Summary question 2.3 and 2.4
Summary question 2.3 and 2.4
IBM3202 F20 Group Projects: G1.1 and G2.1
What is required?
These projects require you to work with your group members on the following:
1. Read the material assigned to your group. The material can be an article and or a chapter in a book that is available through the CPP library business databases and/or the class research guide.
The link to access G1.1 and G2.1 assigned material is below and a PDF file has been uploaded to the forum.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csupomona/reader.action?docID=269900&ppg=31
2. After reading the material assigned, conduct an online search for related resources (articles, book chapters, examples, videos, and/or case studies) that offer additional information complementing the assigned material.
I suggest that you use the CPP library business databases, the class research guide, and/or LinkedIn Learning through My CPP.
Limit the related resources to TWO resources (i.e. two articles, one article and one video, etc.).
Select wisely from the ocean of available resources making sure your resources pass the CRAAP Test.
Be mindful of resources accessibility specially when it comes to PDF files that are saved as photos and videos that lack (accurate) closed captions. Many of these videos may not be considered reliable for other reasons anyway (i.e. not peer reviewed).
3. Part 1: Summary: Provide good summaries that substitute for reviewing the assigned material AND the selected resources (a reader will only need to refer to the material and resources for details).
Paraphrase: do not copy and paste from the material.
Appropriately use quotation marks and APA style in-text citations.
Provide Permanent Links to the resources.
Your summary should not exceed 3 single spaced pages using regular 10 to 12 font size.
4. Part 2: Reflection: Reflect on the assigned material AND selected resources by answering the following questions (no need to list the questions in your document):
What are the most important TWO take-a-ways from the assigned material?
Why among all available resources you selected the two resources (they must be very important, why?)
What in the assigned material and/or the selected resources reminded you of something you knew before, or connected with something else you are learning, and why?
Optional: What surprised you as you reviewed the assigned material and/or additional resources and why do you think it was surprising for you?
Optional: What questions do you still have?
Your reflection should not exceed 1 single spaced page using regular 10 to 12 font size.
What needs to be submitted?
Your submission needs to include:
1. A saved word document (not your Google Doc as most often Blackboard will not open it) which includes your summary (part 1), your reflection (part 2), and your two resources permanent links.
2. When feasible, (a) saved PDF file(s) of your articles, case studies, or book chapters (not a link to online documents).
How to submit?
One submission per group is needed, however, you will need to submit twice.
1. First submit your project under Group Projects > Forums > [your group forum]
Click on [your group forum] > Create Thread.
In the subject line, provide your Group number AND section number.
Upload your document(s) then click Submit when done.
2. Second, upload your documents to Group Projects > Submit Projects Here Also.
Under the Submission Text add the names of the group members who collaborated on the project. Refer to the syllabus and your Group Contract for further information.
3. Third, check your submission to make sure you can view the submitted documents.
When is the due date?
You have two weeks from the date the instructions become available for your group to submit your work.
Please refer to your course schedule, weekly activities, and/or weekly announcements for your specific groups due dates.
No late submission for group projects will be accepted or considered for partial credit.
Important notes
All group members are responsible for the entire group projects work; this is a collaborative activity not a division of work among group members (it WILL show). Refer to the class syllabus > Group Projects > Groups Guidelines for further information on helping you achieve this objective.
Make sure you include all group members on any communication with me regarding group work. This way, we ensure all group members are on the same page and no one misses any important information.
I strongly advise you to:
1. Start working on your group project as soon as it becomes available: 2 weeks before the due date.
2. Have all your questions answered at least a THREE DAYS before the project is due. You can email me your questions or email me to schedule an appointment to meet during office hours (T/W).
3. Submit early to enjoy the weekend (or some of it) and more importantly to avoid any last minute technical or group issues. The due dates are set at midnight on Sunday to give you time outside business hours to finish your writing and formatting not to start reading the instructions and asking questions.
How the projects will be graded?
The following rubric will be used to assess your group work:
Item
Description
Points
Selected Resources
Two reliable resources (passed the CRAAP test) were selected.
Permanent Links to the selected resources were provided.
When feasible, a saved PDF file(s) of the selected resources is(are) submitted.
2
Part 1
Quality summaries of assigned material and selected resources:
The summaries substitute for reviewing the assigned material AND the selected resources.
Paraphrasing no coping and pasting from the assigned material or the selected sources was used.
