BADM 320: Principles of Marketing (3 Credit Hours)
Summer 2014, Online Section
Instructor:
Dr. Shahbaz Shabbir
Online Office Hours:
Visit weekly agenda in Compass
E-Mail:
1. Please use Class Discussion Forum for your
questions.
2. Dr. Shahbaz Shabbir: shahbaz@illinois.edu
Use only for emergencies and confidential questions
which you do not want to share in class discussion
forum.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In this course, we will study the functions, institutions and basic problems involved in marketing
goods and services. You will be introduced to the terminology of marketing, the foundations of
marketing strategy and the concepts of marketing planning.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
 To gain a basic understanding of the functions of marketing.
 To develop a working vocabulary of marketing terminology and become familiar with marketing
concepts.
 To understand the role of marketing in an organization and the development of marketing
strategy in both domestic and global markets.
 To understand the application of marketing techniques to real world problems.
LEARNING OUTOMES:
The learning outcomes of this course are as follows:
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Students will possess knowledge of marketing terminology, the foundations of marketing
strategy & the elements of a marketing plan.
Students will make decisions based on ethical knowledge.
Students will solve marketing related problems, incl. but not limited to the application of pricing
tactics, and calculating markups, markdowns & breakeven points.
Students will demonstrate an awareness of global & cultural differences in marketing practice.
Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by analyzing marketing problems, applying
proper logic.
TEXT & REQUIRED MATERIALS:
1. Required Textbook: Principles of Marketing,
ISBN 0077569741, McGraw Hill. (3rd Edition only).
University
of
Illinois
Edition,
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Authors: Grewal, Levy, Etzel, Walker, Stanton, Perreault, Cannon, and McCarthy
You can also buy E-book : Students have the option to purchase online access to Connect Plus as
they follow the registration process online. The registration process begins by students going to the
Connect web address that was created for BA 320 course section. You can find that unique URL on
your section home page in Compass with name “Connect”. Here’s the link I copied for you to get
registered:
http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/s_shabbir_principles_of_marketing_online_summer-2014
Required access to McGraw-Hill “Connect” software (to complete interactive activities). This is
bundled with new textbooks but can be purchased separately (if desired) please visit:
http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/s_shabbir_principles_of_marketing_online_summer-2014
2. Required purchase of Harvard Business School Pricing Simulation: Universal Rental Car V2.
Instructions to be posted on Compass. Cost will be $10-$15. To register for the simulation
visit: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/27243846
3. Broadband access to the Internet and your IL Compass account.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS
For this BA320 class, a typical week begins on Monday and ends Sundays at midnight.
All assignments are due on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. to be precise.
The weekly agenda will highlight the student responsibilities for the week.
Each week will have assigned reading(s) from the text. Read these chapters and take the post
chapter quizzes.
 There may be other assignments as well during a specific week. Please see Compass for
details.
 Watch the Video lectures. These video lectures are short segments on specific topics. They
are not repetition of the content of the chapter for the week; they focus on particular issues
that are not fully covered in the book.
 Keep abreast of what is happening in the course. Do not feel intimidated. Ask for help, if
(and when) you need it.
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GRADING
Your final grade in this class will be determined by your performance on:
Component
1. Interactive activities
2. Post chapter quizzes
3. Marketing Article Analysis Assignment
4. Point / Counterpoint discussions
5. Self-branding assignment
6. Harvard Pricing Simulation
7. Final exam
Total
7. Extra Credit Opportunity ( see on page 7 for details)
Points
150
150
125
100
150
125
200
1000
--
%
15%
15%
12.5%
10%
15%
12.5%
20%
100%
2% (extra)
Final grades will be assigned strictly based on the following point scale. NO FINAL GRADE
WILL BE ROUNDED.
A
940-1000 = A
B
875 – 909 = B+
C
775 - 799 = C+
910 – 939 = A-
825 - 874 = B
800 - 824 = B-
725 – 774 = C
700 – 724 = C-
D
675 - 699 =
D+
625 – 674 = D
600 - 624 = D-
F
< 600 = F
Grades will be accessible by password on IL Compass only. For your security, grades will not be
provided by phone or email. Grades are not negotiable. Students with extenuating circumstances
which require them to receive a certain grade or maintain a particular GPA (e.g., graduation, loss of
a scholarship, University probation or suspension, loss of a job offer, revocation of student Visa,
etc.) need to realize that they are responsible for working hard to achieve the needed class grade.
