COURSE GUIDE Product Management
Name of course: Product Management
Course of study: IMM
Study code:
MCCE-VMPMGTP-10
Year of study:
Year 3
Number of blocks: 1
ECTS credits:
3
Lecturers:
Hans van Briemen
Date:
2008/2009
Course Description
Practical module on managing a product portfolio (day-to-day business) and translating
information about markets and target groups into marketing concepts for the future.
Prerequisites
All year 2 marketing courses.
Relation with other courses
Market research, Market analysis, Rational Marketing, Applied Marketing Management.
Competencies and Learning Objectives
The course aims to give students insight into the everyday work of a Product Manager
and uses assignments to give them practical experience with the most important
marketing concepts. These assignments require students to think up a new concept for
a specific target group and selected company and then prepare its market introduction.
Professional products : product managers are the central point in a company. One of the
professional products they must deliver is a marketing plan (this will be practised in a
different course); they must be able to write a briefing, draw up a budget, formulate a
price calculation and make forecasts and planning schedules. A great many professional
products are bundled into one portfolio.
Professional tasks: analysing, organizing, guiding, managing, time management
Professional actions: negotiating, presenting, in-company promotion of ideas
Competencies: organizing, analysing, calculating, persuading, creativity
These competencies are covering the domain competence 1 and 4 on level 3.
3. Specific course objectives:
1
1. Assessment of marketing strategies :
Learning from past successes and failures and allocate and explain the reasons.
Propose changes and improvements in marketing strategies to increase success
likelihood ratio.
2. Internal and external Analysis:
Students need to be able to understand and analyse the company’s internal resources
as well its market environment in order to be able to assess its Strengths and
Weaknesses and its Opportunities and Threats in its different markets. This needs to be
done in a tangible and weighted way to avoid irrational and emotional decision making.
4. Pricing strategies.
Students needs to be able to define pricing strategies depending on product types and
product lifecycles.
3. General:
Students will develop techniques to minimize uncertainties and maximize their chances
to success in marketing decision making.
Didactic forms
The course will be taught by means of:
•
a seminar to explain the marketing concepts and assignments;
•
consultancy sessions with 2 teams simultaneously, so that each team can have
their questions about the assignments and portfolio answered;
•
feedback. During consultancy sessions, 1 team will present an assignment and
receive feedback from the other team and the lecturer;
•
SharePoint. All students are given the same assignments, but must implement
these assignments for different target groups and companies/sectors. The teams must
therefore assess each others’ assignments to learn about other target groups and
markets. All assignments and presentations are open to everyone and can be seen on
SharePoint.
Literature
Syllabus on Sharepoint
Assessments
Portfolio: 50%.Presentations, feedback and final assessment: 50%.Both the weekly
assignment and the final report assessments are weighted 50% for the final grade and
should both be at least 5.5.
The Assignments
2
Exact instructions for the weekly assignment will be handed out in class and deals with
the subject from the theory lecture.
The weekly schedule of activities is as in the following table
Seminar
Week tasks
Consultancy
Feedback
1
Introduction to the course
Principles of product management
and the innovation process
Assignments
1.1 and 1.2
1.2
2
Thinking up concepts (brainstorm
techniques)
Assignments
1.3 and 1.4
3
5
Market research briefing, positioning
& branding
Communication and packaging
briefing, planning
Commercial calculations
6
Assessing the proposals
7
Presentation proposal including
commercial presentation and
dummies
Assignments
1.5 t/m 1.8
Assignments
2.1 to 2.3
Assignments
3.1 and 3.2
Assignment
3.3
Assignments
4.1 to 4.3
Idea phase concept
Top of flop
KSF of a product
introduction
Developing the idea phase
Learning and practising
brainstorm techniques
Developing a concept
Assessing the concept,
market research questions
Assessing the briefing,
positioning, price strategy
Assignment/role play based
on a case
Presentation and
assessment of top of flop
Commercial presentation
and launch proposal
Feedback to the launch
proposal
8
9
Organization/ extra week
Submit revised launch plan
4
1.3
1.5 to 1.8
2.1 to 2.3
3.1
3.2
4.3
Evaluation
By departmental evaluation form.
3
Weekly activity (Block 1)
The theory lecture of 60 minutes each deals with the following subjects
Week
Topics
Book Chapters to study
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Macro and Micro analysis
Strategic Marketing Planning
SWOT analysis
Product
Price
Promotion
Place
CH4
CH 3
Handout
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Study hours: block 1
Week 1 till 7:
Assignments:
Exam:
5 hours x 7 = 35 hours
50 hours
3 hours
4