MKT1705 / MKT1003 Principles of Marketing

Module: MKT1705 / MKT1003 Principles of Marketing

Semester taken: AY 2019/20 Semester 1

Lecturer: No lecturer, module is sectional-based

Tutor: Ms Lim Kim Poh, Violet

Textbook: ConnectMaster Core Concepts for Marketing, McGraw-Hill Create

What it is about

This module is an introduction to the world of marketing, where basic concepts and theories are introduced on a high level to students. You will also get to learn how companies make use of data in deciding what kind of strategies businesses will adopt given the prevailing market conditions.

Assessment components

• Class Participation: 20%

• Online Assessment Tasks: 15%

• Group Project: 35%

• Individual Presentation of Group Project 10%

• Final Test: 10%

• Subject Pool: 10%

Comments

This module is taught in the flipped classroom format where the lectures are held online using the ConnectMaster platform, and the face-to-face sessions are for discussions (read: class-participation).

The content taught is rather simple and interesting as you will be able to understand how it is applied to the real world context, given that the lectures contain a lot of case studies to help in your understanding. The SWOT analysis framework taught in this module is also helpful in critically analysing the strengths and weaknesses of a particular company.

Sectionals

The sectionals are 3 hours per week and students are required to prepare well beforehand. Class participation during sectionals is like a war zone, especially when the tutor is the infamous Violet. I originally picked her class as I heard that she is biased towards guys, but that claim clearly did not hold true, as there were many girls in the class that scored very decently for class participation, even though they hardly spoke up.

There is hardly any learning being done during sectionals, as students are just busy trying to score class participation points. Violet was also extremely hostile in the way she taught the students, quoting her years of experience in teaching this module and students should not question her. This was clearly not the case when our group was marked wrong for a numerical answer, when the whole class (really, the whole class) disagreed with her answer. At least she sent our group an apology via email later, but it clear shows how badly she treats students.

Class participation under Violet is also extremely difficult as she expects students to give very detailed and well justified answers to her questions, which is very different from the other tutors teaching the same module. Hence, it is very crucial to prepare well beforehand, understand the concepts taught during the lectures, be prepared to think quickly and raise that hand up in class.

Group project

For the group project, we were assigned a company to conduct an analysis on. The project itself is split into 4 sections, each with their own deliverables and deadlines, but they build upon one another for the final part that is due at the end of the semester. The group project involves doing a SWOT analysis, giving recommendations to improve the company and finally presenting it to the class.

The companies are grouped according to themes, so two groups will be working on companies within the same theme. For my group, we were assigned Huawei and our “opponent” is Apple. Hence, the analysis and especially the group presentation requires the group to talk about their “opponent” as well. Finally, the group presentation is extremely formal, which means no cue cards and a proper dress code. Sadly, we were marked based on our appearance and not the actual content of our presentation, which our group felt was extremely unfair as we put in a lot of effort in our content.

Final test

The final test is in MCQ format and tests all the concepts taught in class. It is rather easy to complete, but some of the questions can be rather tricky, which may make you doubt yourself multiple times. It is also closed-book, so some memorisation is required.

Other information

Assignment workload: There are some questions to answer at the end of each lecture on the ConnectMaster platform.

Project workload: One project that is split into 4 parts and runs throughout the entire semester.

Readings: None

Recommended if: A compulsory module for Business students and a good introduction to the world of marketing.

Rating: 2.5/5. Interesting module but the tutor is extremely bad, surprised that she is not fired yet.

Expected grade: B- (the odds were stacked against me due to the tutor’s bias)

Actual grade: S (Actual: B)