Learning Outcome

The completion of this assignment requires you to demonstrate the ability to:

- Demonstrate from relevant research literature, a sound understanding of contemporary perspectives of the strategic role of marketing

In order to pass Assessment 1 you will need to:

- Critically analyse, to an acceptable standard, aspects of the strategic marketing role using a contemporary practice perspective, using correctly referenced marketing academic literature.
- Establish satisfactorily, using appropriate marketing literature, a critically determined role of marketing and some of the issues arising to support marketing activity in organisations
- Adequately distinguish between some of the pragmatic marketing operations and some theoretical concepts to establish a contemporary view of marketing activity in an organisation.

In addition to the above, you are expected to

- Prepare and use IT to aid efficient searching, evaluation and selection of information, exploring alternative lines of enquiry where appropriate. Present information effectively, including evidence/examples to support your arguments and conclusions.

- Identify and critically assess in a comprehensive fashion the current strengths and weaknesses of the journal article. Evaluate and synthesise information from different sources, theories and principles, and communicate relevant information effectively, and with accuracy.

- Demonstrate an awareness of the relevance of the journal article to current marketing practices in the business world.

Assignment : Evaluating a Journal Article

In this first assignment, you have to prepare a 1,400 word critical analysis of a given article from a peer- reviewed journal. You need to critically evaluate the article from a theoretical perspective and consider the practical implications using examples based on the Omani market. You need to use at least two other related journal articles (selected by yourself), to support your evaluation of the article.

Article Title: "Customer perception towards effectiveness of floor advertisements in organized retail", by Mithun Shrivastava, Navdeep Saini, and Arvind Pinto, in International Journal of Business and Management Invention, ISSN (Online): 2319 - 8028, Volume 3, Issue 1,January 2014, PP.11-19

The Abstract of the article:

Advertisements play a significant role in consumer decision making related to products/ services. In fact, the customer perception gets influenced in different ways in varying degree in response to advertising stimuli presented by marketers, especially in the context of multitude of advertising tools and techniques applied by organized retail sector in the domain of point of purchase ads. One such technique that has gained attention of supermarkets and/ or hypermarkets is the use of floor advertisements. This study is perhaps a maiden attempt in Oman's organized retail sector and attempts to investigate/ examine customer perception towards effectiveness of floor ads used in organized retail outlets. For the said purpose, primary data was collected by administering structured undisguised questionnaire amongst 100 respondents in Oman. The impact of select factors which are expected to contribute significantly to floor - ad effectiveness, viz.; floor- ad recall, floor-ad persuasiveness, attitude towards floor-ad, and floor-ad attractiveness has been examined. Further, the impact of floor-ad effectiveness on customers' purchase intention as well as on his/ her word of mouth intention has also been examined. Structural equation modeling based on partial least square method was used to determine path coefficients in the proposed structural model. Based on the findings, it could be concluded that all relationships examined as per proposed structural model were found to be significant at 95% confidence level, except the relationship indicating impact of floor-ad recall on floor-ad effectiveness. This study is expected to help marketers make informed decisions related to channelizing advertising budgets concerning floor-ads in organized retail sector, besides providing some useful insights to other scholars in phenomenon similar or related to the domain of research.

The Task:

Evaluate the journal article with specific consideration of the following:

- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Theory
- Method
- Results
- Contribution
- Overall assessment

Please, note the following:

- You must use at least two other journal articles for your discussion
- Your arguments must be balanced and supported by marketing literature on consumer behaviour and marketing communications
- You must demonstrate and apply your marketing knowledge
- Your references must reflect a balance between academic and internet sources

Suggested Structure for your Assignment:

Cover page
Table of contents
Executive summary (the summary of your own analysis of this article)
Introduction to the evaluation of the journal article (state the aim of the paper and structure)

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Theory
5. Method
6. Results
7. Contribution
8. Overall assessment

The evaluation of the Journal Article GUIDELINES:

Analysing a journal article is not as difficult as you might think. The guidelines below will help you to provide a structured and sequential analysis of the journal article:

Introduction (approximately 100 words).
- This section should be brief. It should explain the assignment task and indicate to the reader how you are going to approach the assignment.
Title of the article (approximately 100 words)

- Is the title of the article clear?
- After reading the article, do you think the title is appropriate and reflecting the essence of the article?

Abstract (approximately 100 words)
Is the abstract comprehensive enough with regard to the following:
- What (Research Questions, Aims, Objectives)
- Why
- How
- Key outcomes
- Key contributions
- Limitations

Introduction of the article (approximately 100 words)

- Is there a Clear Objective / Research Question?
- Is the Objective / Research Question Interesting?
- Is it Interesting and Encourage You to Read Further?

Coverage of the Theory (approximately 200 words)

- Does it Contain a Well-Developed and Articulated Theoretical Framework?
- Is the Theory Appropriately Applied?
- Is the Context for Objectives / Hypothesis / Prepositions Clear and the Supporting Logic Persuasive?
- Is Extant Literature Appropriately Reflected?
- Do the Hypothesis or Prepositions Logically Flow from the Theory?

Methodology (approximately 200 words)

- Are the Sample and Variables Appropriate for the Hypothesis?
- Is the Data Collection Method Consistent with the Analytical Technique's) Applied?
- Does the Study Have Internal and External Validity?
- Are the Analytical Techniques Appropriate for the Theory and Research Questions?

Results of the study (approximately 200 words)

- Do the results flow from data analysis?
- Are the results presented clearly and in an understandable way?
- Are the findings supported by any other study?
- Are there alternative explanations for the results?

Contribution and practical implications (approximately 200 words)
- Does the article Make a Value added Contribution to the Existing Knowledge or Extend Understanding of marketing communications and consumer behaviour in the Omani market?
- Does the article Stimulate Thought or Debate?
- Does the article show Practical implications and alternative explanations for marketers/retailers in the Omani market?

Overall assessment (approximately 200 words)
- Are you convinced by the findings?
- Are there ‘gaps' where nothing is said?
- Are inconsistencies discussed and explained?
- Is ‘what should be done next' discussed?