Markets, Marketing and Strategy

Module Provider: International Business and Strategy
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Summer term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Module version for: 2016/7

Summary module description:
This module is intended to provide students with an initial understanding of businesses,
the political, competitive and technological environment within which they operate and
the nature of the strategic and marketing responses required to enable them to compete
in that environment. It will give the students a framework of basic management ideas
and tools which will provide them with a foundation on which subsequent management
modules can build.

This module is delivered at University of Reading, University of Reading Malaysia and Beijing Institute of Technology.
Aims:
The aim is to provide students with a basic understanding of the nature of business with particular emphasis on the way in which the activities of a business are interrelated both with each other and with the strategic, competitive and environmental contexts within which firms operate. The module will provide knowledge of a range of basic business theories that the students can use to analyse the business and its environment at different levels of abstraction. It will consider key marketing concepts, such as market segmentation, brands, corporate
image as well as customer and competitor analysis and examine key concepts in strategic management including the dynamics of competition, implementing strategy and the impact of globalisation. The module will help students understand that although businesses need to
understand and react to the political, economic, strategic and tactical contexts in which they find themselves, their business activities and decisions also create and shape those contexts. By viewing the firm and its strategy and marketing activities from a number of different
aspects the module will help students develop an understanding of the systemic relationship between firms, their customers, suppliers and competitors. The module will show the way in which management theory has evolved to provide an understanding of these relationships,
while making it clear that these theoretical models are of necessity a simplification of the complexity that a real business faces. Secondarily, the module will help students? development by involving them in a discussion of ideas, views and conclusions about
business with their peers. The students will be required to work in groups to analyse various business situations and cases at differing levels of abstraction ,and present and defend their group conclusions. By encouraging different teams to identify differing aspects of the situation the multidimensional nature of management will be reinforced.

Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Know about, discuss and evaluate a range of concepts and theories relating to marketing
and business strategy and relate these to the business context within which the firm finds
itself.
2. Critically assess selected academic, professional and media sources relevant to the study of
business and management.
3. Analyse, make observations on, and debate, the business context facing particular
organisations and their responses to the market environment in which the firm operates.
4. Organise and communicate information clearly and succinctly in both assessed work
(essays and examinations) and non-assessed work (presentations).

Additional outcomes:
This module will provide a basic foundation on which modules in Part II and III of the
curriculum that incorporated more complex and sophisticated business theories can build.
In addition it will provide basic training in research skills, presentations and essay writing.

Outline content:
1. Introduction, module structure, markets and the business environment
2. Management and their goals. What are they & who sets them
3. Business strategy & strategic planning - what business(es) are we in
4. Products and Technology. What are we selling and to whom.
5. Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning. 7P's & Market Research.
6. Market dynamics, Branding, Buyer behaviour & Campaigns
7. Implementing strategy (Structure, Operations, & HRM) Contingency Theory
8. Change & Innovation
9. Globalisation & Regionalisation
10. Revision, Review and Examination Techniques

In addition skills lectures & workshops will support
Doing Research
Making Presentations
Essay Writing

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
The principal teaching of knowledge will take place in lectures and class discussions.
Small group (12-15 students) tutorials will be based on case studies or require practical
research.
Each tutorial is targeted at a differing level of analysis of the business and its environment
and will involve small teams working on specific analyses

Contact Hours
Lectures 26
Turotials 5
Guided Independent Study 147
Total Hours by Term 178

Summative Assessment Methods
Written Exam 70%
Written Assignment Including Essay 30%

Other information on summative assessment:
Coursework: Essay based on theory and literature (c.2000 words) - DUE Thursday of week 8
with formative and summative feedback given in the final tutorial (week 11) .

Formative assessment methods:
Two presentations in tutorial classes will be formatively evaluated.
MCQ tests will be made available in weeks 5 and 9 covering the material up to that point to
enable students to test their knowledge.

Length of examination:
One 2-hour unseen written paper. Examinations take place in the Summer term.

Requirements for a pass:
A minimum mark of 40%

Reassessment arrangements:
By examination only.
Re-examination for Part 1 modules takes place in August / September of the same year