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Jeffrey S. Conant
Texas A&M University
TRANSLATING PHILOSOPHY INTO PRACTICE:
VALUED TEACHING METHODS
My research in marketing education, coupled with my genuine
interest in teaching, has led me to frequently re-examine how I teach. In
many ways I consider myself a student of teaching and teachers. Like
many other educators, I use a variety of teaching methods to stimulate
student learning. Four areas that are particularly important to me relate to
course structure and organization, class atmospherics, student involvement, and instructor availability.
Course Structure and Organization: It is my belief that students
generally appreciate structure and organization in the classes they take.
They value knowing the professor's stated learning objectives, how s/he
will determine grades, when tests and assignments will take place, and
how they should prepare so as to maximize the likelihood that they will be
successful in the course. I use a variety of methods to strengthen the
organization and clarity of my classes. Some of the more visible methods
I employ include: (1) creating comprehensive and detailed syllabi;
(2) providing prompt and helpful feedback on all assignments and tests;
(3) starting class with an introductory overview of the day's agenda; and
(4) using clearly stated questions displayed on overheads as the basis for
presenting material (e.g., "What is Marketing?").
Class Atmospherics: Creating a class atmosphere where students are
motivated to learn is both important and something I actively work to
strengthen during every class meeting. My goal is to create a professional,
yet comfortable feeling in the classroom. To help accomplish this, I work
hard at being consistent, but not easily anticipated. What I mean by this
seemingly contradictory statement is that I want a sense of continuity to
exist, but at the same time work to inject variety into how classes are
managed. I regularly start class, for example, by reviewing the day's
agenda to establish continuity. I try to keep the students from being able
to always anticipate my next moves as an instructor, however, by choreographing individual class sessions differently (e.g., some days I start class
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with general discussion, some with small team work, some with short
guest speaker presentations, and others with short videos).
Student Involvement: Getting students involved in class means
getting them involved in the learning process. As a college student, I did
not take full advantage of the opportunities I was presented with to get
involved in class discussion. This is something I regret. It was not until I
was an MBA student that I moved outside my “comfort zone” and actively
worked to improve my listening and speaking skills. Perhaps as a result, I
both talk about the importance of class participation often and place a high
priority on creating a class atmosphere that motivates students to become
involved. I use several methods to stimulate and encourage student
involvement. These include, among other things: (1) basing part of
students' grades on participation (in my smaller classes); (2) issuing every
student a name card (room permitting) so as to let me address students
using their name; (3) never criticizing a student for responding, even if
their response is not as strong as it could be; (4) designing small team
discussion exercises; and (5) asking frequent questions.
Instructor Availability: Teachers who care about how they teach
make themselves available to their students. For me, this means arriving
at class early and staying after class has ended to answer student questions. It also means meeting office hour commitments and scheduling
extra office hours both before and after scheduled tests and project due
dates. Emerging technologies, in particular electronic mail, have also
allowed me to make myself more readily available to students anytime and
anywhere.
Donna H. Green
University of Windsor
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR BECOMING
A MASTER TEACHER
My philosophy toward teaching can be summarized succinctly.
"Teaching is not telling; doing is learning." I believe that to learn students
must be active. They cannot passively absorb knowledge like a sponge or
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just like a sponge dries out after the cleaning is done the "knowledge"
evaporates after a regurgitation test is completed. I see myself as a
facilitator or coach – not a lecturer. My courses all require active work by
students both inside and outside the classroom. This philosophy directly
affects everything I do to enhance learning through my teaching. Some
examples are listed below:
 Learning Outcomes. In designing my courses I thoroughly review
how I believe the students should change by the time they leave my
course and how I can bring that about. This is captured in the learning
outcomes that are included on each course outline.
 Active Learning. Course activities are designed to encourage active
learning and the application of knowledge.
 Students are People not Numbers. Students who can hide in a
classroom or skip a class without being missed don’t get involved in
the course and miss the opportunity for enhanced learning and,
possibly, a passion for marketing. Therefore, class participation is an
integral part of all my courses. For my part, I learn each and every
student’s name and use them both within the classroom and when I see
him or her in the hall. I also evaluate and record student participation
after each class.
 Self-Assessment is a Critical Skill; Improvement is Always
Possible; We are all Imperfect Humans. It is my personal belief that
all of us can do better at whatever we attempt if we strive to do better
and are willing to take a critical look at our own behavior. I have
developed methods to help me understand and analyze how my course
design enhances or hampers learning. Where possible I have also
incorporated into my courses ways for the students to enhance their
self-assessment skills.
 Communications Between Students and Myself. The course outlines not only include required texts, contact information and learning
outcomes, but also detailed information on the required activities and
the grading criteria to be employed. Explicit instructions for assignments and information regarding my expectations are also provided.
 Be myself. Let the passion show through. I believe that to connect
with students I must let my personality show. When they realize that it
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is possible to be both knowledgeable as well as a real human being
they respond well and feel that they also can learn.
 Active Listening. I see this as a critical skill for both professors and
managers. I model it and encourage practice of it in my interactive
classrooms.
 Fairness. I do everything I can to try to be as fair as possible in
assigning grades and acknowledging people for participation in class.
For example, I have developed detailed checklists for all major projects explaining what I expect, and I then use these to evaluate papers
and essays. These give both the students and myself a consistent
frame of reference and allow more detailed feedback than otherwise
would be feasible.
Innovative and Involving Course Activities
Over the years I have developed a number of innovative and involving
course activities. Some of those are listed below:
 Self-Generated Examination Questions (see Journal of Marketing
Education)
 Day-in-the-Field (Job Shadow of Sales Representative) in Sales
Management
 Five minute presentation graded solely on presentation skills – for
sales management class (the topic may be the day-in-the-field experience or a recruiting speech as a potential president for a company in
the simulation)
 Recruiting and Selection Section of Sales Management: personal
résumés are to (1) to select Presidents for the teams for the simulation
(2) then for the Presidents to select group members for their simulation
teams (the résumés are graded, feedback is provided on a six page
check sheet – many students have commented that the résumés
developed in this course helped them to find employment)
 Brand Manager Presentations to “bring the product alive”
 Development of a Marketing & Business Plan for a New Retail Store
in Vacant Space in the Regional Shopping Mall Following Site Visit to
Mall and presentation by the mall manager and the marketing manager
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of the property development company
 Videotaped Role-Play as Sales Representative. Then Evaluation as
Sales Manager for own and others’ selling interaction. The data from
all ‘sales managers’ are entered into a database so each student gets
feedback from five to seven others and can compare their own self
assessment to that of others’
 Portfolio Assignment – Internet scrapbook
 Expertise Reports in Retailing and Marketing Strategy
 ”Live Case” for Marketing Strategy course with cash prize for report
from the company (this term they are examining the steel industry)
 Web Page Design and Implementation for Internet Marketing
Final Comments
I enjoy learning and became a professor so I could continue learning as
a part of my career. Teaching allows me to help others learn some of the
knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years. Through the course design
and the assignments I’ve developed, I ensure my students are active
learners and will retain important skills and information for many years.
Listed below are some other activities that have helped me to improve the
quality of my teaching:
 Keeping current on teaching issues through a subscription to the
Teaching Professor (summarizes current thought and research in
university level teaching) and the listserv from the Society for
Teaching and Learning (STHLE).
 Monitoring my own behavior in the classroom through a systematic
assessment of each case, each class, each activity, and a review of
detailed feedback from students which they freely provide on evaluation forms I’ve designed for that purpose.
 Maintaining a teaching portfolio. This was and is one of the most
powerful aids to improving my teaching that I have used. During its
development I thoroughly re-examined each course I teach and the
results of that teaching. It currently fills a two-inch binder and doesn’t
include the two new courses that I have developed this term.
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John Perrachione, Truman State University
Charles E. Michaels, Jr., University of South Florida/Sarasota
INTERNET SCAVENGER HUNTS
Scavenger hunts--setting students in search of various items and information--have been a popular pedagogical tool for some time; they provide
an entertaining, motivating, and educational means for exposing students
to both knowledge and means of acquiring that knowledge, in a problemsolving context.
The utilization of the internet/worldwide web for scavenger hunting
was inevitable. It provides opportunities for students not only to retrieve
specific information but also for practice in locating and evaluating that
information. It introduces the student to the vast amounts, types, and
quality of information available on the internet.
An internet scavenger hunt can focus on course-specific content,
general field-relevant content, or even the use of the internet, web search
engines, etc. for those less familiar with this means of accessing information. Pedagogical objectives for an internet scavenger hunt can include:
receiving and sending email; using the internet and web search engines to
search for and access information; selecting and evaluating information;
practicing appropriate "netiquette"; and disseminating information via the
web.
What follows is a farrago of ideas and suggestions that might help
you create and manage an internet scavenger hunt for one (or more) of
your classes.
Students
Internet scavenger hunts can be tailored to any marketing class; they
may be especially appropriate for intro-level classes where students' internet skills might be least developed. They can be completed by students
working individually or in teams.
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Timing
They can be used early in the course to introduce concepts. Questions
can be added throughout the term. Or they can be used later in the course
to integrate concepts and to show students how much more complex,
involved, and detailed is the actual practice of marketing compared to
what they have learned in the course.
A time limit (e.g., one or two weeks) may be imposed, or the hunt
may be carried out over the course of the course. Alternatively, the
duration can be considerably shortened by making the hunt a contest of
who can submit the each correct answer, or the most correct answers, first.
Questions
Questions of a general nature may be good for developing facility
with search engines, selection of key words, etc. However, the more
general the initial search, the more likely internet searching is to become
internet surfing (which, as we all know, is a major contributor to chronocide).
Generally, the more detailed or specific the question, the more it
should lead to reliable results. Indeed, some constraints (e.g., specific date
or time period) can make the hunt more manageable for students.
Hunt items can include information (generally in the form of answers
to a series of questions), and items such as graphical images and sound
files. Questions can be national or international in scope, as well as being
tailored to a specific region or even city.
Depending on the purpose for which the hunt is used, and if/how it is
evaluated, hints (perhaps even sequential hints of increasing direction)
might also be provided.
Distribution
Hunt items can be distributed via hard copy (on paper), can be
emailed to students, and/or can be posted to a course web site. (If distributed via web site, students might be advised to open a new window
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directly "over" the hunt window, so that they can refer to the questions in
one while they are hunting for the answers in the other.)
Answers
Answers should generally include not only the actual information
sought, but also the exact URL(s) from which it was obtained (since some
answers may also be available other than on the web), and perhaps even
the date and time, since web sites can change frequently. Also, keywords
used to search for each item, and all URLs visited (a "webliography"), can
be required.
Note: Because web sites do come and go and change frequently, it is
a good idea (make that "Great Idea") to check your scavenger hunt items
before each hunt, and even during the hunt if it lasts the better part of an
academic term.
Collection
If answers are to be submitted via hard copy or diskette, requiring a
printout or copy of the actual web page containing the information is
feasible. Answers can be submitted via email, in which case the information and URL can actually be copied and pasted from the navigation bar
into the email.
Results could also be collected via a class web site. If you have a
course web site that supports (interactive) forms, you can set up the hunt
on the site with a different form field for each hunt item, and students can
enter and then submit their answers to you directly from the hunt web
page. (This can also allow you to compile students' responses for later
comparison in class or on the course web site.) Or, if your class site has a
web-board (sort of a web-page chat room), students could use it to discuss
search strategies and results, and they would know immediately (in case of
a race) when questions have been answered.
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Evaluation
Hunt results can be--but do not need to be--evaluated. Answers can
be evaluated in terms of accuracy, timeliness, and completeness (including
exact URLs, etc.). They can be scored (perhaps with answers differing in
value based on the difficulty of obtaining them), graded, quizzed over, or
done (simply) for enjoyment and enjoyable learning. Form of answer submission--hard (paper) copy, diskette, email, submission via web, submission of a web page--might also be evaluated.
As noted above, the hunt may be done by teams, in which case group
processes might be evaluated. If the hunt is done competitively, evaluation can also be done in terms of the first correct answer to each item, the
most correct answers, or the earliest submission of all correct answers.
Another evaluative criterion could be fewest URLs/links to obtain a
correct answer, as a measure of searching efficiency. Earliest submission
times are easiest to handle administratively with entries sent by e-mail or
posted to a class web-board or web page.
Arrangements might be made with local businesses to provide prizes
for the "winners." (If speed is not evaluated, all who submit correct
answers can be entered in a "raffle" of prizes, perhaps with the number of
entries in the raffle based on the number of correct answers or items
submitted.)
An interesting discussion can result from comparing students' answers
in class (especially to more general questions) as a means of showing the
potential for encountering discrepant and possibly unreliable information
on the web.
The Next Level . . .
