Analysis PaperAssignment Instructions
Marketing Simulation Spring 2018
These instructions will tell you how to complete the analysis paper associated with the MarketShare simulation. Use the following prompts to create a comprehensive analysis detailing your marketing simulation experience. See page 4 of these instructions for formatting instructions.
Basic Information: You have engaged in six live rounds of the MarketShare simulation. You were placed in a dynamic, simulated but highly realistic business environment in the packaged goods industry. You took the role of a brand manager in an OTC (over-the-counter) cold medicine group of your firm.
Throughout the exercise, you used what you have learned about marketing, from product design and pricing to advertising and selling. While this paper reflects your experience with the simulation, you were given the opportunity to solicit input from others, either in or out of class.
You will then write a paper as follows:
Title Page: Title of your paper, your name, class, instructor, date
Section 1: Introduction
Provide a basic description of the simulation, as you understood it, and how you approached it.
Section 2: Describe
Describe your experience objectively. Use the following for prompts as you develop your paper:
• Describe how and why you made your marketing decisions - what factors did you consider?
• Who were you working with (not necessary to identify by name - just identify by the relationship as in another student, friend, family member, etc.), or did you do most or all of the work on the simulation yourself?
• What elements of the simulation did you give the most attention to as you moved from round to round? In other words,what aspects of the simulation did you focus on (pricing, sales force, promotion, etc.) and why?
• What resources did you use to gather information for your decision-making? Include things like your textbook, the various reports available through the simulation, websites or other books you may have used, etc.
• What else happened that might have impacted your outcome (e.g., equipment failure, issues that kept you from working on the simulation as much as you would have liked, learning curve, etc.)?
Section 3: Examine
Examine your experience in terms of the following learning outcomes: marketing knowledge gained and marketing skills you got to learn about and practice. Use the prompts provided to develop this section.
Learning Outcome 1: Marketing Knowledge
• What marketing concepts (things you've read about in your text, in the simulation, or that you've been exposed to in other classes) become apparent during this experience? Describe them.
• What concepts did you find most helpful to reach the goal you were trying to accomplish? How so? For example, if you've learned something about market research in your class(es), and you used those tools to work on this paper, talk about them and how you used them.
• Did you need to change your approach between the time you started the simulation and the time you completed it, perhaps after new information and experiences were presented to you, or as you learned more about the simulation?
• What do the differences between your textbook and your experience in the simulation suggest about the value of putting your "book knowledge" into practice, first via the simulation and perhaps later in your career?
• How can you use what you learned - perhaps in other classes or in your job - and are there any challenges associated with doing so?
• What were your initial expectations for the project when you started the simulation? Did this experience with the simulation differ from your initial expectations when you started? If it did, how?
• How do your simulation experience and academic knowledge inform your understanding of domestic and international marketing, and how will you be able to put this to work in your academic major or chosen career?
Learning Outcome 2: Marketing Skills
• What was the goal you were trying to accomplish? In the beginning, you were "trying to do well," whatever that might mean. How did that develop through the exercise? Did you make a concrete goal - say, a specific profitability level, or a particular stock price - and work toward that?
• Were you able to efficiently achieve your goal? Why or why not?
• Which marketing skills did you bring to the experience that helped you meet your goal? For example, if you are an accounting major, you may have the ability to read balance sheets and income statements well.
If you are a marketing major, perhaps you have insights into consumer behavior that will help, or maybe you can craft ads that speak well to people.
• How did your skills contribute to the successful completion of your project?
• What new assumptions that required you to change your approach? Please explain?
• What new skills - or what improvement to existing skills - did you develop by having to work to achieve this goal?
• In evaluating the simulation in light of its benefits and challenges, what additional knowledge would you have found helpful to get more out of the process? How so (please explain)?
• Was this an easy or a difficult task to undertake? Why?
• Did you recruit others to help accomplish your goals? Why and how? Or Why not?
Other Thoughts
• Did this experience increase your desire to expand your marketing knowledge or skills?
• Did this experience have any influence on your future educational or career path?
• What knowledge and skills did you discover or acquire during this experience that will assist you in your future endeavors in this area?
• What steps have you taken - or do you plan to take - to implement this plan of continued commitment?
Section 4: Articulate Learning
Summarize your learning experience by addressing the following questions.
• What did I learn? Think about what you learned from doing the simulation.
• How did I learn it? Did the "learn by doing" experience help you "internalize" the material in the course, or do you learn better by reading about the topics?
• Why does it matter? Are there things you learned - or gained proficiency in - by using the simulation that will help you when you begin your career or, if you are in a career path already, that will help you in that?
• If you could do the project over again, would you do it differently, and if so, how?
• What improvements to the project or the simulation itself might you recommend?
Formatting
The essay should be laid out as follows:
o Title/Cover page
o Section 1 - Introduction
o Section 2 - Describe
o Section 3 - Examine
Subsection 1, Learning Outcome 1-Marketing Knowledge
Subsection 2, Learning Outcome 2 - Marketing Skills
Subsection 3, Other Thoughts
o Section 4 - Articulate Learning - summary
o Works Cited- APA format
1. Paper requirements
a. Font: Times New Roman, the 12-point font for body copy, the14-point font for headings.
b. The paper should be double-spaced.
c. Paper length: paper should be approximately 2,500 words, excluding the title pageand the Works Cited page (this is about 10 ½ pages of content, double-spaced, plus the cover and Works Cited = approximately 12 ½ pages total).
d. See the syllabus for the due date for this project.
e. You may work with others on the simulation and paper, but the writing must be created and submitted by you for individual grading and must reflect your work and ideas.
f. Per the level of development college juniors and above should have, your papers will be graded for content and grammar/spelling. You should have your document reviewed by the campus Writing Center (on-campus students) or by Smarthinking (online students).
g. All papers will be processed through SafeAssign, the plagiarism detection software in Blackboard. Instructors may elect to use an additional antiplagiarism tool at their discretion. If you do not cite your references, you will have problems. Penalties for plagiarism are severe - see the syllabus section on academic dishonesty. At your instructor's discretion, you will be penalized up to 100% of the possible points for plagiarism. If at all possible, do your own work. When in doubt, cite.