Marketing (M.A.)

Locations

Marketing courses are offered at the following locations:

Continental United States

• Kansas City Metropolitan Campus, MO
• Little Rock Metropolitan Campus, AR
• North Orlando Metropolitan Campus, FL
• South Orlando Metropolitan Campus, FL
• St. Louis, MO
  • Home Campus
  • Westport Campus
  • WingHaven Campus

International

• London, United Kingdom
• Vienna, Austria

Program Description

The objective of the marketing core is to provide an opportunity for the student to study the dynamics of human behavior that affect marketing decisions. Included in this analysis is an examination of effective marketing practices and procedures and the analytical techniques required prior to basic marketing decisions.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Graduates will be able to develop a complete marketing research document which involves gathering the information, analyzing the information, analyzing the data collected, and forecasting the critical information which is in support of the marketing plan
2. Graduates will be able to demonstrate the ability to identify and select markets for specific products to be targeted.
3. Graduates will be able to demonstrate and quantitatively understand the nature of the marketing mix, and the judgment required for allocating scarce resources across the marketing mix.
4. Graduates will be able to demonstrate the ability to develop a fully integrated promotion plan to support the overall marketing plan.
5. Graduates will be able to create a comprehensive marketing plan for a product or service.
6. Graduates will be able to create a channel of distribution plan which gives strategic competitive advantage to their marketing plan.
7. Graduates will be able to give professional presentations of their marketing plans.

Program Curriculum

The 36 credit hours required for the master of arts (M.A.) or the 48 credit hours required for the master of business administration (M.B.A.) must include the following courses for a major/emphasis in marketing:

• MRKT 5000 Marketing (Requisite Course)
• MRKT 5890 Marketing Statistics
• MRKT 5920 Marketing Channel Management
• MRKT 5940 Promotional Management
• MRKT 5960 Marketing Management
• MRKT 5970 Marketing Research
• MRKT 5980 International Marketing
• MRKT 6000 Integrated Studies in Marketing

In addition, the student chooses elective courses offered in this major and/or from the program curricula of other School of Business and Technology majors.

Course Descriptions

MRKT 5000 Marketing (Requisite Course) (3)
Students examine the character and importance of the marketing process, its essential functions, and the institutions exercising these functions. Course content focuses on the major policies that underlie the activities of marketing institutions and the social, economic, and political implications of such policies.

MRKT 5500 Professional Seminars (1-3)
Students participate in seminars designed to examine contemporary issues in marketing. The professional seminar supplements the core and elective courses in the area of marketing by focusing on issues of current and special interest. Course may be repeated for credit if content differs. Graduate students may apply a maximum of 3 credit hours of these seminars as electives to meet the credit-hour requirements for graduation. This course may not be completed as directed study.

MRKT 5800 Sales Management (3)
This course is designed to help the students become familiar with the theory, concepts, terminology, and problem-solving techniques used in sales and how sales are an important part of the overall promotion plan. In addition, the student will be given insight into how a successful salesperson communicates, including an analysis of consumer buying behavior. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000.

MRKT 5890 Marketing Statistics (3)
The student examines the application of statistical analysis to marketing decisions. Descriptive statistics, probability theory, sampling theory, statistical inference, and techniques of statistical analysis are included, especially as they apply to real-life marketing decisions in business. M.B.A. students should take MRKT 5890. Students who have completed BUSN 5760 may not enroll in MRKT 5890. M.B.A. students who are taking an emphasis in marketing and who take BUSN 5760 can substitute that course for MRKT 5890. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000.

MRKT 5900 Marketing in Electronic Commerce (3)
This course will focus on the strategy involved to market products and services in the age of electronic commerce. Specific emphasis will be placed upon understanding the paradigm shift that the Internet has created in business and marketing's role in that shift. Both consumer and business-to-business applications will be discussed. Methodology will use the Internet, weekly periodicals, and other media appropriate to the topic. How technology is affecting the marketing mix and how to use marketing principles and concepts in this environment are the prime questions to be answered.

MRKT 5910 Pricing Strategies (3)
Students study pricing theory in-depth as it applies to marketing strategy decisions. This course includes study of the impact of pricing decisions on income statement performance, gross margins, contribution margin results, and price changes on profitability. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000.

MRKT 5920 Marketing Channel Management (3)
The student studies distribution processes and institutional structures as subsystems of marketing strategy. Focus is on channel structure, product assortment considerations, promotional activities, pricing strategies, and physical logistics necessary to achieve channel objectives. Governmental, economic, and competitive aspects affecting channel management are included. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000.

MRKT 5940 Promotional Management (3)
Students examine the use of all available promotional vehicles to communicate to potential customers the messages that support the objectives of the marketing plan. Each of the four elements of the promotion mix is covered: advertising, publicity, sales promotion, and personal selling. Specific focus is applied to building differentiated value perceptions in the customers in relation to competitors' products. Students who intend to take MRKT 5950 as an elective should take it before MRKT 5940. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000.

MRKT 5950 Consumer Behavior (3)
The course includes an analysis of consumer motivation, buyer behavior and perceptions, market adjustment, and product innovation relative to current theories of consumer market behavior and product reactions. Communication vehicles necessary to target specific marketing strategies to address unique consumer buying behavior traits are an integral part of this course. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000.

MRKT 5960 Marketing Management (3)
The student examines the life cycle management of a product from inception to the point where it is no longer offered. Specific topics covered in the course include the product development cycle, product assortment decisions, branding, pricing, and others that make up the marketing mix and that are dynamic throughout the product life cycle. Specific emphasis is placed on identifying marketing problems, investigating alternative solutions, and rendering appropriate strategies and decisions. Techniques associated with situational analysis of problems are stressed. Prerequisites: MRKT 5000, MRKT 5920, MRKT 5940, and MRKT 5970.

MRKT 5970 Marketing Research (3)
Students examine the application of research in gathering and analyzing information to forecast and control marketing activities. Problem formulation, procedures of research techniques, and application of tools and models to improve marketing decisions are covered in depth. Attention is given to techniques and criteria for identifying and selecting markets, and the usefulness of marketing research information to marketing managers is evaluated. The course is presented from the viewpoint of a consumer of marketing research rather than a practitioner of marketing research. Prerequisites: MRKT 5000 and either BUSN 5760 or MRKT 5890.

MRKT 5980 International Marketing (3)
Students are exposed to several aspects of international marketing. This includes the international marketing environment and the international marketing mix--product, pricing, distribution, promotion--as well as emerging issues in international trade such as trading blocs, trade barriers, and standardization/ adaptation. Prerequisite: MRKT 5000 or permission of the instructor.

MRKT 5990 Strategic Market Planning (3)
This course is designed to develop the student's ability to effectively assemble an entire strategic and tactical market plan. The student prepares strategic and tactical market plans for a consumer product, an industrial product, and a specific service. The entire concept of marketing is employed in this course, relating to the three basic areas of marketing applications: consumer goods, industrial goods, and services. The specific differences between strategic and tactical planning are covered in depth. This course stresses market planning rather than problem solving. Prerequisites: MRKT 5000, MRKT 5920, MRKT 5940, MRKT 5960, MRKT 5970, and MRKT 5980.

Capstone Course

MRKT 6000 Integrated Studies in Marketing (3)
The student is expected to synthesize and integrate the learning experiences acquired in marketing and to evaluate the research and current topics relative to this major. Techniques used to accomplish these goals may vary. Prerequisite: completion of all other required courses in this major.