With students that are sufficiently web-savvy, rather than just having
them find hunt answers or even writing questions and answers, have them
create their own scavenger hunt web pages. All students may be given
carte blanche regarding items to include in their hunts, or different
students may be assigned different topical areas. You can have them post
their hunts to their own web sites or submit it to you, and you can create a
web page on your course web site with links to the various scavenger hunt
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pages. Then, students can complete one another's hunts, and offer feedback to each hunt's author(s). Also (with the permission of the hunts'
authors), you can use the hunts with future students, perhaps even at the
beginning of a course in which they will subsequently create their own
internet scavenger hunts.
P.S.
Share your scavenger hunt with your colleagues--they might enjoy it
as much as do your students.
Whiton S. Paine
Richard Stockton College of NJ
TECHNIQUES FOR INCREASING PERCEIVED
FAIRNESS IN TEAM-ORIENTED COURSES
Marketing courses increasingly require students to effectively work
together on joint projects, exercises, presentations, reports, or papers. Such
designs are attractive because they can provide students with skills they will
use in an increasingly team-oriented workplace. However, students may
have reservations about fairness and equity in a situation where their learning
and grade are dependent upon the skills and participation of others.
A number of simple techniques can increase perceived fairness in teamoriented courses. In particular, how groups are formed, what is to be done
with non-performers and attendance, and how grades are awarded all can
have a positive impact on perceived equity. The following techniques have
increased perceived fairness in a variety of marketing courses
Team formation. Allowing teams to form spontaneously creates
homogeneous groups that may not be optimal in terms of the goals of the
course. When the "A" students join together they deprive the other teams of
their skills, abilities and work ethic. Teams of students who know and like
each other can exhibit group think by sacrificing performance for the
maintenance of ongoing relationships. A better solution is to form work
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groups randomly based on one or two digits of the student numbers. They
can be allowed to "trade" a small number of members.
Sometimes a better solution is to use a questionnaire to ascertain which
students have specific attributes related to the content and focus of the
course. The work groups are formed by randomly drawing from the sets of
identified resources. When the students do not know each other the
instructor can also recruit those with the most relevant skills and experience
to give a presentation on why others should join "their" team. An important
element of personal choice is added here as the other students vote with their
feet in a random order.
Underachievers. Students worry about the negative consequences of
having to "carry" other students who cannot, or will not, participate in the
team's work. Two solutions, one draconian, are useful here. A variety of
measurement techniques are available for students to rate each other at the
end of the semester (rating scales, forced rankings, an allocation of a set
number of points across all team members, etc.). They are told that their
ratings (plus written comments) will be taken into account for the final
grade. The draconian solution is the potent motivator of allowing a team, or
an individual, a "divorce" up to a certain date with specified consequences.
Attendance. Missing members generally inhibit group productivity and
so rewarding attendance when teams are working together is important in
this type of course.
Differentiating individuals. Finally, students often dislike the sense
that their grade is essentially out of their direct control and is being held
hostage to the performance of the entire team. Individual tests directly
address this issue. Individual students or pairs of students can also be
required to take overall responsibility for each group task in return for a
separate award of points based on the quality of the product. Business
students, in particular, need to play such leadership roles. Here it is advisable
to avoid having the same sets of students always work together as comanagers. A spreadsheet is a useful tool here in these more complex course
designs since it provides periodic updates on individual and team
performance. This feedback reduces uncertainty and increases motivation.
These techniques, alone and together, act to return appropriate
responsibility to the individual student. They also increase his or her sense
that more of their learning and reward is under personal control. At the same
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time these procedures operate to reinforce participation in, and learning
from, the experience of working in teams to complete marketing projects.
William A. Cohen
California State University Los Angeles
MEASURING THE CONTRIBUTION OF INDIVIDUAL
STUDENTS ON TEAM PROJECTS
Many marketing courses are taught using the structure of student
teams to accomplish marketing plans, research, consulting projects, etc.
The major difficulty has always been to assign grades fairly when multiple
student members accomplish a single project. Moreover students recognize a limited ability to force non-contributing team members to assume a
fair share of responsibility for the project and are concerned that non-contributing team members, and those who make a lesser or great contribution
all receive the same grade.
In order to satisfy these objectives, I developed the Confidential
Project Team Evaluation form. On it I noted that not all members of teams
make identical contributions. I said that in order to be fair, individual team
project grades would be adjusted according to every team member’s
evaluation of their fellow team member’s contribution. I indicated some
suggested criteria that could be used, but went on to say that they could
consider any other criteria they considered relevant.
Regarding the evaluation, I emphasize that the normal evaluation of
contribution for any team member is 100% and that 100% is not a grade,
but a measurement of contribution. Since 100% is the normal, or average
contribution evaluation, an evaluation of 100% requires no justification.
However, any evaluation other than 100% requires written justification.
For example, one team member may be assigned an evaluation of 120%
and one team member may be assigned a grade of 110%. Both
evaluations, if assigned, must be justified in writing. Limiting the number
of higher than average evaluations stops students from assigning everyone
on the team an inflated grade rather than rewarding someone on the team
who contributed more than the average team member.
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Evaluations of 90%, 80%, or 70% must also be justified in writing.
For example, if the average evaluation for a student is 70%, and the
project grade assigned by you is 90%, the student would be assigned a
project grade of (90% x 70%) 63%, not 90%.
If a student assigns more than one 120% or 110% on an evaluation, or
fails to justify evaluations other than 100%, that particular student’s
evaluation is invalidated. This is explained to all students before the form
is completed.
Finally, a student does not evaluate his or her own performance.
These forms are kept confidential, except that students are told their contribution evaluation average.
Confidential Project Team Evaluation
Not all members of teams make identical contributions. In order to be fair, team project
grades are adjusted according to team member’s evaluation of their fellow team
members’ contribution.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Team meetings attended/missed.
Willingness to compromise for the good of the team.
Amount of work contributed to the project.
Quality of work contributed.
Any other aspect of the project you feel is important and relevant.
List each team member (except for yourself) and assign a percent evaluation for
contribution to the project as follows:
120% = Superior contribution equaled by no one else on team
110% = Outstanding contribution equaled by no one else, or one other on team
100% = Normal contribution about equal to others on team
90% = Below average contribution relative to other team members
80% = Contribution far below average relative to other team members
70% = Little or no contribution at all
The average of the team evaluation percentages from all members of the team is
multiplied times the grade received on the project to determine the student's individual
grade on the project. Contribution scores other than 100% must have written justification.
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Name
Contribution (%)
Written Justification for other than 100%
IMPORTANT: Assigning more than one (1) 120% or 110% or failure to provide written
justification for other than 100% will invalidate your evaluation!!!
Your Name (Printed)
Your Name (Signature)
Michael R. Luthy
Bellarmine College
INCLUDING STUDENTS IN
ASSESSING CLASS PARTICIPATION
Students often view the assignment of individual class participation
scores as more subjective than other course elements such as examinations
and projects. As the significance of that aspect of the student’s course
grade (i.e., more weight in the final course calculation) increases so too
does the sensitivity to how participation is assessed. With that sensitivity
comes a tendency to “play for the audience” of one (the instructor). As a
result the student may lose sight of the reason for class participation.
Instructors that make participation a part of the student’s evaluation
believe that true learning is grounded not only in the understanding of
theoretical concepts and developing the ability to apply them, but also
through the process of discussing and sharing knowledge, experiences,
opinions and ideas.
To minimize or eliminate these issues, students can be included in the
participation assessment process through the use of a behaviorally
anchored ratings scale (see below). By providing students with the criteria
for assessment early in the term and instructing them that they will be
rating not only their own performance but also the performance of their
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fellow students, the degree of subjectivity on the part of the instructor is
minimized. As the same time, students are put on notice that they have a
responsibility for contributing to the learning experiences and development of everyone in the class.
Students are provided the B.A.R.S. scale below and instructed as
follows: “Half of your class participation score for the academic term will
be determined by the instructor. You and your fellow students will
determine the other half using this form. Below are the names and digital
photographs of the students enrolled in this course. Please review this
listing and circle a letter grade for each student - including yourself (see
sample). Your evaluation should reflect each person’s overall participation and contributions made during the course. The scale below should
guide your assessment. The ratings you make on this form will be kept
strictly confidential.”
Letter
Grade
Numerical
Score
A
95
Always prepared. Consistently initiated class discussions. Contributions, based on relevant experiences, current events, and
assigned readings, were focused, integrative, and built upon other
students’ comments. It was extremely rare that the student was
either tardy, absent, or had to leave early.
B+
88
Above average performance in one or more aspects of the
student’s record indicated that a higher grade than B is appropriate.
B
85
Generally prepared. Occasionally initiated class discussions.
Contributions demonstrated an expected level of insight for undergraduate work. It was very unusual that the student was either
tardy, absent, or had to leave early.
B-
82
Below average performance in one or more aspects of the
student’s record indicated that a lower grade than B is appropriate.
C
75
Occasionally prepared although at a minimal level. Voluntary
contributions to discussions were off-topic or only contributed
when called on. Contributions demonstrated a less than expected
level of insight for undergraduate work. Pattern of tardiness,
absences, and/or early departures.
Behavioral Profile Description
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Letter
Grade
Numerical
Score
D
65
Generally unprepared. Did not meaningfully contribute when
called upon. Contributions were significantly below expectations
for undergraduate work. Significant pattern of tardiness, absences
and/or early departures.
F
0
Not prepared for or interested in class. No positive contributions
to speak of. No commitment to class outcomes evidenced by
routine absences, tardiness, and/or early departures from class.
Behavioral Profile Description
Sample
Chris Denman
Circle one letter for each student
F
D
C
B-
B
B+
A
Michael R. Luthy
Bellarmine College
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE
EXAM GRADING KEY:
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING
The ultimate rationale for giving examinations is to assess or verify
that students have acquired certain knowledge, concepts, or skills as well
as the ability to apply them correctly in different situations. Despite the
best efforts of instructors in constructing tests, there is a level of
artificiality inherent in all examinations. This artificiality can give rise to
biases in wording or item construction. Especially problematic are exams
that contain a large number of so-called “objective questions” in the truefalse or multiple-choice formats. Less problematic but still of concern are
questions in matching and/or fill-in-the-blank formats.
While these question formats allow for the assessment of knowledge,
they are limited by the instructor’s and/or test bank preparer’s ability to
accurately translate text material into appropriate test questions.
Combined with some student’s tendencies to make assumptions about
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information not directly mentioned in the question itself in order to
respond, situations arise where more than one legitimate answer can be
found to an objective question.
Because the ultimate goal of an examination is to promote learning,
the grading process itself can be looked upon as another opportunity to
accomplish this -- through student involvement in the development of the
test’s answer key. Immediately after the exam is administered and
students have handed in their answers, the class is convened to go over the
exam question by question with the goal of determining the “correct
answer” for grading purposes. Students may use their textbooks and notes
during this process. Unclear, obscure, and other problems with test items
are uncovered during this phase. Students are given the opportunity to
find the appropriate material from where the question was developed. The
discussion generates a group consensus on what constitutes the correct
answer. It the class as a whole determines that a particular question is so
poorly written that no one answer clearly emerges, it can be deleted from
the test before grading.
The resulting answer key can then be used to grade the tests handed
in. The discussion and debating process that comes from its development
provides not only an additional opportunity for students to link the
material to the question asked, it has the side benefit of minimizing (or
eliminating) any after-test meetings with students who are not convinced
as to the correctness of particular answers.
William A. Cohen
California State University Los Angeles
DEVELOPING THE LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL OF
MARKETING STUDENTS WHILE TEAMING
Some schools of business offer a leadership course, usually in the
management department. A typical course of this type states that the
objective of the course is to explain the "nature, resources, strategies, and
models of complex organizations." So, this is primarily a theoretical
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course and is intended to teach students about leadership, not to develop
the students’ skills as leaders.
Marketing management teaches the management of marketing activities. But marketing and leadership are not the same. A marketing professional may be an excellent manager of marketing activities, and yet fail
because the same individual is an incompetent leader.
Like dancing, painting, or brain surgery, leadership is an art. While
learning the theory of brain surgery is a required basis for learning to be a
brain surgeon, one is unable to perform brain surgery by simply studying
about it. Nor can one dance or paint without practical instruction, handson experience, and feedback.
If development of leadership were an outcome of any marketing
course, it would make a significant contribution to the students' potential
as well as add considerable value to their marketing education. The
purpose of this “great idea” is to utilize teaming to help develop students’
leadership potential.
To do this, I use teams whenever they are required for a marketing
class, whether for preparation of a marketing plan, a marketing research
project, etc. I do not permit students to pick their own teams, but rather
assign them myself. Usually I use prior grade point average as the main
criterion. In this way, I find each team is approximately equal in ability.
Interestingly, I have also found that I have fewer complaints when I decide
the composition of teams then when I let students team on their own,
regardless as to whether I also include a leadership component.
