Updated 9/8/20

33 630 301 01: Introduction to Marketing Stacy Smollin Schwartz

Fall 2020 sschwartz@business.rutgers.edu
Asynchronous Online at Virtual Office Hours: Thurs 11a-12p ET
https://canvas.rutgers.edu/
Course Assistants:
Ashlee Dixon Contact: Class Help: Ask a Question Discussion Board
Jason Etter Email: rbsintromarketing@gmail.com
Mariana Fortunato-Caron
Valarie Embrey

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Marketing is the process of creating goods and services in response to customer wants and needs. Put
simply, the purpose of marketing is to get and keep customers. It is one of the most important business
activities because it has direct impact on an organization’s effectiveness and profitability. Marketing is
vital for all organizations – whether for-profit or nonprofit – attempting to influence all types of
customers – whether end consumers or business buyers.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the marketing function of organizations. We will
begin by defining marketing and discussing the marketing process. With this background, we will
challenge ourselves to understand the marketplace and how customers decide when to select, acquire, use,
and discard specific products and services. Next, we will carefully explore the way marketers use this
information to design a customer-driven strategy and make marketing mix decisions related to product,
pricing, promotions, and distribution.

This course will consist primarily of:

 Video lecture presentations on key topics

 Online demonstrations of marketing principles
 Articles, case studies, and simulations
 Exams to reinforce learning

COURSE DELIVERY MODE

This is a fully online, asynchronous, class-paced course taught on the Canvas learning management
system. This means you can access the course and complete your work any day or time during the week,
but must adhere to weekly deadlines that keep the class paced together. To access the course, please visit
https://canvas.rutgers.edu/. There will be no required live sessions for this course. All live, scheduled
events for the course, including my office hours, are optional.

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The course is divided into 26 separate “Lessons” (aka “Modules”) covering different topics. Typically,
each Lesson requires that you: watch recorded video lectures, complete readings from the textbook and
posted articles, complete and submit online Lesson Review Questions, complete and submit online
myMarketingLab homework assignments, and complete and submit other assigned online participation
activities. Each week, we will complete 1-2 Lessons, according to the attached Class Schedule. For the
purposes of this course, the first day of each new week (Day 1) is a Monday (beginning at 12am ET) and
closes the following Sunday (Day 7) at 11:59pm ET. There are some calendar exceptions to this schedule,
so please be sure to follow the Course Schedule and submission dates posted to Canvas closely.

For more information about course access or support, contact the Online Learning Help Desk via email at
help@canvas.rutgers.edu or call 848-932-4702.

COURSE MATERIALS

Canvas:

This is a fully online course. To access the course, please visit https://canvas.rutgers.edu/. For more
information about course access or support, contact the Online Learning Help Desk via email at
help@canvas.rutgers.edu or call 848-932-4702.

Textbook:

Armstrong, G. and Kotler, P. Marketing: An Introduction, plus myMarketingLab (14th edition).

Pearson Publishers. ISBN: 9780135204436

You are required to purchase the e-text in a bundle with myMarketingLab access. You can purchase the
bundle online, linked from our Canvas course (Instructions will be provided).

Earlier editions of the textbook are fine, but earlier editions of myMarketingLab will not give you access
to the correct homework assignments. So, you are required to purchase the full bundle for the 14th edition
of the textbook.

myMarketingLab

You are required to complete online homework assignments that pertain to the subject matter we are
covering in class. You will need to register for myMarketingLab at the start of the semester, and adhere to
due dates as indicated on Canvas and the syllabus.

Articles:

You are required to read at least one article per lesson that pertains to the subject matter we will be
discussing in that lesson. Articles are posted to that lesson’s module in Canvas. Be prepared to answer
graded Review Questions related to the content of these articles and video lectures.

Lecture Videos & Slides:

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Each lesson’s lecture videos and slides (in PDF format, with missing words) will be made available on
Canvas. I recommend that you download slides before you watch the lecture videos so that you can “fill
in the blanks” and add your own notes/comments to them as you watch the lecture videos.

Hardware Expectations:

You are expected to have a Windows OS based computer with an i5 or equivalent processor, microphone,
and webcam with 720p or better resolution.

The microphone and webcam will be used to facilitate interactions with your instructor and other students
during office hours and class participation exercises. We will not be using webcams, microphones, or
browser tracking software as part of exam proctoring.