Exceptions will not be made for individual students. Grades can be changed only if I have made an
input or calculation error. It is important that you check your class grades and immediately notify me
of any discrepancies.
Grading Components
1. Interactive Activities
The “Connect” software assignments include two to four small interactive exercises for each
chapter. Some of these are “drag and drop” exercises which amount to a matching game where you
connect a specific situation with a chapter concept. Others are video exercises in which you answer
multiple choice questions at several points during a video that emphasizes chapter concepts, and
then answer some concept check questions at the end. The pedagogical purpose of these exercises
is to help you become familiar with applying the chapter concepts that you have read about. Please
do not confuse Connect activities with post quizzes, it is a different assignment and contains its own
points.
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2. Post (chapter) quizzes
Throughout the semester there will be 8 online quizzes. Each quiz will cover material from specific
chapters of the book plus questions from the video lectures and the articles from the Marketing
Article Analysis. The pedagogical purpose of these quizzes is to ensure that you have read and
understood the textbook chapters. Students will have 40 Minutes to complete the 20 question
quizzes once they begin.
3. Marketing Article Analysis Assignment
This assignment requires you to write an individual review on ONE article from the business press.
The assignment will be three-pages long, 12 point font, single-spaced, and 1” margin an all sides.
You will choose one article from a list of articles that is found on the Compass website. To even out
the grading workload for the semester, we have staggered the submission deadlines. The due date
for your specific assignment will depend on the article that you have chosen (see schedule in
Compass).
Please use the sign-up sheet to sign up for ONE of the articles that may be of interest to you.
Remember to sign up early if you wish to complete your assignment on a specific article. The writeup about the article must be submitted in a word document on the due date specified. NO LATE
PAPERS will be accepted. Your submissions will be checked/tested through an antiplagiarism software.
Although you will only be writing on ONE article, you are responsible for reading of ALL of these
articles for the exams or quizzes in the course.
4. Point / Counterpoint discussion
During the semester, there will be two questions that aim to get your thoughtful opinion or reaction
to some of the relevant topics discussed in the semester. You have to respond to these questions.
These questions attempt to elicit your opinions about a particular topic. These opinions are likely to
be disparate. As such, there is no right or wrong answer.
In a discussion forum where students interact with each other by reading, or reacting to, thoughtful
reactions of other students, they tend to teach themselves and tend to reach a deeper understanding
of the concepts and ideas than they would have if they only read the text. In other words, we hope
that the discussion forum will be an active learning experience for students.
5. Self-branding assignment
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In 1997, Tom Peters, the famous consultant wrote the following in Fast Company: “Big companies
understand the importance of brands. Today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own
brand. Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of
us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.
To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.”
This assignment is about creating your own personal/professional brand strategy. After your stint at
Illinois, whether you want to be an entrepreneur, get a job in a corporation, or enroll in graduate
school, you need to be differentiated and stand out. A well done assignment can help you
understand what makes you tick and help you communicate that message effectively. The output of
this exercise is for you to have a clear understanding of what makes you different from your peers.
Your assignment has to include the elements below, and will be delivered as a video, audio or text
file. Details about the delivery included at the end.
Step 1. Self-analysis: Do a strengths / weaknesses analysis of yourself. What are the attributes /
characteristics that make you distinctive from your colleagues or competitors? What is your strong
suit? What needs improvement? This will help you understand what you must focus on in the future.
Step 2. External analysis: Talk to your family and friends. What do they say about you? What do they
say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your best personal trait? Your weaknesses?
Step 3. Is there congruence between your self-analysis and the external analysis? If so, you’re lucky.
If not, why not? What direction is the incongruence? How would you reposition yourself?
Remember it does not matter what you think of yourself. Other people’s perception of you is the
reality. While what your friends and family say may not be completely true, that perception is how
the world sees you.