I then divide the academic term period to allow at least a two-week
period as team leader for each student. Since my university is on an eleven
week quarter, this permits every student to serve as team leader of four to
five students. At the completion of the two-week term as leader, fellow
team members complete a confidential leader evaluation form. From these
forms, I derive the leadership portion of the grade for the course. Every
student receives a one-on-one counseling session with me regarding his or
her leadership immediately following his or her term as leader. It is
important to understand that this form does not measure contribution to
the project, only the student’s leadership. I am willing to consult with
students about their leadership problems, although I stress that students are
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responsible for making their own decisions, and the outcomes, during their
tenure as leaders.
Confidential Leadership Evaluation
Name of Student Being Evaluated
Period of Evaluation: From
To
I.
List three aspects of the student's leadership which you think was good:
1.
2.
3.
II. List three criticisms of the student's leadership or aspects which you think could be
improved:
1.
2.
3.
III. Comment about actions taken by the student leader, or anything else you feel will
help the student to be a better leader. These may involve such elements as perceived
integrity, communication ability, style, use of influence tactics, behavior, etc.
Criteria of an Effective Team Leader










Demonstrates absolute integrity.
Helps the group identify and accomplish tasks
Is strongly committed to the project.
Takes charge of the team.
Prepares and sets things up for the coming leader.
Is sensitive to the needs of the team members.
Puts duty toward the task and the team members interests before his/her own.
Maintains a positive attitude.
Gets things done.
Is proactive and out in front of the team.
Please indicate which of the following statements best describes this leader's performance
using the criteria above:
1. Demonstrated absolutely superior leadership in every way.
2. Demonstrated very good leadership. Needs to do a few things better.
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3.
4.
5.
GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Demonstrated average leadership. Needs to do a number of things better.
Demonstrated poor leadership. Needs to do a lot of things better.
Demonstrated very poor leadership. Needs to do everything better.
Name
Signature
Date
Michaelle Cameron, St. Edward’s University
Karin Braunsberger, Arkansas Tech
RESPONDING TO THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
This is an activity that can be done in class when the marketing
environment is being discussed. It allows students to get some practice
identifying opportunities and threats in each of the important aspects of
the external environment. The students work in groups of three or four
and each group is asked to play the role of managers for the university.
The task is to identify environmental trends in each of the uncontrollable
elements in the marketing environment (social factors, demographic
trends, economic factors, technology, political and legal trends, and competitive factors) that may affect the university in the next five years. After
identifying at least one trend for each uncontrollable factor, they are to
suggest how the university should tailor its marketing mix to respond to
each trend they have identified. Typically they can accomplish this in
about 15 minutes. Each group is then asked to share the trends they have
identified along with the responses they are recommending. This enables
the instructor to get a feel for how well the students have grasped the
material, and to correct any misunderstanding that may become evident.
Students really enjoy this exercise because it allows them to apply
marketing concepts to an area that is very familiar and personally relevant
to them.
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Richard D. Shaw
Rockhurst University
CUSTOMIZED LEARNING:
REFLECTIVE INTEGRATION EXERCISE
Reflective Integration (R.I.E.) is an exercise that combines elements
of the case method and writing across the curriculum and weaves them
together with the century old techniques practiced by members of the
Jesuit Order when directing the Ignatian spiritual exercises. R.I.E. lets
students customize the course to meet individual needs while at the same
time allowing students to perform at deeper levels of learning and to learn
from their peers. It permits students with varying personality traits,
learning styles and abilities to comfortably employ a practical way to
synthesize and integrate concepts that have a special meaning or significance in their own lives. Below is a sample handout that explains R.I.E.’s
objectives and procedures to prospective students:
One question that students face at the end of a course is: "How does
this material fit in with what I previously studied or experienced?"
Faculty often spend a great deal of time discussing how to help students
integrate various topics covered with the knowledge that students already
possess. However, since you are the only one who really knows the extent
of your knowledge, you must integrate for yourself! Since each of you
comes from different social and economic backgrounds and have had
different academic and occupational experiences, you are in the best
position to discover how all of these ideas relate or will relate to your life.
This exercise is designed to help you reflect on how your past
academic studies, job related experiences and “real life” encounters are
related to topics covered in this course and to help you project how some
of these ideas will benefit you in the future.
1. At the end of each class, you will be asked, “What did you hear,
read, or see in this class that relates to your life?” You will be
given a few moments to reflect before you orally identify the topic
to the class. (e.g., “Maslow’s Hierarchy”)
2. Before the next meeting (preferably as soon after class as
possible), take a few moments to think about this topic and other
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topics covered in this session and spend about 10 to 15 minutes
writing in a journal how the ideas (concepts, principles, procedures, or theories) integrate (complement, contradict, support, or
refute) what you have learned in other courses, experienced at
work, or have simply observed in your life. Please use specific
examples in your entries. (For each entry, please indicate which
chapter(s) you are referencing and date them.)
3. Bring your journal entries with you to each class and be ready to
spend the first few minutes of each session discussing how you
have integrated the specific ideas covered during our previous
class (readings, text, lecture, discussion, videos, cases, class presentations and related activities) with your own experiences. (Four
or five students will be selected to share reflections with the class.)
Journals will be collected every four or five weeks. Before handing in
your journal, be sure to proofread, edit and type your reflections.
Note: At first reading, this exercise may appear to be without
sufficient focus. This is intentional. In R.I.E. students select the specific
focuses that have the greatest application and/or importance to them, to
reflect on these ideas and then—both orally and in writing—show how
these concepts relate to what each student has already learned or
experienced.
Amy Risch Rodie
University of Nebraska at Omaha
HOW TO GIVE A STELLAR PRESENTATION
Giving a "stellar presentation" is so much easier said than done! And
that's what makes this such a vivid activity for reviewing basic presentation principles. Rather than a simple review of the information, students
become engaged in a contest to communicate the elements of effective
speech-making. The primary purpose of this activity is to review the
guidelines for preparing and delivering effective presentations. A second
purpose is to encourage students to develop and use their presentation
skills.
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How? The Assignment
Students form teams of three or four members. Each team plans a
three minute presentation about "How to Give a Stellar Presentation." All
presentation formats are welcome--encourage creativity! Get the competitive juices flowing by promising that a "fabulous prize" will be awarded to
the winning team. Require teams to incorporate a visual of some sort
(overhead transparency, poster, or the blackboard) and make materials-markers, chart paper, transparencies and pens--available. Make it clear
that groups are competing to give the best presentation. Preparation time
needed is 30-35 minutes, minimum. Allow enough presentation time for
teams to get back and forth to their seats, and for voting and presenting
awards.
Stellar Presentations
Call on each team to present. Encourage presenters to customize the
stage area (rearrange furniture, etc) to suite their needs. The creativity
and humor that students bring to the activity is entertaining for everyone.
The contrast (at times, painful) between what a team is saying and the way
they are saying it is what makes the exercise so striking. It quickly
becomes apparent that it takes more than mere knowledge of the
guidelines to deliver a truly stellar presentation; it takes an acquired set of
skills. After all teams have presented, students vote for the most "Stellar
Presentation" and each member of the winning team is congratulated and
awarded a small prize (e.g., disk case, coupons to nearby bagel shop).
Recommendations
Implementing this activity on the second or third meeting positions it
as an icebreaker and establishes an upbeat mood for the course. Using
small teams (three members) keeps everyone involved. Provide plenty of
chart paper, colored markers, transparencies, and overhead pens. Short
presentation times (three or four minutes) maintains a brisk pace. Holding
up a "1 minute" warning sign and stopping teams who exceed the time
limit adds to the drama of the event.
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Benefits
This activity provides a number of benefits to a course. A team effort
to succeed at a challenging task facilitates camaraderie among students
very early in the term. Students have a reason for learning others' names
and establishing friendly relationships from the outset. The activity drives
home the level of effort and skills required to deliver effective presentations and it raises expectations for the quality of presentations delivered
throughout the course. It provides an opportunity for everyone to get in
front of the entire class initially with virtually nothing (but pride) at stake.
If the quality of student presentations begins to diminish over the course of
the semester, it is easy (and meaningful) to remind students of the fundamentals in giving a stellar presentation.
Sheb L. True
Kennesaw State University
CLASS NOTES FOR THE STUDENT ON-THE-GO
As time has become more and more of a valuable commodity for
everyone (teachers and students included), the search continues for
pedagogical methods that can deliver the necessary course content in an
effective and efficient manner to students that are constantly on-the-go.
This is particularly true when you consider the increasing number of
students who are working at part-time and full-time jobs in addition to
attending courses, non-traditional students with family and work obligations, and those students who travel long distances (i.e., from a mileage
and/or time commuting perspective) before/after work and on weekends at
urban and suburban universities. Thus, given that the available time for
students to adequately prepare for class is decreasing, the issue of how to
establish a class environment whereby the instructor is better able to
facilitate class-time with a high quality interactive discussion becomes an
important consideration.
In addition to distance learning tools (e.g., web-sites and internet
bulletin-boards with lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations), one
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teaching aid that I have found useful to address this situation is to provide
a cassette tape recording of some preparatory notes on a topic for the next
class discussion. The purpose of this recording is by no means meant to
replace the need to attend class, nor complete assigned readings and other
class preparation exercises; rather, it is intended to serve as stimulus for
class discussion. By making and distributing a 15-30 minute recording of
general comments and thoughts for consideration on the next class
meeting’s scheduled topic, students can listen to the tape on their way to
the next class and begin the process of changing their thoughts from daily
responsibilities (e.g., work, family, etc.) to a more academic focused
mindset and be better able to “hit the ground running” and participate at a
higher level earlier in the class discussion.
I have found that students’ appreciate my efforts to maximize the
delivery of content in conjunction with their need to effectively utilize
their time and it allows me to make better use of class time by “setting the
stage” for discussion before we meet. In addition, it has been my experience that the recordings complement, rather than replace, the assigned
reading material and that the students’ responses tend to be more creative
and analytical, and they are more inquisitive about the topic during class
discussions.
Rosa T. Cherry
Williamsburg Technical College
VIDEOS - AN ENHANCEMENT TO LEARNING
Nearly all textbooks now include a video library for use with the
textbook. These video cases are often very interesting and add a depth to
the material in the text. I like to include at least one in each of the 3-hour
evening class meetings. It is important, however, to preview and select
from the vast number of available videos so that students gain insights
from the viewing.
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Michaelle Cameron, St. Edward’s University
Karin Braunsberger, Arkansas Tech University
TEACHING WITH VIDEOS
I have several videos that I use during the course of the semester,
usually to elaborate on concepts covered in a particular chapter. Even
though these videos are very interesting, I sometimes notice students’
attention straying during the viewing. In order to keep the students
involved, and to tie the video back to the chapter, I ask them to write down
each term used in the video that is relevant to the chapter in question.
After the video is over, I go around the room and have students share the
terms they recognized and how it was used in the video. I have found this
to be very effective and a good way to energize discussion about the video
and the related chapter.
Michael R. Luthy
Bellarmine College
STUDENT CREATED BUSINESS VIDEOS
“A beginning is a very fragile thing.” Instructors teaching freshmen
in the Introduction to Business or Business Concepts courses (where marketing majors typically get their first exposure to the field) must address
the needs of a diverse class audience. Students taking these courses range
from those with a solid interest in a particular field of study (such as
marketing) to those with only the vaguest idea or enthusiasm for what a
career in business entails. Taking into account the integrative nature of
many of these courses, the increasing use of faculty drawn from multiple
departments to teach them, and a growing emphasis on team-teaching
pedagogues, developing evaluation opportunities appropriate for these
courses is a challenge.
One possibility is to charge student teams, (ideally composed of 4 to 5
students each) with the task of developing, producing, and ultimately presenting an 8 to 10 minute video on a local small business or franchise. In
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the initial charge to the students at the beginning of the academic term,
instructors lay out the goal of the video as educating the class on what it
takes to be successful in the particular business they have chosen. In the
teams’ ongoing efforts throughout the term they will have to interview the
proprietor and tour the business selected, perform some secondary
research to gain appreciation of the larger picture of the business’ operation, and integrate the material that is assigned and discussed in class – in
essence answering the question, “how does marketing relate to accounting,
and human resources, and economics, etc.?” This latter task of material
integration provides one of the most compelling benefits of the video project, giving students a reason for actively understanding and applying the
theories and concepts presented in the course.
In addition to the information gathering and topic integration aspects
of the project, students will also have the opportunity to develop their
team-building and interpersonal skills as well as exercise their creative
sides. The final presentation of the videos to the class, representing the
culmination of the research, interview, scripting, story-boarding, and
filming phases provides the opportunity for in-class Q&A periods and formalized feedback from both students and the instructor. The positive
word-of-mouth typically generated by this project with prospective
students, coupled with the community involvement aspects encouraged by
most school administrations and the development of an artifact for the
student’s learning portfolio make this a idea worth considering for
introductory business or marketing classes.
Pj Forrest
Mississippi College
MARKETING MIX REPORTS
One of the most helpful projects I’ve ever assigned in Principles of
Marketing, are Marketing Mix Reports. The students pick a good or a
service at the beginning of class and throughout the semester use that good
or service as a reference and an example for each topic we cover. In
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
addition they prepare a report on the Marketing Mix actually used for that
product.
