Individual Assignment Details
This document contains the details for the individual assignment for BUMK5902 Marketing Management for semester 1 2019. Included are aspects such as:
• The assignment requirements;
• How they meet the Learning Outcomes—refer to the course description;
• How the assignments are to be formatted; and
• How it will be assessed by using an Assessment Criteria Sheet.
You must read this in conjunction with the Course Description which contains other pertinent information on submission, etc. It is your responsibility to fully acquaint yourself with these requirements. If you are not clear on any aspect please speak with your lecturer.
Overview of the Assignment
Critical to marketing are the concepts of:
1. Customer value—the value the organisation provides customers; and
2. Value proposition—in brief, that bundle of ‘things’ that an organisation provides its customers (segments) that encourages customers to buy more, be loyal and recommend its products/services.
There is another customer value concept but it’s from an organisation’s perspective, i.e. the financial value the customer generates for the organisation. In this course we will only touch on this concept rather than delve into it as it is worthy of a specialised course by itself.
The individual assignment requires you to gain a firm grasp of customer value and value proposition by reading the assigned journal article, referring to other relevant articles and texts on these topics, answering questions about the Office Depot case and conducting your own ‘research’ about the value provided by the supermarket you shop at. The Office Depot case will be discussed in class.
If marketers can identify the correct target segments and have a deep understanding of these customers, e.g. what value they seek, then they should be able to construct an appropriate value proposition so that the firm develops, communicates, prices and delivers the value its customers are seeking. Being able to consistently deliver the desired value, above and beyond what competitors provide will give rise to a competitive advantage, and ultimately, to far better financial returns (profits and/or shareholder value).
General Formatting Requirements for the Report
For those students who are unfamiliar or do not feel confident with academic writing, there are a number of sources on the Federation University and Library websites. Broadly speaking, the formatting of assignments should adhere to the following requirements:
• Report format—business (not an essay)
• Follow the headings outlined under the Assignment Instructions section
• Use a report Title page containing all of the relevant information
• The Executive Summary is placed before the Table of Contents and does not contribute to the word count
• The Table of Contents can be inserted using the following steps in Word: click on References, click Table of Contents and automate the process. If you have tables and figures you may want to consider having a Table of Tables and a Table of Figures shown after the Table of Contents. It’s usually easier to take this approach rather than try and format them manually when the assignment is finished
• Correct page numbering (e.g. the Cover Page is not numbered, the number format for the Executive Summary and the Table of Contents is i, ii, etc. The body of the report starting with the Introduction is numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.)
• Do not write in the first or second person (I, we, our)—write in third person only
• Proof-read before submission for spelling, grammatical and logic errors
• Fonts should be plain and easy to read (e.g. Tahoma, Arial, Times New Roman)
• Font size is typically between 10 and 12 for the body of the assignment
• Paragraphs are to be fully justified
• Paragraph spacing typically uses one space before and after a paragraph
• Line spacing should be set to single
• Any tables and diagrams used should be labelled (they do not form part of the word count)
• APA referencing style to be used (information on this can be found at the following link: http://federation.edu.au/current-students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/referencing)
Turnitin
For the individual assignment you are required to submit your report via the Turnitin tab in the course’s Moodle shell. Turnitin is an electronic text matching system that compares text in a student assignment against a database of sources. The database contains copies of electronic text on the Internet, in published works, on commercial databases, and in assignments previously submitted to Turnitin by students in universities all over the world, including assignments obtained from Internet sites that sell student papers. This will help you identify where your referencing requires attention so that you can minimise plagiarism occurrences.
For more on plagiarism see:
http://federation.edu.au/current-students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/plagiarism
http://policy.federation.edu.au/university/student plagiarism/ch02.php
Individual Assignment: Customer Value and Value Proposition (20 Marks)
Value: 30% of your final mark Due Date: Friday 19 April by 11.59 pm
Style: Business report Submission: Submit via Moodle-Turnitin for report
Submission format Word document (NOT pdf) for report via Moodle-Turnitin
Length: 2,500 – 3,000 words Marking criteria: See Assessment Criteria Sheet at the end of this document
Requirements
Read the following article.
Hassan, A. (2012). The value proposition concept in marketing: How customers perceive the value delivered by firms—a study of customer perspectives on supermarkets in Southampton in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(3), 68-87.
Download from Google Scholar. Note that the article refers to a number of appendices which are not provided with the article BUT whilst you should read the entire article the main sections are from the Results (p. 78) to the end of the Conclusion (p. 83).
You will discuss in class the Office Depot case and there are a number of questions that will help you understand how a retailer (and a supermarket) can provide value to customers.
You should also identify and gather the key points from at least another three sources (journal articles and/or recent marketing texts) on the concepts of customer value and value proposition. DO NOT use references like marketingprofs.com—these are not acceptable in academia. Customer value in this instance is the value provided to the customer and NOT the financial value generated by customers for the firm.
With the knowledge you glean from the above activities you are to.
1. Provide a definition of customer value—discussing whether there is one accepted definition or there are variations.
2. Provide a definition of a value proposition—discussing whether there is one accepted definition or there are variations.
3. Explain why both concepts are critical to a firm’s financial success.
4. Provide a summary of the means by which the UK supermarkets deliver value to their customers.
5. Nominate the supermarket you regularly shop at and describe how it provides (or does not provide) the value you seek from a supermarket
6. Describe one of your supermarket’s customer segments—what value does this segment seek and discuss whether the supermarket delivers it. This segment is to be one that you are NOT representative of.
