The Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Academic Year 2012 /13
Term 1
MKTG101 MARKETING
Instructor Name
Title
Email
Office
: Dr Amy Wong
: Adjunct Faculty of Marketing
: omwong@smu.edu.sg
: LKCSB Level 5
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course introduces Marketing as both a professional and an academic discipline. As a profession,
marketers identify consumer needs, determine which target markets to serve, and develop an optimal
product, pricing, promotion, and distribution strategy that best satisfy consumer needs, relative to
competition. Marketers serve a vital role in the long-term success of all organizations, profit-oriented as
well as not-for-profit, small as well as large. Academically, marketing is a multi-disciplinary field involving
the concepts, theories and methods used to understand exchanges and long-term relationships between
buyers and sellers. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, videos, individual and group
assignments and case analyses, the course is designed to cover the basic concepts and principles of this
challenging field. It is a required basic course for marketing majors, which complements the theories and
skills taught in many of the other majors at SMU.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
 Apply marketing decision-making skills. This is the primary objective of the course. They should
leave the course with the ability to analyze the marketing and business environment in which an
organization is operating, to determine the major opportunities and problems facing the
organization, to develop a creative set of alternative marketing strategies, to select the most
appropriate one for the organization, and to convert the chosen strategic alternative into an
actionable plan.
 Explain and apply some major marketing concepts, such as market segmentation, positioning,
customer satisfaction, value creation, etc.
 Discuss institutional marketing knowledge, practice, and terminology. They should be able to
converse intelligently with managers and understand the marketing situation in a variety of
organizational environments. Much of this will be achieved by the analyses of case studies.
 Create a marketing plan that can be put into practice.
 Identify ethical issues that underlie many marketing decisions.
PRE-REQUISITE/ CO-REQUISITE/ MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE COURSE(S)
Please refer to the Course Catalogue on OASIS for the most updated list of pre-requisites / co-requisites
for this particular course.
Do note that if this course has a co-requisite, it means that the course has to be taken together with
another course. Dropping one course during BOSS bidding would result in both courses being dropped at
the same time.
1
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Mini Group Project
Final Group Project
Research Requirement
Class Participation
Final Exam
10%
15%
15%
25%
3%
12%
20%
Total weight on individual assessment 60%
Total weight on group assessment 40%
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All acts of academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, facilitation
of acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of exam questions, or tampering with
the academic work of other students) are serious offences.
All work presented in class must be the student’s own work. Any student caught violating this policy may
result in the student receiving zero marks for the component assessment or a fail grade for the course.
This policy applies to all works (whether oral or written) submitted for purposes of assessment.
Where in doubt, students are encouraged to consult the instructors of the course. Details on the SMU
Code of Academic Integrity may be accessed at http://www.smuscd.org/resources.html.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND EXPECTATIONS
A combination of lectures, class discussions, videos, business cases, and hands-on projects will be used to
facilitate learning. Students are expected to come to every class and be prepared to contribute to class
discussions.
The following is a description of the assessment components:
Individual Assessments
There will be two closed-book quizzes, covering material from both the textbook and lectures. These 30minute quizzes will consist of multiple choice questions. Quizzes will take place at the start of class, so
please be sure to be on time for classes. Note that make-up quizzes will not be permitted for students
who miss the quiz.
The final exam will be a two-hour written exam consisting of a combination of multiple choice questions,
short answer and essay/case questions, based on all the materials covered in the course.
Research requirement
The purpose of the research requirement is to give students a better understanding of the marketing
research process by being an actual participant in the process. Students will be awarded 1% of their final
grade for each marketing research study they participate in, up to a maximum of 3%.
To participate in a research study, please log on to the Subject Pool System website at
https://mercury.smu.edu.sg/sps. Students will be able to view a list of studies available and the times when
they will be conducted. Each study takes no more than an hour to complete. Select a study that interests
you and a time that suits you. Please note that after you have signed up for a study, it is important to
show up on time for the appointment. If you miss an appointment, you will not be permitted to sign up a
second time for the same study. If you anticipate not being able to make an appointment, you should
cancel your appointment via the website and sign up for an alternative one.
