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MBA Program - Course Descriptions
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| MKTG 621 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Marketing Management |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: This course addresses the management challenge of designing and implementing the best combination of marketing variables to carry out a firm’s strategy in its target markets. Specifically, this course seeks to develop the student’s skills in applying the analytic perspectives, decision tools, and concepts of marketing to such decisions as product offering (including the breadth of product line, features, quality level, and customer service), communications programs (with an emphasis on advertising, sales promotion, and the sales force), distribution channels (the role of distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries), and pricing to capture the value created for the customer. The student’s basic objective is to develop his/her own understanding and management skills in this critical aspect of general management. The instructors’ primary objective is to stimulate and guide this process. The course uses lectures and case discussions, two group case write-ups, and a case-analysis final examination to achieve these joint objectives.
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| Format: Case studies, lectures, and class discussions.
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| Requirements: Graded components include a mid-term case write-up (done by learning teams), a final exam (case study-based, done individually, approximately 3 hours), and class participation (based on quality of contribution class case discussions).
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| Prerequisite: None. |
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| MKTG 622 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Marketing Management |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: In common with Marketing 621, the primary objective of this course is to introduce you to the concepts and theories underlying marketing decision making. Marketing 622 builds upon Marketing 621 with a stronger emphasis on the strategic considerations that drive and integrate the decisions made for each element of the marketing mix. Principal topics include resource allocation, market entry/exit decisions, and competitive analysis. In addition to a mix of cases and lectures, the course relies on a comprehensive computer simulation game that helps highlight these issues and provides the class with a rich set of realistic examples for discussion and analysis. This game allows students to appreciate the real power and value of marketing concepts, develop a disciplined approach to the analysis of marketing situations, and to further enhance their abilities to communicate and interact with peers in solving problems.
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| Format: A computer simulation, case studies, lectures, and assigned readings are used.
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| Requirements: Regular class attendance, computer simulation reports, and final exam. A significant portion of the student's grade is based on quality of contribution to class case discussions.
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| Prerequisite: Marketing 621
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| MKTG 655/OPIM 655 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Integrating Marketing and Operations |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: This course examines how organizations can develop and leverage excellence in process management. The first module focuses on operations strategy. In these classes, students examine what constitutes an operations strategy and how organizations can create value by managing complexity, uncertainty, and product development. In the second half of the course, students discuss recent developments in both manufacturing and service industries, specifically, examining initiatives in quality, lean manufacturing and enterprise-wide planning systems. The course is recommended for those interested in consulting or operations careers, as well as students with an engineering background who wish to develop a better understanding of managing production processes.
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| Format: Lectures, cases, and group presentations. |
| Prerequisite: MKTG 621/MKTG 622 and either OPIM 622/623 or OPIM 656, or permission of instructor.
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| MKTG 751 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Sales Force Management |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: Students who take this course will: learn the basic functions of sales force management as well as theories and concepts about appropriately managing that function; become familiar with some recent research in sales management that underlies the theories and concepts; and be able to apply the research, theories, and concepts to practical situations. The course is concerned with how to manage a sales force rather than with how to sell, with the objective of maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the firm's revenue-generating arm. The emphasis is on business-to-business (rather than consumer) sales force management. Topics covered include salesperson effectiveness, deployment, motivation, organizational design, compensation, and evaluation.
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| Format: Lectures and discussion of cases and readings, including recent research.
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| Requirements: Course participation and exam.
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| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621/MKTG 622 concurrently.
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| MKTG 753 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| New Product Management |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The course's primary focus is on new product/service decisions and development processes. The course provides a comprehensive analytical coverage of the various product decisions, critical discussion of the research needed as input to the decisions, and the contributions of management and behavioral sciences to the development process. The course covers the following areas: the role of new products in marketing and corporate management; basic product policy concepts—product life cycle, product positioning, and product portfolio; and new product development testing, management, and launching.
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| Format: Group presentation of the application of the various concepts, findings, and approaches to a specific product or service of the group's choice; case discussion and lecture.
