Course syllabus - Contemporary Issues in Marketing

Objectives

The purpose of this course is to give the student an overview of contemporary issues in marketing with a focus on - but not limited to - consumer behaviour and service marketing..
Another purpose is to develop the students personal skills in concerns to oral and written presentations; critical and analytical thinking; information search; scrutinizing material, and; group work.
An overall purpose is to stimulate an interactive study approach to:
- enhance exchange of values and thoughts;
- give insight into a different ways of living, and;
- give the student the possibility to develop a comprehensive understanding of different cultures.

Learning outcomes

After this course the student should be able to:
- demonstrate the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity when evaluating different alternatives concerning adapting an offer to the consumer based on their culture and consumer behaviour;
- apply suitable theories and models from the course literature, and other collected and scrutinized material and carry out an examination of a store and evaluate how their design corresponds to this material;
- apply suitable theories and models from the course literature, and other collected and scrutinized material and carry out an investigation of a company's marketing of their services;
- formulate judgements with incomplete data concerning a consumer behaviour and service marketing;
- communicate and present (both orally and in writing) his/her conclusions and underpinnings (on the above mentioned learning outcomes), to specialist and non-specialist international audiences clearly and unambiguously;
- peer-review the work of fellow students as well as argue for and discuss about his/her own contribution in each learning activity, and;
- collect information about contemporary issues in marketing and describe and discuss these in front of an audience, and;
- study in a manner that is largely self-directed and autonomous, which means that the student is expected to take responsibility for his/her own studies, and also indirectly for other students learning and development by taking an active part in different course activities.

Course content

- Discuss and analyse the concepts regarding contemporary issues in marketing based on the student's own findings.
- To some extent perform business intelligence by collecting and analysing information related to external environment of a business
- Create models to deal with marketing issues with a focus on - but not limited to - consumer behaviour and service marketing.
- The course contains 30% applied business administration.

Tuition

Seminar activity: During the seminars, the student must be ready to engage in discussion about the course material. 1/3 of the groups grade is based on their chairmanship, 2/3 are based on individual performance. Participation is mandatory and includes: physical attendance; involvement in classroom activities and discussions.

Group project: The assignment consists of writing a paper (or papers) about a certain topic distributed by the teachers. The assignment will be presented (orally and in writing) during a final seminar. On the seminar the students also peer-review and scrutinize another group's paper. Presence during the final seminar is mandatory.

Written exam: The final written exam might contain multiple choice, short answer and essay questions. The exam should give the student the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills he/she has acquired during the learning activities. Two opportunities for make-up exams are given if the student is absent from or fail the written exam.

Specific requirements

Business Administration 90 credits with gradual progression, at least 75 credits must be completed at the beginning of the course. Of these, at least 22.5 credits at level G1F and at least 15 credits at Level G2F. In addition, English course B/English course 6.

Examination

Written exam (TEN1), 3 credits, marks Pass (G) or Pass with distinction (VG)
Group project (GRU1), 2,5 credits, marks Pass (G) or Pass with distinction (VG)
Seminar activity (SEM1) , 2 credits, marks Pass (G) or Pass with distinction (VG)

A student who has a certificate from MDU regarding a disability has the opportunity to submit a request for supportive measures during written examinations or other forms of examination, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations for Examinations at First-cycle and Second-cycle Level at Mälardalen University (2020/1655). It is the examiner who takes decisions on any supportive measures, based on what kind of certificate is issued, and in that case which measures are to be applied.

Suspicions of attempting to deceive in examinations (cheating) are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, and are examined by the University’s Disciplinary Board. If the Disciplinary Board considers the student to be guilty of a disciplinary offence, the Board will take a decision on disciplinary action, which will be a warning or suspension.

Grade

Pass with distinction, Pass, Fail