MARKETING MANAGEMENT FORMATIVE ASSIGNMENT
Please read these instructions carefully and ask questions if you are unsure about anything. Most errors occur because instructions are not followed. Before you submit your assignment, reread the instructions to make sure you have fulfilled all the requirements.
You are a marketing consultant hired to create a sustainable marketing plan for an organisation of your choice. This assignment addresses the first part of that i.e. your ability to research and analyze the organisation and its stakeholders.
Organisation Selection
You may select ANY organization as long as it meets these 5 criteria:
1. It can NOT be an organization discussed in class, such as Fiji Water, or Better World Books.
2. It can NOT be a company you have ever worked for or owned, past or present. You need to show that you can analyze outside organizations. However, you can select one of your company's competitors.
3. It may be for-profit or non-profit. It may even be an idea (like literacy) or a person (like a celebrity).
4. If you select a large multinational corporation, it is important that you pick just ONE of its products in just ONE of its markets. For example, Apple Corporation is too large for a short paper; the iPhone in China is more manageable.
5. Make sure first that you can find enough information about the organization. This is critical. Many students complain at the last minute that they can't find any information online or from other people. Don't complain - just pick another organization, and start researching as soon as possible. Don't wait until too late to discover you don't have enough sources to support your paper. You might want to consider analyzing a B-Corporation, since there is often more written about them online, although do be aware that financial data may not be very available.
Required Elements
For each question, provide specific details and data, and support your arguments with research and references.
I. Cover Sheet. Do NOT include your name here or anywhere in your paper. Be sure to include a title (including the name of the organization) and the date you completed your paper.
II. Introduction. Describe your organisation in approximately two or three sentences for the benefit of the reader. Keep this brief!
III. Triple Bottom Line Analysis (20 marks). Be very specific about this if you can.
a) Profit: Critically analyse the financial performance of your organisation. In doing this you should provide and critically analyse key facts and numbers, stating whether you think the organisation is under-performing or over-performing, and why.
b) Planet: Critically analyse the performance of your organisation in terms of its environmental impact. In doing this you should provide and critically analyse key facts and numbers, stating whether you think the organisation's performance is net-negative or net-positive on this bottom line, and why.
c) People: Critically analyse the performance of your organisation in terms of its social/people related impact. In doing this you should provide and critically analyse key facts and numbers, stating whether you think the organisation's performance is net-negative or net-positive on this bottom line, and why.
IV. 4C's Stakeholders Analysis (20 marks). Be very specific in this analysis too and follow the brief's requirements closely- here and elsewhere. You're being asked to conduct market research here, not write an essay about business in general.
a) Organisation Analysis: This is NOT an organisational history. Rather, list your organisation's key internal stakeholders, and critically evaluate ONE in detail, looking critically at who they are and what they want from the organisation.
b) Community Analysis: List your organisation's significant external stakeholders (other than competitors and customers, which you will analyze below), and critically evaluate ONE in detail, again looking critically at what they want from the organisation.
c) Customer Analysis: List your organisation's target customer segments, and critically evaluate ONE in detail. Include BOTH quantitative details (demographics, financial data, etc.) and qualitative details (needs, habits, etc.) in your analysis of your chosen segment.
d) Competitor Analysis: List the organization's competitors (direct and a few indirect), and critically evaluate ONE in detail, including an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. nb everyone has competitors.
IX. Reference Notes + Bibliography. Minimum 5 authoritative and relevant sources. Include reference notes in the body of the paper (for example: Costa 2008) with a complete bibliography at the end. Be sure to use the proper Harvard reference formatting discussed in the Expectations + Guidelines for the course. Points will be deducted for incorrect referencing and for citing poor sources (absolutely no Wikipedia).
Important Notes
• Please write your paper in clearly marked sections, not as one continuous essay. Please stick to the order presented in this assessment brief.Do not add unnecessary sections.
• Your word limit for this paper is 1,840 words, plus 10% extra if you need them. Since your words are limited, do not waste them by providing general marketing definitions or theories - just conduct your analysis as set out in the assignment brief. Your cover sheet, reference notes, and bibliography do NOT count toward your word total. Words in tables, charts, and the introduction DO count.
• As shown above, in your final assessment marks shall be allocated across the two sections as follows
50% Triple bottom line analysis
50% Stakeholders analysis
It would be sensible to allocate words in a similar fashion.
All those negative notes aside, please select an organisation that interests you so that researching them proves valuable and even enjoyable...