Marketing Management Laboratory

BBUS 438 WINTER 1998

Dr. P.V. (Sundar) Balakrishnan Class: Mon/Wed 1:15 -3:20

Office: Room 210

Phone: 425-352-5384 Email: sundar@u.washington.edu

______________________________________________________________________

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This course builds on the background that you have already established in the other marketing classes. The focus here is on the development and implementation of both the tactical as well as the strategic aspects of marketing decisions.

 

To this end, Marketing Management Laboratory is designed to provide you with an opportunity for integrating the various marketing concepts in the formulation of a coherent marketing decision. This course should help to:

1. Enrich your understanding of the basic marketing concepts ;

2. Familiarize you with the problems facing Multi-Product, Multi-Market organizations;

3. Provide you with a better appreciation of the challenges inherent in developing and implementing marketing decisions in a complex environment;

4. Develop your skills in analyzing markets, businesses and competitive situations in order to make good decisions

LEARNING METHOD:

To achieve the objectives of this course, we will employ cases and a computer simulation as the pedagogical vehicles for learning by doing.

This is an innovative course that can be a lot of fun. However, the onus is on you and your group members to make sure that you get the most out of this unique class.

COURSE MATERIAL:

I. REQUIRED Course Materials: You MUST have these.

1. The Marketing Game, (1995) by Mason, Charlotte H. & William D. Perreault, Richard D. Irwin.

2) Case Packet: Contains a set of Cases. To be purchased from the Business Program Office.

3) Each team will need to provide a minimum of 2 (two) high density (HD) diskettes:

 II. OPTIONAL Materials:

You will need to refer to these often.

  1. A Subscription to a Business Periodical: (NYT, WSJ, Fortune, Business Week, Economist, etc.).
  2. Any Marketing Management text book that you may have.
  3. Marketing Decision Making: A Model-Building Approach: by Gary L. Lilien, P. Kotler, and S. Moorthy. Harper & Row. (1992).. (In Library reference).
  4. Access to (and knowledge of) Spreadsheets such as Excel, (Quattro Pro or Lotus 1-2-3).

GRADING:

The FINAL grade for this course will be based on your performance on a number of different criteria. In this class, you will have some responsibility, as in the real world, for evaluating the work of the other groups. The weights for the various criteria are as follows:

 

Business Cases:(G)

Case 1 12%

Case 2 12%

Board of Directors 5%

Evaluation Large Stakeholders 3%

Presentation Large Stakeholders 3%

CASES TOTAL (G1) ______= 35%

 

Computer Simulation:(G2) 35%

Individual Quiz 10%

In-Class Participation/Exercises 10%

Final Exam 10%

 

(G) => GROUP WORK:

 

  1. You will work in DIFFERENT groups for the CASES and the COMPUTER SIMULATION.
  2. Please choose your group members with care. Groups once formed will not be changed.
  3. Please remember, all group members receive the same grade except under exceptional circumstances. Therefore, make sure that all group work is equitably distributed. I will NOT arbitrate group conflict (except in case of academic misconduct).

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMENTS

  1. All Reports turned in to me must be typed and signed by all members of the group. It should be carefully edited.
  1. All reports that are submitted to the instructor must of be of the highest professional quality.
  2. Handwritten work and diagrams are not acceptable. Text, Graphs, etc. must be laser printed and prepared using standard word-processing packages and spreadsheets.
  3. Any work turned in must indicate on the Title page the group number; names of the participating individuals, and their signatures.
  4. **Points will be deducted for each spelling mistake and grammatical error.**

 

  1. Constructive criticism is a necessary and integral part of this course. You can expect to be constantly challenged, and, in turn, will be rewarded for challenging others. However, all comments should be restricted to the issues of the case or game.
  2. You are expected to behave as professionals in everything from attire to speech.
  3. Please DO NOT arrive late and/or leave early. These entries and exits are distracting. If an early departure is absolutely necessary, please clear it with me at least one class period in advance.
  4. If you are NOT prepared to participate in the day's discussion notify me PRIOR to the beginning of class to avoid any embarrassment.
  5. Please READ my door and your EMAIL periodically for relevant & crucial NOTICES!
  6. Please have ready a Passport size photograph of yourself. This is to be affixed on the top right-hand side of a 3X5 card. On this card your class participation points will be recorded!!!

