Winter 2006 Instructor:
Stephen K. Kim
Marketing Channels
(BA494/594) Office:
Bexell 402
Phone:737-6060(o)754-3386
(h)
737-4890
(fax)
email:
Class meets: 2-3:50
Tu, Th
Office Hours: 1:00 –
2:00 Mo; 2:00 – 3:00 We; 3:00-4:00 Fr
and by appointment
Course Description
This course is an integrative view of marketing channels.
The course examines various channel institutions, marketing channel design,
channel coordination and implementation, and performance evaluation with
special reference to business-to-business market and technology. It is designed
to be a comprehensive course embodying lecture, class discussion, case analyses,
and a term project.
Required Course Materials:
Rosenbloom, Marketing
Channels, (7th edition, Southwestern, 2004). available at OSU bookstore.
Friedman, Go to Market
Strategy, (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002), available later at OSU bookstore.
Course Packet of Harvard
Business School Cases, available at OSU Bookstore
The Wall Street
Journal - We rely heavily on articles from WSJ for
reading. Sign-up sheet will be available at the first class meeting.
For graduate
students: Wheeler and Hirsch, Channel Champions, (1st
edition, Jossey-Bass, 1999)
Suggested
Learning
Outcomes:
1) Knowledge on the fundamental concepts and terms on marketing channels
2) Knowledge on the design and management of marketing channels
3) Hands-on experience on analyzing an existing channel and/or designing a
new channel
Course
Guidelines:
1) Come to class and
participate.
2) Be courteous when someone
else is speaking; avoid "side" conversations as much as possible.
3) The syllabus is intended to
provide a loose outline of what to expect. So be prepared for deviations. We
will need to move certain topics around depending on your preferences and
course requirements.
4) No handwritten or late
submission will be accepted. No makeup
exams will be given unless the student has a reason to justify the absence on
the exam time such as serious illness.
Course Elements:
I. Class Lectures
and Participation:
It
is highly recommended that you attend all scheduled class sessions because the
course lends itself to a high level of discussion. PARTICIPATION IS IMPORTANT.
Students are expected to participate in everyday class discussion. Students must be prepared to discuss the
assigned chapter readings, articles, and cases at all times.
II. Readings
The text, cases, and article readings are important and should be read before class. The text will provide you with much more detailed information than you will get from the lectures. This will make everything easier to understand and will help you with to be better prepared for the classes and examinations.
III. Examinations and Quizzes
There will be a midterm and a final
exam. They will include questions over
subject matter covered in the textbook, lectures, and reading assignments. The
exams will emphasize the material covered in the lectures; however, assigned
materials from the book will be included in the exams, even if it were not
discussed in class. The examination
format will draw from the following types of questions.
1.
Multiple
choice questions and true/false questions designed to test knowledge of
marketing channel concepts and terms.
2.
Short-answer
questions designed to assess students' knowledge and depth of understanding of
material covered in the course.
During the quarter, there will be two quizzes. There will be
ten multiple choice questions in each quiz.
Make-up exams or quizzes will not be given. Missed exam or
quiz will be scored as zero. Always try
to inform me in advance if you have a verifiable reason to miss the exam or
quiz.
III. Presentation
of Go to Market Strategy Book
The reading will give you realistic understanding of marketing channels. Presentation will be done on a group basis (4 students for each team). Each group will choose one chapter of Friedman book. You will read and write one-page report (prepare 35 copies) and present what you have learned from the chapter to class.
The
purpose of case studies is to allow you to analyze an actual problem in marketing
channels and make recommendation, as you would in real life. The case analysis will be done
on a group basis. Each group will
consist of 2 students. The specific details of this course assignment will be
discussed in class. Each group is to choose
one of two Harvard cases from the list and submit one written case analysis.
The case analysis is due at the beginning of the class time in which the case
is discussed. Late papers will not be accepted.
V. Term
Project*
The term project will be done on a group basis. Each group will choose the topic (I will
suggest some in the class) and will do library and/or field research. Each
group will consist of 2 students. The product and market will be chosen by the
group. Your group will hand in a written report of your project.
* I recommend an informal presentation of your project to me
or class to improve quality.
** You do not have to choose
same team members for the case analysis and term project.