7. Review its website and describe how it communicates customer value and its value proposition (as per the nominated journal article).
8. Make feasible recommendations to your supermarket on how it could provide better value to you that would enhance your shopping experience and build your loyalty.
Here’s some examples of the feedback and tips that are important to keep in mind:
1. You are asked to discuss customer value and value proposition concepts
a. Do these separately
b. Obtain three definitions of each concept
c. DISCUSS—look up what this means for an academic paper. This is covered in the General Guide to Writing and Study Skills which is accessed in Moodle by clicking on Study Help, then from the dropdown box select Writing guides
2. For the value provided by UK supermarkets you should write about how each of them provides value
3. Describe how the supermarket you shop at provides or does not provide you with value
a. This should be based upon the UK article and what was learned from the Office Depot case, and any other readings you examined to do this assignment
b. Doing this will help you make feasible recommendations (pt. 8 above)
4. Your recommendations should be based on what you found as you addressed all the required tasks (pts 1 to 7 in the list above) and not just ‘plucked from the sky’
5. Make sure you read the file on Moodle about writing an Executive summery—this is worth 16% of the total marks so just writing a half a dozen lines that reads like an Introduction will earn you maybe 0.5 marks or 1 mark at the most
6. Look at the Assessment Criteria Sheet—use it as a checklist—it does not have a Conclusion so DO NOT provide one.
Assessment Task One Format and Requirements—Customer Value and Value Proposition (20 Marks)
• Title page
o BUMKT5902 Marketing Management
o Mt Helen, Semester 1, 2019
o Individual Assignment—Customer Value and Value Proposition
o Your name. (If you are an international student and also have an English name please write both names)
o Your student ID
o The Due Date and Time — April 1st 2019, 8am
o Submitted to — Dr. Moulik Zaveri
• Executive Summary (not part of word count)
o Introductory sentence/short paragraph
o Major Findings
o Major Recommendations
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
o Background to the task
o Purpose of the report
o Format of the report
• Customer value
• Value proposition
• Explanation of why the concepts are critical to a firm’s financial success
• How UK supermarkets deliver value
• How your supermarket delivers value to you
• One customer segment at your supermarket and the value it seeks
• How value is communicated via your supermarket’s website
• Recommendations
• References
• Appendices
Assessment Task Resources
Below is a range of resources that will assist you throughout your degree. As you are seeking to enhance your problem solving skills and demonstrate an “advanced and integrated understanding of a complex body of knowledge” (AQF Level 9 – Masters http://www.aqf.edu.au/aqf/in-detail/aqf-levels/). It is critical that you can demonstrate a structured approach to your thinking.
Your assessment is graded based on you meeting the AQF Level 9 requirements. There is an expectation that you are using the resources below or the resources available to you in the assignment folder to assist in achieving this.
Logic
If you want to improve the strength of your argument/writing it strongly recommended that you purchase
The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases by William Ellet. This book is an excellent resource in any degree where creating a logical, coherent argument in support of a recommendation or key insight is the primary focus (e.g. a business degree). http://www.amazon.com/Case-Study-Handbook-Discuss-Persuasively-ebook/dp/B0106P71RS/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=
Key Business Solutions: Essential problem-solving tools and techniques that every manager needs to know (Financial Times Series) 1st Edition by Antonio E. Weiss . This book has an excellent approach to problem solving as well as providing a description of all the main tools of business analysis. http://www.amazon.com/Key-Business-Solutions-problem-solving-techniques-ebook/dp/B00A8EZL7A/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=
Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills by Michael Kallet. Simple and yet detailed book on how to approach problem solving. http://www.amazon.com/Think-Smarter-Critical-Problem-Solving-Decision-Making-ebook/dp/B00JOIGXP0/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1445814846&sr=8-1
Writing
If you are not familiar with writing in a business context it is strongly recommended you purchase: HBR Guide to Better Business Writing by Bryan A. Garner. http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Better-Business-Writing-Series-ebook/dp/B00B0YPJ0G
Presenting
If you are not familiar with presenting in a business context it is strongly recommended you purchase: HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations by Nancy Durate. She teaches Harvard students how to present. You will find some excellent presentations by her on Youtube. http://www.amazon.com/HBR-Guide-Persuasive-Presentations-Series-ebook/dp/B009G1W9JO/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1DHZJH3QV7CE72ME7M7K
Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. Fantastic book if you want to break free on boring and unengaging presentations. http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Delivery-Edition/dp/0321811984
BUMKT5902 Individual Assignment: Report Marking Criteria
Student Student ID Email
CRITERIA (Total Marks = 25) Marks
Content (84%) 22 Comments
Executive Summary
- Opening sentence/paragraph
- Major Findings
- Major Recommendations 4
Introduction—covering
- Background (of the task)
- Purpose (of this report)
- Format (of this report) 1
Customer value discussion
2
Value proposition discussion
2
Explanation of why concepts are critical to marketing success 2
UK supermarket value delivered
2
Local supermarket value delivered to you
4
One local supermarket customer segment and value required
2
Website analysis
1
Recommendations
2
Appendices -
Structure & Style (12%) 3
Follows required structure as per checklist
Demonstrates use of colour, headings, layout to enhance presentation of argument
Integrates tables, charts or diagrams to enhance communication of information
Appropriate and adequate use of references and correctly structured reference list
Literacy standard—sentences and paragraphs make sense
Succinct and concise business writing style
Engages reader with topic and holds reader’s attention
Research and use of theory demonstrates creativity and engagement with topic