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| Requirements: Class participation and class presentations, a short written assignment, and a group assignment.
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| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621/MKTG 622 concurrently; completion of MKTG 756 is helpful.
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| MKTG 754 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Pricing Policy |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The course provides a systematic presentation of the factors to be considered when setting price, and shows how pricing alternatives are developed. Analytical methods are developed and new approaches are explored for solving pricing decisions.
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| Format: Lecture and discussion. |
| Requirements: Homework and a final exam.
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| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently; OPIM 621 and STAT 621 are recommended.
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| MKTG 755 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Advertising Management |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The primary objective of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to analyze, design, and evaluate various advertising decisions. The course focuses on the concepts, theory, models, and findings from marketing, marketing research, communication research, and management science that are relevant to the design and evaluation of advertising. The specific topics covered in this course include advertising as a communications process, research for advertising strategy development, determining the advertising budget, the role of the advertising agency, message design, message/copy evaluation, media strategy, media selection models, evaluating advertising effectiveness, and evaluating the advertising campaign. |
| Format: Class discussion and presentation centered around the various steps in the development of an advertising campaign.
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| Requirements: Schmittlein: Active participation in class and case discussions; one individual or team presentation; one written assignment; and either an advertising plan for a new product or a written in-class exam. Williams: Active participation in class and case discussions; two individual written assignments; and an advertising plan for a new product.
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| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently.
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| MKTG 756 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Marketing Research |
| Faculty:
Iyengar
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Schaffer
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| Description: Marketing is important to any company that faces competition, and marketing research is the way companies obtain customer insights. This course provides a rigorous experience in marketing research methods (e.g., conjoint analysis, perceptual maps, etc.), and frameworks to guide when which technique is most useful. The course is aimed at managers, whose decision making is enhanced through marketing research, which transforms “data” into “information.” The manager is the ultimate user of marketing research and is responsible for determining its scope and direction. Techniques of data collection, evaluation of alternative sources of information, methods for analyzing data and presenting the results are covered. |
| Format: Lecture, discussion, and cases.
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| Prerequisite: MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently; STAT 621 is strongly recommended.
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| MKTG 759 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Channel Management |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: This course presents concepts and analytical tools necessary to manage distribution channels. We will view channels both as value delivery systems and as interorganizational systems. The course is organized around three themes: designing a go-to-market approach and channel structure, coordinating the channel participants, and changing channels. Specific topics include going direct vs. indirect, incorporating the Internet into hybrid systems, e-commerce and value migration, franchising, channel conflict, legal issues regarding channel policies, category management and efficient consumer response (ECR) initiatives. |
| Format: Lecture, case discussion, small group project.
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| Requirements: Class participation, case memos, small group project.
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| Prerequisite: MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently.
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| Materials: Coursepack.
