Syllabus for MAR-301

INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduction to Marketing explores key marketing concepts and shows you how they apply to today's business practices. The course covers the essential knowledge and techniques managers need to compete successfully, whether in large companies or small businesses, profit-oriented firms or not-for-profit organizations. Topics include customer-oriented marketing strategies, buyers and markets, target market selection, and the marketing variables of products (and services), price, promotion, and distribution.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:  

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbook

ISBN: 978-1285187624

COURSE STRUCTURE

Introduction to Marketing is a three-credit online course, consisting of seven modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take a proctored online midterm examination, and complete a final project. See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

In addition to an ungraded Introductions Forum in Module 1, Introduction to Marketing requires you to participate in five graded discussion forums. Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Communication with your mentor and among fellow students is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online class discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and at least two subsequent comments on classmates’ responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as “I agree” and “ditto” are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate or your mentor, state and support your position. Remember, these are discussions. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, mature, and respectful.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete seven written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Familiarize yourself with the written assignment questions before you begin each module’s study assignment. Conversely, be sure to complete all relevant readings before answering the questions.

When you have completed all of the assigned reading for a written assignment, prepare your answers to the written assignment questions. These questions require critical thinking. Take the time to determine what you need to include to present a thoughtful, complete response that conveys your understanding of the course materials.

Formulate responses in your own words (do not merely copy answers from your reading materials); however, support the points you make with information from your course materials and from outside sources. Cite and document all sources of information with an appropriate reference. Your answer to each question should be between 250 and 500 words, or approximately 1–2 pages per question, typed double-spaced. Be sure to proofread your work carefully for correct spelling, grammar, and clarity of expression.

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

Midterm Examination

For a list of key concepts that may appear on your exam(s), refer to the study guide(s) available in the Examinations section of the course Web site.

The midterm is a closed-book, proctored online exam. It is two hours long and covers all reading and assignments from Modules 1, 2, and 3 of the course. The exam consists of objective questions (multiple-choice and matching), short essay questions, and essay questions.

For the midterm, you are required to use the College’s Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the “Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.

Online exams are administered through the course Web site. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.

Statement about Cheating

You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

Final Project

You are required at the end of the semester to submit a Final Project in the form of a marketing plan for Blue Mountain Spring Water, Inc. You will complete your work on the marketing plan incrementally throughout the semester by completing eight project steps, getting feedback from your mentor on each step, then assembling each of the eight steps into a predefined marketing plan template to submit to your mentor for grading.

When working on your marketing plan, use the Three Year Marketing Plan—Blue Mountain Spring Water, Inc. document as a source of information and a guide to what you should do and how you should organize it. You can access this document in the Final Project area of the course Web site.

At the end of the semester, you will assemble the different assignments you have completed for your Final Project and submit a marketing plan using the Three Year Marketing Plan—Blue Mountain Spring Water, Inc. document as a template. You should download this document, insert the work you have done for your final project according to the instructions provided, edit your marketing plan for unity, and then submit it to your mentor for grading.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

C+

=

78–79

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–77

B+

=

88–89

C–

=

70–72

B

=

83–87

D

=

60–69

B–

=

80–82

F

=

Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State College is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The College expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the College community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the College Catalog and online at www.tesc.edu.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

Plagiarism

Thomas Edison State College is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.

If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin

Disciplinary Process for Plagiarism

Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.

If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.

If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.

Possible sanctions include:

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