In this simulation, you continue in your role of Senior Vice President for Marketing at Enhanced Analytics, Inc., a provider of marketing and consulting services, with headquarters in Austin, Texas. In this role, you report directly to the CEO of the company and are responsible for decision-making and marketing strategy. You oversee a department with 25 employees at the company.
The company's board of directors thinks that a reorganization of the company will improve decision-making and profitability. You have just found out that the board has been in discussions with the company's CEO regarding the appropriate funding level and structure of each department. The activities of each department and office will be reviewed within the next 60 days. A prominent member of the board thinks that funding for the marketing department - your department - should be reduced significantly. In his opinion, primary emphasis and the most funding should go to the management and finance areas.
You disagree. While most funding in your department is used to plan and create specific marketing campaigns, some of the money is spent on training and on keeping your staff up to date on the latest technologies and trends in marketing management. You think both activities are essential and a reduction in funding will be detrimental to the long-term success of the department. A reduction in funding will also result in a need to lay off staff.
In your role as head of the department, you are given an opportunity to present your views. There is an apparent lack of appreciation for marketing among some of the folks who make up the reorganization committee. The CEO of the company admitted as much at breakfast, this morning, when she has asked you to prepare a persuasive presentation to convince the reorganization committee of the importance of marketing within the organization.
Along with your in-person presentation at the committee's next meeting, your task is to prepare a written report for the committee members. Prepare a written report for the members of the reorganization committee, containing the following sections:
1. Marketing Management - introduce the concept of marketing, its importance and application
2. Case Study - introduce and describe an example of a company (choose a well-known company that your audience can easily recognize and relate to) and illustrate how marketing is an essential function within the organization. You may use sources such as the company's annual report, scholarly articles found using Google Scholar and articles from business periodicals, such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and BusinessWeek. Since this is a persuasive report, make sure to use specific data and facts that are both truthful and convincing.
3. Lifelong Learning - explain the importance of continuous learning and of staying up to date in the field of marketing.
4. Conclusion - sum up your key points and ask the committee to maintain or increase the funding for your department. Include outside research to support your ideas and your conclusion. There is no page limit to this assignment. The assignment will be considered well-done if it contains all the required sections, if it is clearly written and your thoughts and ideas are supported by specific data and research.