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| MKTG 760 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Law Of Marketing and Antitrust |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The course explores the legal aspects of marketing strategy. The first half considers relevant antitrust doctrine and policy: mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures; pricing strategy (e.g., price fixing, exchanging price information, predatory pricing, and discriminatory pricing); marketing channel strategy (e.g., resale price maintenance, territorial and customer restrictions, exclusive dealing, refusals to deal, etc.); and limits on market dominance. The second half considers issues the intellectual property dimension (including federal patent, copyright, and trademark law), as well as federal and state laws pertaining to trade secrets, unfair competition, and consumer protection. The focus is primarily on U.S. law, but the challenges posed by diverse domestic, foreign, and international regimes will also be emphasized. The course is useful to students contemplating employment in the field of marketing, and to students interested in anticipating legal constraints on competitive strategies. Most broadly, the course should be of interest to anyone desiring to understand the legal and public policy issues relating to the government regulation of business. |
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| MKTG 771 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Models for Marketing Strategy |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The purposes of the course are to help participants become better managers by acquainting and helping them to understand different types of models that have been used to aid marketing decisions; have them applied various tools developed for analyzing marketing decision problems; give participants critical skills for evaluating new marketing models about which they may read in the literature; help participants understand marketing problems more clearly by analyzing them quantitatively; and produce managers who will not be taken advantage of by some quantitative consultants. |
| Format: Evaluating marketing models papers; practicing with state-of-the-art computer-based models and software; building marketing models; discussing case studies that describe modeling applications; group presentations of model-based marketing strategy. |
| Requirements: Individual assignments, computer-based case analyses and presentations, term paper, group assignments, and class participation. |
| Prerequisite: MKTG 621; MKTG 622, calculus, and basic statistical analysis, including regression. |
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| MKTG 773 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Customer Behavior |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: Marketing begins and ends with the customer, from determining customers’ needs and wants to providing customer satisfaction and maintaining customer relationships. This course examines the basic concepts and principles in customer behavior with the goal of understanding how these ideas can be used in marketing decision making. The class will consist of a mix of lectures, discussions, cases, assignments, project work and exams. Topics covered include customer psychological processes (e.g., motivation, perception, attitudes, decision-making) and their impact on marketing (e.g., segmentation, branding, customer satisfaction). The goal is to provide a set of approaches and concepts to consider when faced with a decision involving understanding customer responses to marketing actions. |
| Format: Lectures and discussion, case analyses, presentations.
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| Requirements: Exams, assignments, project, and class participation.
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| Prerequisite: MKTG 621; MKTG 622.
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| MKTG 776 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Applied Probability Models in Marketing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: This course will expose students to the theoretical and empirical “building blocks” that will allow them to develop and implement powerful models of customer behavior. Over the years, researchers and practitioners have used these methods for a wide variety of applications, such as new product sales forecasting, analyses of media usage, customer valuation, and targeted marketing programs. These same techniques are also very useful for other types of business (and non-business) problems. The course will be entirely lecture-based with a strong emphasis on real-time problem solving. Most sessions will feature sophisticated numerical investigations using Microsoft Excel. Much of the material is highly technical. Students must have a high comfort level with basic integral calculus, and recent exposure to a formal course in probability/statistics would be helpful (but is not required). |
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| MKTG 777 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Marketing Strategy |
| Faculty:
Niedermeier
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| Description: This course views marketing as both a general management responsibility and an orientation of an organization that helps one to create, capture and sustain customer value. The focus is on the business unit and its network of channels, customer relationships, and alliances. Specifically, the course attempts to help develop knowledge and skills in the application of advanced marketing frameworks, concepts, and methods for making strategic choices at the business level. |
| Format: The format varies by instructor. Check the syllabi. Most, though, use case, lecture, group projects, and class discussion. |
| Requirements: The requirements vary by instructor. Check the syllabi. |
| Prerequisite: MKTG 621; MKTG 622; this course may be taken only in the second year.
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| MKTG 781 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Entrepreneurial Marketing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: This course focuses on the key marketing concepts and methods relevant for entrepreneurs. In particular, it covers the marketing elements of new venture initiation (including a business plan), as well as marketing decisions for small and growing organizations. Topics include product/service design, assessment of market potential, creation of successful distribution relationships, and new product pricing. In contrast to the product development course, the emphasis here is on a new startup business rather than a new offering from an existing business. Topics covered in this course also include low-budget or no-budget market research, successful strategic alternatives for small business, alternatives to high-cost advertising (e.g., direct marketing, alternative media, and personal selling), segmentation, and targeted marketing. Students will prepare a marketing plan for an entrepreneurial organization of their choice, possibly for a new venture they are considering |
| Format: Case, lecture, class discussions.
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| Requirements: Development of an organizational marketing plan for a entrepreneurial venture, readings and class discussion. |
| Prerequisite: MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently; MKTG 756 concurrently; students are discouraged from taking this course and MKTG 753 unless with permission of an MBA advisor.