At the beginning of the semester the students are required to choose a
product by brand name. Many popular brands such as Tommy Hilfigger,
Nike and Coke are chosen, but also some lesser known Brands such as
Louisville Slugger, Peavey, or Furby. Some students choose familiar products such as soft drinks, automobiles, backpacks, sports equipment and
computers; others chose a special interest item that is less familiar to most
of us such as deer stands, paint ball equipment, or a musical group. I must
approve the choice, and my criteria is if there is enough marketing
information readily available on the good or service. I put the brand
name of the product they have chosen on the seating chart next to their
name, which allows me to use their products as examples during lectures.
In the past I've had them hand in a single report after we had covered
Product, Place, Promotion, and Price, but at present I break it down into
four separate reports. These one or two page reports are easy to prepare,
but it forces the student to apply and properly use marketing terms and
concepts. As we cover each of the 4 P's the student has to prepare a report
which is handed in or presented the last class meeting before the exam that
topic. Every semester I get numerous comments on my teaching
evaluation from students about how much doing the report helped in
preparing for the exam, and in learning the course material.
Rosa T. Cherry
Williamsburg Technical College
COMMUNICATION:
WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!
To upgrade students’ written communication skills, assign weekly
paragraphs to be turned in. These can relate to marketing cases, field trips,
guest speakers, or even answers to questions in the marketing book
chapters. To be beneficial, all these assignments must be critiqued and
graded and possibly redone with revisions made.
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Rosa T. Cherry
Williamsburg Technical College
WEEKLY TESTS
Our Marketing 101 class is usually scheduled one evening a week
from 6:00 - 8:50 p.m. As an incentive to "keep up" in class, I give a short
answer test covering the previous week's material at the beginning of each
weekly class. These tests consist of 10 - 25 short answer questions plus an
occasional "situation" type question, all of which come from the previous
class notes or from the related textbook material. If students do not miss
any classes, the lowest of these grades are dropped before being averaged.
The average counts 25% of the final grade, so students tend to try hard to
keep up and do well on a weekly basis.
Rosa T. Cherry
Williamsburg Technical College
REVIEW FOR EXAMS
PLAY MARKETING FOOTBALL!
For a meaningful and fun review of concepts and facts, try Marketing
Football! Before the scheduled class, have the students prepare 3 x 5
cards--question on the front; answer on the back. Make sure all chapters
have been assigned for a designated number of questions (perhaps 10 from
each chapter). On class review day, collect all the cards and shuffle them.
Then give half the cards to the reader for each team.
Also prepare a transparency marked as a football field, with yard
markers each 5 years. Designate someone (probably the instructor) to
keep the score, the yard progression, and the down number on the transparency. Here are the rules:
1. Divide into two teams; choose a captain for each.
2. Flip a coin for first ball possession--this team gets the first opportunity to move the ball (answer questions), beginning from the 50yard line.
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3. A reader for the other team asks a question; the team which has the
ball huddles, decides on the answer, and their captain gives the
answer (30-second time limit after questions has been read twice).
4. If the answer is correct, the team advances 5 yards; if the answer is
incorrect, the team does not advance. The team has four downs to
advance 10 yards; i.e., must answer two out of four questions. If
they fail to advance 10 yards in four downs, the ball is turned over
to the other team, which begins at the 50-yard line.
5. When a team crosses the goal line, they score 6 points and may try
a question for the PAT. After a score, the other team begins their
play at the 50-yard line.
6. The team with the highest score wins!
Peggy Osborne
Morehead State University
PAIRED COURSES:
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING AND WRITING II
In an effort to improve student understanding of the concepts in the
Principles of Marketing course, we have sometimes paired the course with
English II (a second writing course). This pairing creates a six-semester
block of credit. The instructors of the Marketing and the English courses
collaborate to link reading and writing assignments in the paired sections.
Other methods may be used. The intent is to create a learning community
environment, and to provide students with an intensive writing experience
about a chosen subject area (promotion, pricing, planning, etc.).
The requirements for the paired offering include the following:
 Students must enroll for a specific English II and Principles of
Marketing section
 Students may NOT drop one half of the pair
 Each instructor gives separate grades
The objectives of this pairing include increased student understanding
of course content, connections, and relationships. In addition, this pairing
should heighten the students' awareness of and ability to use interdiscipli-
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nary approaches to problem solving. Other objectives include: increased
learner independence, potential for cooperative learning, developing the
ability to apply skills from one course to learning in other courses and
heighten awareness of communication as a key skill required by
employers.
Results of this pairing have shown students to be more effective communicators. Papers and presentations are more professionally prepared
than those often submitted by students in the basic marketing courses.
Michael R. Luthy
Bellarmine College
RANDOMIZING CLASS DISCUSSIONS
For instructors, selecting students to respond to questions in class is a
more difficult skill than many believe. To some it is an art. At one end of
the spectrum, instructors want to call on those students who chose to
volunteer. The reasoning goes that these students are signaling that they
are prepared to contribute to the discussion and therefore it will be a better
expenditure of class time to call on them as opposed to others who may
not be prepared or may make minimal contributions. At the other end of
the spectrum, instructors want to ensure that all students are held to the
same standards (i.e. everyone is called upon with equal frequency). The
difficulty here is that instructors are human and as a result may subtly (and
unconsciously) favor certain students, areas of the room, etc.
One way of insuring that students are called upon randomly is to, on
the first day of class, distribute to each student a card from a standard deck
of playing cards. If classes have more than 52 students, multiple decks
may be used. Students are instructed to keep their card with them whenever they come to class (a standard playing card will fit in a person’s
wallet). The instructor prints each student’s name on the back of the same
card on another deck that he or she keeps. When an opportunity for participation arises the instructor asks a student in the class to pick a card from
a deck the instructor keeps. This person is then called on to respond. By
replacing the card into the deck after each exchange, the selection process
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will be completely randomized and students who either do not show up in
class or who ask to pass are identified. If the instructor elects not to
replace cards into the deck during a class session, they have a ready record
of who participated, making the grade keeping function easier.
Kim McKeage
University of Maine
USING ETHICAL SCENARIOS IN CURRENT
TEXTS TO EXPLORE INDIVIDUAL AND
GROUP ETHICAL NORMS
This in-class project uses ethical scenarios that are presented in many
texts now as a vehicle for getting students to think about their own personal and professional ethics. There is not a "right" answer to a particular
ethical dilemma. Rather, the exercise is designed to help students see the
individual point of view they bring to ethical analysis, resolve different
perspectives within their group, and apply their reasoning in a systematic
manner to an actual ethical dilemma.
Step 1
Students are formed into groups of approximately four people, and
instructed to start by discussing how they decide if something is ethical or
unethical. Some examples of criteria they might come up with are:
 Something is ethical as long as it is legal.
 Something is ethical if it is fair and equitable to all parties.
 Something is ethical if it doesn't hurt anyone.
They are instructed to consider whether their criteria are "absolutist" or
"utilitarian", concepts which are previously covered in lecture. The group
is supposed to try to reach some consensus about what criteria they will
apply to an ethical scenario. However, some groups cannot reach a consensus. If they cannot reach consensus, the group is asked to explore the
causes of their differences and consider whether a mix of "absolutists" and
"utilitarians" in their group is exacerbating their differences.
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Step 2
Each group is assigned an ethnical scenario to consider. Depending
on your text or source, the scenarios may or may not already have some
pro and con arguments set out (ours did). Students are instructed to read
over the scenario, and then discuss what would be the best outcome they
can envision which serves the perspective of all stakeholders simultaneously -- the company/stockholders, the consumer, society in general,
etc. They are instructed to discuss whether all stakeholders have the same
"best" outcome, and to write a summary of their reasoning.
Step 3
Students are expected to resolve the dilemma presented. The "best
solution" they devised in Step 2 may not be at all feasible, or may favor
one stakeholder over another. Here, they must try to apply the criteria
they developed in Step 1 to the ethical dilemma, as well as arguments they
used in Step 2. Students are instructed to consider which of their
supporting arguments are absolutist and which are utilitarian, and to try to
resolve differences between stakeholders' interests. They should come up
with an overall recommendation of what they believe "should happen."
Students can write up this exercise in a brief summary and/or briefly
present their finished product to the rest of the class.
Kim McKeage
University of Maine
IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES,
IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES
This in-class project allows students to examine their own service
encounters. They practice using the GAP model and other service
marketing theory to analyze their encounters. Prior lectures or text
material should cover both the GAP model (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Berry, 1985) and Bitner, Booms and Tetreault's (1990) work on
diagnosing positive and negative service encounters.
Students are assigned to groups of 4-6 students, and each student
(briefly) describes one of his or her best and worst service experiences.
This gives students a pool of incidents to analyze. For this pool of
incidents, students are asked to tally any evidence they see of the three
areas of employee behaviors that lead to satisfaction/dissatisfaction with
service encounters according to Bitner et al. (1990). They are provided
with the following chart to fill out:
Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Employee Responses to Service Failures
Employee Responses to Customer Requests
Unsolicited Employee Actions
Students are instructed to consider whether they find the same pattern
that Bitner et al. (1990) found, and what the implications are for managers.
Students are further instructed to pick one of the WORST service
experiences from those their group had and analyze what happened, or
what they think might have happened, at each of the Gaps in the Gap
Model to cause such a bad experience. Since they don't necessarily know
the exact service policies etc. of the organization in question, they may
have to infer some things or make educated guesses. They are asked to
consider what they would do differently, if they were managing the
business, and to discuss feasibility of their recommendations (in terms of
costs, employee resources, etc.).
Each group writes a brief summary and presents it to the class.
Kim McKeage
University of Maine
YOU BE THE BOOK REP
This in-class project gives students some insight into organizational
buying behavior in a context that instructors know very well (textbook
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choice) but that students see from a limited perspective. Be warned -students learn something about how you choose books from doing this
exercise!
For each simulation group, you will need the following:
 TEXTBOOK - Bring a copy of an alternative text you're not using
for this class. Students enjoy having this prop, and it is useful in
the simulation. Encourage students to bring their own textbook the
day of the exercise, they will need it for comparison.
 APPROACHES, PERSONALITIES, AND DECISION MAKING
TYPES - one for each student in the group. On the Buyers' sheets,
place an 'X' next to the Approach/Personality and Decision Making
Style you want the group to adopt.
 FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE TEXT - Two versions.
Seller's version has the proposed textbook rated on each attribute.
Buyer's version has importance weights attached to each attribute.
Fill these out for each text before you hand them out. Ask the
buyers to rate their current text and use that as a benchmark for
evaluating the proposed text.
 SYMBOLIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE RELATIONSHIP - Two
identical versions, one for the buyer side and one for the seller.
Reflects the relationship quality between the buyer and the seller as
it already exists. Fill these out with some imaginary sales
representative in mind beforehand.
Step 1 -- Form students into role play groups of 6-7 people. Each
person takes a role. There must be at least the following roles:
 Seller (1); Buyers [Gatekeeper (1), Influencer (1) (also the
Initiator), Buyer (1) may also be the User)]; Observer for Seller's
Side (1); Observer for Buyer's Side (1)
 If there are additional group members, then there can be additional
roles, in the following order: User (1); Seller (1); Additional
Influencer (1)
Note that there are two observers so that one can focus on the buyer(s) and
one on the seller(s), but both are expected to observe the whole interaction
and be as thorough as possible.
Step 2 -- The buying and selling sides separate and go over their
assigned positions/roles/characteristics (see Appendix). The buyers and
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sellers must talk to their observers about how they plan to enact the role
they are assigned, so that observers can understand the buyers' or sellers'
intentions.
Step 3 -- Buyers and sellers come together, sellers try to sell the
product to the buyers. Observers are silent witnesses and do not interact
with the selling process. The seller should have an outline of a "sales
pitch" put together to present to the buyers. The buyers should be
prepared to ask questions, offer information, raise objections, etc.
Observers for both sides should carefully observe their teams during this
process and try to discern the following information:
 What perspective did the opposite side portray?
 How was the apparent fit between the buyers and the seller(s)?
 Was the seller good at discovering the buyers' needs and
interaction styles?
 What could the seller have done better?
Notice that the emphasis is on the SELLER's responsibility to understand
the consumer behavior of the buyers.
Step 4 -- Debriefing. Students should discuss how easy or difficult
was it to understand the buyers and seller(s). They should consider how
easy or difficult was it to adapt to the needs and styles of the other side.
They should be able to note what the seller did particularly well and/or
particularly badly?
Step 5 -- Each group makes a brief presentation to the class. It is
helpful to put up a matrix on the board with the different Personalities and
Decision Making styles indicated, and then tabulate what happened (did
the buyers adopt the text?) for each group.
APPENDIX
HANDOUTS AND SUPPORTING MATERIALS
APPROACHES, PERSONALITIES, AND DECISION MAKING TYPES
Approaches/Personalities
Each person in your group (except the observers) will be assigned an approach -- either
Functional or Symbolic. These two approaches can be summarized as follows.
