A key goal for the class is to increase student engagement by creating opportunities for both discussion and group work during each week. Each week, two teams create video presentations of their answer to the central “Case Question” for HBR cases. These presentations are informal—but teams prepare formal slides. Answering the case questions requires that teams not only generate a solution, but also expand their solution into an implementation strategy. This focus on implementation reduces redundancies between the presentations. After the two teams present their case strategies, the rest of the class plays the role of Devil’s advocate. During the Devil’s advocate discussion boards, the rest of the class probes the rationale behind the teams’ decisions. The goal of the Devil’s Advocate discussion board is to ask insightful questions and further the case discussion. Upon completion of the Devil’s advocate question period, all members of the class whose teams did not present will vote in the weekly Zoom on Thursdays from 6:00-7:00pm PST on which team they believe presented the better case solution. Students are graded on their presentations, their questions to the teams, and their responses to questions.

During the weekly Zoom case debriefs, the students must bring the case to present day and discuss their solutions in a modern context. This achieved using breakout rooms with students presenting their work after returning.

In addition, each week students post about what they took from the readings, lecture videos, and weekly learning objectives and how they could apply these lessons to their current job, a previous job, or a company they have seen in the media.  They must discuss how will they will use this content after graduation. Students are graded on these posts and the professor highlights student posts during the weekly zoom sessions and ask students to expand on the topic.

Course Student Learning Outcomes

By successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

• Students will be able to apply a series of marketing frameworks and tools to solve general business problems as well as to develop specific marketing strategies and programs with 90% of all students scoring 80% or higher on the final exam.

• Students will be able to articulate and understand a 3 C analysis (customers, company and competitors)

• Students will be able to develop a strategy for chosen product/market(s)

• Students will be able to translate this strategy into designing tactics through elements of the marketing mix, the four P’s (product offering, pricing, promotion and physical distribution).

• Students will develop a way of thinking through realistic global business situations to answer the following questions – which customers should be served, what is the optimal product bundle for these customers, and how the two are to be brought together.

• Students will be able to present their recommendations and defend their strategic actions with effective communication scoring at least 80% for all components of presentation rubric.

• Students will be able to challenge, question, and praise recommendations made by other students in the classroom. Consequently, they will compare and judge multiple courses of action and choose the most superior strategic suggestions.

• Students will be able to collect and analyze appropriate consumer data for relevant California business situations (in-depth interviews, focus groups, Qualtrics surveys).