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| MKTG 782 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Multinational Marketing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The main purpose of this course is to explore the substantive issues, information sources, and cultural sensitivities required to develop an effective international strategy and associated market plan. Since the international environment changes so quickly, we will no doubt have occasion to discuss current events. Central to the course is a group project involving the development of a marketing plan for a product or service of your choice to be marketing in at least two countries. |
| Format: Cases, lectures, discussions.
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| Requirements: Readings, development of a marketing plan.
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| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently.
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| MKTG 793 ( Mini-semester - 0.5 ) |
| Retailing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of the retailing industry. Primary focus will be on the customer-facing activities of retailers, including assortment planning, private-label development and the management of in-store operations, and the back-door activities (forecasting and supply chain management) that support customer interaction. In addition. current issues facing retailers, such as customer relationship management, industry consolidation and supplier relations, will be explored. The course will also survey topics in finance, operations, information technology and real estate as they relate to retail. |
| Format: Lecture and discussion, cases analyses, and guest speakers. |
| Requirements: Regular attendance, case discussion, assignments, and exams. |
| Prerequisite: MKTG 621 & MKTG 622 or permission of instructor. |
| Materials: Coursepack and textbook. |
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| MKTG 890 ( Mini-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Advanced Study Project (ASP) in Marketing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The GCP is a cross-functional, globally-oriented program designed to educate MBA students in the problems of international business and the skills of consulting. It provides an experience in which students apply the concepts, tools, and paradigms they learn in their classes to real business problems. The GCP integrates several management disciplines, including marketing, operations, accounting, finance and general management. Students are encouraged to develop their skills in many important dimensions including: leadership and human resources, teamwork, cultural and economic diversity, language, and negotiation. Global teams, comprised of 4-6 Wharton MBA students with 4-6 MBA students from other leading international business schools, work with the top managers of their international client firms under the guidance of faculty from both schools. Wharton students’ experience in this course is highly focused on their particular global project team and client. Each project typically supports a client's efforts to enter or enhance their position in the North American market. This course is project-based and meets during Quarters III and IV with some work during Quarter II. The Spring semester begins with travel to the partner country over Winter Break to meet the partner team and the client in person, and ends with a detailed tactical strategic marketing plan designed for launching their products/services. This plan is prepared in writing and presented orally by the team during a week-long seminar at the end of the semester referred to as May Colloquium. During the semester the team will participate in faculty and teaching assistant-supervised weekly team meetings (typically Tuesdays from 4:30pm – 7:30pm), a “Devil’s Advocate” session in February, and engage in original market research, state-of-the-art data analysis, focus groups, traveling to trade shows, surveys, business meetings with potential product users, marketing intermediaries in the field, as well as video and teleconferences with partner teams and participating clients. Specific guidelines must be followed in preparation for the final report. |
| Format: Mainly individual group meetings with the instructor.
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| Requirements: Written presentation and possibly an oral presentation.
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| Prerequisite: Acceptance to this course is by application only. Students must apply and be interviewed in September for Spring participation. For additional information visit the GCP website at: www.whartongcp.org |
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| MKTG 891 ( Mini-semester - .2 ) |
| Thesis |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: MKTG 891-I and MKTG 891-II (two terms; two credit units). Preparation of a thesis under individual supervision of a faculty member. The students selects the thesis topic. Written approval of the student’s topic and acceptance of the student as an advisee must be obtained from a faculty member before the student can elect the two-term thesis option. |
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| MKTG 892 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Creativity |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The objective of this course is to enhance the students' creativity and ability to lead and manage creative people and innovations. The course will be divided into five parts:
1. A series of guest lectures and discussions with creative people from various fields such as architects, composer, musician, creative CEO, creative director of an advertising agency, curator, artist, designer, entrepreneur, game designer, Nobel prize winner, R&D director, a scientist, etc.
2. A review of the literature on creativity, creative people, and innovation as well as the leadership and management of creative people and innovation
. 3. Application of various approaches for generating creative options.