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Functional
This person is the rational, economic decision maker. They approach decisions by
gathering information about important attributes of the product or service, and
determining which alternative best meets their needs based on those attributes. This
person will either make, or will want to hear, rational, logical arguments about why the
product is better than the competitors. This person may also want to hear a
straightforward account of where the product is inferior to other alternatives. The
symbolic aspects of the interaction can still be important to this person, but much less so
than for a Symbolically-oriented person. This person wants to buy or sell the best
product.
Symbolic
This person is the social, relationship-oriented decision maker. They approach decisions
based on the nature of the relationship between buyer and seller. This relationship can
have important functional attributes as well, in terms of trust and a feeling that the seller
will "be there" for the buyer if troubles arise, or that the buyer will "be loyal to a good
product," so the relationship quality symbolizes additional value to the buyer or seller.
This person will be sensitive to the communications and interpersonal dynamics in the
selling situation, and a poor interaction may sour a deal. The functional attributes of a
product can still be important to this person, but less so than for Functionally-oriented
people. This person wants to buy from or sell to someone who is trusted and liked.
Decision Making
The buyers can use a variety of models to decide whether or not to purchase the product.
Buyers will be assigned a decision-making mode. Note that not all possible models are
covered in this exercise.
Autocratic -- One person decides, in this case, the Buyer.
influence the Buyer.
Others can attempt to
Negotiating -- Parties do not initially agree, but will negotiate, influence, and bargain
until a joint decision can be reached.
Functional Attributes of the Text
Length
Number of Chapters
Symbolic Attributes of the Relationship
Length of time the buyers and seller have known
each other.
Interpersonal styles – Aggression, accommodation, assertiveness.
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Functional Attributes of the Text
Hardcover or Paperback
Cost
Readability
Is there a self-test at the end of
each chapter?
Are there review questions at the
end of each chapter?
Are there experiential exercises
available?
Is there a study guide available for
students?
Are there videos available for the
instructor?
Are there transparencies/graphics
available? What media -- paper
masters, acetates, on disk, online?
How well are ethics integrated?
How well are emerging
technologies integrated?
How well are global dimensions
integrated?
Is there internet site support for this
text?
Other attributes that may be appropriate for texts in specific areas but
not others (consumer behavior versus market research, for example).
GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Symbolic Attributes of the Relationship
Previous history -- Have the buyer used other
books from the seller? Was the buyer satisfied?
Was the seller satisfied?
Previous history -- How has the seller handled
problems in the past, such as errors in the text or
books and supplements not coming in on time?
Current history -- Will the buyer be using
another book from the seller in the coming
semester?
Friendly relations -- Do you like each other
generally?
Common interests -- Do you have anything in
common with each other, such as hobbies,
children, etc.
Common friends -- Does the seller know the
buyer's colleagues/friends at other schools, and
bring news/information about them?
Trust -- Do you trust each other? Would you tell
them secrets, or do they tell you secrets?
Body language -- Can be comfortable and open,
dominating and aggressive, or closed and
resisting.
Specific problems -- Is the other person racist?
Specific problems -- Is the other person sexist?
Situational -- How sensitive are the buyer and
seller to each other's situations, particularly
stressful times of year etc.
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Nancy Boykin
Tarleton State University
SPECULATIVE PRESENTATION SIMULATION
I often tell my promotional strategy students that the world of advertising is extremely stressful. You are only as good as your last successful
account presentation. In order to simulate the stress and excitement of a
speculative presentation, I give one to two unannounced campaign assignments during a semester. Students are divided up into teams and are asked
to develop a promotional campaign for an assigned product. Examples of
past products include:
 a rural hospital suffering from outshopping;
 Two Dog Beer--an alcoholic fruit-flavored malt liquor beverage;
 Mentos candy--which my students agree, has one of the worst ad
campaigns on TV!
Students are only given two weeks to put together a presentation.
They are asked to address the following topics in writing:
 objectives of the campaign
 target market selection
 positioning strategy
 media strategy
They then can choose to develop a series of ads using the mediums of
their choice. Students are advised that they will be judged not only on the
quality of their work, but also the quantity. Quantity is important because
you can never assume that your client will like the only idea you have to
present. Always have a back-up plan!
At the end of the two-week period, teams make their presentations to
the class. The class votes on which group deserves to win the account.
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Nancy Ryan McClure, University of Central Oklahoma
James L. Thomas, Jacksonville State University
MARKETING IN ACTION
Marketing majors and non-majors alike persist in thinking that
"marketing is selling." To overcome this misperception, a marketing
course was developed that took students out of the classroom and into the
"real world." A study tour was offered between semesters that took the
students to a major metropolitan area (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas) for two
purposes: (1) see the variety of activities involved in the marketing discipline, and (2) expose students to multiple career opportunities.
The tour was designed to provide students with maximum exposure to
some of the "best" in the field of marketing. Each of the organizations
involved developed extensive presentations within their particular area of
marketing specialization. The organizations that participated included The
Texas Rangers (sports marketing), Baylor Medical Center (health care
marketing), Chili's Grill and Bar (hospitality marketing), Dallas Market
Center and World Trade Center (apparel and home furnishings wholesaling), DDB Needham (advertising agency), Frito-Lay (snack food manufacturing), Neiman-Marcus (upscale retailing), Randall's/Tom Thumb
(grocery distribution center), and the West-End Association (non-profit
organization).
This course was offered for 2 hours of either undergraduate or
graduate credit (with Fundamentals of Marketing as a prerequisite.) The
students stayed in the Dallas area Monday through Friday in January
between semesters. Upon returning to the university, students were
required to write thank-you notes to each of the organizations and to take a
final exam. One of the questions, naturally, was "Marketing is selling.
Discuss." It was evident from the students' responses that they had clearly
learned that marketing is much more than selling.
While there is nothing novel about field trips, the combination of
organizations and the class format permitted a more in-depth learning
experience for the students than they could ever have had just reading a
book. Unfortunately, the way most courses are designed, field trips are
untenable due to classes scheduled before and after the course in which
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you would like to take advantage of a field trip. The students appreciated
having an elective opportunity presented between the two terms. This tour
resulted in two internship offers.
It should be noted that the first time such a course is offered, a great
deal of time and planning must be devoted to the development of the
course. The authors found that the process of simply contacting the appropriate individuals, much less completing the details with these individuals,
requires an extensive number of telephone calls, faxes, emails, etc. In
order to ensure the efficient coordination of the class, it is highly recommended that instructors allow roughly 6 months for development prior to
the beginning of the course. For future iterations of the course, less time is
likely to be required; however, the authors advise against continually
asking the same organizations to participate due to the commitment of
time and human resources required of the organizations involved.
Kevin R. Coulson, Northeastern Illinois University
S. Prasad Kantamneni, Emporia State University
THE COMPETITIVE CIRCLE
The Competitive Circle (CC) is intended to enliven the typical case
course by introducing a certain level of perceived risk beyond the normal
instructional evaluative aspects and thereby increase student participation
and learning. It may be used in two formats, either with text based cases,
or preferably with local firm information. The latter method is much more
interesting to nontraditional, management-level students, and provides a
great incentive to become involved in the learning process.
Traditional case-based courses often require that a student (or group
of students) analyze a textual case, write up their thoughts on the material,
and then (yawn) present that material to the class for discussion. When
done well, it is a marvelous learning experience. Unfortunately, it fails to
capture the interest of many students. There is a need for a teaching
technique that provides students with more personally relevant material.
Goals for the "Competitive Circle," include the ability to involve the entire
class in the discussion, to be able to extract valuable student experiences,
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
to correct misperceptions without bruising students' enthusiasm for the
material or being perceived as offering "textbook" answers in a "real
world" setting, and to bring home the reality that lack of information is
always a problem in business.
Conceptually, CC is a simple technique. Assign one or more students
to represent one (preferably local) firm, or to act as consultant(s) to the
firm in a text based case. Call these students the "good guys" for lack of a
better term. Assign another student (or similarly sized group) to act as a
competitor for that firm. (Obviously, these are the "bad guys".)
The good guy(s) profile the area firm's (try to stay within 60 miles)
marketing strengths and suggests appropriate marketing strategies
designed to improve or continue their differential advantage. In the event
that you use a text based case, they are told to complete the Strengths and
Opportunities aspects of a SWOT analysis and are also to improve or
continue their differential advantage. This material is then presented by
these students and serves as the first part of the class. (Sharper students
will do both sides of the SWOT analysis to prepare!).
The competition [bad guy(s)] will then highlight the same firm’s
weaknesses and likely bases of competitive attack, and/or develop the
Weaknesses and Threats (SWOT), and present this material as the second
phase of the class. By this point, particularly when local firms are
involved, most students will be eager to chime in with rebuttals to one or
more of the elements presented by either or both sides. Typically, the first
group of presenters is allowed a brief period to reply to the competitors'
ideas and the floor is then opened for general discussion. Usually it is a
good idea to remind the students of the general theme for the day (from
the syllabus) and to concentrate on that. You will find that students will
demonstrate a synthesis of material from other areas and subjects that is
very gratifying.
This method works extremely well with nontraditional students who
have an employment history, particularly when their firm is being profiled.
During the discussion, the instructor acts as a moderator and brings in key
points concerning material from weekly text readings by asking questions.
under ideal circumstances, each student will present one firm and "attack"
the marketing strategies of another during the semester so that they get the
full benefit of the Competitive Circle’s concentration on Defense or
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Offense. An added element of real world spice can be introduced by
keeping the competitive group secret from the primary discussant(s) until
after their presentation. This is done by handing out the competitive
assignments in sealed envelopes along with instructions to keep the secret.
The Competitive Circle is envisioned as a truly competitive exercise.
This technique is not for the unprepared or the faint-of-heart. The
instructor must research each of the firms assigned and take care to link
them to topics in the course syllabus. Students are very aware of the
operations of local firms and hold strong opinions about this, which can
lead to quite spirited debate. Care must be taken in assigning competitors.
Students with poor communications skills will always be disadvantaged
when placed against well skilled participants. For this reason start the
class researching their primary companies and wait until the second week
or later before assigning the competitors. This provides an opportunity to
judge the abilities of the students and to select appropriate matches.
Collect demographic data and information on previous work experience
prior to assigning competitors. Care must also be taken in the selection
and assigning of firms. Select both local and national or international
firms with public exposure in a variety of industries. The CC format is
such that errors in judgment, mistaken applications of marketing concepts,
and plain wrong-headed ideas tend to disappear as the subject progresses
because both the instructor and class-members actively seek to correct
them. CC has been successfully used in both graduate and undergraduate
classes. However, it is more useful in smaller classes (N < 20).
Sandra L. Lueder
Southern Connecticut State University
TEAM GRADE APPEALS--INCREASED LEARNING
I have been a convert to team learning ever since 1994 when, courtesy
of a faculty development grant awarded to me by the University, Larry
Michelsen (University of Oklahoma, Norman) introduced me to the process. The essence of team learning is simple: students learn more when
they are actively involved in the process; they tend not to learn particularly
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
well when their classroom role is that of a passive receptacle for lectures.
This realization, and team learning, have had a profound effect on my professional life.
Team learning is a multi-stage process. However, I am focusing here
on the test-taking part of the process--an activity that can be used in any
classroom format, regardless of whether the full team learning process is
used or not.
Here's how it works. For each topic in the course, the students are
assigned one or more chapters to read. They must come to class prepared
to take a 20-question "content quiz" on the chapter(s). Each student will
take the quiz individually and submit it to me for immediate grading.
Then, having already been put into teams, the students meet in their teams
and take the same quiz as a team. Each team submits its quiz for immediate grading. When all the quizzes, individual and team, have been
graded, they are returned to the teams. This is where the appeals process
comes in.
Appeals, which must be submitted to me in writing with a proposed
"new" correct answer and a justification, can only be submitted for the
team quizzes. The appeals process (open book) is designed to do several
things. First, it is intended to clarify the students' understanding of the
course concepts. Second, it gives additional credit and recognition when
the team has "missed" a question because of things like ambiguity in the
reading material, disagreement between the reading material and the
"correct" answer, or problems in the wording of the question. Third, it is
intended to reinforce the team concept by demonstrating that the pooling
of brain power will result in a team quiz grade that is usually higher than
or equal to the highest individual grade.
What is truly amazing is the level and sophistication of the topicrelated discussions that go on in the teams. They are, of course, trying
hard to get those extra points from me--but in the process they are learning
with and from each other in a way that I’ve never seen before. Here’s
an example from my spring 1999 consumer behavior class:
The question (from the test bank for Solomon’s Consumer
Behavior, 4th edition): Latrell finds that every time he goes to select
athletic shoes he always buys the same brand. In fact, he doesn’t even
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remember trying on any of the other competitive brands even though
some of these brands have attractive styles and prices. Latrell's purchase decision process has become of lesser and lesser effort. This
process would be an example of _________________:
a. Cognitive dissonance
c. Ineptness
b. Brand loyalty
d. Inertia
The correct answer:
D (inertia)
The appeal: Brand loyalty is a pattern of repeat product purchases,
which is clearly demonstrated in the situation in the question. When
buying a product to which one is brand loyal, almost no effort goes
into the purchase. We feel that because of the parallel and overlapping similarities of the definitions of brand loyalty and inertia,
brand loyalty can also be the answer.
