Assignments: (Four assignments)

Guidelines for an essay writing (Individual assignment 1) : 20 point
1. Students should select one essay topic driven from the syllabus.
2. Each essay will be 4 pages in length, including tables, title page, and references. The paper should be short, concise, and well written.
3. Avoid verbosity and do not plagiarize the work of others. You must cite your sources.
4. The paper must be typed in 10 point font, Times New Roman, and double-spaced with one inch margins and a title page. List your name and course name on the title page.
5. Provide adequate citations and use a Journal of Marketing style-guide format for your bibliography. Cite your sources using a Journal of Marketing style-guide.
6. The essay should be structured and written as if you were going to submit it to professional marketing magazines or present it to a business speech.
7. The essay will have at least 5 independent references from marketing journals (peer reviewed only) such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science, Marketing Science, reference books, and industry reports.
8. Turn in two bound hard copies of your essay on the designated date. I will keep one copy and return the other with comments on the day of the mid exam.
9. Submissions (the written essay, source materials in hard copy) should be done by the hard copies not later than the beginning day of class week 7.

A word about essay writing
Make sure that your work does not get shortchanged because of hasty last-minute writing. Your essay will be graded based on evaluations of (1) whether you accomplished the assignment, (2) the richness of your ideas, including the degree to which you generate and support your ideas and key points, (3) the clarity of your work, and (4) the accuracy of your work.

Tips for marketing strategy project (Team project): 40 points
This report is to be prepared and presented by self-selected groups of three or four people. The topic should relate to the content of the course and provide a significant learning experience for all members of the group. Feasible topics include an evaluation of the strategy of a firm or business, or the applicability of a concept or method useful in strategic marketing. The report will ordinarily be based on secondary sources and information in the public domain, but can also be based on field research or interviews and data collection within a company.
As the semester progresses, various components of the report will be given to the professor for evaluation. At the end of the semester, all of the sections will be integrated into one final report.
You will develop specific marketing strategies and tactics with using quantitatively-based marketing models in your paper that you would recommend to marketing professionals to help their firm improve its marketing performance. The term paper project requires students to think of themselves as decision makers and actually take marketing actions. It will also make the student a more informed person regarding some topic of interest within the area of marketing decision making.
Each group will elect a marketing manager to guide the work of the other group members of the project. You are free to choose your group members. Each member of the group will receive the same credits for the project grade. The project will count as 40%(the report 20%, source materials in hard copy 10%, and presentation 10%) of the total grade. The group will present the term paper in class at the end of the semester using MS-PowerPoint.

The reports will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
1. The quality of the analysis – were the right questions asked?
2. The feasibility of the conclusions or recommendations – did they follow from the analysis?
3. Evidence of mastery of the frameworks, concepts, and methods developed during the course
4. The effectiveness of the written and verbal presentation of the report.

Guidelines for the term paper writing (Team assignment 2) :
1. Each paper will be 15 pages in length, including tables, title page, and references. The paper should be short, concise, and well written.
2. Write clearly and in an organized manner. Use headings and subheadings to organize the paper.
3. Avoid verbosity and do not plagiarize the work of others. You must cite your sources.
4. The paper must be typed in 10 point font, Times New Roman, and double-spaced with one inch margins and a title page. List all group members and course name on the title page.
5. Provide adequate citations and use a Journal of Marketing style-guide format for your bibliography. Cite your sources using a Journal of Marketing style-guide.
6. The term paper should be structured and written as if you were going to submit it to a professional marketing association’s conference or present it to a business client.
7. The final paper will have at least 15 independent references from marketing journals (peer reviewed only) such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science, Marketing Science, reference books, and industry reports.
8. You may need to interview marketing managers who work in the industry/firm you have selected and may conduct primary survey research.
9. Each group must select a different topic. The professor must approve each paper topic.
10. Turn in two bound hard copies of your final term paper on the designated date. I will keep one copy and return the other with comments on the day of the final exam.
11. Submissions (the written report, source materials in hard copy) should be done by diskette and the hard copies not later than the beginning day of class week 14.

Guidelines for the presentation (Team assignment 3):
Students/team should prepare a presentation in MS-PowerPoint format with 10~12 slides for the paper (Designs and contents are their creative).
1. Students/team should demonstrate their presentation in class at the designated class time.
2. Submissions (presentation slides) should be done by a hard copy not later than the beginning day of class week 14.

Guidelines for a case analysis (Individual assignment 4): 20 point
1. Students should select one case topic driven from the syllabus.
2. Each case analysis will be 4 pages in length, including title page, exhibits, tables, and references. The paper should be short, concise, and well written.
3. The written analyses should focus on analyzing the materials in the case, evaluating the strategy employed by the company, and making appropriate recommendations.
4. Do not summarize the material in the case. Use the material in the case only to support your evaluations, conclusions, and recommendations.
5. In some case, there might be several alternative recommendations. In these situations, evaluate the pros and cons of the alternatives and use these evaluations to form your recommended approach.
6. Avoid verbosity and do not plagiarize the work of others. You must cite your sources.
7. The paper must be typed in 10 point font, Times New Roman, and double-spaced with one inch margins and a title page. List your name and course name on the title page.
8. Provide adequate citations and use a Journal of Marketing style-guide format for your bibliography. Cite your sources using a Journal of Marketing style-guide.
9. The case analysis should be structured and written as if you were going to submit it to professional marketing magazines or present it to a business speech.
10. Turn in two bound hard copies of your case analysis on the designated date. I will keep one copy and return the other with comments on the day of your presentation.
11. You should present the case analysis in class and lead the case discussion.