COURSE DESIGN
This course is organized into seven weekly modules, each beginning on a Monday and ending on the following Sunday night. All work for a particular module will be due either Thursday by 11:59pm (MST) (quizzes and initial discussion posts) or Sunday by 11:59pm (MST) (discussion reply posts, topic assignments, and exams) of that respective week.
NOTE: Late work will NOT be accepted unless it is due to a university or professor approved excuse.
**SEE
MODULES PAGE ON CANVAS FOR LIST OF COURSEWORK WITH DUE
DATES**
Traditionally, this course is run primarily as a seminar, with an emphasis on discussing assigned readings, cases, or other assignments. Given that this is an asynchronous online class, however, students will be responsible to participate in discussions within specific timeframes. Recorded lectures and other materials will remain available for reasonable time periods to allow students to access them when their schedules permit. There will be time limits and due dates, however, to allow students and the class as a whole to move forward and build upon already-learned concepts over the course of the semester.
E-MAIL COMMUNICATION In addition to visiting me during my normal office hours (see above), students may reach me via e-mail (michaelkroff@suu.edu) or by Canvas mail. I will typically respond within 24 hours.
GRADING: MAJOR COMPONENTS
Assignment Category Points / Percent of Overall Grade
- Case Discussions (5 @ 40 pts each): 200
- Introduction Discussion: 20
- Discussion Reflections (5 @ 30 pts each): 150
- Quizzes (5 @ 30 pts each): 150
- Topic Assignments (5 @ 20 pts each): 100
- Final Exam (25 questions): 75
- Team Project Presentation: 150
- TOTAL = 845
NOTE: Your overall score for group work will be adjusted based on an end-of-the-semester evaluation by your fellow group members of your contribution to group activities over the course of the semester.
All grades will be posted via Canvas. Each student should ensure that he/she can access Canvas and the page for MKTG 6200. Final grades will be determined based on the following distribution of total percentage points earned (minimum percentage for each grade shown):
A 93-100%, A- 90-93%, B+ 86-89%, B 83-86%, B- 80-83%, C+ 76-79%, C 73-76%, F Below 73%
Students who are having difficulty in the class should see me early in the semester. I am here to help each student learn and will do everything possible to assist those who are struggling. Together we may be able to identify strengths and weaknesses in an effort to increase performance. Ultimately, however, each student is responsible for his/her grade.
COMPONENT DESCRIPTIONS
Case Analyses
Threaded Discussions:
Objectives:
-To apply course material to specific business situations through case analyses.
-To improve own analysis and analyses of other students by giving and receiving substantive feedback related to initial case analysis responses.
Because this course is asynchronous, the guidelines for case discussions in this course are somewhat different than what is normally expected in a face-to-face or “live” course. Simply put, the main objective is to compare and contrast what you think the solutions might be with what others think, which in the end, should improve everyone’s understanding of the relevant course material and how it applies to specific business situations. You will do this by following the steps below:
-Carefully read the assigned case and related course content.
-Prepare and post responses to the assigned case questions according to guidelines in respective question prompts.
-Carefully review the original posts of other students in pre-assigned discussant group.
-Prepare and post “critique” responses to original posts of two other group members, comparing and contrasting your original response with theirs.
Discussion Dos
-DO be specific in referring to specific material in case and assigned course readings that justify your original answers.
-DO be positive in language and tone of response posts. When disagreeing with someone, be respectful in pointing out differences. Consider using a “critique sandwich,” pointing out something positive about their post, followed by where you disagree, and then ending with something else positive.
-DO go beyond, “I agree with you.” Be specific with what you agree with and then add something of value with something like, “I would add that….”
Discussion Dont’s (There is one important one to consider)
-DON’T include or end a reply post with a question without suggesting your own response. In other words, when asking something like, “What do you think of…?”, follow it up by including what YOU think.
- Students are expected to participate in postings and discussions for each case. There will be two to four posted discussion questions per case. Students are expected to post one original response to each question and two responses to the original posts of others for each question. So, a case that has two discussion questions would require that each student post a total of 6 times (2 original posts plus 4 responses).