Quotation marks and APA style in-text citations were appropriately used.
5
Part 2
Quality reflection on the assigned material and selected sources including:
What are the most important TWO take-a-ways from the assigned material?
Why among all resources available the two resources were selected (they must be very important, why?)
What in the assigned material and/or the selected resources reminded you of something you knew before, or connected with something else you are learning, and why?
Optional: What surprised you as you reviewed the assigned material and/or additional resources and why do you think it was surprising for you?
Optional: What questions do you still have?
2
Format
Part 1 do not exceed 3 single spaced pages using regular 10 to 12 font size.
Part 2 do not exceed 1 single spaced page using regular 10 to 12 font size.
1
Total
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C H A P T E R Strategic marketing: an overview
2
About this chapter
Strategic planning aims to integrate and coordinate activity and give focus
to the organization. Recognizing that strategic decisions have behavioural,
organizational and analytical elements enables many of the barriers to
successful implementation to be overcome.
After reading this chapter, you will understand:
The difference between corporate and marketing plans.
Strategic and tactical approaches to marketing.
The reason for, and barriers to, successful planning.
Analytical, behavioural and organizational dimensions of planning.
Structure of a typical strategic marketing plan.
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Translate
corporate
strategy into
marketing objectives
(Feedback)
Corporate planning
Objectives
Corporate planning
Marketing strategy
Objectives
Strategy
Marketing tactics
Objectives
Actions
Other functional
strategies e.g.
Finance
HRM
Strategic marketing: an overview
2 . 1 C o r p o r a t e a n d m a r k e t i n g p l a n s
Marketing managers plan in order to complete tasks on time and without
exceeding pre-set resource limits. It is likely that objectives, targets and
budget will be set as part of the overall corporate planning and budgeting
process. The task is to translate these factors into a workable marketing plan.
When developing a plan, the process involves choosing certain courses of
action and ruling out other possible options. Planning should be system-
atic, structured and involves three key components: (1) objectives what
has to be achieved; (2) strategy (or actions) defining how the objectives
are to be achieved; and (3) resource implications the resources required
to implement the strategy.
Clearly, it is important to understand the interface between marketing
and corporate strategy. This is best illustrated by considering the hier-
archical structure of an organization. Senior management formulates
objectives and strategy for the entire organization (or a strategic business
unit SBU). Managers in various functional areas, such as marketing,
contribute to the process by developing specific functional strategies
and ultimately tactics to achieve these corporate objectives. Effectively,
the process involves a hierarchy of plans, with strategy at one level
becoming the objective(s) at the next. Additionally, this process pro-
vides feedback on the success/failure of any strategy. Figure 2.1 illustrates
the concept.
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Created from csupomona on 2020-08-20 20:24:06.
Figure 2.1
Corporate and
marketing planning
hierarchy
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Introduction to Marketing Concepts
2 . 2 C o r p o r a t e p l a n n i n g
The corporate plan will define objectives for the entire business and
should coordinate the various functional strategies (e.g. Marketing,
Operations, Human Resource Management, Finance, etc.) to deliver the
overall corporate objectives. It is important that functional strategies are
interrelated (see Figure 2.1). For example, if the marketing strategy
focused on developing high levels of customer service in order to retain
key customer groups, both the operations and human resource manage-
ment functions would have a role to play in delivering this. Corporate
strategy can be summarized as being:
Integrative The process coordinates functional activity towards a
common goal and takes a whole organization view of the corporation.
By defining corporate targets, normally in financial terms, collective tar-
gets are set for the functional groups.
Provide focus Strategy defines the scope of the business general
nature of activities and markets served. This strategic direction allows
functional areas to develop appropriate strategies and tactics.
Importance By its very nature, corporate strategy is the process of
making major business decisions. It defines business direction over the
long term and is critical in setting the overall resource profile available
to the organization.
Matching There is a need to match the organizations activities and
resource base to the current and future business environment.
A useful summation of corporate strategy management is provided in
Figure 2.2. This model takes a top-down view of the overall strategy process.
It identifies the five components vital in achieving corporate success:
1 Vision Senior management and other stakeholders must establish an
overall vision of what the corporation should be. This defines the basic
need they fulfil and establishes the generic direction of the business.
2 Corporate objectives and strategy Collective goals and strategy
define the benchmarks for success and ways of achieving success.
This level coordinates corporate activity and initiates activities to
achieve desired results.
