24790 Business Project: Marketing

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

This is a capstone subject for Master of Business in Marketing or MBA Marketing major students. Students complete an applied marketing project, integrating and utilising the skills and knowledge acquired in their previous marketing subjects.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of marketing theory, frameworks and models in relation to a selected business context
2. demonstrate capabilities to apply in great depth those theories, frameworks and models relevant to a specific marketing challenge or opportunity an organisation is confronted with
3. present findings in a well researched, structured, and concisely written report, including comprehensive and appropriate referencing.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject is designed to provide an opportunity to investigate a specific entrepreneurial activity related to marketing. It functions as a capstone subject within the suit of marketing subjects and it is expected that students will apply appropriate marketing theory learned in other prior subjects.

Teaching and learning strategies

Interactive orientation and review sessions will include workshop discussions, presenting progress and brief summaries of their project investigations. Web based information, communication and feedback will complement group meetings to discuss the content and progress of group work.

Content

• Marketing research analysis
• Marketing research planning
• Marketing research decision-making
• Marketing strategy
• Marketing tactics
• Marketing budgeting
• Marketing budgeting implementation
• Marketing budgeting auditing.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Project Proposal (Individual)

Assessment item 2: Final Project Report (Individual)

Assessment item 3: Project Review Report (Individual)

Required text(s)

Zina O'Leary, 2005, Researching Real-World Problems: A Guide to Methods of Enquiry, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, ISBN 1 4129 0195 2

Guide to Writing Assignments, Faculty of Business. (This is available from the Co-op Bookshop.)

Indicative references

Amir, Y. and Sharon, I. (1991) 'Replication Research: A Must for the Social Scientific Advancement of Psychology', in Neuliep, J.W. (ed.), Replication Research in the Social Sciences, Sage Publications: Newbury Park, CA

Bagozzi, R.P. and Phillips, L.W. (1991) 'Assessing Construct Validity in Organisational Research', Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, pp.421-458

Berry, J.W. (1969) 'On Cross-Cultural Comparability', International Journal of Psychology, 4, pp.119-128

Booth, W.C., Colomb, W.C. and Williams, J.M (2003) 'The craft of research, 2nd edn, The University of Chicago Press

Bryman, A. (1999) 'Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS Release 8 for Windows; For Social Scientists' Routledge Publications

Calder, B.J. et al (1982) 'The Concept of External Validity', Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (December), pp.240-244

Cook, T. and Campbell, D. (1976) 'The Design and Conduct of Quasi-Experiments and True Experiments in Field Setting', in Handbook of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, M. Dunnette (ed.), Rand McNally: Chicago, pp.223-326

Churchill, G.A. (1979) 'A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures in Marketing Constructs', Journal of Marketing Research, 10 (June), pp.115-124

Diamantopoulos, A. and Schlegmilch, B.B. (1997) 'Taking the fear out of data analysis', The Dryden Press

Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) 'Building Theories from Case Study', Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), pp.532-550

Ericsson, K.. and Simon, H.A. (1980) 'Verbal Reports as Data', Psychological Review, 67 (3), pp.215-251

Frankfort-Nachmias, C. and Nachmias, D. (1999) 'Research Methods in the Social Sciences', Edward Arnold

Gummesson, E. (1999)' Qualitative methods in management research 2nd edn, Sage Publications

Hair, J.F., Black, W. C, Babin, B., Anderson, R.E., and Tatham, R.L. (2006) 'Multivariate data analysis with readings', Prentice Hall International; ISBN: 0130329290

Hart, C. (1998) 'Doing a literature review', Sage Publishers in association with the Open University

Kvale, S. (1996) 'Interviews. An introduction to qualitative research interviewing', Sage Publications

Lee, A.S. (1989) 'Case Studies as Natural Experiments', Human Relations, 42 (2), pp.117–137

Miller, D.C. (2002) 'Handbook of research design and social measurement. 6th edn, Sage Publications

Weber, R.P. (1990) 'Basic Content Analysis', Sage Publications

Useful site for fieldwork resources