The goal of the FINAL PROJECT is to give students the opportunity to engage in experiential learning, understanding how the abstract components learned in class impact business decisions and the success of the company.
The goal of the FINAL PROJECT is to give students the opportunity to engage in experiential learning, understanding how the abstract components learned in class impact business decisions and the success of the company. In doing so, students will have the opportunity to develop critical thinking, participate effectively in meetings, formulate arguments building on others’ opinions, justify choices and strategic positions, empathize with the audience, and learn how to communicate professionally in written and oral formats.
The final project will consist of a marketing plan and its subsequent application in a marketing simulation. You will use the information provided in the simulation to perform an industry, competitive, and STP analysis for MM, the target company in the simulation. This analysis will inform your proposed strategic direction, positioning in the market, and decisions in the simulation.
The simulation is organized in quarters and runs through 13 quarters (3 full years + 1 quarter). Students should follow the plan as they set up the decisions on the game. Changes to the direction and positioning should be thought-through and justifiable.
After playing the simulation, groups will make a presentation about their performance. The presentation should mimic a report of performance to the board of the company.
All groups will watch the presentation. Each group will play the role of a board member by asking a question for the presenting group and grading the group’s response to the question.
Accordingly, the final project will have the following graded components:
o Written plan: 30 points
o Presentation to the board: 30 points
o Questions as a board member: 10 points
o Response to board’s questions (graded by students): 20 points
o Group performance on the simulation: 10 points
Please find below details on each of these components.
WRITTEN PLAN
Company and industry analysis (0.5 – 1 page)
WRITTEN PROJECT DELIVERABLES
PRESENTATION
Describe the ideal strategic direction, positioning, and intended value proposition for MM.
BOARD Q&A
RUBRICS OF WRITTEN PROJECT
RUBRICS OF PRESENTATION
The written plan should have the components below (Between parentheses, you will find an indication of the expected length of each section).
Describe the industry where the company operates.
Analyze and describe the company and its characteristics.
Analyze and identify the company’s desired strategic direction, as indicated in the letter of the CEO.
Segmentation (1 – 2 pages)
Describe the market segments and examine their attractiveness.
In doing so, make sure you consider the segment’s potential for profit margin, the volume of sales, market growth potential (i.e., untapped sales), and customer satisfaction.
Identify the companies’ relative competitive advantage in each segment (1 – 2 pages)
Identify and describe the relative competitive advantage of MM in each segment.
Identify and describe the competitor’s competitive advantage in each segment.
Identify the ideal strategic direction for MM (1 – 2 pages)
Identify and describe the ideal strategic direction, positioning, and intended value proposition for MM.
In doing so, make sure you take into consideration:
The mandate from the CEO (per letter of the CEO).
The optimal strategic direction and value proposition for your competitor.
Anticipate the competitive dynamic of the industry.
Detail how each of the factors above informed your decisions.
The marketing program (2 – 3 pages)
Describe how the simulation decisions were influenced by the strategic direction and value proposition.
Summarize the changes (year-over-year) in KPIs.
Evaluate how the simulation decisions contributed to performance.
Examine the influence of uncontrollable factors and how the group was (or was not) prepared for them.
Make recommendations for the future strategic direction of the company given the current scenario.
Suggest target KPI goals for the next fiscal year.
Identify and describe how the chosen positioning and value proposition will impact every decision in the simulation (listed on “DECIDE” tab).
First submission: Students have to submit a final project for feedback on November 1st.
Final submission: Students will have the opportunity to revise the written project based on the feedback received. The delivery of the final project is scheduled for December 11th. Groups are encouraged to submit earlier; I will grade projects as soon as I receive them.
The goal of the presentation is to inform the board members about the performance of the marketing team over the course of the simulation, as well as inform the plans for the future. Please find below the components of the presentation.
Tip: Be mindful of the graphs that will be included in the presentation. Think about how the graph contributes to your presentation. Identify aspects of the graph that might be more difficult to understand and clarify. Highlight the most important aspects of the graph. Potentially modify graphs if needed.
The goal of the Board Q&A is to give an opportunity for students to practice critical thinking. The secondary goal of the Q&A is to improve students’ communication abilities. This is how the dynamic will take place:
The group will finish the presentation and will exit the room.
Each group who watched the presentation will play the role of a member of the board. To that end, the group members will discuss their thoughts about the presentation and will formulate one question.
Make sure to consider the letter of the CEO when formulating the question.
A random board member (i.e., each group) will ask the chosen question and give the opportunity to the presenting group to respond.
Each board member (i.e., each group) will submit to the professor a grade from 0-20 on how well they think the presenting group addressed the questions from all board members (i.e., all groups).
The professor will grade the quality of each board member (i.e., each group) on a grade from 0-10.
The professor will average the board member’s grades, composing their final “Response to board’s questions” grade (0-20).
Component
Weight
Description
Criteria
Company and Industry Analysis
20%
This section should describe the industry where the company operates, analyze and describe the company and its characteristics, and analyze and identify the company’s desired strategic direction, as indicated in the letter of the CEO.