3 SBU/functional objectives and strategy Corporate strategy trans-
lates into objectives and plans for individual elements of the business.
This may take the form of SBUs (Strategic Business Units divisions
within a company) or functional activities. For example, a hotel chain
could divide its business into three SBUs accommodation, food and
beverage and conferences and leisure.
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Strategic marketing: an overview
Figure 2.2
The strategic process
Vision
Corporate
objectives and
strategy
SBU/functional
objectives and strategy
Resources
How will success be
defined and how will
it be achieved?
Plans for
individual business
elements
Aligning resources
and organizational
structure with
strategic intent
What sort of
business?
Structure
Illustrative example 2.1
Torex: marketing strategy and the drivers of change
Rather than trying to cover all possible users, information technology
company Torex has two distinct areas of operation retailing and
health care. Having adopted a clear segmentation and targeting
strategy, Torex is able to establish a distinct competitive position,
setting it apart from more general IT providers. A PEST analysis
demonstrates how the organization can benefit from the drivers of
change. Consider the following statement in terms of Political,
Economic, Social and Technological factors.
The UK governments commitment to modernize the health service
( political ) is excellent news for specialist information technology
provider Torex. Growing demand for health care (social ) will gener-
ate a need to modernize existing health service systems with special-
ized health service/care technology. As a provider of computer
technology to the medical profession, Torex is well placed to benefit
from increased government expenditure (economic). The company is
also reported to be working on the Gpnet project (technological )
an electronic information system which links doctors together.
4 Resources For a given strategy, the need exists to match resources to
strategic intent. This process normally involves annual budgeting.
5 Structure Management must develop the appropriate organiza-
tional and staffing structures to facilitate success.
Successful businesses ensure these factors are aligned in order to turn
strategic intent into business reality.
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Introduction to Marketing Concepts
Consider Torex (see Illustrative example 2.1) in the context of Figure 2.2.
Torex aims to achieve strategic success by focusing on two market seg-
ments retail and health care. Given the changing business environment
(see PEST), health care would seem to offer huge potential. The company
needs to align its resources with government spending plans.
2 . 3 M a r k e t i n g p l a n s : s t r a t e g y o r t a c t i c s ?
There are two types of marketing plan strategic and tactical. This dis-
tinction generates much confusion and debate; is it a strategy or a tactic?
This question may be academic when faced with the reality of the busi-
ness world, as the distinction between the two will vary from organization
to organization and manager to manager. However, much of the confu-
sion can be removed if characteristics common to strategic plans and tac-
tical plans can be identified.
Strategic marketing Takes a longer-term time frame and broadly
defines the organizations marketing activities. The process seeks to
develop effective responses to a changing business environment by
analysing markets, segmentation and evaluating competitors offerings.
Strategy focuses on defining market segments and positioning products
in order to establish a competitive stance. Marketing strategy tends
to embrace all of the mix, or significant components of the mix (e.g.
distribution strategy, communications strategy, etc.). Problems in
this area tend to be unstructured and require external, often specula-
tive, data.
Tactical marketing This takes a shorter-term time frame and con-
cerns day-to-day marketing activities. It translates strategy into specific
actions and represents the on-going operational dimension of marketing
strategy. Tactical marketing tends to deal with individual components of
the marketing mix elements (e.g. sales promotion, advertising, etc.).
Problems are often repetitive and well structured, with data being inter-
nally generated.
Table 2.1 examines the differences between strategic and tactical
marketing.
2 . 4 W h y d o e s p l a n n i n g m a t t e r ?
The organization needs a strategic marketing plan in order to adapt to a
changing business environment. Given the basic business premise of success
through effectively meeting customer needs, it is clear organizations must
continually adapt and develop to remain successful. Strategic marketing
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Strategic marketing: an overview
Strategic marketing Tactical marketing
Time frame Long-term Short-term
Focus Broad Narrow
Key task(s) Defining market and Day-to-day
competitive position marketing activity
Information and Unstructured, Structured, internal,
problem-solving external, speculative repetitive
Example New product Price discounting
development Table 2.1
Strategic and tactical
marketing
facilitates this process and provides robust solutions in an increasingly
competitive world. Essentially, the plan should provide a systematic
framework with which to analyse the market place and supply a well-
defined way to pursue strategic goals.
However, the truly successful plan goes further than the simple process of
planning. It is a vehicle to communicate, motivate and involve staff in
fundamental business activities. Too often planning is viewed as a restric-
tive process based on programming events and generating paperwork.