- Guidelines for Postings:
- All discussion postings are based on a clear understanding and consideration of the central topics of the assigned case and supportive readings.
- Original postings are made, on time, and contribute to the vitality and interest of the case discussion. These postings are thoughtful, and result in other student’s making responses to you.
- Each original posting has a thesis, a clear purpose and intent that is easily identified and has clearly served as a basis for constructing your argument. Your reader knows what you are trying to say.
- Consideration is given to other points of view and a generally respectful and collegial tone characterizes your online manner.
- Discussion postings reflect an understanding that these are professional, scholarly discussions that must be based on facts from the case, and on course materials. You make use of citations where appropriate, and you make use of outside readings that you also cite where appropriate.
- Postings are correct with respect to grammatical construction, syntax, punctuation, spelling, and other aspects of graduate level writing. No mistakes. Proofread what you post. A pleasant but formal voice is used, not the informality of a text message, blog, twitter, or a sidebar conversation.
- Frequency of Postings:
- The original posting must be made by Thursday at 11:59pm (MST).
- Responses to other students’ original postings can be made anytime Friday through Sunday, after you have entered your original post. Responses to two different students are required to qualify for full discussion points.
Case Discussion Reflections
Each student will write a reflection paper immediately after completing each case discussion. The purpose is for each student to reflect on their participation in a particular case discussion along with the participation of others, pointing out what they learned from others and how they might change their original discussion posts accordingly. Specifics on completing these papers is given within the assignment’s prompt on Canvas.
Objectives:
-Identify and reflect on potential improvements of original post based on original posts and feedback from fellow discussants.
Assignment Guidelines
-Carefully review own original post and response posts from fellow discussants.
-Carefully review original posts of other discussants.
-Identify and briefly discuss two major points from own original post that you would modify OR not modify based on what you learned from posts of others. Provide specific evidence for modifying or not modifying each point. Put another way, what would you change or not change about your original post, after reviewing what others wrote. In either case, provide specific evidence for your choice.
Use outline below to format your paper:
Case Discussion Reflection: Week ___
Q1- Original Post: [paste your original post here]
-First point you would change or not change and why:
-Second point you would/would not change and why:
Q2- Original Post: [paste your original post here]
-First point you would/would not change and why:
-Second point you would/would not change and why:
Your reflection for each question should be 150 to 200 words, not including your pasted original post.
Team Project
Students will be divided into teams to complete a team project over the course of the term. These teams will consist of the same members as the weekly discussion groups. Details regarding this assignment can be found in Canvas.
Topic Assignments (TAs)
Each module will have posted assigned readings and/or a recorded lecture relating to that module’s topics. Each module will also have specific questions (i.e., Topic Assignments) for students to investigate and respond to in typed, electronic form. Specifics related to completing TAs can be found in the individual TA prompts.
Quizzes
The objective of weekly quizzes is to assess understanding of key concepts from weekly assigned readings. They are always due on Thursdays to allow application of learned concepts on subsequent weekly assignments.
Quizzes are open-book and timed. Students will have 10 minutes to complete each quiz (unless instructed otherwise). Quizzes should be completed individually. Ten multiple-choice questions will be randomly drawn from a question pool of 20 to 30 questions based only on the assigned readings from the course pack for that week (see below). Students will have two attempts and their highest score will be retained (so there is no harm in taking the quiz twice). Students will see the questions that they missed after each attempt. The correct answers, however, will only be shown after their second attempt.
Final Exam
The final exam will cover material from module lectures and ppt presentations. It will not include readings from the HBP packet. The two principle features of the exam are 1) it will be CLOSED BOOK AND NOTES, and 2) there will be a 25 minute time limit.
Mercy Assignment
Students will have the opportunity to turn in one missed topic assignment (TA) or Discussion Reflection over the course of the term. Alternatively, they may rewrite and resubmit a past TA or Discussion Reflection for a better grade. A completed mercy assignment should be submitted to the Mercy Assignment folder on the Assignment page of Canvas.