MKTG 380-Marketing Fundamentals
Fall, 1996 Dr. Newell Wright

Course Prerequisites
Enrollment in this course for business majors requires either 1) prior completion of at least 60 hours or 2) permission of the department head.

Required Text
Basic Marketing, Perreault and McCarthy, 12th edition: Irwin, 1996
The Marketing Plan, Cohen, 1st edition: Wiley, 1995

Optional Text
Semester subscription to Fortune magazine. I will distribute a subscription form at the beginning of the semester.

Office Hours
My office is located in Zane Showker Hall #520 and my office hours will be from MW 11:00 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. ; Friday 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. and Tuesday 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Other times by appointment. My office phone number is 568-3240. You may call me at home (828-2184) provided you call no later than 8:00 p.m. I am an early riser and also have small children.

Perhaps the easiest way to communicate with me is by e-mail. I read e-mail several times daily and usually respond quickly to your messages. My e-mail address is wrightnd@ jmu.edu. I have also developed a web page for the class which will carry late-breaking course information. The URL for the web page is:

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~wrightnd/mk380f96.html

Exam Schedule (Tentative)
1st Exam: September 20, 1996
2nd Exam: October 18, 1996
3rd Exam: November 18, 1996
4th Exam: December 9, 1996

Course Objectives: The purpose of this course is to learn marketing's role in society and the firm. In so doing, we will study the basic principles of marketing and their application.

Attendance
Since part of your grade is based upon team projects and class attendance, it is important that you attend every class and be an active class member. If you happen to miss one class, it is your responsibility to determine the assignment, any changes in the schedule, any material you missed, and to be prepared for the next class.

Grading
Four exams will be given during the term. The dates and coverage of each exam are listed in the tentative course schedule at the end of the policy sheet. No make-up exams will be permitted unless the instructor is notified prior to the exam date. If there is a valid excuse for missing the exam, permission may be granted for taking a make-up exam. If permission is granted, the make-up exam will be given on the final exam day.

In addition to the exams, there will be a team project.

Exams: 80% of grade
Attendance and Internet Marketing Team Project: 20%

Internet Marketing Team Project
The Internet is easily the most hyped medium for conducting business that I have seen in my lifetime. But what elements lead to successfully marketing a product on the Internet? Which characteristics are unique to this medium? What products are amenable to Internet marketing? How do you pay for products purchased on the Internet? What role do the Usenet News Groups, the World Wide Web, e-mail, and listservs play in marketing your product? Which of the four P's is (are) most appropriately exploited on the Internet? What is the role of customer service? How should you promote your web site? What are the demographics of Internet users? What are the pitfalls of marketing on the Internet? What activities should you not do on the Internet? What does the future hold for conducting business on the Internet? What role does the Internet play in the overall marketing plan for the product? What constitutes successful Internet marketing? How do you measure successful Internet marketing?

For this project, your team is to market a new product of your choice on the Internet. You are to write a marketing plan for your project (25 pages maximum, double spaced using a 12 point font, including graphs and appendices) that answers, among other things, the above questions. Also include a section about how conventional marketing activities (i.e., those activities not conducted on the Internet) will support your Internet marketing plan. Your team will also develop a web page for your product that will include links to at least two other pages, as well as links to each team member's personal home page. See the course web page (http://falcon.jmu.edu/~wrightnd/mk380f96.html) for more specifics on this project.

The goal of this project is to expose you to the many issues surrounding marketing on the Internet, both positive and negative. Your team project will be graded on the clarity of your marketing plan and how well it addresses these issues. I will also grade your projects on the innovativeness of your use of the Internet, your responses to the above questions, the professionalism of your web page (including your html code! Is it sloppy or easy to follow?), and the appropriateness of your strategies. In addition, each team member will also receive an individual grade based on her or his own personal home page.

In summary, each team will turn in a written marketing plan and a URL (uniform resource locator) or diskette for your product's web page. This project will be due on Friday, November 22, 1996.

Grading Scale
A=90-100
B=80-89
C=70-79
D=60-69
F=<60

Tentative Course Schedule
Date and Chapter
Aug 28-30 1
Sep 2-6 2-3
Sep 9-13 4-5
Sep 16-18 6
Sep 20 Exam 1 (chapters 1-6)
Sep 23-27 7-8
Sep 30-Oct 4 9-10
Oct 7-9 11-12
Oct 11 Library assignment
Oct 14-16 12-13
Oct 18 Exam 2 (chapters 7-13)
Oct 21 No Class-Fall Break
Oct 23-25 14
Oct 28-Nov 1 15-16
Nov 4-8 17-18
Nov 11-15 19-20
Nov 18 Exam 3 (chapters 14-20)
Nov 20-22 21-22
Nov 25 Appendix C (pp. 701-713)
Nov 27-29 No Class-Thanksgiving Break
Dec 2-6 Guest speakers*
Dec 9 Exam 4 (comprehensive final)

*Guest speakers will be interspersed throughout the semester, and the syllabus will be adjusted accordingly. I am leaving open three class periods for guest speakers.

Honor Code
Upon enrollment at James Madison University, each student is automatically subject to the provisions of the Honor System. Each student has a duty to become familiar with the provisions of the Honor Code and Honor System procedures (see pages 18-22 of the 1996/1997 Student Handbook). Examples of Honor Code violations are copying off of someone else's test, using unauthorized materials to complete a test or assignment, and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else's ideas, words, or materials (this includes paraphrased materials) as one's own without properly indicating by footnote or some other appropriate form of citation the source or origin of the material.

