Faculty
Dr. Stefan Schwarzkopf

Course Coordinator
Dr. Stefan Schwarzkopf

This is the core marketing class in the BSc IB programme. The course takes students from mundane problems in daily marketing activity to discovering the underlying theoretical issues behind marketing as practice and science. The course places heavy emphasis on analysing global cultural and social patterns and their impact on marketing strategy. The basic course goals are therefore to provide a comprehensive analysis of the basic principles of marketing-related activities within firms, with specific consideration given to problems in international marketing. In particular, the impact of cultural differences and macro-social patterns on global marketing activities will be discussed.

As part of this general larger goal of the course, students will gain: an understanding of the key components of the global marketing mix and their use in marketing; knowledge of the role of new product planning and market research as key support activities in an overall marketing program; the ability to assess advantages and disadvantages of various market entry strategies and market entry modes; knowledge of new forms of global brand communication and consumer behaviour; knowledge of the role new technologies play in global marketing activities; and an understanding of the role of marketing and of new forms of knowledge and intellectual property regimes for the competitive advantage of a firm.

The course will cover the following main subject areas:

The above described course content directly supports the four learning goals of the Batchelor in International Business: Practical application of theory, learning in relation to practical business settings (learning through case studies), a clear focus on an international economic and business perspective, and research-based teaching (fulfilled through class readings which incorporate contemporary research articles in the field of international marketing).

The course is based on a combination of lectures, case workshops, class discussions and student presentations.

The use of the case method in particular calls for each student, individually, to carefully read and think about each of the provided cases. In addition, student groups will be formed (with a maximum size of five students). The purpose of these groups is to help each member define, adjust and amplify his or her own thinking.

The concept of student and discussion groups is to develop teamwork skills, used in companies for problem solving. An effective group will employ the skills of each member for a synergistic effect. A certain business case will be discussed each week during the class. Each group will then be given a specific question relating to one of the cases we discussed between week 4 and 10. Each group’s written case analysis and student presentation will present a thorough outline of the answer (or possible answers) to that question.

In order for a student to receive a grade 12 in the exam, the student has to display full knowledge of the marketing theories and models discussed in class. Exam answers that present only partial knowledge, however well written or presented, are by definition not considered for a grade 12. In addition, exam papers considered for a grade 12 must provide full answers of all exam questions at a level which is judged as ‘excellent’ (not merely ‘good’ or ‘very good’) throughout the entire paper. If parts of the exam questions are left unaddressed the paper can not be considered for a grade 12.

Both the first marker (Eksaminator) and the second marker (Censor) will take into account that students have a full four hours (240 min) available and their textbooks and notes at hand to answer the exam questions. Students are also reminded that the marking process is objective since two markers look at the papers independently. Students, therefore, can not be the judges of their own performance but will have to leave this judgement to the first- and second marker.

The learning objectives of this course are defined by the following cognitive and practical skills: students must show the ability to appropriately meet the objectives of assignments (exam questions in this case). Exam papers that fail to address the question(s) will not be considered for a pass. Students will have to show themselves capable of correctly applying the following marketing-related models and theories:

In addition, the learning objectives of this course include capabilities such as organizing one’s thoughts and arguments in a logical sequence, based on evidence and supported by examples. Writing skills (spelling, grammar, punctuation, language skills) are as important as cognitive skills and students will have to demonstrate the ability to organize their arguments in a structured (paragraph and sentence construction) as well as critical fashion. In other words, students have to be able to avoid exam answers that merely copy the textbook without providing critical engagement with and application of textbook-based knowledge.

Written 4-hour open book exam, graded by internal and external examiner on the 7-point scale. The make-up and re-examination takes place according to the same rules as the regular examination.

Students are allowed to bring textbooks, lecture notes and dictionaries. Electronic devices (Laptop and Personal Computers etc.) are not allowed except for non-programmable calculators.