OFFICE: 234 Business Building
OFFICE HOURS: 9:00-10:00 and 2:00-3:00 TH
PHONE: (334) 844-4035

TEXT: Kerin & Peterson, Strategic Marketing Problems: Cases and Comments, 7th edition (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1995.

PREREQUISITES: You are required to sign-off on the departmental prerequisite form certifying that you have successfully completed the required prerequisites for this course. A 2.0 cumulative GPA is also required for admission in this course.

PERSONAL DATA INFORMATION: Each student is required to provide the instructor with selected personal data. This information briefly outlines your work experience, education and expectations for the course. This data is used by the instructor to customize the course content to address the needs of the class. All collected information is confidential. You may transmit this data electronically by linking to the STUDENT REGISTRY by clicking here or you may provide the requested information to the instructor in writing within one week of the beginning of the term.

COURSE OBJECTIVE: The basic objective of this capstone course is to integrate the collection of knowledge you have acquired in your marketing and other business courses into an analytical, decision-making framework. As the prerequisites for this course are MT331, MT341, MT373, MT436 and 15 hours of departmental electives, it is assumed that you have sufficient background to deal with a variety of "marketing problems" in a decision-making environment. If an assigned case deals with a subject area with which you are not familiar, it is your responsibility to research and review the available literature on the topic. The lecture format will be limited to the first two or three weeks of class. Beyond this time, student presentations of cases will be utilized in class. The instructor's primary role during case presentations will be to guide the direction of class discussion of assigned materials and evaluate the quality of student input to the classroom experience. For a copy of the COURSE CALENDAR click here.

CASES: Every student will be responsible for thoroughly preparing each assigned case before coming into class. As mentioned above, student presentations and case discussions will constitute the bulk of class time. One or more "practice cases" will be assigned in the earlier part of the quarter to orient students as to the proper method(s) of analysis and presentation. Thereafter, individuals/teams will be assigned the responsibility of presenting the case to the rest of the class. You will be assigned to teams of up to five individuals to work on case materials assigned each class day. Those individuals who are not assigned the responsibility of presenting the day's case are expected and required to be thoroughly prepared to critique and discuss the case after the presentation team has finished its delivery.

GRADE DETERMINATION: Your grade for the course will be determined by a combination of inputs. Class involvement weighs heavily upon your assigned grade in this course so attendance and preparation are musts. You will be assessed daily on the quality of your performance on case presentations, critiques, and class comments.Two within-term exams and a final will be administered in this course. The following weights will be used in determining your grade for MT498:

1st Exam.............................20%
2nd Exam............................20%
Class participation grade......10%
First case presentation..........15%
Second case presentation.....15%
Final Exam...........................20%

Click here for the CASE and EXAM ASSIGNMENTS. This file gives the case and team assignments for the entire quarter. This schedule also identifies the cases that will be used in each of the three examinations (two within-term and one final). Mark these dates on your calendar and plan accordingly. No make-up exams will be given. If you miss an exam due to an excused absence then the lost weight will be distributed across the other two exams.

Click here for a detailed discussion of the PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS and GRADING STANDARDS for the case presentations. This file provides numerous hints to improve your presentation content and performance. Additionally it gives the specific weights for determining each presentation's grade. It is extremely important that you read and understand this information.

For a discussion of the general CLASS PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS click here. This file offers specifics about the importance of your preparation for each day's class. Remember, your classroom participation accounts for a full 10% of your grade. Read this information carefully and respond accordingly.