COURSE STRUCTURE:

In order to successfully complete this course and to obtain the greatest benefit from it you must understand what is required and expected of you. I shall provide some pointers here that will help us all in achieving our objectives.

 

A. CASE DAY’S (Wednesday) FORMAT:

All of the Class Time will be spent mainly on analyzing, discussing and presenting case material. Every case day, there will be three groups responsible for the majority of the FORMAL case discussion. The groups are the two Case Analysis Teams and the Board of Directors.

1. The CASE ANALYSIS TEAM 1 will present first. They have 20 minutes for their FORMAL presentation. This presentation will include at least some of the following:

a) A BRIEF summation of the current situation

b) Define the problem

c) Discuss the alternatives

d) Provide the logic and rationale of their analysis and reasoning

e) The recommended course of action.

PRESENTATION: During this, make sure to clearly list all of your assumptions and the rationale behind them. The clarity of your reasoning and logic as well as the quantitative and qualitative analyses that leads to the recommended strategy are crucial. Your presentation will be more effective if you explicitly integrate the theoretical concepts learned from other courses.

CASE TEAM 1 REPORT: Please be sure to document all of your work including any calculations, assumptions etc. References must be provided. The report must not exceed 10 double spaced typed pages (excluding appendices). Report due end of class period.

2. Next the CASE ANALYSIS TEAM 2 will be provided with an opportunity to present. This presentation will be limited to 15 minutes. This presentation must be restricted to focusing on the following:

a) The problem definition

b) The assumptions and logic

c) The differences in the analyses*

d) The decisions taken.

PRESENTATION:*= It is expected that this group will use this opportunity to emphasize the differences, if there are any, in their viewing of the problem, assumptions, analysis, logic, and decisions from that of the Oral Presentation team. (i.e., the ability to "think on your feet")

CASE TEAM 2 REPORT: Please be sure to document all of your work including any calculations, assumptions etc. References must be provided. The report must not exceed 10 double spaced typed pages (excluding appendices). Report due end of class period.

 

3. OPEN DISCUSSION: At this point, the discussion will be thrown open to the class. The individuals from the second industry are responsible for the open discussion. These individuals are considered to be not responsible for "FORMAL" presentation and are assigned the role of STAKEHOLDERS of the company.

It is YOUR job to make sure that the MANAGEMENT TEAMS and the BOARD are managing your firm well, investing your money wisely, and in general making you happy!

a) All members of the class are expected to participate on every case. BE PREPARED!!

b) In addition to volunteering, you can expect to be "cold called".

c) This discussion will be more effective, if you have prepared alternative options and actions than those presented. Challenges to assumptions and logic are acceptable, if you can justify the reason for your challenge. I.e., it is not merely enough to say "I don’t agree.."; "Why this... "; etc. You must show what the alternative view points are and why they might be better.

d) Specifically, there will be two groups (i.e., from the second Industry) who will be assigned the role of either Presentation or Evaluation LARGE STAKEHOLDERS in the firm. The members of the remaining group will be assigned the role of INDIVIDUAL STAKEHOLDERS in the firm.

Remember, you can be as creative as possible in construing and defining your role as the Stakeholder as it fits that particular case!! For instance, you can consider yourselves to be representing Banks and/or other Lending institutions; or, a Union representing some or all of the employees; or, members of an environmental group; members of Congress or other Governmental agencies.

The LS teams must use their time to address the shortcomings of the proposed plans, suggest alternatives and in general provide other critical and constructive remarks. These presentations may be cut off by the BOARD at any time and will not exceed 5 minutes.

This CLASS DISCUSSION will last 10-20 minutes. Your Class participation points come from these discussions. You must participate EVERYDAY! Quality and quantity both count!!

The EVALUATION-LARGE STAKEHOLDER [E-LS] teams will turn in their REPORT* by the end of the week! One copy of the report must be provided to each group that you evaluated. Note, You will be responsible for grading the presentation of the others. Your group must turn in to me one completed GRADE SHEET signed by all members of your group.