Step 4. Based on the analyses above, what is the “feature-benefit” model that you offer? Every
feature a product offers yields an identifiable and distinguishable benefit for their customer or client.
Car companies don’t sell 60” back seats; they sell that the car can seat four people comfortably. A
dominant feature of Nordstrom is the personalized service but the customer benefit is a feeling of
being accorded individualized attention.
Delivery options:
It is important that you show your creativity in this assignment. Here you will see some guidelines
but feel free to innovate.
(Option a) You can create a 5-minute video that you can post in YouTube, or in the server of your
choice. It is a good idea to create a script to follow as you record this video, or else, you may go
overtime or miss some of the points you want to make.
(Option b) If you prefer to do more text or combine files, you can also create a blog, wiki, or web
site.
Samples for Brand yourself assignments completed by students for BA320 in Spring 2011
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Note: Sample Brand Yourself Assignments are for reference only, please do not treat them as a benchmark.
http://stevethebrand.blogspot.com/
http://www.wix.com/voiceunsounded/badm-320
http://selfbranding-oksanadovbak.blogspot.com/2011/04/self-branding-assignment.html
6. Harvard Pricing Simulation: Universal Rental Car V2
All students will participate in the Pricing Simulation: Universal Rental Car V2, published through
Harvard Business School publishing. The simulation plays like a game, and we have found it very
engaging. We hope that students find that simulation not only interesting, but a powerful learning
experience where you see the results of effective and ineffective application of course concepts. You
will benefit from running the simulation multiple times with increasing complexity (scenarios). This
single-player simulation includes two pre-set scenarios (a, and c) to meet specific learning objectives.
You will play two pre-set scenarios (a & b) of this Simulation for two weeks starting from week 06.
In week 06 you will play Scenario “A” and in week 07 Scenario “C”.
Description:
At a Florida rental car agency, you assume the role of a district manager responsible for setting
prices for rental cars across three Florida cities: Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Over 12 simulated
months, you will analyze price sensitivity between leisure and business travelers and consider
strategies that maximize rentals across weekdays and weekends in each city. Demand for rental cars
can vary depending on the month and whether the location is more popular with business or leisure
travelers. Unrented cars have associated holding costs while running out of cars is lost opportunity
for profit. You can make periodic inventory adjustments among the locations to match anticipated
demand. The market for rental cars in Florida is intensely competitive and you must also consider
the likely competitive response to their pricing decisions. Ultimately, you will analyze the economic,
seasonal, and competitive forces of the rental car market and develop a pricing strategy to maximize
the cumulative profit for the firm.
Learning Objectives:
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Understand the nature and dynamics of consumer response to price (price elasticity).
Account for demand differences across customer segments and regions.
Understand and plan for seasonal variations in demand.
Explore the impact of pricing decisions on firm profitability.
Use pricing strategies to optimize inventory.
Anticipate and understand competitive reactions to pricing decisions.
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
Understand how price and general economic conditions affect overall market
demand.
You are required to purchase/registered for the Simulation before week 4.
To register and buy the Simulation please visit:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/27243846
Simulation Grading.
This assignment is worth 125 points and 12.5 % of your grade. To be graded, you will need to
complete 2 scenarios and the Discussion part of this assignment in the forum below. You will
receive 40 points for your performance in each scenario. Performance will be judged on the basis of
the profit amount you make at the end of each scenario, you are required to make at least $10
Million at the end of each scenario. The remaining 45 points are for your performance in simulation
discussion forum.
7. Final Exam
The final exam will consist of multiple choice questions from the text, video lectures, and articles
assigned from the popular press. The details of the exams will be posted on the Compass website.
8. Survey
Each student will complete three surveys in the course, a pre-course survey, a post-course survey
and ICES survey.
9. Student Roster
Each student is required to complete Student Roster or Class Roster. You are required to add a wiki
page to this roster with a little information about yourself. Instructions for how to do this
assignment can be found in the weekly module for the week one.
10. Extra Credit Opportunity

What is it?