Remember, plans need employee commitment and ownership to achieve
results.
The key reasons for planning are summarized as follows:
Adapting to change Planning provides an opportunity to examine
how changes in the business environment have/will effect the organiza-
tion. It enables management to focus on strategic issues as opposed to
day-to-day operational problems.
Resource allocation Planning allows us to deploy resources to
effectively meet opportunities and threats. No plan can succeed without
appropriate resources. When a strategic perspective is taken, organiza-
tions are better placed to marshal the resources required to meet
strategic windows of opportunity. Doyle (1994) defines strategic
windows of opportunity as changes that have a major impact in the
market place. Strategic windows include factors such as: (1) new
technology, (2) new market segments, (3) new channels of distribu-
tion, (4) market redefinition where the nature of demand changes,
(5) legislative changes and (6) environmental shocks sudden unex-
pected economic or political change. Essentially, the process involves
aligning marketing activities with opportunities in order to generate
competitive advantage.
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Introduction to Marketing Concepts
Consistency By providing a common base to work from (e.g.
techniques and assumptions) the overall decision-making process can be
enhanced. Additionally, common methods and formats should improve
internal communication.
Integration As a strategic process, planning should facilitate the inte-
gration and coordination of the marketing mix. By providing a strategic
focus it should be possible to generate synergy from the individual ele-
ments of the marketing mix.
Communication and motivation The plan should clearly commu-
nicate strategic intent to employees and other stakeholders. Clear objec-
tives and an understanding of the individual, or group, contribution to
the process serves to generate ownership and motivation.
Control All control activities are based on some predetermined plan.
The planning process should set meaningful targets, thus defining the
criteria by which success is measured.
To illustrate the above points, consider Illustrative example 2.2: Sainsbury.
The company will need to adapt to change and have effective resource
allocation if it is to reverse the downturn in its fortunes.
Illustrative example 2.2
Sainsbury: strategic return to core values
Major strategic decisions have to be made if Sainsbury is to regain
its former glory. The UKs second biggest food retailer is looking to
establish a more upmarket position, in order to reverse the recent
downturn in fortunes. A new flagship Sainsburys store in London
will feature new luxury product ranges. These include: a juice bar,
upmarket bakery counter, a premium wine merchant The
Cromwell Cellar and a seasonal produce counter. The move
sees the group attempting to return to its core competencies
(see Figure 1.1) of being a top-quality food retailer. Sainsburys
traditional strength is not price, but rather quality, with the above
developments aiming to position the company upmarket.
Sainsbury struggled to compete in a price war with larger groups
such as Asda and Tesco. Previous Sainsbury campaigns (e.g. Value
to shout about featuring actor John Cleese) promoted price
competitiveness, not something traditionally associated with the
company. It is now committed to offering the highest quality food
at the most competitive prices. This focus gives the group strategy
a consistency of approach.
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Strategic marketing: an overview
2 . 5 B a r r i e r s t o s u c c e s s f u l p l a n n i n g
Few would argue with the concept of planning. In any activity, a plan
provides a fundamental basis for success. Marketing plans should offer
exactly what is required optimizing the use of marketing techniques and
resources in order to make the most of marketing opportunities. However,
even the most charitable of marketing managers would view this state-
ment as naive and unlikely to be fully achieved. If managers view planning
as fine in theory but failing, in practice, to deliver its full potential where
does it go wrong?
Clearly, barriers must exist to successful planning. Often, these barriers are
more to do with the human aspects of the business management. They
involve people, politics, skills and culture to a greater degree than formal
systems, methodology and data.
Common barriers to successful planning are:
Culture The prevailing culture may not be amenable to marketing
plans. If the fundamental principles of marketing are not accepted by the
organization, any move towards being market-led and customer-orientated
could be dismissed as not the way we do it. Often we see considerable
resistance to change and gradual regression back to old work practices.
Power and politics All organizations are subject to internal politics.
The development of strategic planning becomes a battlefield where
vested interests fight each others proposals and squabble over status and
resources. This process absorbs much management time and can result
in ill-advised compromise and unnecessary delay.
Analysis not action Much time and energy can be wasted by the
process of analysing data and developing rationales for action, as
opposed to simply acting. While a rigorous process is commendable, it
should not displace action. This paralysis-by-analysis barrier tends to
substitute information gathering and processing for decision-making.
