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School of Management, Unit Catalogue 2011/12


MN50439: Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage

Click here for further information Credits: 6
Click here for further information Level: Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7)
Click here for further information Period: Academic Year
Click here for further information Assessment: CW 40%, EX 60%
Click here for further information Supplementary Assessment: Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Click here for further information Requisites:
Click here for further information Description: Aims:
Anticipating the actions and reactions of competitors is a key determinant of success for any marketing strategy: one competitor cuts prices, undermining your pricing strategy whilst another may decide to offer new products and services, possibly over the Internet with the potential to completely undermine your existing strategy. Could you have anticipated such moves? How do you respond?
Strategic Marketing: Creating Competitive Advantage enables students to understand and apply strategic concepts, frameworks and tools relating to strategy and strategic marketing planning and implementation. Students will consider a number of tools and concepts to develop effective marketing strategies for the long term and are expected to be able to apply them and demonstrate understanding of these, during the second part of the module (simulation game).
This dynamic course tests students' critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making abilities. It also focuses on fostering students' skills in strategic and competitive thinking and action and strengthens the foundations of their knowledge in order to sharpen their application and analytical abilities.

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module students will be able to:
* Understand the principles and precepts of strategy and marketing strategy.
* Critically evaluate strategy and marketing strategy planning concepts and theories by applying these principles.
* Analyse and critically assess the implementation, control, and evaluation of the strategy process and the frameworks and tools it uses.
* Demonstrate critical capabilities in competitor analysis in implementing and evaluating competitive marketing strategy.
* Apply concepts as a team, during a simulation game.

Skills:
Analytic and evaluative skills
Ability to present compelling and coherent arguments
Critical thinking
Ability to apply functional and critical knowledge during the second stage of the unit, involving a simulation game.

Content:
Marketing Strategy and the Strategic Planning Process.
Role of Mission, Vision, Corporate Objectives.
The marketing and strategy environment, larger (macro) and task environment, change and drivers in environments.
Competitive benchmarking.
Internal analysis. Marketing and organisational resources, capabilities, and competencies.
Portfolio analysis.
Building blocks of competitive advantage.
Durability of competitive advantage.
Customer analysis. Models of buyer behaviour and factors influencing behaviour.
Core and competitive, business level and corporate level strategies.
Offensive and defensive strategies and sustained competitive advantage.
Marketing planning and implementing strategy.
Control and evaluation.
Simulation game.
Click here for further informationProgramme availability:

MN50439 is a Designated Essential Unit on the following programmes:

School of Management
NB. Programmes and units are subject to change at any time, in accordance with normal University procedures.