New Brunswick students in need of financial assistance to meet the course technical requirements should
reach out to the CARE Team at deanofstudents@echo.rutgers.edu.

LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This course is designed to help students develop skills and knowledge in the following area(s):
 Broad understanding of basic business theory and practice
 Reasoned and ethical judgment when analyzing problems and making business decisions.

Students who complete this course will demonstrate the following:

 Understanding of current basic concepts in the field of marketing.
 Recognition of ethical dilemmas in unstructured marketing decision-making scenarios.

Students develop these skills and knowledge through the following course activities and assignments:
 Video lectures to introduce basic marketing concepts and practices.
 Case study exercises to explore the real-world application of marketing concepts and decision-
making.
 Weekly online homework assignments to apply your knowledge and decision-making ability
related to course material (including review questions, videos, simulations, topical reading
assignments).
 Three exams to assess your knowledge of course material (2 mid-terms and final).

PREREQUISITES

This class is open to all Rutgers Business School students except for first-year students.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

I do NOT tolerate cheating. Students are responsible for understanding the RU Academic Integrity Policy
(http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/). I will strongly enforce this Policy and pursue all violations. On all
examinations and assignments, students must sign the RU Honor Pledge, which states, “On my honor, I
have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this examination or assignment.” I will

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screen all written assignments through SafeAssign or Turnitin, plagiarism detection services that compare
the work against a large database of past work. Don’t let cheating or plagiarism destroy your hard-earned
opportunity to learn. See business.rutgers.edu/ai for more details.

You do not have permission to distribute my course materials to any other person or republish any of my
content to a third-party online learning platform like Course Hero, Quizlet, etc.

ATTENDANCE AND PREPARATION POLICY

- This course is an online, facilitator-led, asynchronous course. This means there are no required online
meeting times. The course assessments and activities, however, have firm deadlines. This course is
not purely self-paced; you will be expected to interact with the rest of the class each week and
complete activities in a timely manner.

- Be sure you are logging into the course in Canvas regularly, including weeks with holidays or weeks
with minimal online course activity. (During most weeks you will probably log in many times). If you
have a situation that might cause you to miss an entire week of class, discuss it with me as soon as
possible.

- Expect me to prepare properly for each online module. I expect the same of you. Complete all
background reading and written assignments. To be successful in this course, you should plan to
dedicate approximately 5-9 hours per week.

- All live sessions, including instructor office hours, are optional. For live presentations, I will provide
a recording that you can watch later. If you need to discuss an assignment with me but cannot attend
my scheduled office hours, please contact me to schedule another time to talk.

CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

RBS holds its students to a Code of Professional Conduct:

https://myrbs.business.rutgers.edu/students/code-professional-conduct

Additionally, the following are my expectations for how we should communicate as a class. Above all,
please remember to be respectful and thoughtful. I try to foster an interactive environment, where we can
all learn from each other.

- Writing style: This course requires participation in online discussion boards with your instructor and
classmates. While you don’t need to participate in class discussions as if you were writing a research
paper, you should remember to write using good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Informality
(including an occasional emoticon) is fine for non-academic topics. Please also refrain from using all
CAPITAL LETTERS, as this is often interpreted as shouting.

- Tone and civility: Let's maintain a supportive learning community where everyone feels safe and
where people can disagree amicably. Remember that sarcasm doesn't always come across online.
Treat your instructor and fellow students with respect at all times, and in all communications.

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- Citing your sources: When we have academic discussions, please cite your sources to back up what
you say. (For the textbook or other course materials, list at least the title and page numbers. For online
sources, include a link.)

- Backing up your work: Consider composing your Discussion Board posts in a Word document, where
you can save your work, and then copying into the online discussion.

- I will generally reply to e-mails within 24 hours on weekdays. Please include your Course Name
and Section Number in the subject line of your email for the fastest reply.

GRADING POLICY

Final course grades are calculated out of 100%, broken down as follows:

Exams 45% 3 online exams @ 15% each

Lesson Review Questions: 20% Weekly Canvas Review Questions
MyLab HW Assignments 15% Through Pearson myMarketingLab
Class Participation: 15% Class Discussions & Activities
Research Participation: 5% 2 Behavioral Lab Sessions

Your points from each component will be summed. The final course grade will be as follows.