Perhaps surprisingly, many planning systems do not promote action and
are more concerned with reviewing progress and controlling activity,
rather than tackling strategic issues.
Resource issues In any planning situation, the potential exists to
negotiate over resources. Indeed, a major aspect of the process is to
match resources to strategic aims. Managers must take a realistic view of
the resource position and endeavour to ensure resources are not over-
committed or needlessly withheld.
Skills In some instances, managers do not have the skills (e.g. project
management, forecasting, etc.) required to make the best use of the
planning process. Here, planning takes on a ritual nature a meaningless
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Introduction to Marketing Concepts
but must-do annual task. Often, planning is reduced to incremental
increases/decreases in annual budget and fails to examine opportunities
for business development.
Many of these barriers relate to the implementation of plans rather than
the planning process itself. Chapter 12 deals with the issue of implemen-
tation in detail. However, the sound management practice would advo-
cate the inclusion of implementation as part of the planning process.
Indeed, Piercy (1997) suggests a multidimensional model of planning.
This considers the analytical dimension, the behavioural dimension and
the organizational dimension of any plan. Figure 2.3 summarizes the
model.
Analytical dimension Analytical tools, techniques and models are
important, as they provide a framework to tackle issues and identify/solve
problems. While formalized planning systems have the advantage of offer-
ing a common (corporate-wide) systematic approach, to be truly effective
they must address behavioural and organizational issues.
Behavioural dimension Here we focus on the people aspects of the
planning process. Plans only become successful because of the support,
participation, motivation and commitment of people. There is a need
to understand and fully communicate the strategic assumptions under-
pinning the strategy. Plans must address behavioural factors in order to
gain the support so vital to smooth implementation.
Organizational dimension Strategic planning takes place within the
context of a given organization. Therefore, it will be influenced by organi-
zational factors, such as culture and style of management. Remember,
organizational structures determine the flow of information, as well as
defining responsibilities and reporting lines. Major strategic initiatives
may require radical organizational changes.
– Techniques
– Procedures
– Systems
– Planning models
– Participation
– Motivation
– Commitment
– Strategic assumptions
– Structure
– Information
– Management style
– Culture
Analytical
dimension
Behavioural
dimension
Organizational
dimension
Planning
process
Figure 2.3
A multidimensional
model of marketing
planning (Source:
Piercy, 1997)
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Drummond, Graeme, and John Ensor. Introduction to Marketing Concepts, Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Strategic marketing: an overview
By taking this multidimensional approach to planning and actively
considering behavioural and organizational issues within the planning
process, it is possible to enhance the overall likelihood of success.
2 . 6 T h e s t r u c t u r e o f a s t r a t e g i c m a r k e t i n g
p l a n
What does a strategic marketing plan look like? While the answer to this
question will vary from organization to organization (in terms of structure
and presentation), marketing plans perform a common function and have
common components. Indeed, McDonald (1999) views marketing plan-
ning as a systematic way of identifying, selecting, scheduling and costing
activities in order to achieve objectives. Such definitions focus on the
purpose, as opposed to the structure, of planning.
Regardless of precedent and planning formats, strategic plans tend to have
common elements. Marketing managers would expect a strategic plan to
cover: (1) industry analysis, (2) internal analysis, (3) opportunity identifi-
cation, (4) objective setting, (5) formulation of strategy, (6) proposed
marketing programmes and actions and (7) implementation and control
including financial forecasts.
Figure 2.4 presents an annotated example of a strategic marketing plan.
Note, Figure 2.4 does not attempt to portray the definitive marketing
plan. It merely illustrates the component parts common to such plans.
Strategic marketing plans take on many different guises. The content,
structure and complexity of a plan will vary. While planning formats
and conventions are largely a matter of historic precedent within the
organization, the key imperative is to generate action. Plans should address
critical issues in a way that is relevant to the organization. For example,
promoting decisive marketing initiatives within a limited time-scale.
2 . 7 A p p r o a c h e s t o m a r k e t i n g p l a n n i n g
The development of a marketing plan is a significant and time-consuming
activity. All planning is essentially objective-driven objectives are trans-
lated into actions. A number of schools of thought exist as to how the
task is best approached. The standard approaches to planning are:
Top-down Senior managers develop objectives and strategy. Managers
at an operational level are then required to implement these strategies.
This approach is said to encourage professionalism and promote
