Principles of marketing/PMKT101/Assignment

Level 5 / 1st year University course assessment

Summary:	Demonstrate your understanding of marketing.
	3 hours

Assessed learning outcome: Apply marketing concepts and processes to develop a rationale for an optimal marketing mix of a product or service, taking market segments, positioning and product life cycle into account.

Note:

1. If you are completing this course for formal credit, you must complete and submit this assessment.
2. You will need to retain a copy of this assignment for reference in the assignments for PMKT102 and PMKY103.

Part A: Learning challenge reflection (15%)

1. Select a learning challenge from one of the learning pathways in this course which you consider to be your "best" stating the reason for selecting this challenge in a sentence.
2. Describe the two most important things that you learnt from completing the learning challenge?
   • Think about WHAT you have learned but also HOW you learned it.
   • How did this new knowledge integrate with previous knowledge and experience, i.e. how does theory relate to practice?
3. List two changes you would you make to improve your original version.
4. Explain how each suggested change improves that aspect of marketing.

500 words maximum.

Support resources

If you are completing a learning reflection for the first time, you should consult the following resources from the Digital skills for online learning micro-course which forms part of the OERu's Learning in a Digital Age course.

How to prepare a learning reflection

1. Purpose and stimulus resources
2. Tasks
3. Outputs

Part B: Prepare a marketing report for a product or service (85%)

Select a new product or service to review for this report. This could be anything e.g. a washing powder, a toy, or paint.

Note: We recommend that you continue using this product or service for the assignments in PMKT102 and PMKT103 should you decide to continue your studies of Principles of Marketing, so spend some time to make your choice.

Your report should contain the following:

1. Introduction
2. The 4Ps: Describe each of the 4Ps in relation to the product chosen.
3. Marketing Mix: How the 4Ps contribute to the marketing mix.
4. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Strategy: Outline the strategy you think has been used with this product.
5. Conclusions and Recommendations: How do you feel the "marketing team" did with this product. Describe the pros and cons of the strategy. Are there any improvements you would suggest?
6. Bibliography (Using the APA reference style)

2500 words maximum.

Marking Rubric

Use the rubric below to give yourself an idea of how well you have completed the assessment.

This is the same rubric that will be used to mark your assessment if you choose to be formally assessed.

Part A: Learning challenge reflection (15%)

Criteria	C	B	A	Weighting
Reflective thinking	The reflection attempts to demonstrate thinking about learning but is vague and/or unclear about the personal learning process.	The reflection explains the learner's thinking about his/her own learning processes.	The reflection explains the learner's own thinking and learning processes, as well as implications for future learning.	20%
Analysis	The reflection attempts to analyze the learners own experience but the value of the learning to the student is vague and/or unclear.	The reflection is an analysis of the learning experience and the value of the derived learning to self and others.	The reflection is an in-depth analysis of the learning experience, the value of the derived learning to self and others, and the enhancement of the learner’s appreciation for the discipline.	50%
Making connections	The reflection attempts to articulate connections between this learning experience and course content, but the connection is vague and/or unclear.	The reflection articulates connections between this learning experience and content from this and other courses, past learning experiences citing a few examples.	The reflection articulates multiple connections between this learning experience and content from this and other courses, past learning, life experiences and future goals citing multiple examples.	30%

Part B: Prepare a marketing report for a product (85%)

Criteria	C	B	A	Weighting
Purpose and objective(s)	The purpose and objective(s) of the report are vague and incomplete.	The purpose and objective of the report are clear, and the report addresses the objective(s).	The purpose and objective of the report are clear, and the report addresses the objective(s) in a focused and logical manner.	10%
Discussion: Marketing mix	All 4Ps in relation to the product chosen were not fully explained. Discussion provides some justification and explanation but is at times muddled and unclear and lacking in supporting references.	The 4Ps in relation to the product were explained but lacked clarity. Discussion provides justification and explanation with some supporting references, but this is not always clear to the reader.	All 4Ps in relation to the product chosen were fully explained. Discussion provides justification and explanation, and is clear and logical with adequate supporting references.	30%
Discussion: Market segments, positioning and product life cycle	Some elements of Segmentation, target market and positioning of the chosen product were missing. Discussion provides some justification and explanation but is lacking in supporting references.	Segmentation, target market and positioning of the chosen product were covered but aspects were muddled. Discussion provides justification and explanation with some supporting references.	Segmentation, target market and positioning of the chosen product were covered and clear. Discussion provides justification and explanation, and is clear and logical with adequate supporting references.	30%
Conclusions and recommendations	Conclusions are relevant and portray most of the key points of the document. Recommendations are specific action-oriented suggestions, oriented to the business being discussed. Conclusions/Recommendations flow logically from the document but the logic may not always be clear. Presentation lacks clarity and format is muddled.	Conclusions are relevant and portray the key points of the document. Recommendations are specific action-oriented suggestions, oriented to the business being discussed. Conclusions/Recommendations flow logically from the document but the logic may not always be clear. They are presented in a clear, itemised format.	Conclusions are relevant and accurately portray the key points of the document. Recommendations are specific action-oriented suggestions, oriented to the business being discussed, and organised in a relevant manner. Conclusions/recommendations flow logically from the document in a manner which is evident to the reader. They are presented in a clear, itemised format.	20%
Clarity and technical presentation Format, spelling, grammar etc.	Report presentation is unclear, many grammatical and spelling errors. Referencing does not comply with the APA style.	Adequate report presentation, some grammatical and spelling errors. All references are included in the reference list with only a few APA style errors.	Very clear report presentation, accurate grammar and spelling. Correct implementation of the APA reference style.	10%