Bahir Dar University

College of Business and Economics

Post Graduate, Research and Community Service

Program Post Graduate, MA in Marketing Management

Course code Mkmt 631
Course Title Marketing Theory & Practice
Program MA in Marketing Management
Instructor Tadesse Mengistie, Office location: B171/R104 Mob. 0911654571
Consultation hours: Tuesday 8am-10am, mamtadese@gmail.com
Lecture days, Sunday
Hours, and Rooms
Target Student MA in Marketing Management

Year/Semester year I, semester I

Course Description

This course covers basic marketing theory and practice, concentrating on the
development of marketing strategy as well as marketing’s impact on the economic
environment. It is designed to enable the student understand and evaluate a company’s
marketing system by which products and services are planned, priced, promoted, and
distributed in order to satisfy consumer wants and needs. The external environmental
forces (demographic, economic, political, legal, socio-cultural, competition and
technological) will be appraised as they influence marketing strategies. Marketing
practices will be explored from an ethical standpoint. Great emphasis is placed on the
application of marketing principles to real-world situations at the corporate, small
business, and organizational levels. This course also has a writing component for which
students are expected to prepare and present a marketing report.
Objectives of the Course
The primary objective of this marketing course is to develop an understanding of
marketing as an all-embracing philosophy that focuses on (external as well as internal)
customers. It gives the student a comprehensive and innovative, managerial and
practical introduction to marketing.
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to

 demonstrate the importance and scope of marketing & develop an understanding

of the marketing concept
 define and understand key marketing terms & present fundamental concepts and
tools
 Evaluate the effects of the marketing concept on the firm, consumers, and
society.
 Scan marketing environment
 Analyze consumer behavior
 understand and describe market segmentation, targeting and positioning
 acquaint themselves with pricing a product and its approach
 describe how to design a product
 Recognize and suggest applications of the marketing concept.
 describe promotion (marketing communication) and distribution of product

Course Content
Chapter One: Marketing in a Changing Environment
1. Market Vs Marketing
2. What is marketed?
3. The core marketing concepts
4. Marketing management Philosophies
4.1 The production concept
4.2 The product concept
4.3 The selling concept
4.4 The Marketing concept
4.5 The societal Marketing concept
Chapter Two: Marketing Environment
2.1 External vs. Internal Environment
2.2. Uncontrollable External Factors
2.3. Micro Environment or immediate External Environment
2.4. Controllable Factors (Internal Environment)

Chapter Three: Consumer Behavior (what is consumer behavior?)

3.1. The consumer market
3.1.1. Model of consumer behavior
3.1.2. The consumer buying decision behavior
3.1.3. The buying decision process
3.1.4. Factors of buying behaviors
3.2. The Business Market
3.2.1. Business buying behavior
7.2.2. Business markets Vs consumer market

3.2.3. Stages in the buying process

3.2.4 Participants in the buying process

Chapter Four: Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

4.1 market segmentation
4.2 Target Market
4.3 positioning for competitive advantage

Chapter Five: Designing product

5.1 Definition of product
5.2 Product classification
5.3 Product decision
5.4 New product developments and the product life-cycle
5.5 product branding and packaging
Chapter six: Pricing consideration and Approaches
6.1 Factors influencing pricing
6.2 General pricing approach
6.3 New product pricing strategies
Chapter Seven: Distributing product
7.1 channel of distribution
7.2 physical distributions
7.3 warehousing
7.4 whole selling and retailing
Chapter Eight: Promotion (marketing communication)
8.1 The communication process
8.2. Types of promotion
8.3. Promotional message and media

Mode of Delivery
 Lecture along with active student participation
 Term paper
 Group discussion
 Presentation of assignments, term papers, seminar and projects
 Article review

Assessment and Evaluation Methods

 Continuous assessment: individual and/or group assignments ; mid semester and final
examinations and seminars
 For thesis and seminars and reports presentation
 Quality of paper presented
 Way of presentation
 Defending material presented

Main Reference Book

Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing, 14th ed. New Delhi: Prentice Hall
Inc.
Other References
Boone, E. and Kurtz L.(2005), Contemporary Marketing, 3rd ed. Mexico: The Arkansas
University Press

Boone, E. and Kurtz L. (2006), Contemporary Marketing, 12th ed. Instructors’ edition, New
York: Arkansas University Press

Hoffman, M. (2006), Marketing Principles and best practices 3 rd ed., Singapore: South Western
University Press

Kotler, Philip (1998), Marketing Management, 10th Ed. New Jersey: SAGE Inc.

Kotler, Philip (2000), Marketing Management, 12th ed. New Jersey: North Western University
Press

Kotler, Philip (2006), Principles of Marketing, 11th ed. New Delhi: Prentice Hall Inc.

Course Policies
 Attendance is mandatory. Under normal circumstances, students are
expected to attend 100% of the classes. However, for reasons that are
beyond the control of the students, for which they will present convincing
evidences, may miss few classes. A student who missed 15% of the class,
what so ever, during a semester will not be allowed for final examination
 Students should do all the assignment they are given. There may not be
make up assignments unless the course instructor is convinced to allow so
 Switch off mobile phone in the class and during exam is mandatory
 Any form of plagiarism/cheating is prohibited
 Students not abide by the above policies will be subject to the university
legislation.