A 91.00 and above

B+ 87.00 – 90.99
B 80.00 – 86.99
C+ 77.00 – 79.99
C 70.00 – 76.99
D 60.00 – 69.99
F 59.99 and below

Exams (45%)

There will be three (3) non-cumulative online exams during this semester, administered according to the
attached schedule. The questions on the exam will be multiple-choice and application-based. The exams
will be open-book, and will not require a lock-down browser or video/audio-based online proctoring
software. However, it is expected that you will work individually on your exams, and will complete them
within a fairly tight timeframe. While you will be permitted to access notes and course lectures during the
exams, you will not earn a satisfactory grade if you do not study and prepare to be tested on the material.

If you miss an exam without prior approval from me based upon a legitimate reason, you will receive zero
(0) points for that exam. If you miss an exam for a documented and approved reason, you will be
administered a make-up exam, which will be different than the regular exam. I will give you a non-
negotiable date by which this make-up needs to be completed.

Lesson Review Questions (20%)

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After reviewing all of the required lecture videos, articles, and other materials for a given Lesson, you
will be required to complete multiple-choice Review Questions for each. Note that some weeks, we will
complete one, but other weeks we will complete two. These are not timed, but they are graded.

myLab Homework Assignments (15%)

You will be required to set up an account on myMarketingLab, which is the online learning companion
for your textbook. Once you set up an account, you will be able to access your myMarketingLab
homework assignments through a link in Canvas. The due date for each homework assignment is also
indicated on the syllabus. Note that our coursework content will not always follow the same order as
the textbook chapters, so be sure to check the syllabus for your homework assignments.

Class Participation (15%)

An important ingredient of an engaging online course is to have some interaction with your classmates.
To that end, throughout the semester you will be assigned Discussion Board prompts, polls, peer-review
assignments, and other brief online activities that foster student-to-student interaction.

Research Participation (5%)

To help facilitate the research of RBS faculty members across various disciplines (e.g., marketing, supply
chain, management, finance), and ultimately, the reputation of RBS itself, several departments require
student participation in research as part of course requirements in selected classes. This course requires
two (2) hours of research participation, which will constitute 5% of your grade. You will be granted 2.5
points for every hour of research in which you participate.

You will be given more information about your Behavioral Lab participation requirements and key dates
on Canvas. You may also visit the lab webpage at http://myrbs.business.rutgers.edu/behavioral-lab.

Note that your final grade is not subject to negotiation.

If you feel I have made an error, submit your written argument to me (along with supporting
documentation) within one week of receiving your final grade. If I have made an error, I will gladly
correct it. But I will adjust grades only if I have made an error. I cannot give you a grade that you did not
earn, and it is dishonest to attempt to influence me to do so.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Please note I reserve the right to make changes to this course schedule, if needed.

Assignments Due
Week Lesson Due Date Topic (See Canvas modules for additional
required reading & other assignments)
Sun 9/6 Introductory Course Syllabus & Course Policies Quiz
1 1
11:59pm ET Overview Purchase MyMarketingLab access

2 Mon 9/7 LABOR DAY

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Read Textbook: Chap 1

Lesson Review Questions
Sun 9/13 The Marketing Process myMarketingLab:
2
11:59pm ET (Ch1)  Get Started (Intro)
 Ch1 Mini Sim (Creating Value)

Part 1: Marketing Analysis

Sun 9/20 Marketing Strategy – Textbook: Chap 2
3
11:59pm ET Strategic Planning (Ch2) Lesson Review Questions
Textbook: Chap 2
3 Lesson Review Questions
Sun 9/20 Marketing Strategy – The myMarketingLab:
4
11:59pm ET Marketing Plan (Ch2, cont.)
 Ch2 Mini Sim (Mktg Plan)
 Ch2 Mktg by the Numbers
Textbook: Ch3
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 9/27 Marketing Environment myMarketingLab:
5
11:59pm ET (Ch3)
 Ch3 Quiz
4
 Ch3 Video Case (Burger King)

Sun 9/27 Lesson Review Questions

6 Case Study Exercise (Ch1-3)
11:59pm ET See Canvas for additional assignment
Consumer Insights –
Sun 10/4 Textbook: Ch4
7 Marketing Information
11:59pm ET Lesson Review Questions
(Ch4)
Textbook: Ch4
5
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 10/4 Consumer Insights –
8 myMarketingLab:
11:59pm ET Marketing Research (Ch4)
 Ch4 Quiz
 Ch4 Video Case (Nielsen)
Thurs 10/8
9 12:00 noon - EXAM #1 (Ch1-4)
11:59pm ET
6 Textbook: Ch5
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 10/11 myMarketingLab:
10 Consumer Behavior (Ch5)
11:59pm ET
 Ch5 Mini Sim (Dec Making)
 Ch5 Video Case (IMG World)
Textbook: Ch5
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 10/18 Business Buying Behavior
11 myMarketingLab:
7 11:59pm ET (Ch5)
 Ch5 Mini Sim (B2B)
 Ch5 Quiz
Part 2: Aspirational Decisions