My decision on the appeal: Granted. They got the extra point. (It
should be noted that it is important to be generous in the granting of
appeals in order to facilitate team-building. The granting of this
appeal, however, was not a stretch.)
While one could split hairs on this, one thing is very clear: The
students are thinking about the course material and they are talking about
it with each other in meaningful ways--to the point, at times, where some
pretty animated arguments take place. As a result, increased learning is
taking place--and you can’t get better than that!
Try this method in your classes. You’ll like it.
Raghu Tadepalli, Xavier University
Clint B. Schertzer, Xavier University
USING CONCEPT PAPERS IN THE
MARKETING STRATEGY COURSE
The Marketing Strategy course is a required course in most MBA
degree programs. As a follow-up to the Introductory course, the objective
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of the marketing strategy course is to give the students a flavor of the
complexities of formulating, implementing, and managing marketing
strategy and programs. As a required course, every student in the MBA
program has to complete this course. While case analyses are one useful
way to accomplish some part of the course objectives, we found that they
rarely get the student to think through how various marketing concepts are
actually applied. This deficiency, we feel is an important one since
students in the absence of carefully applying important marketing
concepts, try to complete the case analyses without even resorting to or
even understanding the concepts. In some instances, concepts (e.g.,
positioning) are used without even an understanding of what they mean
and the different ways in which they can be used. Since a vast majority of
MBA students do not have or do not work in the Marketing area, we have
successfully used concept papers to alleviate the problems noted above.
Each student in the Marketing Strategy course is required to write
eight concept papers each focusing on an important concept discussed in
the chapter. This concept paper should focus on how the concept is being
used by their organization, the manner of its implementation, and the
problems the organization has had either in using the concept, or
implementing it. The concept papers typically cannot exceed two doublespaced, typewritten pages. These concept papers in our experience, have
served several useful purposes. First, they have forced MBA students who
do not have a marketing background, to contact marketing personnel in
their organizations to find out how the concept is being applied. In this
process, several students have commented that they have come to develop
a healthy regard for the work that marketing department employees do and
the difficulties they have to contend with. Secondly, students especially in
such areas as health care, financial services, and education have
recognized that the marketing of services presents many challenges not
addressed in (the) current textbooks. Thirdly, we have started off each
class session by calling on some students to briefly explain how the
concept paper is being applied in their organization. An unintended benefit
of this exercise is that it allows all the students in the class to learn how
organizations that are very different from their own are applying the
concept. They also learn about other organizations they have only read
about in the newspapers. In one particularly interesting exchange, students
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started comparing notes on the problems their organizations were having
in evaluating attempts to measure customer satisfaction and most were
surprised to learn of the sophisticated approach taken by some health care
organizations whose employees were in the class. Students not associated
with an employer can complete the papers by referring to such sources as
The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, etc. Demonstrating
application of a concept is the learning objective.
Using concept papers does have one drawback though. In order for
students to take them seriously, we have had to build in an evaluative
component along with a suitable grade. In our courses concept papers
account for 10 percent of the grade. Since students have responded well to
this challenge, faculty members in return need to spend some time
carefully reading and making comments on these papers. With a class size
of thirty students, this means reading and commenting on thirty concept
papers every week. The associated clerical task of recording all of these
scores also is time consuming. The tendency to just skim through the
papers and award ten points to each should be avoided. In order to
simplify the task of the professor to some degree we have made and
enforced one rule: No late submissions accepted and no revisions allowed.
However, to accommodate travel and work schedules and "emergencies",
we typically assign ten concept papers but use only the highest eight
grades.
Martha E. Hardesty
The College of St. Catherine
BUYING AN EDUCATION: THE 4 P’S ON DAY ONE
Students enrolled in my 2-credit Introduction to Marketing course
may be freshmen exploring a business major, sophomores fulfilling a
requirement for the accounting degree, or even senior English majors
taking the “something!” their parents urged to help them get a job. From
the first day I must get students to recognize the experiential base of
marketing, and I must create class norms of participation.
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I begin the first class by asking students to break into small buzz
groups. I then pass out a sheet with the question, “Why are you buying
your education at The College of St. Catherine?” Students typically look
surprised—they have not regarded their college choice as a consumer
purchase. I mention that there are well over a dozen other options for
taking an Introduction to Marketing course for college credit within this
term within this metropolitan area. Students are instructed to spend at
least 20 minutes recalling absolutely every influence that caused them to
come to this college. Another question on the same sheet asks them
“What do you have in common with the other students in your group?”
They spend about five minutes discussing this.
Typical answers for the first question might be “Small class size,”
“Financial aid package,” etc. As I collect their responses on the board, I
discuss items as choices made by themselves or by the institution. They
gradually notice that I am listing their comments deliberately in one of
four columns. They note as well that I am keeping a separate list of other
colleges they mention that they had also considered. Inevitably, the discussion produces the 4 P’s of the marketing mix and gives the foundation
for our course. Typical inputs are:
 Product: specific major, class size, academic reputation. . .
 Price: actual costs, financial aid, scholarships. . .
 Place: near/far from home, in an urban area where jobs are plentiful, the beauty of the campus..
 Promotion: campus recruiting officers, relatives or friends who
have attended, high school counselors..
The list of other colleges generates the Competition.
The profile of the Customer, “What you have in common,” is much
less obvious to them. At this private women’s college, gender and religion
are sometimes mentioned; more often students think about academic
major, or hometown. They rarely generate other demographics like
income and almost never get near psychographics (which, at our particular
campus, is the most significant variable besides gender!). Yet when competitor colleges are mentioned, they are all able to paint an instant portrait
of the student at each of these institutions.
Within the first class, then, we have generated the fundamental concepts of the course. Students begin to differentiate the 4 P’s and to recog-
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nize the influence of competition on managing the marketing mix. They
begin to explore the complexities of market segmentation and the significance of knowing your target market fully. They know as well that their
contribution to the class is necessary and valuable. Throughout the term I
refer to this day’s discussion at the introduction of any new concept.
Student feedback has been that this beginning adds significant coherence
to a brief yet broad-ranging course.
Jacqueline K. Eastman
Valdosta State University
DEVELOPING STUDENTS'
PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR
The marketing education literature has often noted the problems with
unprofessional student behavior (for example, see the Spring 1999 issue of
Marketing Educator). These problems include a variety of undesirable
student behaviors including tardiness, absenteeism, leaving early, students
talking during lecture or when other students are responding, reading the
newspaper or other materials during class, lack of preparation for the
class, sloppy dress, and inappropriate comments, among other behaviors.
As a professor, I have seen a decline in the manners and behaviors of
students over the past few years. This decline served to diminish the
learning environment for both myself and the students who were there to
learn. The purpose of this teaching idea is to describe a suggestion that I
successfully tested this semester for how marketing professors can address
this concern to create a better classroom environment and to better prepare
students for their careers.
Many teachers have participation as part of the student grade. This
requirement often encourages more spurious comments or merely a
greater number of comments, rather than more thoughtful preparation for
class discussion. I have revised this portion of the grade for my classes
(senior level marketing classes made up of less than 40 students) to be a
grade for overall professional preparation and conduct rather than just
participation. First, in the syllabus I note the following as part of the
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"Course Format and Conduct" portion of the syllabus to set the tone that
professional behavior is expected: "Your TIMELY attendance and
ACTIVE participation in class is expected and required. Please ask
questions if there is something in class that you do not understand. You
are expected to be prepared, to contribute to the class, and to act in a
professional and courteous manner."
Second, professional behavior is now ten percent of their grade as
described below in my syllabus:
Your professional performance will be graded daily on 0-5 scale:
0=absent, 1=a negative influence in class (rude, disruptive, or late),
2=in class but not contributing or professional, 3=in class
somewhat contributing to class but not demonstrating preparation
for class, 4=contributing to class and somewhat prepared for class
by having read materials ahead of time, and 5=significant
contribution and well prepared for class. These grades will be
added up and the percentage of points received/total points
possible is worth 10% of your grade. The factors that will go into
determining this are the following:
*Timely attendance (arriving before class starts, prompt returns
from break, and not
leaving early) for each class period.
*Preparation for class (reading the materials and preparing before
class).
*Useful participation that aids the class and demonstrates course
preparation. Useful participation is NOT continually asking where
we are in the materials, disrupting the class through holding private
conversations during class, or complaining about the workload
(this is a senior level class - something would be terribly wrong if
this course was not rigorous). Useful participation includes
involvement in class discussion, asking questions about the
material, and relating the course content to the project.
*Your ability to work with others. I am not asking that you like
everyone in the class, but I am expecting you to put your personal
feelings aside for the good of the course. Please do not interrupt
when others are talking.
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*Your overall professional demeanor and appearance. This is a
classroom, not a beach, bar room, or ball field - act and dress
accordingly.
If you have any questions about this policy, please ask me ASAP.
Third, it is up to me to show the students how professionals act. I
have to set the proper tone for the class. I discuss with them in the first
day of class why we are doing this. The majority of students want a
learning atmosphere free of chaos and do not appreciate obnoxious
students any more than faculty do. Additionally, I stress to them that how
they act in my classroom is similar to how they would act in a professional
meeting/setting. I note a grade for each student at the end of each class as
I take role. When I return each of their tests I also note on the test how
they are scoring so far on the professionalism portion and discuss what
they can do in class to enhance their score for the rest of the term.
Victor J. Massad
Elizabethtown College
USING MOVIES TO ILLUSTRATE HOW
GROUPS INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR
Since students enjoy watching videos of popular movies, one way for
marketing teachers to capitalize is to assign students to watch videos of
pre-selected films in order to evaluate how groups influence the behaviors
of characters within the film. Students are told to view one of the
following motion pictures: subUrbia (R), Four Weddings and a Funeral
(PG-13), Heathers (R), M*A*S*H* (R), The Big Chill (PG-13), Fast
Times at Ridgemont High (R) -- the professor advises students to avoid the
R-rated films if they are offended by such material.
Students are instructed to note that each of the movies centers on the
dynamics of a group. Each student is to watch any of the movies (they
may invite friends from class to join them if they like), take notes on the
activities of the group(s) in the film and on the activities of each member
of each group, then write a paper discussing the following issues:
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1. How would you describe the group(s) and why? Is it a reference
group? Primary group? Formal or informal? What are the
rules of membership, either written or unwritten?
2. Which characters belong to the group and which do not?
3. What other groups would members of this group consider to be
aspirational? What other groups would members of this group
consider to be dissociative? Are there characters in the movie who
aspire to join this group or consider it dissociative?
4. What norms do you observe? Give examples from the movie in
which characters' behaviors result from normative influences.
Include instances in which the group either directly or indirectly
influences consumption behaviors.
5. Describe the role each member of the group plays. Is there a
decider, influencer, gatekeeper, etc? If not, what labels would
you give each member?
6. To what degree do members of the group feel pressure to
conform? Are there events that you feel individual characters
would not have taken part in were it not for group conformity
pressures? Do most members seem to conform from acceptance
or as a matter of compliance? Give examples. To what degree
does the cohesiveness (or lack of cohesiveness) of the group
contribute to conformity pressure? Are there characters who seem
to conform out of a high need for acceptance?
7. Did you observe any group shifts (changes in group opinion)
during the movie? How did the shifts come about?
Rosa T. Cherry
Williamsburg Technical College
CONTACT THE REAL WORLD
INVITE GUEST SPEAKERS
OR TAKE A TRIP
My favorite extra activity is inviting local business/industry personnel
into our class to share their expertise with our students or to take the
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
165
students on field trips to see how things are done. This is particularly useful in our small, mostly rural community. Many students have had little
contact with this segment of the community and benefit greatly from
hearing and seeing how things work in the real world. This also aids in
our college image enhancement by promoting interaction between the
town and the student community.
We have had visits from an industrial buyer for a local plastics plant
(a former student!), an inside business-to-business salesperson for a nearby steel company, a wholesaler, a retailer, a newspaper publisher, a
college president, and a public information officer. In addition our classes
have visited a local production plant and a local telemarketing center.
Our PIO often uses the occasion for a photo op to favorably publicize
our college.
Joe F. Hair, Jr.
Louisiana State University
USING THE INTERNET TO ENHANCE
INSTRUCTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Instructional approaches utilizing the Internet as a platform are transforming university-level teaching (as well as teaching at all levels). The
Internet creates “time-free” “location-free” access for students and
delivery opportunities for professors. Colorful animations attract attention
and also increase student understanding of abstract concepts. Rotating
objects enhances visual perspectives and facilitates communication of product features and benefits. Using interactive data bases enables students,
particularly those in classes like marketing research, to manipulate statistical, behavioral and attitudinal data using “what if” scenarios. Finally,
students no longer have to imagine sounds, they can actually hear them
and assess the nuances of verbal communication.
