-582-104)
January 19
Reading: Nestle Refrigerated Foods: Contadina Pasta and Pizza (9-595-035)
January 24
Readings:Launching The BMW Roadster (9-597-002)
Building Brands Without Mass Media (HBR 97107)
January 26
Readings:Loctite Corp:Industrial Products Group (9-581-066)
Note on Marketing Strategy by Robert Dolan (9-598-061)
Module III
Global Marketing and Technology & Marketing
January 31
Readings:Citibank:Launching The Credit Card In Asia-Pacific (9-595-026)
Customizing Global Marketing (HBR 86312)
February 2
Reading:Rogers Communications, Inc (9-597-050)
February 7
Reading:Virtual Vineyards (9-396-264)
Second group assignment due in class:Rohm and Haas (9-587-055)
February 9
Lecture: Summary and review
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