Overall
This course is designed to be an extremely useful and interesting course. However, it is also a course which will demand additional time and effort on your part since it has a project component. You will be expected to exhibit self-motivation, initiative, the ability to be a full participant in a project, and the ability to work with others.

The professor reserves the right to add or delete work based on his assessment of the professional development of the students. This change may be for an individual student or for the class as a whole. Any changes will be announced in class and it is the students' responsibility to keep abreast of these changes.

Effective Group Membership
Effective groups don't just happen; they're the result of hard work and a conscious effort by all group members. Set the following guidelines as your group starts to work together and follow them throughout your project. You will work together as a team with little wasted effort, the experience will be enjoyable for everyone, and the finished project will be much better.

Set Rules and Guidelines Up Front
Before your group starts to work on its assigned project, take some time to set rules and expectations. It's just as important to focus on the process of group interaction as it is to focus on the product of the group's work. The better you work together, the better your product will be.

1. Make sure all members are present. Everyone must agree to the rules you set.

2. Give everyone a chance to state their ideas. Some people are naturally quieter than others, but some of the best ideas will come from them.

3. Establish expectations for:

• Attendance of members at group meetings.
• Completion of tasks assigned at the last meeting.
• Preparedness for the work planned for the current meeting.
• Methods for dividing work and assigning tasks to members.
• Policies for settling disagreements.
• Ways to ensure all members contribute to discussion and to avoid monopolization of discussion by individuals.
• Any other matters which may be important.

How to Run a Group Meeting
Here are some ideas on how a productive meeting should be run:

1. Assign roles for each meeting and rotate these roles. Rotate these roles so they're performed by a different person at each meeting and everyone gets to perform every role. Examples of roles are:

• Leader-helps the group cover all the business at hand and ensures that all members are heard.
• Recorder-keeps minutes so agreements, schedules, and task assignments are on record.
• Room Arranger-schedules a room for the meeting and ensures all needed supplies and equipment are present.
• Agenda Setter-prepares agenda for the next meeting based on agreements from the current meeting.
• Duty Overseer-assigns tasks for members to perform by the next meeting and checks on the progress between meetings.

2. Recap what was done at the last meeting and what tasks were set for this meeting.

3. Follow the agenda. Stick to the subject; save changes in subject for after the meeting.

4. Sum up agreements and set goals for the next meeting.

5. Assign roles for the next meeting.

6. Assign tasks to be performed by the next meeting.

Take Time at Each Meeting to Evaluate the Group Process
Sometime during each meeting, usually at the beginning or at the end, take a few minutes to assess how you're working together as a group. Some things to consider are:

1. Does everyone feel listened to?
2. Are the group meetings fulfilling members' expectations and needs?
3. Is the group work reflecting everyone's best efforts?
4. Is someone not being heard from, missing meetings, or coming unprepared? What should the group do about it?

Work to Improve Your Own Interpersonal Skills
Here are some ways to work more effectively with others:

1. Criticize ideas without criticizing people. You may have reservations about a teammate's opinions, but calling that person a jerk doesn't resolve the problem. Be specific about the aspect of the idea that concerns you.

2. Support your statements with reasons.

3. Compromise.

4. Monitor what's going on in the group. How are other people reacting and participating?

5. Ask for justification of why another member's conclusion or answer is the correct or appropriate one.

6. Listen. Some ways to cultivate this most elusive skill are:

• Maintain eye contact with the speaker.
• Use body language to show the speaker that you're paying attention. Lean forward; nod when you agree; shake your head when you disagree.
• Try to paraphrase in your mind what the speaker is saying.
• Verify your understanding by restating what the speaker told you. "Let me see if I have this straight. You're saying that....."

7. Express support and acceptance by praising and seeking other members' ideas and conclusions.

8. Describe your feelings when appropriate. "I'm worried about your missing this deadline because the rest of us can't do our jobs without the results of your work."

9. Energize the group when motivation is low by suggesting new ideas, through the use of humor, or by being more enthusiastic.

10. When needed, give direction to the group's work by:

• Stating and restating the purpose of assignments.
• Setting or calling attention to time limits.
• Offering procedures on how to most effectively complete the assignment.

Team Evaluation Form
Principles of Marketing

Your Name_____________________________________________________

This evaluation of your other team members will be kept confidential and is your opportunity to provide information to help me assign grades fairly. I will give a group grade for the presentation and the Internet marketing project. This grade normally counts for 90% of the presentation and Internet marketing project. The other 10% is calculated by having each group member rate each other group member on the quality of their input, the quantity of their input, and their cooperativeness in creating the presentation and preparing the Internet marketing project. Each rating is on a five-point scale with the following values: 1=55, 2=65, 3=75, 4=85, and 5=95. The average rating given to you by your fellow group members will be calculated and count for 10% of your group grade, except in the following case. If your average rating falls below a 75, you get a D (65) for the entire group grade. If your average rating falls below a 65, you get an F (55) for the entire group grade. This procedure is meant to discourage people who might otherwise let other group members do all of the work, and then benefit from the group grade.

Assign each of the other team members points based upon your perception of each member's overall contribution to this project. Some points to consider are:

• Interest and enthusiasm for the project
• Quality of Work
• Dependability-did the person do their work on time?

NAME and POINTS

1. ______________________________ __________

2. ______________________________ __________

3. ______________________________ __________

4. ______________________________ __________

5. ______________________________ __________

Please use the following blank space and the back of this page to make any comments you think are appropriate concerning your contribution or other members' contributions to the presentation and the project.