Pace University,  Lubin School of Business
MAR 250  Introduction to Marketing (PL 21283)
Spring 2006   Professor Winsted
Syllabus and Assignments

Professor: Dr. Kathy Winsted
Offices:  Goldstein Academic Center in Pleasantville Rm. 121
Phone Numbers:  Goldstein   914/773-3905 (FAX 914/773-3908)
                             Home office and fax:  914/962-3029
Email address:  kwinsted@pace.edu
Instant messaging on aol and MSN:  kwinsted
Web page:  http://webpage.pace.edu/kwinsted
Blackboard site:  http://blackboard.pace.edu
Office Hours:  Monday 11:15 - 1:45, Wednesday 11:15 - 1:45
Class Session:  Monday:  9:05 - 10:55, Wednesday:  10:10 - 11:05

Texts:

Grading:
Each graded component of the course will be evaluated on a 100 point scale, with each weighted as shown to determine a final grade.  Grades will be assigned as follows:  A(93-100), A-(90-92), B+(87-89), B(83-86), B-(80-82), C+(77-79), C(73-76), C-(70-72), D+(67-69), D(60-66), F(0-59).
                    
EXAMS
Exam #1 -     17%
Exam #2 -     18%
Exam #3 -     20%
 55%
MARKETING PLAN
Outlines (5 @ 2%) -       10%
Final written report -     10%
Presentation -                  5%
 25%
PURCHASE ANALYSIS
 10%
PARTICIPATION
Attendance -    5%
Participation -  5%
  10%

Course Description:

MAR 250 is the core course in marketing in the business curriculum.  The essence of marketing is understanding how to identify, create and deliver value to customers.  Charles Revson, the founder of Revlon once said: "In the factory we manufacture cosmetics, in the marketplace we sell hope".  Revson understood that ultimately value exists not only in the physical product, but primarily in the mind of the consumer.  The key to marketing is understanding how to both respond to and influence prospective customers' perceptions of value and of a company's product.  Since marketing is concerned with all aspects of creating value for customers, it is a top management responsibility.  Therefore, regardless of a person's career position or objectives, marketing is a key discipline for success in business.
"Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value.  It is the art of helping your customers become better off."   Philip Kotler

Course Objectives:

Class Participation:
This class will be run as a discussion class.  Most sessions will involve class exercises, case discussions, or application of chapters to examples brought in to class.  Because of this, attendance in class is important, as is careful class preparation and contribution to discussions.  You should read and prepare all assigned material before the class in which it is discussed and have answers prepared to all questions at the end of assigned cases.
Exams:
Three non-cumulative exams will be given covering concepts from the chapters, assigned cases, videotapes, speakers, and class discussion.  Each exam will consist of six short answer questions (worth 10 points each) and 35 multiple choice questions (worth two points each).  You will be able to decide how many of each question type to answer to make up 100 points (with short answer between 30% and 60% of the total).  Most questions will be applications questions, requiring a student to apply a term or concept learned to a specific situation. All exams are open note, and you are encouraged to take notes while reading the text, as well as in class.  Any notes in your own handwriting or from your computer based on your personal notes submitted (not "Add File", but "Send File") electronically to the Blackboard digital drop box before the test may be used to assist in taking the exams.  Textbooks, cases, assignment papers, and other printed materials may not be used, nor may anyone else's notes (no sharing please), a laptop, or a cell phone.  If you cannot take an exam at the scheduled time, you must get an alternate date approved  prior to the date the exam is scheduled or have a note from a doctor and notify me within a day after the scheduled exam.
Use of Blackboard:

All assignments for this class will be submitted using the Digital Drop Box in Blackboard.  To submit an assignment, log on to Blackboard.  This can be accessed through the Pace Portal or through http://blackboard.pace.edu.  Your user name and password are the same as for the Pace Portal.  Click on the Marketing 250 course listed on your course list.  Then go to the Digital Drop Box.   Find and submit the file you want to send, then click on  Send File (not Add File - if you click on this, the file will not be submitted, it will just be stored in your personal drop box).  When you send the file, please label it with the name of the assignment, then your name - e.g. Purchase Analysis John Doe, or the name of your group - e.g. Pricing Outline Team 4.   All papers must be submitted by midnight on the day they are due.  Papers must be in either Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf).  I will then grade all papers online and send then back to your digital drop box with my comments added.  Team papers will be sent back to all team members.  Submission of your papers authorizes the professor to submit the paper to turnitin.com, an Internet anti-plagiarism site.  All grades will also be posted in the Gradebook on Blackboard.

