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MBA Program - Course Descriptions
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| MKTG 621 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Marketing Management |
| Description: This course addresses how to design and implement the best combination of marketing efforts to carry out a firm's strategy in its target markets. Specifically, this course seeks to develop the student's (1) understanding of how the firm can benefit by creating and delivering value to its customers, and stakeholders, and (2) skills in applying the analytical concepts and tools of marketing to such decisions as segmentation and targeting, branding, pricing, distribution, and promotion. The course uses lectures and case discussions, case write-ups, student presentations, and a comprehensive 3 hour final examination to achieve these objectives. |
| Format: Lectures, case analyses, class discussions, and final exam
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| Prerequisite: None. |
| Materials: Course book with cases and other materials. |
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| MKTG 622 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Marketing Management |
| 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 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Integrating Marketing and Operations |
| 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 668 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Monetizing Emerging Interactive Media |
| Description: Technology has created a completely new and ever-changing marketing and media economy. Hundreds of millions of interactive media users have migrated to various digital platforms and spend hours a day engaged in media behaviors that barely existed a short time ago. Hundreds of millions of marketing dollars have followed, usually in search of one-to-one marketing on global scale. But few standards exist in buying and selling of emerging media, and traditional marketing concepts like ROI and POP are pulled in directions as varied as the platforms. Additionally, with every emerging platform and every new user connection, one critical question persists: how is it monetized? This class will examine the business of emerging platforms and, through case studies, class speakers and real world examples, examine how digital currency is taking control of the business conversation. By the end of this class, students will be expected to answer the monetization question across a variety of emerging media platforms. |
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| MKTG 728 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Contagious: How Products, Ideas and Behaviors Catch On |
| Description: Why do some products catch on and achieve huge popularity while others fail? Why do some behaviors spread like wildfire while others languish? How do certain ideas seem to stick in memory while others disappear the minute you hear them? More broadly, what factors lead to trends, social contagion, and social epidemics?
Interactive media, word of mouth, and viral marketing are important issues for companies, brands, and organizations and this course looks at these and other topics as it examines how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and become popular. Marketers want their product to be popular, organizations want their social change initiative to catch on, and entrepreneurs want their ideas to stick.
Along the way, the course will touch on four main aspects:
1.Characteristics of products, ideas, and behaviors that lead them to be successful
2. Aspects of individual psychology that influence what things are successful
3. Interpersonal processes, or how interactions between individuals drive success
4.Social networks, or how patterns of social ties influence success
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| Format: Lecture, class discussion, cases |
| Requirements: Class participation, written assignments, team project |
| Prerequisite: Marketing Research (MKTG756) and Consumer Behavior (MKTG773) are recommended but not required. |
| Materials: Course Pack |
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| MKTG 733 ( Mini-semester - 0.5 cu ) |
| Social Impact of Marketing |
| Description: This course explores the ways in which the marketing actions of firms can have an impact on society (positive or negative). Of particular interest are the actions that are central to the main products and services delivered by the firm (e.g., the development of products and brands, pricing, advertising, and distribution). It adopts a broad perspective on impact that goes beyond the buyer-seller transactions that define specific markets and also assesses impact in the aggregate marketing and social systems within which those transactions occur. For example, many analyses examine how the actions of suppliers further back in the value chain contribute to social impact and become part of branding strategies and consumer perceptions. This course contrasts with courses that focus on strategies for the design and execution of marketing programs for social causes, non-profit and non-governmental organizations or corporate social responsibility initiatives, although the material covered is foundational for such programs.
The course is structured around four problem areas: impact on health and well-being (physical and mental), impact on the environment, impact on culture (including innovation and creativity), and impact on poverty and economic development. In each area, we will identify marketing-related causal factors and assess current knowledge and controversies surrounding those factors. There is also a focus on current metrics for assessing social impact and how specific marketing actions and companies considered in their entirety can be "scored" in terms of their impact on society. Students will learn how to conduct analyses of net social impact.
The course meets twice a week. Typically, one session is lecture and/or a case, and one session is an in-class event (e.g., guest speaker, student presentations, simulation game, etc.). The main deliverables for the course are two position papers and a final short essay evaluating the social impact of companies or products in a specific industry.