Students
enrolling in the course for graduate credit will have separate reading
assignments and their work graded as graduate level standards. The case analyses should go into added detail
that demonstrates that the student fully recognizes and understands the
marketing channels issues. The tests for
the BA 594 students will consist of short-answer questions and essay questions.
Course
Grading*
Points Notes
Team Component
Case Analysis 30
Reading Presentations
20
Term Project 100
Individual
Components
Quizzes 40 20
x 2
Midterm Exam
100
Final Exam
100
_________________________________________________________________________________
TOTAL 390
Grading System
(cutoff scores)
A = 93% (363 points) C = 73% (285 points)
A- = 90% (351 points) C - = 70% (273 points)
B+ = 87% (340 points) D+ = 67% (261 points)
B = 83% (324 points)
D = 64% (250 points)
B- = 80% (312 points) D- = 60% (234 points)
C+ = 77% (300
points) F = < 60% (233 points)
An important note:
The above scores apply to all students and points can only be obtained from
exams, quizzes, case analysis, and book chapter report. There are no other opportunities for
"extra credit" or other projects that can increase your point
score. For this reason, if a student
wants an 'A' or "B," he/she cannot afford to let more than one quiz
slip.
* Total point scores
will be used to determine the student's course grade.
Unsolicited Advice:
You have paid for the
class, take advantage of it by attending every class! Understanding of the
concepts/issues will be greatly enhanced by reading the assigned chapter before
the class and ask the questions you might have during the class. As you see, the class schedule is quite busy,
but none of the assignments are either very difficult, undoable, or unclear. It
simply needs your motivation and commitment of time. My goal is to make sure each of you get a
good grade by sincerely following the course schedule.
All
reading should be prepared before the relevant class. We will not hold to this schedule
exactly so you will be informed of any changes as the class proceeds.
Week of Topic
Rosenbloom
Assignment
Jan 10 Marketing Channel Concepts 1
Jan 12 The Channel Participants
2
Jan 17 New Marketing Channels 15 &16
Jan 19 Strategy in Marketing Channels 5
Jan 24 Marketing Channel Design 6 Quiz 1
Jan 26 Target Markets and Channel Design 8 Proposal Due
Jan 31 Case
Analysis: Matching Dell (B)
Feb 2 Selecting
the Channel Members 7
Feb 7 Mid-term
examination review
Part
III. Channel Management Rosenbloom Friedman
Feb 9 Behavioral Process in Marketing Channels 4 1
Feb 14 Motivating
the Channel Members 9 2
Feb 16 Product
and Pricing Issues 10&11 3
Feb 21 Promotion
Issues 12 4
Feb 23 Case
Analysis: Cisco Systems
Feb 28 Supply
Chain Issues 13 5 Quiz2
Mar 2 Legal
Issues slides 6
Mar 7 Evaluation
of Channel Performance 14
7
Mar 9 Project
Day (No class, but I will be available all day for consultation purpose)
Mar 14 Service
Channels 17 8
Project due
Here are some possible topics
of term projects (You can always develop your own after consulting with me).
1. "Consulting" Case
Analysis: You play the role of a consultant evaluating a firm's existing
channel structure and strategy. (Focus of this project: A particular company)
a) Choose a
company (either manufacturer or distributor). It is also possible to choose the
company you are working for.
b) Talk to people at the company and do research.
c) Find out about the structure and management of the
company's marketing channel.
d) Discuss channel structure/management and problem areas
with the company official.
e) Write a
"consulting" report with analysis and recommendations for improving
the company's channel performance.
2. Distribution Channel
Structure Analysis Project: Apply the principles of channel design to an actual
marketing channel (Focus of this project: analysis of channel structure at the
industry level).
a) Describe the
structure of a particular channel (for a product, or a group of products)
b) Examine the channel structure in terms of the major
variables affecting channel design
c) Write a critical analysis of design using the
"textbook approach" as a benchmark.
3. Hypothetical Channel Design
Project: To design a marketing channel for a new product or services from
scratch
a) Identify a real or hypothetical product or service.
b) Design a marketing channel for the product or service.
c) Present a plan for implementing the chosen design.
4. For graduate students: You
can also write an academic paper on marketing channel issues (from introduction
up to hypothesis development).
* Keep contacting me as you make progress.
** Topics of my current
research: (A) push and pull (b) channel incentives (c) channel communication
(d) channel control
*** I would welcome the study
of international marketing channels (with some caveat).
-END-