Introductory description

This module develops the judgement to apply marketing thinking well. It equips Warwick MBA students to evaluate marketing decisions critically, analyse the situations senior leaders face, and adapt core concepts and frameworks to the context in front of them, rather than applying them by rote.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

• Defining the role of marketing, including notions of purpose
• Auditing the marketing environment to inform strategic response
• Understanding consumer and business-to-business buying behaviour
• Segmentation, targeting, positioning and differentiation
• Creating and managing brands and products (including goods, services and experiences)
• Designing and implementing the marketing mix, including communication and delivery via digital channels
• Current and future trends in marketing

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Evaluate the contribution of marketing to organisational performance and to the value an organisation creates for its customers and stakeholders
• Critique the contribution of marketing to organisational sustainability and its wider effects on society, weighing competing claims rather than assuming alignment.

Indicative reading list

Reading lists can be found in Talis

Research element

Research and information gathering to describe business contexts and situations.

Subject specific skills

Interrogate customer needs and behaviour and formulate a marketing response grounded in that analysis.
Analyse marketing situations and justify a course of action given the constraints and trade-offs an organisation faces
Apply marketing concepts and techniques across a variety of professional contexts, adapting them where each context demands rather than applying them by rote.

Transferable skills

Communicate a marketing argument in writing with clarity and rigour.
Work with others to test and challenge marketing judgements, and reflect critically on that process to improve future practice