*REPORT: A maximum of four typed pages evaluating (a) the presenting groups on their work ranging from their problem definition and analyses to the quality of their presentation; (b) the BOARD on its ability, and the other <P-LS> team on the quality of their criticisms and suggestions, etc. This FEEDBACK should be candid and thorough. You [E-LS] will be evaluated on the quality of your Evaluation, Feedback and its Usefulness to me and the other groups.

4. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. They will be largely responsible for the success of the day's discussion. They will moderate the discussion (with the assistance of the instructor), keep time, play host, and make sure that things proceed smoothly!!

In addition, the final presentation will be made by the Board. They have 10 minutes. In this time they are expected to do the following:

a) Provide a Good Summary of the days proceedings.

b) Choose and JUSTIFY a course of action.

This wrap-up by the BOARD should take into account ALL of the information and discussions of the day, including the points brought up by the members of the class during the General Discussion period.

NOTE: You should check with me at the start of class to determine how much time I may need for announcements and other wrap-up activities.

 

B. Business Strategy Meeting Day (Monday) Format:
  1. We will first meet in class for at least 45 minutes to an hour before we adjourn to the lab.
  2. You are expected to keep on top of the current happenings in the Business World. This implies that I expect each of you to subscribe to and read a business/marketing periodical such as, Business Week, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Marketing News, The New York Times, etc.
    1. To this end, each Wednesday a minimum of three groups will be expected to present an interesting, and thought-provoking article to the rest of the class. You will be cold-called for this presentation. This is to ensure that each week you are reading information relevant to managing and running a business and are more generally keeping on top of the current practitioners’ literature.
    2. Each presenter will be allotted a total of 15 minutes. I encourage you to limit your presentation of an interesting "story" to 5-7 minutes. The remaining time will be used you to moderate the class discussion provoked by your "story". At the end of this discussion, you will then provide a "moral of the story": essentially, a generalized observation or piece of knowlede that we can then carry away from this class. Your grade will depend solely upon the amount of discussion that your presentation instigates and the insight that you provide us with your "moral".
    3. At the end of the week, the presenters will turn in to me: The copy of the article that was the basis of the discussion; a brief write-up of the topics/questions that were generated during the discussion; and a concluding paragraph distilling the "moral of the story".
  3. Prior to (or at the conclusion of) these presentations, I will periodically lecture for a brief period on a topic or modeling procedure that is relevant to improving your marketing decision-making skills.
  4. The rest of the time will be spent by you and your group members in the computer lab working on your TMG decisions. The Computer Lab has reserved for our use on these days.
  5. During this time, each Class I will hold a Business Strategy session with at least one or two of the groups.
    1. Each week, one or more groups will be invited into my office to go over the logic and rationale of their TMG decisions. Please, come PREPARED for these Strategy sessions as they can be fairly intense. A good part of your TMG grade depends upon the quality of this meeting.
    2. You are expected to bring all of your weekly-logs, spreadsheets, graphs and other analyses for the strategy session (One hard copy for me). Bring your spreadsheet (EXCEL) analysis on a computer disk..

 

B 1.. THE MARKETING GAME (Instructions):

You must be part of a group by the start of the second class. On that day, the instructor will make group and industry assignments.

1. Each TEAM will be assigned to an industry (e.g., A, B,) and a firm (e.g., B2, A4,) Your firm's tasks will be to:

a. Set Marketing Objectives to achieve the Financial objectives specified by the President

b. Develop Strategies.

c. Implement those strategies with appropriate Tactical Decisions.

2. You must enter your firm's decisions on a Team Decision Diskette. This diskette along with a hard (paper) copy must be turned in to me by the end of the class period for that decision.

NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule. If you default, turn in a BAD diskette, etc., RANDOM NUMBERS will be used as input for your decisions!!

3. The Results of your decisions will be returned to you latest by the following class period.

4. You will need to work on your decisions at other than class times. You can work on any IBM compatible machine that has a HIGH DENSITY disk drive either at home or anywhere else on campus.

5. The simulation will last for 7 or 8 decision periods depending upon factors such as holidays, work load, etc.

6. The game is played at 3 LEVELS. We will be at LEVEL 2 for the First two time periods.. From the Third time period we will be at Level 3.