2
If you prefer not to participate in a research study, you have the alternative of earning credit for this
component by summarizing a research article. To do this, you need to locate one of the following journals
in the library: The Journal of Consumer Research, The Journal of Marketing, or The Journal of Marketing
Research. Find an article that interests you and write a summary of the article. Your summary should
include a discussion of the hypotheses of the research, the methodology used, key findings, and the
practical implications of those findings for marketers. The summary should not exceed two pages and will
be graded on a pass/fail basis. 1% will be awarded for each summary, up to a maximum of 3%.
Class participation
Students are expected to peruse relevant readings prior to each class for active classroom discussions.
Students are highly encouraged to participate in class discussions. Please note that the quality, rather than
the quantity, of contributions count.
Group Assessments
You should form groups of 4 - 6 by the end of Week 2, at which time you will be asked to submit a list of
names of your group members. Note that students need to complete a peer evaluation form at the end of
each group project and any free-riding in group work will significantly affect your grade.
Mini group project
A list of topics will be announced at the start of the term. Each topic will be assigned to two or three
groups. A presentation as well as an 8-page, double-spaced, report that meets the requirements of the
topic are required. The mini project differs from the final group project in that it has a narrower focus,
typically requiring the analysis of a specific concept in Marketing.
Final group project
The objective of this project is to give students the opportunity to apply concepts learned in this course
to a real-world marketing problem.
Your term project should be a professional-looking write-up, detailing the marketing strategy for a new
product or service that you deem viable in today's market; or an ailing product or service, whose
performance in the market you think can be improved with the help of a new marketing program.
Please decide on a product/service and submit your marketing plan topic to me in class during Week 3.
Contents of the Final Report
Although there is no restriction on the content and format, the report should have the following sections:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Executive summary
Table of contents
Introduction: aims/objectives
Companies’ information/background
Data collection method and process
Findings, analysis and evaluations
Recommendations and action plan
Conclusion
References
Appendices
Alternative sections can be added or deleted to suit the topic.
The formatting requirements for the report are as follows:
 2,500 words page limit +/-10% (including tables, figures, excluding references and appendices)
 Typewritten with a 12 point size font
 Double-spacing
3

Use of appropriate headings and sub-headings
You are required to do a presentation in Week 13 and reports are due in Week 14.
CONSULTATIONS AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS
I will be happy to respond to queries by email (omwong@smu.edu.sg). If you would like to meet with me,
please make an appointment by email. The teaching assistants for this course will be announced at a later
time.
CLASS TIMINGS
This class meets once a week in 3-hour sessions.
RECOMMENDED TEXT AND READINGS
Kotler & Armstrong, Principles of Marketing (14th edition), Prentice Hall.
Harvard Business Case (TBA)
Additional Readings
Students are expected to keep abreast of current developments in the Asia-Pacific region by reading
leading business dailies/weeklies like the Asian Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Times,
Business Week, McKinsey Quarterly, Business Horizons, Marketing News and Harvard Business Review.
4
WEEKLY LESSON PLANS
Week
Topic to Cover/Deliverables
1
Introduction
Understanding Marketing (Ch. 1)
Company and Marketing Strategy (Ch. 2)
2
The Marketing Environment (Ch. 3)
Consumer Markets (Ch. 5)
Submit Group Membership
3
Business Markets (Ch. 6)
Marketing Research and Information Systems (Ch. 4)
Submit Marketing Plan Topic
4
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (Ch. 7)
Mini Project 1
5
Product, Services, and Branding Strategy (Ch. 8)
Quiz 1 (Chapters 1-7)
6
New Product Development and PLC Strategies (Ch. 9)
Mini Project 2
7
Pricing Products (Ch. 10, 11)
Mini Project 3
8
************** Term Break **************
9
Marketing Channels and Supply Chain Management (Ch. 12)
Retailing and Wholesaling (Ch. 13)
Mini Project 4
10
Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy (Ch. 14)
Advertising, Sales Promotion, and Public Relations (Ch. 15/16)
Quiz 2 (Chapters 8-13)
11
Personal Selling and Direct Marketing (Ch. 16/17)
Mini Project 5
12
Harvard Business Case
13
Final Project Presentations / Submit Final Project
14
Reading Week
15
Final Exam
Note that changes may be made to this schedule as the term progresses.
5