4: Comprehensive and insightful analysis of the industry and company, with clear identification of the desired strategic direction. 3: Thorough analysis of the industry and company, with identification of the desired strategic direction. 2: Adequate analysis of the industry and company, with some identification of the desired strategic direction. 1: Limited analysis of the industry and company, with minimal identification of the desired strategic direction. 0: Inadequate analysis of the industry and company, with little to no identification of the desired strategic direction.
Segmentation
20%
This section should describe the market segments and examine their attractiveness, considering factors such as potential for profit margin, volume of sales, market growth potential, and customer satisfaction.
4: Comprehensive and insightful description of market segments, with thorough examination of their attractiveness. 3: Thorough description of market segments, with examination of their attractiveness. 2: Adequate description of market segments, with some examination of their attractiveness. 1: Limited description of market segments, with minimal examination of their attractiveness. 0: Inadequate description of market segments, with little to no examination of their attractiveness.
Relative Competitive Advantage
20%
This section should identify and describe the relative competitive advantage of MM in each segment, as well as that of its competitors.
4: Comprehensive and insightful identification and description of relative competitive advantage for MM and its competitors in each segment. 3: Thorough identification and description of relative competitive advantage for MM and its competitors in each segment. 2: Adequate identification and description of relative competitive advantage for MM and its competitors in some segments. 1: Limited identification and description of relative competitive advantage for MM and its competitors in few segments. 0: Inadequate identification and description of relative competitive advantage for MM and its competitors in any segment.
Ideal Strategic Direction
20%
This section should identify and describe the ideal strategic direction, positioning, and intended value proposition for MM, taking into consideration factors such as the mandate from the CEO, optimal strategic direction for competitors, and anticipated competitive dynamic in the industry.
4: Comprehensive and insightful identification and description of ideal strategic direction, positioning, and value proposition for MM, with thorough consideration of relevant factors. 3: Thorough identification and description of ideal strategic direction, positioning, and value proposition for MM, with consideration of relevant factors. 2: Adequate identification or description of ideal strategic direction, positioning or value proposition for MM, with some consideration of relevant factors. 1: Limited identification or description of ideal strategic direction, positioning or value proposition for MM, with minimal consideration of relevant factors. 0: Inadequate identification or description of ideal strategic direction, positioning or value proposition for MM, with little to no consideration of relevant factors.
Marketing Program
20%
This section should identify how the chosen positioning/value proposition will impact every decision in simulation listed on “DECIDE” tab.
4: Comprehensive/insightful identification how chosen positioning/value proposition will impact every decision in simulation listed on “DECIDE” tab.3 Thorough identification how chosen positioning/value proposition will impact every decision in simulation listed on “DECIDE” tab.2 Adequate identification how chosen positioning/value proposition will impact some decisions in simulation listed on “DECIDE” tab.1 Limited identification how chosen positioning/value proposition will impact few decisions in simulation listed on “DECIDE” tab.0 Inadequate identification how chosen positioning/value proposition will impact any decisions in simulation listed on “DECIDE” tab.
a. Ideal Strategic Direction, Positioning, and Value Proposition (15 points)
0-5 points: Incomplete or incorrect description of the ideal strategic direction, positioning, and value proposition.
6-10 points: Basic understanding of the ideal strategic direction, positioning, and value proposition but lacks depth or detail.
11-15 points: Clear and thorough understanding of the ideal strategic direction, positioning, and value proposition.
b. Influence of Strategic Direction and Value Proposition on Simulation Decisions (10 points)
0-3 points: Limited or no discussion of how the strategic direction and value proposition influenced simulation decisions.
4-6 points: Unclear link between strategic direction and value proposition and simulation decisions.
7-10 points: Clear and detailed discussion of how the strategic direction and value proposition influenced simulation decisions.
c. Changes in KPIs (10 points)
0-3 points: Incomplete or incorrect summary of changes in KPIs.
4-6 points: Correct summary of changes in KPIs but lack of graphs to communicate them more persuasively.
7-10 points: Clear and detailed summary of changes in KPIs with proper use of graphs.
d. Evaluation of Simulation Decisions (15 points)
0-5 points: Limited or no discussion of how simulation decisions contributed to performance.
6-10 points: Basic understanding of how simulation decisions contributed to performance but lacks depth or detail.
11-15 points: Clear and detailed evaluation of how simulation decisions contributed to performance.
e. Examination of Uncontrollable Factors (10 points)
0-3 points: Incomplete or incorrect examination of uncontrollable factors.
4-6 points: Basic understanding of uncontrollable factors but lack of depth on their link to performance.
7-10 points: Clear and detailed examination of uncontrollable factors and their link to performance. Full acknowledgment of how the group could have prepared for them.
f. Recommendations for Future Strategic Direction (20 points)
0-7 points: Limited or no recommendations provided for future strategic direction.
8-14 points: Basic recommendations provided for future strategic direction but lacks a clear reflection on how past decisions impacted performance.
15-20 points: Clear and detailed recommendations provided for the future strategic direction that is obviously grounded on past performance.
g. Target KPI Goals for Next Fiscal Year (20 points)
0-7 points: Limited or no suggested target KPI goals for the next fiscal year.
8-14 points: Basic suggested target KPI goals for next fiscal year but targets are unrealistic or not linked to the company goals.
15-20 points: Clear and detailed suggested target KPI goals for the next fiscal year that are obviously linked to the company’s goals.
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