Purchase Analysis:
As one of two writing assignments for this class, you will analyze a recent purchase.  To do this assignment, think of a high involvement purchase you made recently (more than one alternative was considered and you collected information). Analyze your behavior as a consumer in making this purchase by answering the questions posted on the assignment tab of Blackboard.   Please be sure to use concepts and terms from the book in discussing your purchase and put them in bold for easy identification. Please type your response, double spaced, approximately 4-6 pages total, and save it as either a Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) document. Please use the questions on the assignment as headings for each of your answers, then answer each below the question.

All papers will be graded based on appropriate use of applicable textbook terms (put them in bold type), responsiveness to the questions in the assignment, presentation (including organization, appearance, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and readability), and demonstration of an understanding of the subject matter.  All papers need to be submitted electronically using the digital drop box in Blackboard.    Be sure to click on "Send File" when you submit - Add File will not submit the paper but will just add it to your personal drop box. 

Marketing Plan:
All students will also write a marketing plan as a term-long project for the class.  This paper can be done as either a group or an individual project (students will select one option by the second day of class).  Typically all members of a group will receive the same grade although adjustments may be made on an exception basis.  If there are problems between members of a group, any student in the group can elect to write the paper up separately, or may be asked by the professor to do so.  All students in each group should keep thorough notes to allow for individual writing of the final report if needed.

Students will develop five outlines summarizing decisions for each part of the marketing mix, as well as a final marketing plan.  For this assignment, you will "invent" a new product for Kraft's Jell-O brand and draft a marketing plan for that product.  A detailed outline for the report, posted in the Assignments section of Blackboard, will be used to develop decisions for each topic as it is covered in class, with some time allowed each Monday for group meetings.   Outlines and the paper should be submitted electronically no later than midnight on the day they are due.  All outlines and the final paper should be typed, double-spaced, and submitted in either Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf).  The fifth outline, which includes sample ads, can be done in Power Point (.ppt) if desired.  For the outlines, just use the template provided and type your decisions in under the appropriate headings.  The final paper should be approximately 10 pages long and should also use one of the formats listed previously.  For the final paper, you will just edit and add to your earlier outlines to respond to any recommendations on the outlines returned to you during the semester. 

All papers will be graded based on appropriate use of applicable textbook terms (put them in bold type), responsiveness to the specifics of the assignment, presentation (including organization, appearance, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and readability), and demonstration of an understanding of the subject matter. 

Students will present their marketing plans to the class when noted on the schedule.  Presentations should be supported with PowerPoint slides or other visual aides.  A copy of the PowerPoint slides (in handout form with 3 per page) should be handed in to the professor at the beginning of the presentation.  A final typed version of the marketing plan, along with sample ads, is due as noted on the schedule.

Pricing Simulation:
Two computer pricing strategy simulations, Pricing Strategy and Price, Production, Advertising Strategy, will be played using an in-class group format.  You should read the case and think about a strategy for the game before the class in which it is played.  Teams will make pricing decisions in class and compete against other teams to make the most cumulative profit.  Copies of the cases are posted on the Assignments tab of Blackboard.  One extra credit point toward the final grade will be given to each member of the winning team for each game.



Contacting the Professor:
If the office hours listed at the top of the syllabus are inconvenient for you, feel free to call me at home at any reasonable time of day or night with questions or concerns.   You can  contact me by email about anything  and I will respond promptly (I generally check messages at least twice a day, including late at night) or via my voice mail in my office or my home office.  If I am online, you can also feel free to talk with me via instant message (kwinsted).  You can check for information on the syllabus, assignments, office hours or course schedules on my web page (see address at top of syllabus) if your printed versions are not easily accessible or get the information off the Blackboard site.

Late Assignments and Academic Honesty:
All assignments should be submitted electronically no later than midnight on the day for which they are due.  If Blackboard is down when you need to submit it close to the deadline, you can email me the file as an attachment (kwinsted@pace.edu) before the deadline to show you had it done, then submit it to Blackboard when the site comes back up.  (Be sure to click on "Send File" to deliver the file to my drop box).   Late assignments will be graded based on a starting grade of 10 points off per day or partial day late unless approved in advance.  All notes for exams and all written assignments must be original work unless clearly noted using quotation markets and appropriate references.  No shared notes or study group combined notes are allowed for use on the test.  Use of any work that is found to be not a student's own original work will result in a grade of zero on the exam or assignment involved.  All papers will be submitted to turnitin.com for verification of originality.  The department academic honesty policy will apply to all honesty issues.

Schedule:
A schedule of discussion topics, assigned reading and other assignments follows.  The "Topics and Cases" column describes the planned content for the day's discussion, including cases which should be read and analyzed in preparation for class. Students should be prepared to answer all questions at the end of any case assigned.   The "Reading and Assignments" column shows the reading and other assignments due on the date shown in the same row.
Click here to view the course schedule.

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