7. At LEVEL 3, you have the OPTION of introducing a SECOND PRODUCT! EVERY firm MUST introduce the second product. However, you have the discretion of deciding WHEN TO INTRODUCE it! The ONLY condition being that by the FIFTH time period the second product must be in the market.

B 2. TMG! EVALUATION (Criteria):

As in the case of a firm in the "real world", you will be evaluated on a number of different criteria.

1. The Average Profit over the 8 or more time periods that your firm makes.

2. The TREND of these profits. That is, Will I want to Invest in your company toward the end of the game?

3. A WEEKLY-LOG detailing your strategies and the tactics employed to achieve them. Also, it should include, upto this point in time, analyses of all that will go into your Final Presentation. You are required to keep an up to date Computer Spreadsheet (EXCEL). This should include all of the decision and outcome values, graphs, tables, etc. of all of the relevant analyses. This will HELP you enormously in making better quality decisions, and in writing your final report.

4. An In-Class Quiz on the various aspects of this case. This is for INDIVIDUAL grades!

5. Quality of your presentations at our bi-weekly Buisness Strategy Meetings.

6. You will be required to make a Final Presentation on the strategies and tactics adopted by your firm and their corresponding impact on your firm's performance.

7. A Final Report is required. This report should include the following:

(i) A profile of the buyer preferences and trends

(ii) An analysis of industry trends

(iii) A description of your competitor's strengths and weaknesses

(iv) A frank assessment of YOUR firm's strengths and weaknesses

(v) The logic behind your firms actions to date.

This report, excluding tables and appendices, should not exceed 5 double-spaced typed pages.

TEAM RESPONSIBILITY FOR CASE ASSIGNMENTS:

CASE ANALYSIS TEAMS <P-LS> [E-LS]

CASE 1 2 BOARD OF DIRECTORS STAKEHOLDERS

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1- X1 X2 X3 <Y2> [Y3]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2- Y1 Y2 Y3 <X1> [X2]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

3- X3 X1 X2 <Y1> [Y2]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

4- Y3 Y1 Y2 <X3> [X1]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

5- X2 X3 X1 <Y3> [Y1]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

6- Y2 Y3 Y1 <X2> [X3]

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Marketing Game Simulation:

Managerial cases give you a snapshot of a business at one point in time. Although the problems are challenging and consideration of possible solutions requires an integrative understanding of marketing concepts, they do not portray the dynamics inherent in business decision making. The marketing simulation we will use in class allows you to take the role of manager of a firm over a period of time (8 quarters of business). You will be better able to understand how later decisions are affected by early decisions and how the competitors' reactions to your strategy affect your outcomes. You will realize that marketing decisions succeed or fail only in relation to the actions of the competition. You will better understand the differences between short term, tactical decisions and longer term strategies.

 

The simulation is realistic. Firms (each group is a firm) compete in an industry by developing and marketing software. They focus on target markets from among a variety of market segments - and reach their targets with different channels. Promotions must consider middlemen and final customers. Prices must be set to offer customers the value they seek and yield profits for the firm. The simulations starts in the growth stage of the product life cycle, and continues into market maturity. Your product can be modified over time to better meet customer needs and market challenges.

 

The computer software allows your decisions to be evaluated quickly and with complete objectivity. In the "real world" businesses do not make a profit simply by working hard. Hard work has to be accompanied by favorable market conditions and an astute pro-activity and reaction to the competition. The marketing simulation evaluates your strategies based on those factors, and not on luck, effort or the use of a nice presentation folder! Plus, the use of computer technology in business decision making is common in most industries. This exercise will give you some idea of the role computers can play in marketing planning and control, even at this simplified and simulated level.

 

The game should be challenging and fun. If you are serious in your intent, much of what you learned in previous marketing classes will "come alive" as you see the results of your decisions.

 

 

Case Analyses:

Cases are useful learning tools. They allow you to analyze an actual business situation and to consider real marketing problems. The purpose of the case analysis is to define the problem facing the firm, generate alternative solutions, and suggest the best solution based on market place conditions and the firm's resources. Even though these are real business situations, you should not be too concerned in your analysis about the actual decisions of the firms (some of the cases are old enough that decisions have been made and results are obvious). First, there are always many options available to managers, and you should not assume the managers made the optimal decision. Second, sometimes cases are simplified or only a portion of the situation is presented to you. Therefore, the real situation may have been more complex or slightly different from the case presentation, to make your task easier. Third, even if a firm made a "good" decision, it is likely that other effective alternatives were available. Therefore, there will be no grading criteria which includes the firm's actual decisions, and you should NOT spend time trying to locate the "real" decisions at the expense of thoughtful, original analysis.