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| Format: Lecture, class discussion, simulations, student presentations, guest speakers |
| Prerequisite: MKTG621 or permission from instructor |
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| MKTG 751 ( Mini-semester - .5 ) |
| Sales Force Management |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Description: The primary objective of this course is to provide the students with an opportunity to learn and apply the core theories, strategies, principles and practices of effective advertising management. The course utilizes theory, marketing and communications research, and significant management experience that are relevant to the design, evaluation and management of advertising. The specific topics covered in the course include consumer segmentation and target selection, consumer motivation and insight, developing a powerful communications strategy and advertising idea, evaluating and optimizing advertising execution, and developing a targeted and effective consumer connections and media plan. |
| Format: Class discussion and presentation center around the core subjects of the advertising development process. |
| Requirements: Malcom: Active participation in class and case discussions; one/two individual assignments, one group written case evaluation and one group developed advertising and connection/media plan for a new or existing product. 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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| Materials: Texts and course pack |
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| MKTG 756 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Marketing Research |
| 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 760 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Law Of Marketing and Antitrust |
| 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 768 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| SPECIAL TOPICS: Managing the Value of Customer Relationships |
| Description: (Fader/Peres) As the concept of “customer relationship management” becomes common parlance for virtually every kind of company, it is useful to take a step back to better understand the various different behaviors that underlie and motivate the development of formal CRM systems. These “behaviors” include customer-level decisions, firm actions, and the delicate but complex interplay between the two. Accordingly the course is comprised of three main modules: (1) understanding the sources and dynamics of customer value, (2) how firms create and enhance customer value, and (3) strategic/tactical considerations in managing the value creation/extraction process. The course content will be rigorous but not excessively analytical, “real world” practical but with an eye towards relevant academic work, and narrowly focused on CRM-type issues but with broad coverage of industries/applications in which they arise. Syllabus
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| MKTG 771 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Models for Marketing Strategy |
| 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 apply 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. The course is not only about models. It also covers modeling needs in a number of industries. In particular, it addresses the packaged goods, pharmaceutical and movie industries. |
| Format: Evaluating marketing models; practicing with 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Description: Global marketing is an extremely demanding discipline but, from a career standpoint, one which is both challenging and rewarding. Inherent to the success of any global marketing professional, yet many times overlooked and/or underappreciated, is the critical nature of human understanding and relationships in business planning and execution. This is especially relevant in today’s business environment when you consider the dual multinational company imperative of continued revenue and profit growth in mature markets and successfully expanding into new growth and emerging markets. This course assumes an understanding of marketing principles and some exposure to and appreciation of the global environment. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding of how the global environment (particularly cultural diversity) affects the application of marketing principles and business practice on a global basis and the competencies necessary to be a successful global manager. |
| Format: Cases, lectures, discussions.
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| Requirements: Class Participation, Individual or team project, exam and/or assignment |
| Prerequisite: Completion of MKTG 621; MKTG 622 concurrently.
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| Materials: Textbook and course pack. |
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| MKTG 792 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| SPECIAL TOPICS: Visual Aesthetics and Style in Retail Merchandising |
| Description: This course is a visual and practical approach to understanding global styles and it involves readings, active participation in the creation of lifestyle boards, brand books, exercises to develop all the senses and the development of a total style concept. Students will be exposed to the Whitaker Lifestyle Segmentation of the Global Consumer system and will learn:
• How to anticipate and predict consumers needs and their style evolution.
• How to identify new retail opportunities.
• How to create innovative retail concepts and brands.
• How to merchandise the appropriate products for a specific lifestyle.
• How to develop your intuition and creative power.
In addition, students will critically evaluate this style segmentation system and compare it to other segmentation approaches This course is relevant for students interested in developing their intuition and creativity. The topics of this course are a foundation for anyone working in any area of the retail industry: marketing, merchandising, visual merchandising, store design, planning, advertising, etc.
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| Format: Lecture plus experiential learning |
| Prerequisite: None |
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| MKTG 793 ( Mini-semester - 0.5 ) |
| Retailing |
| 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 - 1.5 ) |
| Advanced Study Project (ASP) in Marketing |
| 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 ( Full-semester - 2 ) |
| Thesis |
| 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 |
| Description: The objective of this course is to enhance the students' creativity, ability to innovate, and ability to identify, recruit, develop, manage, retain, and collaborate with creative people. The course includes: (1) Interaction with creative guest lecturers from diverse fields. (2) A review of the literature on creativity, creative people, innovation, and design as well as the leadership and management of creative people and innovation. (3) Hands on learning of approaches for generating creative new products/services and business ideas. (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, business, and life. The purpose of these sessions is to explore the applications of creative approaches to marketing, advertising, cost reduction efforts, M&A and strategic alliances, organizational design, and management challenges. Given the current global financial crisis and economic recession, much of the applications are going to focus on what corporations (and public policy decision makers) should do to creatively address their challenges. (5) Integration – Both via individual assignments and a group project in which interdisciplinary teams of students generate a creative product/ service/ business/strategy. |
| Format: Lecture, class discussion, guest speakers |
| Requirements: Team and individual projects, class participation |
| Prerequisite: None |
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| MKTG 896 ( Mini-semester - 0.5 ) |
| Retail Merchandising |
| Description: This course provides a detailed introduction to the role of merchandising at various retailers, including apparel and other softlines businesses, grocery stores, mass-merchandisers and "catagory killers". Selected topics may include product development, line planning, sourcing, product lifecycle, forecasting, planning and allocation, pricing and markdowns, vendor relations |
| Prerequisite: MKTG621 or MKTG793 |
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| MKTG 898 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Forecasting Methods for Marketing |
| 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, structured analogies, simulated interactions, 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, unions, and retailers. We will examin such topics as: how to predict success of CEO's, presidential elections, terorism and climate change. Recently developed methods have been shown to substantially improve accuracy and to provide better assessments of risk. |
| Format: Lectures, discussions, cases |
| Requirements: Final exam |
| Prerequisite: None |
| Materials: Course pack, book |
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| MKTG 899 ( Full-semester - 1.0 ) |
| Independent Study |
| 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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