We are offering you an extra-credit opportunity (20 points) where you can request an employed
adult who is working full-time (e.g., parent, relative, or family friend) to fill a research questionnaire,
which will be sent by us. This questionnaire is not personal in nature, it is related to an
organizational behavior research and we are trying to research their work experience at their current
job. You can assure them that “your responses to any of our surveys remain completely and
permanently confidential. You will not be identifiable in any reports generated from the survey
results”.
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What do you need to do?
You are required to provide the name, personal and work email address of an employed adult who is
working full-time (e.g., parent, relative, or family friend), and the name of the organization they are
working for. If they would rather not provide a work email, students could also provide a link to
their contact's LinkedIn profile. The key idea is that we want to verify who is completing this
survey. This employed adult should have at least 3 years of full-time work experience. We will send
two surveys via email to this person. The first survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete
and the second will take approximately 5-7 minutes to complete. The second survey will be sent a
few days after the first survey. The student will receive extra-credit if the person they recommend
completes both surveys (say 2% of course grade). We could also offer a small incentive to those
taking the survey who complete both rounds. You are required to provide us this information
(emails addresses etc.) during the second week of class.
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Other options?
Students who do not want to earn extra-credit this way will have to read and write a five-page
summary of three research papers to get the same level of credit. Remember this 6 page summary
will be evaluated and you will be given points on the basis of quality of your review paper. Hence we
do not guarantee that you will earn 2% grade points if you opt this way, to earn full 2% you have to
provide us a high quality review paper. You are required to submit this review paper in 4th week of
the class so that we can evaluate it on time. We will not provide any extension in this activity.
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How to deliver?
All we need from you is a spreadsheet with the following columns completed by students: Student
Name, Name of contact person, Personal Email of contact, Work email of contact, Relationship to
student, Organization the Contact works for, Link to LinkedIn profile if any. We will provide you a
Goggle spread sheet link and you can fill in your information there.
A NOTE ABOUT EMERGENCIES AND EXAM DATES:
In order to be as fair as possible to everyone in the class, deadlines will be strictly enforced,
regardless of personal emergencies, technical problems, etc. You will have plenty of time to
complete exams, chapter quizzes, online component quizzes, so please DO NOT wait until the last
minute. If you wait until the deadline, issues such as illness or problems with the University server
might make it impossible for you to complete the assignments.
Important Point for all the quizzes and exams
Occasionally, IL Compass may not record your submission because of a wireless or faulty
connection. If this happens to you, let us know no later than one week after you take the quiz. If
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you want to make sure that your quiz was recorded go to the quiz in IL Compass and click on
VIEW Submission. If you don’t see that button in the quiz it means it was not submitted properly.
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS:
Exam grades, quiz grades, extra credit and final grades are non-negotiable and final. Grades will only
be changed if the grade results from a mathematical or record-keeping error. It is important that
each student frequently checks their class grades and immediately notifies the instructor of any
discrepancies that have been discovered. After the posting of grades, you will have one week to
notify the instructor about any grading issues or errors. After this time period, no corrections or
recalculations will be made.
CLASS POLICIES:
 Policy on academic misconduct: Illinois is committed to a policy of honesty in academics.
Conduct compromising this policy may result in academic and/or disciplinary action. Cheating
is a violation of student academic behavior standards. Any student who violates or knowingly
helps another student violate academic behavioral standards will be pursued through the Office
of the Dean of the College of Business Administration and through the Dean of Students at UI.
(Source: The Student Handbook). Your submissions will be checked/tested through an
anti-plagiarism software.
SPECIAL NEEDS:
The University of Illinois is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for students with
disabilities in order to allow for equal learning opportunities. If you need such accommodations,
please contact the Disability Resources and Educational Services at (217) 333-1970. Also, if you are
likely to have religious obligations that will conflict with the due dates for particular assignments,
please contact the instructor immediately.
FINAL NOTE:
The tentative schedule is provided below. Changes to the syllabus may be made to reflect the
needs of the class. Any changes will be announced on the course website (Compass) and will be
reflected in the Course Schedule document in Compass. It is the students’ responsibility to stay
aware of any changes made.
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