 

The use of background data (as the "management" team and the case team) is appropriate. Any data on the industry, the product, the market, the consumers, the competitors, etc. which provides input can be used to structure your analysis. You may use the library, any published sources, company provided information, or personal sources. ALL INFORMATION NOT DIRECTLY REFERENCED IN THE CASE MUST BE PROPERLY CITED. If you are unsure about how to cite any type of source, see the instructor for guidance.

 

If the active teams are not covering an important aspect of the case, or if the analysis does not address the pertinent issues, the instructor, as moderator, will call upon other students to facilitate the discussion. Therefore, preparation is expected of every student for each case, even when you are not an active presenter.

 

WHILE THERE ARE NO "CORRECT" SOLUTIONS TO CASES, THERE ARE CLEARLY "WRONG" OR "BAD" DECISIONS. Therefore, each case analysis is judged on the recommendations it makes based on the available facts, outside research and interpretations of the situation.

 

REPORTS:

  1. Your reports will also be graded for the quality of writing.
  2. For every spelling mistake, one point will be deducted.
  3. Please consult with the writing center before you turn in your report.

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE - For Large Class: Any schedule changes will be announced in class.

 

 

DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT

 

  1. 1/5 Course Introduction

 

 

2. 1/7 Introduction to The Marketing Game READ: The Marketing Game! Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

and Appendix A

 

 

3. 1/12 Introduction to Cases READ: Chapter 6, TMG

TRIAL Decisions/ LEVEL 1 Due: End of Class Period

 

 

4. 1/14 INDIVIDUAL Case Analysis CASE: Southwest Airlines

 

 

5. 1/19 King Holiday

First Year Decisions/ LEVEL 2 Due: Tuesday 1/21 by 1:00pm

READ: Chapter 5 TMG.

 

6. 1/21 CASE #1 Presentation CASE: Cumberland Metal

 

 

 

7. 1/26 Business Strategy Meeting READ: Chapter 5 TMG.

Second Year Decisions/ LEVEL 2 Due: End of Class Period

Business Articles Presentations

 

 

8. 1/28 Case #2 Presentation CASE: Federated Industries

 

 

9. 2/2 Business Strategy Meeting READ: Chapter 7, TMG

Third Year/ LEVEL 3 Due: End of Class Period

Business Article Presentation

 

 

10. 2/4 In-Class Case: TBA

TMG! Quiz

 

 

11. 2/9 Business Strategy Meeting Fourth Year Decisions Due

Business Article Presentation

 

 

12. 2/11 Case #3 Presentation CASE: Optical Distortion

 

 

  1. 2/16 Holiday

Fifth Year Decisions Due Due: Tuesday 2/18 by 1:00pm

Last Period to Introduce Second Product

 

14. 2/18 Case #4 Presentation CASE: Tweeter, etc...

 

 

15. 2/23 Business Strategy Meeting Sixth Year Decisions Due

Business Articles Presentations

 

16. 2/25 Case #5 Presentation CASE: Xerox Corp.

 

 

17. 3/2 Business Strategy Meeting Seventh Year Decisions Due

Business Articles Presentations

 

18. 3/4 Case #6 Presentation CASE: Ford Motor Co.

 

 

19. 3/9 Business Strategy Meeting Eighth Year Decisions Due

Business Articles Presentations

 

20. 3/11 TMG PRESENTATIONS Final Reports Due

Final Case Report Due CASE: Hart Schafner & Marx

 

 

 

Legend: All Cases from CASE PACKET.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTES:

I. DISKS:

1. All decisions MUST be accompanied with a signed hard copy of the Decision Form (until & unless otherwise specified).

 

2. It is your responsibility to make sure that the diskette contains a readable decision file.

 

 

II. REPORTS:

  1. Any document submitted for grading must be typed and signed by ALL members of the group.
  2. Only those who signed the document will receive a grade on that piece of work.