Internet instruction accommodates a wide range of learning and
teaching preferences. Students and professors can quickly and easily individualize course assignments by utilizing a variety of links. Interchanges
between the professor and students increase because of the ability to asyn-
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
chronously contact each other in a “time-free” “location-free” manner.
Making overhead transparencies and lecture outlines and notes available
on-line further extend the opportunities for making teaching and learning
more effective.
Internet instruction involves students in a wide range of activities that
contribute to learning and intellectual growth. I personally have used
Internet-based instruction for the last two years. So have a number of my
colleagues. Research on teaching effectiveness has established all of the
following:
1. Active learning is better than passive learning;
2. Learning requires focused attention and extensive time on task;
and
3. Information organized in personally meaningful ways is easier to
remember and use.
The Internet enables us to implement and benefit from all of the
above. So if you have not yet incorporated the Internet in your teaching
approach you need to soon.
Jack K. Mandel
Nassau Community College
PUTTING STUDENTS “IN THE LINE OF FIRE” TO
LEARN CRISIS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
The concept of “crisis management” is becoming an important topic
for marketing and public relations classes. As companies continue to
globalize, seek to make their staffing more culturally diverse, and sensitize
themselves to community needs and concerns, the role of influencing
public opinion is growing.
I have incorporated fictitious “crisis” situations (based on actual news
events) which students have to respond to. They are asked to “assume”
the role of a Public Relations Director for XYZ Corporation and lead a
press conference to address an issue of some local (national) concern such
as pollution of the environment.
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
167
After each student issues a “policy statement” citing the stance the
company is taking, the classroom (press conference) is opened up to other
students. HERE IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS . . .
Selected students are previously chosen by me (the instructor) to roleplay specific “publics” and to raise critical and timely questions to the
Public Relations Director standing before them. For example, I will have
one young lady play a production worker who feigns “crying” because she
is afraid that as a single parent with four children to support, should XYZ
Corporation close, how would she cope? Other student role-plays might
include a union delegate seeking job security for member workers, a major
shareholder worried that the price per share of company stock will decline,
and even a local legislator trying to look good to his constituents. Such
questioning put to our “PR Director” will provide a “very real” crisis situation forcing him to think quickly and answer carefully. As the instructor,
you can encourage your stuudents to give you scenarios to play out.
TEACHING TIP FOR THIS EXERCISE: Always select at least four
volunteers to allow different viewpoints and approaches. Ask each
student to wait outside of the classroom to guarantee that each response
will not be influenced by the preceding students. However, after each
student completes his turn “In the Line of Fire,” let him rejoin the class to
observe the others who follow.
Example
Chemo Technology Corporation
Riverhead, N.Y.
Case Study:
PUBLIC RELATIONS 138
PROFESSOR J. MANDELL
MANAGING CRISIS – INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION
Situation:
Chemco Technology Corporation is a large metalworking manufacturer
which employs over 500 Nassau and Suffolk residents in Riverhead, L.I.
Founded in 1948, this publicly held company has seen its share value
increase from $3 to $67 (plus annual dividends). Many shareholders live
on Long Island and admire the company. Now the company is facing its
greatest crisis to date. Chemco has been getting rid of poisonous zincplating residue by dumping them into a large field adjacent to the factory.
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
This toxic fluid has slowly infiltrated ground water that feeds into
Hampton Bays. 25,000 dead trout were found two days ago floating in
the creek, killed by the cyanide in the waste fluid which was not
adequately treated. Drinking water could be contaminated too.
The New York State Environmental Protection Agency is planning to
indict the company and the media is publicizing the incident.
Your Challenge:
You are Director of Community Relations at Chemco Technology
Corporation. Management has designated you to issue a “Policy
Statement” at an Open Press Conference tomorrow morning.
Prepare a written statement based on a PLAN OF ACTION
(chapters 3 and 19 will help) to deal with the crisis.
Your Objective:
To restore public, employee, and shareholder confidence AND
pacify the authorities.
Rosa T. Cherry
Williamsburg Technical College
USE A SIMULATION - CLASS COMPETITION
To incorporate many areas of the marketing concept, I like to use a
simulated business operation. To do this, we divide the class into teams
(companies). The teams make decisions regarding company name, product, price, and promotion in operating a retail franchise. The teams compete against each other and against the computer-run company as well to
make the largest amount of profit over a period of "five months." These
decisions are spread out over the course of the semester, with meetings
held during class time on decision days. After the first two decision
periods, each company prepares a marketing plan, which is graded and is
then followed in making subsequent decisions. The team making the most
overall profit scores the A on the project and others are graded
accordingly, with no team receiving lower than a C. Grades for each team
member on the simulation are verified by confidential grading of team
members by their colleagues. The final simulation grade amounts to 25%
of the course grade. The competition generates enough pressure to stimu-
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
169
late more interest in the various phases of marketing decision making in
Marketing 101.
Stephen B. Castleberry
University of Minnesota Duluth
CONSUMER BOYCOTTS AND POSSIBLE REACTIONS
(SOME FOLKS OUT THERE JUST DON’T LIKE US!)
On the end of the first day of class, after having introduced the
marketing concept, I hand out a list that includes firms and some products.
It looks something like this:
What do these firms/products have in common?
American Express
World Book
Revere Ware
Dayton Hudson
Forbes
Johnson’s Baby Shampoo
Levi Strauss
Nationwide Insurance
New York Times
Sony
Walt Disney
Merrill Lynch
NutraSweet
Radio Shack
Giving no hints, I challenge students to try to find out what the list has
in common. At the beginning of each class session, I poll students: "Does
anyone know what the list of companies/products has in common?"
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Needless to say, this exercise generates a great deal of interest and
enthusiasm. Students guess all sorts of things: firms listed on the New
York Stock Exchange, firms that have outstanding marketing strategic
plans, firms that have been around more than 50 years, firms that have a
really neat Web site, firms that sell convenience goods, etc. Without
giving any more clues, I let them continue to guess throughout the quarter.
On the last day of class, we cover the material assigned for the day.
Then I wrap up with something like, "Well, thanks for being such good
students. I wish you the best on your final exam," and act like I’m going
to walk out of the room. The students invariably call out, "Wait, what
about that list? What does it mean?"
"Oh, are you interested in that?" I say, pretending surprise that they
even remembered it. Then I give them one final chance to solve the
mystery. When they give up I tell them. "The companies/products in that
list all make contributions to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is
the largest abortion provider. Since I am personally against abortion, I
boycott the firms/products on that list (which is only a partial list, by the
way; and changes each quarter as firms are added and some drop out due
to the boycott pressures).” I then lead the class into a discussion about
boycotts and how marketers should respond to them. This includes topics
such as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The importance of learning all of the relevant evaluative criteria
that consumers use.
The importance of learning the relative importance of the various
evaluative criteria that consumers use.
How what is typically thought of as a "convenience product" can
become a "high involvement" product (due to a divergence
between personal beliefs and company beliefs).
The importance of communicating information to consumers.
The critical functions of public relations and customer service.
Whether it makes sense to let individuals or organizations that
boycott your products have an impact on your corporate
marketing decisions (i.e., will we let our consumers hold us
hostage?).
The ethical and far-reaching ramifications of corporate decisions.
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
8.
9.
171
What firms on the list can do to win my business.
How a teaser campaign works (which is basically what I’ve been
doing all quarter--I've aroused their curiosity to such a level that,
when I do "spill the beans" they are all ears and tell their friends
about what they learned).
Of course, you could generate lists using any type of criteria you
might have (firms that you just don't like, firms that your wife/husband
just won't shop at, etc.). To tie the exercise directly to the boycott issue,
you can list the firms you (or someone you know) boycott.
Thomas Rossi
Broome Community College
“TRIVIAL PURSUIT” GAME
In the courses that I teach, Business Law, Marketing, Organizational
Behavior and Leadership. I use a variation of the game "Trivial
Pursuit" per topic. Here is how it works: Students submit questions on
3" by 5" cards. After we have covered each unit of the course, they place
a question on one side of the card and the answer on the other side. We
color-code the cards to correspond to the color-code of the Trivial Pursuit
game board. Students can submit several types of questions-true/false,
multiple choice, short answer essays, fill in the blank, and even Jeopardystyle questions (when the answer is read, the student must respond with
the appropriate question).
Initially, the questions are merely reviewed in class before each exam
to prepare the students for the upcoming exam. Misleading questions and
duplications are pruned from the deck so that only the best questions are
included.
At the end of the semester, before final exams, we break up into teams
and play a game of "Business Pursuit". I urge students to bring only
important questions, or what I refer to as Marketing "significa" or
Management "significa," rather than "trivial" questions.
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
An interesting aspect about this approach is the group dynamics.
Frequently, when the game is played, students who have said very little in
the course enjoy the game-like atmosphere that is created, and the game
enables an enormous amount of material to be covered in an enjoyable
manner.
John Perrachione
Truman State University
GAMES IN MARKETING CLASSES
Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing's previous editions have featured
a variety of "games" useful as pedagogical tools. Another lucrative source
of a continual supply of marketing-related games is the magazine by that
name--GAMES.
Below is a non-exhaustive, annotated list of GAMES games that
might be used in marketing classes. They include word games, trivia
questions, multiple-choice questions, matching, picture identification, and
others. While brands, products, and/or companies are a major component,
if not the sole component, in almost all of the entries listed below, the
various games are relevant to a veritable panoply of marketing topics; for
example: branding, brand identification, brand symbols; packaging and
labels; international marketing; market share/top-of-mind awareness;
recognition vs. recall, aided vs. unaided recall; learning, association, cues;
perception, stimulus ambiguity, figure-ground relationships; demographics, personality profiles; sex-role stereotyping; and more.
It is the policy of GAMES magazine to allow its games to be used in
classrooms--credit to GAMES should be given on any content used from
the magazine. GAMES is published nine times a year, and is copyrighted by Games Publications, Inc. GAMES is a trademark of Games
Publications, Inc. Address correspondence to GAMES, P.O. Box 184, Fort
Washington, PA 19034. [Note: My only affiliation with GAMES magazine is as a long-time paid subscriber. JP]
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
173
Marketing Games in GAMES
April 1999, 23(2), Issue 150:
"Wherefore Art Thou Rodeo?" -- Guess the car models from which 25 imaginary model
names (and their new slogans) have been created "by changing the names of actual
1999 autos currently sold in the U.S. by one letter" (p. 29).
December 1998, 22(6), Issue 148:
"Corporate Makeover" -- Identify twelve drawings of corporate logos that literally
interpret the names of well-known companies (B/W; pp. 20-21).
"Gender Cliches" -- Name the fourteen "male" tools and the fourteen "female" kitchen
tools pictured (color); name the twelve "chick flicks" and the twelve "guy movies"
described (p. 73-75).
"(W)HO, (W)HO, (W)HO?" -- Identify fifteen famous people and/or fictional characters
from their holiday wish lists (p. 88).
October 1998, 22(5), Issue 147:
"Chow Show" -- Which photo in each of 13 pairs is dog food and which is people food?
(color; pp. 18-19).
"Bizarro Brands" -- Match brand-name opposites with product categories (p. 27).
August 1998, 22(4), Issue 146:
"Stars and Stripes" -- Identify the 44 company, product, and service logos (or parts of
logos) containing stars and/or stripes (black & white; pp. 28 & 29).
"Ads infinitum: Infomercial, please" -- Match celebrities with the infomercial product or
service s/he has endorsed (p. 45).
"Ads infinitum: As Time Goes, Buy" -- Place ten milestones of television and
advertising in chronological order (p. 45).
"Ads infinitum: Choice Trivia" -- Multiple-choice questions about miscellaneous ads,
TV show sponsors, etc. (p. 46).
"Ads infinitum: Products of Celebrity" -- (A) Match four celebrities' pictures with
pictures of logos of soft drinks they endorse (color); (B) Match ten "spokescreatures" with their trademark slogans; (C) Match four celebrities' pictures with the
telephone service for which each has been spokesperson (color) (pp. 46 & 47).
"Ads infinitum: This song's for you" -- Match each of 15 songs to the products with
which they are now associated (pp. 46 & 47).
"Ads infinitum: What's My Tag Line?" -- [A] Spliced Slogans -- Identify tag lines that
have been divided into two parts and each part paired with part of a different tag
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
line; [B] Bar Exam -- Match each brand of beer with its slogan; [C] Flight Simulator
-- Match each airline with its slogan (p. 47).
April 1998, 22(2), Issue 144:
"Letter Drop" -- Identify the product logos from which each of 26 letters was taken
(color; pp. 52 & 53; answers in October 1998 issue).
"Main Street Mergers" -- Guess the names of fourteen pairs of businesses (a combination
theatrical agency and delivery service = "Part & Parcel") (p. 27).