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Sun 10/18 Market Segmentation & Textbook: Chap 6

12
11:59pm ET Targeting (Ch6) Lesson Review Questions

Textbook: Chap 6
Sun 10/25 Targeting (cont.) & Lesson Review Questions
13
11:59pm ET Positioning (Ch6) myMarketingLab:
 Ch6 Mktg by the Numbers
Textbook: Chap 6
8
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 10/25 Positioning (cont.) & myMarketingLab:
14
11:59pm ET Differentiation (Ch6 cont.)  Ch6 Mini Sim (Segmentation,
Targeting & Positioning)

Part 3: Marketing Mix Decisions

Textbook: Chap 7
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 11/1
15 Products (Ch7) myMarketingLab:
11:59pm ET
9  Ch7 Video Assignment (Life is
Good)
Textbook: Chap 7
Sun 11/1 Services & Brands (Ch7 Lesson Review Questions
16
11:59pm ET cont.) myMarketingLab:
 Ch7 Quiz
Textbook: Chap 8
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 11/8 Product Development
17 myMarketingLab:
11:59pm ET (Ch8)  Ch8 Mini Sim (New Product
10 Devt)
Textbook: Chap 8
Sun 11/8 Product Life Cycle Lesson Review Questions
18
11:59pm ET Management (Ch8 cont.) myMarketingLab:
 Ch8 Quiz

Thurs 11/12
19 12:00 noon - EXAM #2 (Ch5-8)
11:59pm ET
11 Textbook: Chap 9
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 11/15 Pricing (Ch9)
20 myMarketingLab:
11:59pm ET
 Ch9 Video Assignment (Smash
Burger)
Textbook: Chap 9
Sun 11/22 Lesson Review Questions
12 21 Pricing Strategies (Ch9 cont)
11:59pm ET myMarketingLab:
 Ch9 Marketing by the Numbers

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Intro to the Promotion Mix

Sun 11/22 Textbook: Ch12
22 & Public Relations
11:59pm ET Lesson Review Questions
(Ch12)
Textbook: Ch12
Lesson Review Questions
Wed 11/25 myMarketingLab:
13 23 Advertising (Ch12)
11:59pm ET
 Ch12 Mktg by the Numbers
 Ch12 Mini Sim (Advertising)

Thurs 11/26 –
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
Sun 11/29

Textbook: Ch14
Lesson Review Questions
Sun 12/6 Digital Marketing Strategy
24 myMarketingLab:
11:59pm ET (Ch14)
 Ch14 Mini Sim (Online
14
Marketing)
Sun 12/6 Digital Marketing Formats Textbook: Ch14
25
11:59pm ET (Ch14) Lesson Review Questions
Textbook: Ch13
Thurs 12/10 Lesson Review Questions
Personal Selling & Sales
15 26 11:59pm ET myMarketingLab:
Promotion (Ch13)
 Ch13 Video Assignment
(Medtronic)

TBD FINAL EXAM (EXAM #3) (Ch9 & 12-14)

SUPPORT SERVICES

If you need accommodation for a disability, obtain a Letter of Accommodation from the Office of
Disability Services. The Office of Disability Services at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey,
provides student-centered and student-inclusive programming in compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998, and the New Jersey Law
Against Discrimination. More information can be found at ods.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University-New
Brunswick ODS phone (848)445-6800 or email dsoffice@echo.rutgers.edu

If you are pregnant, the Office of Title IX and ADA Compliance is available to assist with any concerns
or potential accommodations related to pregnancy. Rutgers University-New Brunswick Title IX
Coordinator phone (848)932-8200 or email jackie.moran@rutgers.edu.

If you seek religious accommodations, the Office of the Dean of Students is available to verify absences
for religious observance, as needed. Rutgers University-New Brunswick Dean of Students phone
(848)932-2300 or email deanofstudents@echo.rutgers.edu.

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If you are in need of additional academic assistance, please use our readily available services: Rutgers
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