4. Applications of creativity to selected management domains - approaches to the generation of creative options are not limited to the development of products and services or businesses, but can be applied to all areas of management and business. The purpose of these sessions is to explore the applications of creative approaches to M&A and growth strategies, marketing, cost reduction efforts, innovation, organizational design, and leadership and management of creative people.
5. Integration - a group project in which interdisciplinary teams of students generate a creative product/service/business/strategy.
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| Format: One hour, 50 minute lecture on Tuesday and an 80 minute session on Thursday. |
| Prerequisite: None |
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| MKTG 893 ( Mini-semester - .5 cu ) |
| Marketing Metrics |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: Marketing budgets are legitimately being challenged as the value of these expenditures to the organization is less than clear. The purpose of this course is to a) make sure we have a common definition of the metrics being used in marketing today, b) identify metrics that should be used by marketers, c) show how we can use marketing metrics to help shape how much we should be spending and on which marketing activities, d) draw the link from marketing expenditures to the financial well-being of the course, and d) work towards an overall framework for connecting the marketing expenditures to the financial well being of the organization. |
| Format: Lectures; discussions; simulations |
| Prerequisite: MKTG 621 & MKTG 622 |
| Materials: Required Text: Marketing Metrics: 50+ Metrics Every Executive Should Master, Wharton School Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-13-187370-9
Required Material: Course bulk pack
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| MKTG 894 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Special Topics: Entertainment and Sports Marketing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: The Entertainment and Sports industry has become the United States’ second largest export product and has grown to nearly $500 billion in worldwide revenues. Coupled with its global economic significance, the excitement, glamour and competitiveness of show business arouses intrigue like no other industry. The focus of this new course is two-fold: to provide students with a framework for understanding the unique dynamics, structure, delivery systems, and marketing and promotional strategies that shape the entertainment and sports industries; and to examine how organizations who do not deliver entertainment as a core product, leverage sports and entertainment properties to advance separate and distinct marketing objectives. The course is divided into six topics: Business Models and Industry Structure; Television; Media and Public Relations; Corporate Sponsorships, Promotions and Event Marketing; Talent; and Licensing and Merchandising. |
| Format: Lecture, class discussion, and guest speakers.
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| Requirements: Three one-page papers and one team project.
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| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently. |
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| MKTG 895 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Media and Entertainment Field Projects |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: M&E Field Projects is a full credit experiential learning course comprised of high visibility, team projects in the media and entertainment industries, integrated with an individualized mentor program and select guest speaker give-and-take classroom discussions. |
| Format: Most classes will consist of individual team meetings to discuss field projects, guest speaker give-and-take discussions, and any other related questions. Students should be versed in the latest news and events by reading the industry trades regularly. Publications, like The Myers Report, Variety and Billboard, are usually provided to students at a discount or on a free trial basis. |
| Requirements: The focal point of the course is a team project that provides students hands-on, high visibility experience in the media and entertainment industries. |
| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently.
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| MKTG 898 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Forecasting Methods for Marketing |
| Faculty: Staff |
| Description: Better forecasting can lead to better short-term and long-term planning and, in turn, to better decision-making. Forecasting Methods for Marketing examines judgmental forecasting methods such as prediction markets, analogies, intentions, and expectations. The course also examines quantitative methods such as extrapolation and econometric, with the latter as especially useful for assessing the effects of changes in key variables such as pricing or advertising. These methods can be used to forecast consumer behavior, market share, and sales (for production and inventory control). They can also be used to forecast actions by competitors, governments, unions, and retailers. Recently developed methods have been shown to substantially improve accuracy and to provide better assessments of risk. |
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| MKTG 899 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Independent Study |
| Faculty:
Gayton
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Reed II
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Williams
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| Description: A student contemplating an independent study project must first find a faculty member who agrees to supervise and approve the student’s written proposal as an independent study (MKTG 899). If a student wishes the proposed work to be used to meet the ASP requirement, he/she should then submit the approved proposal to the MBA adviser who will determine if it is an appropriate substitute. Such substitution will only be approved prior to the beginning of the semester. |
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