S Y L L A B U S
Marketing Management: MBA 606
Spring 2006, Wednesday Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Dr. Mark Leach
Hilton #315
(310) 338-1896 e-mail: mleach@lmu.edu
Office hours: Tuesday 12-3, Wednesday 4-7
Text
Marketing Management , 12 th Edition , Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller. Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0131457578
Introduction
In Marketing Management we will emphasize the role of marketing and marketing management in society.
We will focuses on the effects of economic, social, cultural, technological, and legal changes in the environment. In addition, basic controllable variables essential to marketing success will be examined including market analysis, product development, pricing, distribution, and promotion. We will explore how marketing guides business strategy, discovers and creates demand for products, and influences product development.
Course Objectives
Upon successfully completing the course you should be able to:
1. Identify and explain important concepts in marketing.
2. Apply the important marketing concepts in business and non-business situations.
3. Critically analyze decisions in business-to-business and consumer marketing.
4. Analyze market opportunities - including conducting customer analyses, competitive analyses, and industry analyses
5. Explain the relationship of marketing to other business and social science disciplines.
Grading Procedure
Exams and activities will be graded according to the following percentages in the calculation of the course grade:
Exam 1 25%
Exam 2
Case assignments
25%
25%
Marketing Audit 25%
100%
Grades
Case Assignments: Prior to the discussion of each case, everyone is required to turn in a 3 page case writeup. In this write-up I am looking for FOUR things. First, clearly state the main problem that the firm is facing. Second, conduct a SWOT analysis of the firm. Third, provide a course of action that you believe the firm should take. Fourth, justify the action you suggest by providing the pros and cons of your action relative to alternative actions.
Case write-ups should be typed and are due at the beginning of class on the day the case is to be discussed. No late write-ups will be accepted. If you must be absent from class, it is your responsibility to turn in the applicable case write-up prior to class.
Exams: Exams will be in two parts. First, comprehension of lecture and reading material topics will be assessed with a set of multiple-choice questions. You must bring a 50-per-side scantron to this exam

Second, exams will require the analysis of a case. An exam case will be given the week prior to the exam date on the syllabus along with a set of case questions. Cases must be turned in by class time on the exam date stated in the syllabus. Exams should be typed and should not exceed 6 pages.
NO LATE EXAMS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
Marketing Audit: Everyone, in a group of FOUR, is required to conduct a marketing audit of a company.
This audit is described further on the last page of the syllabus. This project involves a paper and a presentation. A group project grade will be computed as the average of the grade on the paper and the presentation grade. Papers must be well organized using an interesting writing style that is grammatically correct. Expect a severe grade reduction for poor grammar. There are no excuses for late papers or being unprepared for presentations.
Attendance and Participation: Attendance and participation are required for success in this course. Everyone is expected to attend class regularly. Anyone who misses a class is responsible for what transpired that day. It is your responsibility to contact a classmate to determine what you missed.
You are expected to do original work for all assignments. Students are responsible for their own conduct and all cases of dishonesty will be reported to the proper university officials. Please do not put yourself in an embarrassing or unfortunate situation.
Cases
The cases that you will need to purchase for this class are listed below. They can be obtained through the bookstore or ordered on-line directly from the Harvard Business School and the Ivey Business School.
From Harvard Business School http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/cases/cases_home.jhtml
1) HBS 9-502-011: Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
2) HBS 9-502-062: Tivo, Consumer Behavior
3) HBS 9-504-009: XM Satellite Radio
From Ivey Publishing, The University of Western Ontario http://www1.ivey.ca/cases/
1) Ivey case number 9B00A009: Compaq Computer Corporation: The Dell Challenge
2) Ivey case number 9B00A016: MAC
3) Ivey case number 8A99A36: Research in Motion

April
April
April
April
May
Week
January
January
January
February
February
February
February
March
March
March
March
March
1
8
22
29
7
15
15
22
1
5
12
19
26
3
11
18
25
Tentative Class Schedule
Topic
Introduction to Marketing
Market Environment
CASE: Delissa in Japan
Relationship Marketing and Customer Retention
CASE: Dairyland Seed Company
Marketing Audit Group Membership - DUE
Consumer Behavior
CASE: MAC
Organizational Buying Behavior
CASE: Compaq Computer Corporation: The Dell Challenge
Marketing Audit Company History – DUE
Product Life Cycle
CASE: Kirin Beer
MIDTERM EXAM
CASE EXAM 1 - DUE
Product Development
CASE: Tivo
Spring Break – No Class
Branding Issues
CASE: Porsche
Pricing Issues
CASE: XM Satellite Radio
Issues in Channels of Distribution
CASE: Research in Motion (i.e., Blackberry)
Marketing Audit Interview Dialogs – DUE
Promotion Issues
CASE: Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
MIDTERM EXAM
Marketing Audit Papers - DUE
Marketing Audit Presentations
Marketing Audit Presentations
CASE EXAM 2 - DUE

Marketing Audit
The purpose of this project is to critically evaluate the marketing strategies of a specific company.
You must learn all you can about the company and the industry through published sources and through conversations with knowledgeable persons. It is critical that you obtain cooperation from management within the company you are auditing in order to interview its managers, employees, and customers. You must keep a dialog record of all interviews (i.e., time, place, names or interviewers and interviewees, and the content of the interview). This record will be included as an Appendix to the final paper.
You must submit the name of the company and a brief history by February 8 th in class for approval. Late submission of the company history or changing companies on a later day will result in a lower grade.
The completed paper should be turned in by class time, April 12 th . Late projects will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to coordinate among your group members to complete your project by the due date. Keep a copy of your paper and presentation for your own record. Papers will not be returned. The complete paper should include 10 to 12 pages of content (double spaced, 11 or 12 pt. font). It should also include any relevant material in Appendices, and a complete reference list.
The content of the paper should include these sub-titled sections:
I. External and Internal Environment (Refer to chapters 3, 4)
1. Company history (up to 1 page)
2. Describe the markets, products & customers for this firm
3. Single out 2 trends in the environment that represent opportunities, and 2 trends that represent threats to this specific company. Under each opportunity, suggest a positive action. For each
II. threat, suggest a defensive action.
4. Identify and compare the strengths and weaknesses of your company with its major competitor(s).
Target Market and Channel Relations
1. Identify the target customers. Is there more than one type of target customer? What segmentation bases does the company use to identify its customers?
2. What is the form of the company’s channel relationships? Are there any e-commerce relationships?
3. What does the company do to build relations with their customers and their suppliers?
III. Promotional Strategy
1. What is the company’s overall communication / promotion strategy? What medium does it use to advertise? How effective is advertising?
2. Does the company do trade shows? Evaluate their effectiveness?
3. Are personal selling and public relations important to this company? Describe and evaluate the appropriateness of personal selling and public relations.
4. Suggest any promotional strategies that may help your company.
IV. Conclusions
1. What have you learned from this company? Overall, what is the performance level of this company? What are the important factors contributing to the success or failure of this specific company?
2. What would you do differently (if anything)? What would you suggest to your company for future action plans?