February 1998, 22(1), Issue 143:
"Madison Avenew" -- Identify the eight correctly (creatively) spelled product names from
a list of 37, and identify the correct (creative) spelling of the other 29 (p. 60).
August 1997, 21(4), Issue 140:
"Trivia Aptitude Test" -- Not marketing related, but introduces an interesting variation of
multiple-choice testing (pp. 16 & 17).
"For Sale, Cheap" -- Guess the price of six items in the respective years given (p. 62).
October 1996, 20(5), Issue 135:
"Bring Back Burma-Shave" -- Announced a contest to "promote a product of the '90s
with a series of silly signs" (p. 8).
"World Leader" -- "What six-letter company can have its first and last letters changed to
get the six-letter last name of its CEO?" (p. 60).
April 1996, 20(2). Issue 132:
"High-Tech Reality Check" -- Although these multiple-choice questions focus on computers and technology (which are arguably marketing-related), they include
questions about products, brands, and media (pp. 50 & 51).
June 1995, 19(3), Issue 127:
"Getting Down to Business" -- Ten multiple-choice and matching questions concerning
brands and products, marketing, and business in general; arrange eight trademarks
chronologically; and identify the one Colgate-Palmolive product from among seven
Procter & Gamble products (some color; pp. 50 & 51).
"Poetic Products" -- Identify the rhyming brand names for each of eighteen pairs of items
(e.g., "soft drink/computer" = Snapple/Apple) (p. 61).
"Magazine Departments" -- Match each of twenty magazines to a feature or department
that regularly appears in that magazine (p. 62).
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
175
April 1995, 19(2), Issue 126:
"That's About the Size of It" -- Identify which item in each pair of common items-including branded products--is the correct size (pp. 16 & 17; color).
"This End Up" -- Identify the 16 items from close-up photos of arrows on them (color; p.
49).
December 1994, 18(6), Issue 124:
"Lost in Translation" -- Identify eleven movies based on titles that were translated from
English to another language and back to English (p. 83).
February 1995, 19(1), Issue 125:
"Promotion Pictures" -- Identify twenty movies from rough sketches of the movie posters
(B/W, p. 34).
October 1994, 18(5), Issue 123:
"I Browse" -- Identify the twenty product and company logos from a picture of part of the
their logo containing unusually dotted "i"s (B/W, p. 34).
August 1994, 18(4), Issue 122):
"Roadside Distraction" -- Identify the brand names based on the single letter pictured of
each (color; front cover; answers in 12/94 issue).
October 1992, 16(5), Issue 111:
"Survey Says" -- Guess GAMES reader profiles based on results of a previous reader
survey (p. 10).
"Logomotion" -- Identify twenty commercial logos that are reprinted sans vowels (B/W,
p. 30).
August 1992, 16(4), Issue 110:
"Gas, Food & Lodging" -- Identify the 25 brands of gas, food, and lodging businesses
from their highway services sign logos (front cover; color).
"Put Up a Good Front" --Identify the 15 makes of cars from pictures of their fronts (pp.
16 & 17; color).
"No Run but a Hit" -- Identify the product from the three clues given (p. 63).
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Most (all recent) Issues:
"Find the Fake Ad" -- Identify the one fake ad in each issue. (Useful for discussion of
what makes a good--or not-so-good--ad.)
Daniel Bauer, Bellarmine College
Mark Mitchell, University of South Carolina Spartanburg
THE GUIDE TO DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT
PROGRAMS AND DIRECT STOCK
PURCHASE PROGRAMS ….
Introduction
The connection of between a firm’s financial performance and its
marketing orientation, technologies, product characteristics and competitive structures is well established. Consequently, professors must ensure
students understand that financial performance is based largely on
decisions that managers make regarding these elements, as opposed to
luck or the dictates of the environment. The purpose of this paper is to
share a project that can be used to help students grasp the relationship
between managerial choices and financial performance. While the overall
goal of the project is to establish the importance of this relationship, the
project will also expose students to the following other areas:
1. Companies that market their securities directly to the public.
2. The importance of personal financial issues to Generation X members.
3. A means for improving access to equity investing.
4. A means for turning customers into investors and investors into
customers.
5. The concepts of Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPS) and
Direct-Stock Purchase Programs.
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
177
Project Description
Each student will conduct research on a local firm that offers a DRIP
and/or a Direct-Stock Purchase Program and prepare a written summary of
the firm’s marketing orientation and financial performance. These written
summaries will be combined to create The Guide to Dividend
Reinvestment and Direct Stock Purchase Programs in … for distribution
in your region. Given that over one thousand companies have DRIPS or
Direct-Stock Purchase Programs, it should be easy to tie the project to
companies located in your area. This project can be administered in a
Principles of Marketing, Marketing Strategy, International Marketing, or
Consumer Behavior course.
The student’s research should also include an analysis the
fundamentals of a DRIP and Direct-Stock Purchase Program. For instance,
students should understand what constitutes a DRIP. A DRIP is a method
through which companies automatically allow you to reinvest dividends in
shares of their stock. The standard way to open a DRIP is to buy a few
shares of a company’s stock (for instance Wal-Mart) that offers a DRIP
and have the shares issued in your name. You then complete a simple
DRIP signup form. As a result, the company automatically reinvests each
quarterly dividend (usually without commission charges) in shares of their
common stock. The Action Plan for completing the project is as follows.
Action Plan
1. Identify companies in local region with dividend reinvestment and
direct stock purchase programs. Recommended resources include:
National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC or betterinvesting.org), Dripinvestor (dripinvestor.com), The Motley Fool
(fool.com), The Moneypaper (moneypaper.com), firstshare.com,
1999 Guide the DRIP Programs (by Charles Carlson), No-Load
Stocks (by Charles Carlson), The Individual Investor Revolution
(by Charles Carlson).
2. Identify common information regarding each program desired,
such as: company name, web address, stock symbol, list of highprofile brand name products, business description, scope of inter-
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
national business, direct stock purchase availability, dividend reinvestment availability, minimum investments/shares, buying/selling
fees, optional cash purchase minimums, discounted share prices.
3. Divide company list among students in class for data collection
and analysis.
4. Compile completed work into “The Guide to Dividend Reinvestment Programs and Direct-Stock Purchase Programs (in your
area).”
5. Distribute completed guide to students, the campus community,
and the operating region.
Desired Outcomes of Project
By completed this project, a student’s understanding of the interrelationships between the marketing and financial areas will be reinforced.
Other skills that are introduced or refined by this activity include: the process of developing a personal investment program, the mechanics of conducting comprehensive research on a given company and techniques for
communicating information to the campus community and surrounding
community. IN ADDITION, THE CLASS WILL ALSO HAVE SOME
FUN!
Charles E. Michaels, Jr., University of South Florida
John Perrachione, Truman State University
STUDY GUIDES TO ACCOMPANY
LECTURE PRESENTATIONS
The "bells and whistles" available in computer presentation software
(e.g., Microsoft's PowerPoint) have made such programs increasingly
popular pedagogical tools . . . but perhaps not without a hidden--albeit
attenuable--"cost" to students. Similar to the criticism of TV vis-à-vis
books, technological advances in pedagogy, although potentially more
attention-getting and entertaining, can run the risk of decreasing students'
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
179
active mental involvement in their learning, and therefore student learning.
Consider this hypothetical interlocution for a possible solution:
Professor A: I finally learned one of those computer presentation programs well enough that I was able to use it to prepare all
my lecture presentations for two of my courses.
Professor B: Great.
Prof. A:
Now I can keep my students' interest by using something
more akin to what they're used to from TV, rather than just
resorting to overhead transparencies or the chalkboard.
Prof. B:
Yup.
Prof. A:
And I've even gone beyond--I hand out copies of the slides
I use so students can take notes right on them . . . this helps
the students not only take notes, but do so with some
semblance of organization.
Prof. B:
Good.
Prof. A:
My only concern is, am I exacerbating the "TV
problem"--am I making the students even more passive
recipients rather than active learners? How do I use fancy
presentation programs and yet help the students to think
about the information I present?
Prof. B:
Try what I do--do just a little less in your slide handouts.
In the handouts I give them, I insert blanks in place of some
of the terms or other information in my presentation. That
way, students have to pay attention and think about what
they're hearing and seeing so they can complete the notes
I've provided.
Prof. A:
Well . . .
Prof. B:
By omitting key words or information, students have to do
more active processing, which actually serves to emphasize
those points. And, you can use this technique with classes
of any size.
Prof. A:
Hey, that's not bad.
Prof. B:
Also, if you do this in notes on your web page, it not only
saves you duplication costs, it also reinforces for students
the notion that they need to prepare for class.
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
Prof. A:
Wow! Less really can be more . . .
Students do like presentations with "bells and whistles"; that's what
they're used to from the mass media. And student reactions to lecture
notes being handed out at the beginning of each class, as a sort of serial
study guide, have been uniformly positive. Altering such study guides to
include "fill-in-the-blanks" has not detracted from students' evaluations;
indeed, they appreciate being made aware of when they have missed information from the presentation, and the "thrill of the hunt" actually seems to
add to their experience.
Adding "sizzle" to presentations can make them more appetizing, but
not necessarily more nourishing. Students need to be involved to learn.
Benefiting from the "steak" involves eating and digesting it, not just being
exposed to its sizzle. Fill-in-the-blank serial study guides are both
appetizing and nourishing to students.
Ronald F. Bush
University of West Florida
TIPS ON BEING AN EFFECTIVE AS WELL AS
AN EFFICIENT TEACHER
No matter whether we teach at a research or teaching oriented university, today we must be effective. Effectiveness means we are expected to
achieve some standard of teaching performance at our university. The
teaching standard will vary from school to school, as will the measurement
approach. To determine standards and measurement approaches, talk to
your chairperson as well as other faculty. Also examine teaching evaluations. Beyond this, here are some tips on being effective:
1.
2.
3.
4.
View students as customers; they are!
Always, always, always be prepared for class.
Deliver more than expected.
Know all students’ names within 3 weeks.
TOPIC V. TEACHING TIPS
181
5. Select materials that are student oriented; don’t adopt a text just to
impress your peers.
6. Make your course relevant; bring in examples from newspapers &
business periodicals.
7. Let students know where you are & where you are headed every
class meeting.
8. Make use of new technologies such as web-based course materials.
It is not enough to be effective. You must be efficient so that you will
be able to properly address research and service. Following are tips on
being an efficient teacher:
Don’t be afraid to ask experienced colleagues for notes and ideas.
Organize, Organize, Organize!
Devote a folder to each lecture.
Devote a file drawer to each course you teach.
Be wary of too many changes at the beginning of each year/term.
As you find applications/examples go ahead and make notes/overheads; Don’t wait!
7. Use a presentation software for notes.
8. Consider putting some course modules on-line using programs
such as WebCT.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Joe F. Hair, Jr.
Louisiana State University
THE VALUE OF THE INTERNET
AS A TEACHING TOOL
Incorporating the Internet as a teaching enhancement tool has not
been an automatic for many professors. Following are typical excuses I
have heard: large classes; lack of time; multiple preps; lack of skills;
lack of equipment; lack of motivation; and lack of belief in the instructional value of the Internet. Based on my own experience, with a little
effort all of these obstacles/excuses can be overcome.
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GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETING
In approaching this issue, this reluctance can be attacked from three
different perspectives, all of which are important: (1) motivation;
(2) ability; and (3) opportunity. Lack of motivation is probably the first
that needs to be overcome. But overcoming this obstacle also is likely
related to the lack of belief in the value of the Internet as a method of
instruction. Motivation is an internal issue that must be dealt with by the
individual. It is often related to things like attitude, job satisfaction,
anxiety about doing new things, and so forth. It also may be related to
whether either their students or chairpersons push them to use the Internet.
But overcoming the lack of belief in the value of the Internet usually
requires some learning on the part of the instructor. For example, one of
the first decisions is whether to use the Internet to augment your current
teaching method, or to integrate it extensively into your teaching
approach. The logical thing is to take small steps first to enable you to
evaluate its value. Give small projects as assignments and ask students to
report on them. Make the task simple and you as well as the students can
learn. All principles texts have Internet exercises in the margins and at the
end of the chapters. These are an easy way to get started. Once you have
mastered these simple exercises then move on to more extensive ones. I
have found that major projects hold significant student interest and are
also a valuable learning experience. This gives more exposure to Internetliterate students, particularly on specific marketing concepts. For less
Internet-literate students this forces them to learn more about the Internet.
Opportunity relates generally to a time issue and available equipment. As
to time in class most instructor’s feel they do not have enough time to
cover current topics much less add others. But the real issue here is to
select the most meaningful learning experience and approach. I have
found that students not only learn more from using the Internet (at least on
certain subjects) they retain more. So we simply need to make time for
this new resource. Opportunity also relates to equipment. If equipment/access is holding you back then push for it. Most students can do
these at home or in school labs. But the best approach is access in the
classroom so students can show what they have found, and perhaps even
go beyond what they bring in.