[MKT461F99.WRD]

E-Mail: GIFFORJB@MUOHIO.EDU FAX: 513-529-1290

Prentice Hall International, publisher, 1998

1. To introduce you to the vital role retailing plays in the domestic and international marketplace yesterday, today, and tomorrow;

2. To actively advocate the consideration of a career in retailing as a rewarding, challenging, and socially valuable option;

3. To provide each of you with the opportunity to practice and refine your written, oral, and multimedia communication skills;

4. To stimulate and improve your ability to convert theory to application within a retailing environment;

5. To share with you, at a principles level, most of the key concepts and vocabulary used in retailing. As is true in almost all professions, you must first learn the basic tools of the trade and their basic applications before you can proceed. No matter what profession you enter after your college experience, you will need to communicate and coordinate your activities with marketing and retailing practitioners. Therefore, you must understand their vocabulary and thought processes to be successful. This is not brain surgery stuff, but common sense. However, we will move fairly fast and cover a large amount of material.

6. To encourage you to extend your learning horizons beyond the classroom and into the business community. To complete your project successfully, you will need to talk to retailers and vendors for advice.

7. To emphasize teamwork and sharing. You are not in competition with your classmates, but with yourself and with the standards for demonstrated learning set by me.

8. To infuse in each of you a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm about the profession of marketing and retailing management;

9. To have fun learning together. School should be considered a challenge and an opportunity to be enjoyed, not tolerated.

10. To stimulate a Socratic and participative approach to learning;

11. To encourage you to go beyond the level of memory of facts to comprehension, application, analysis, syntheses and evaluation through participating in a MAJOR term project;

12. To increase your small group dynamics skills, something that will be important throughout your professional careers.

A number of learning opportunities will be made available in class that cannot be adequately obtained from the textbook alone. I also need you to share your expertise, knowledge, and experiences that you have acquired throughout your life to date. Therefore, an attendance sheet will be circulated during each class period starting on the second day. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to sign the sheet each day before you leave class. If your signature is not there, you will be counted as absent! In business, if you forget to clock in, you don’t get paid. I am not here to judge reasons you may not be in class: interviews, intramural or varsity athletics, etc are all valid and worthwhile reasons for non-attendance. However, the fact is, if you are not there, you are not contributing or receiving the inputs of your classmates and teacher. If you miss 8 or more of the classes for any reason(s), you will be dropped from the course with a "W" or "WF." I am not here to judge good or bad reasons for not attending. I assume they are all valid. If this policy does not work with your schedule or priorities, you should try to change sections now. Never sign someone else's name.

0-3 absences =No penalty, except lost learning REPRESENTS:

4 absences = Minus 3% of final semester average (13% of course)

5 absences = Minus 5% of final semester average (17% of course)

6 absences = Minus 7.5% of final semester average (20% of course)

7 absences = Minus 10% of final semester average (23% of course)

8 or more absences = F or WF as appropriate (26% of course)

Grades are, unfortunately, a necessity of our present academic system. They are designed to measure your level of attainment rather than the degree of change in your cognition and skills achieved during a specific class. All our current measurement systems are imperfect and can only approximate your level of learning at a point in time. You are not in direct competition with your fellow students as grades are not given out on a competitive basis. You will be graded against standards set by myself at four points during the semester. There is no curve or predetermined number of "A's" for this class. I will measure, in part, my success by how high your grades are at the end of the semester. The higher the better!!! However, I cannot make you learn. You have to want to learn and work hard to accomplish this goal. This course is not an easy course.

During the course, three evening exams will be given. These exams are being given in the evening at the recommendation of students in prior sections to allow adequate time to develop your answers. Each exam will be 100% essay (1 - 3 questions) involving the application of concepts to hypothetical or real situations. The exams will be reasonably long to give me the best sample of your knowledge. I will not knowingly design trick questions or deal in very minor elements. I will share a past exam with you before each exam and go over a "good" answer. Assuming I receive permission from the Chair, there will be no final exam.

Exam #1 20%

Exam #2 20%

Exam #3 20%

Final Project 40%

TOTAL 100%

Distribution:

A= 90% - 100%

B = 80% - 89.99%

C = 70% - 79.99%

D = 60% - 69.99%

F = 59.99% or less

[Yes, I will use +/- grading. For example, 87.50 - 89.99% = B+]

Peer evaluations will be used as a component of the grade on the major term project. Each team member is asked to keep a descriptive log of his or her activities related to the project. In this log please document the date, amount of time and activity. At the time of the final presentation, each participant will be asked to turn in her or his log, plus a confidential written assessment of their own and partner’s level of contribution. A partner who does not do hir or her fair share will receive a lower grade on the project at the discretion of the teacher.

Suggestions for Studying in this Class

1st: Read the indicated materials before the class session in which it is assigned. Highlight major topics and key concepts and terms. Make a list of these key concepts in outline form. Keep this outline in length between 2-4 pages. Be ready to discuss questions presented by your teacher for that day.

2nd: Be able to answer the questions marked in the assigned chapter 1). Chapter Objectives; 2). Key Terms; 3) Questions for Discussion

3rd: Take good notes in class.

1st DO NOT reread the chapters. Review your notes, plus those taken in class. Think about what you have learned in the context of their application in a specific retail environment.

2nd Get a good night's sleep before the exam. You need to be fresh given the length of the exams and the amount of material covered. If you read each question once carefully, and have studied and listened in class effectively, your first impression of the right answers will usually be correct. Don't over analyze the questions.

Honesty

I assume that everyone is honest unless proven otherwise. You are encouraged to study together before exams and to talk to your colleagues and myself when you don't understand a concept before the exam. The exams are closed books and notes. During exams, please make sure that your answers are covered so as not to tempt your neighbor with all your correct answers. When in deep thought, all inspirations should come from above, not to your left or right. If you can use part of your class project in another class, that is fine as long as you inform both faculty members in writing before it is submitted to either teacher. Make sure it is OK with your other professor.

In the unfortunate situation where dishonesty is indicated, the written university code in the student handbook and divisional/departmental provisions will be carried out exactly. Dishonesty on the exams will result in an "F" for the course and a notation of academic dishonesty on your transcript. Direct plagiarism from past projects is dishonest and may be grounds for suspension from Miami University. Please... there are no shortcuts to learning!

My Role and Responsibility as a Teacher

It is my responsibility to create a total learning environment where you are actively encouraged to question, acquire specific cognitive information and skills, evaluate alternative careers and lifestyles, values, attitudes and beliefs, and to improve your communication skills. I will attempt to be a positive role model and maintain high personal ethical standards. As a teacher, I have been entrusted by your parents or guardians with helping to prepare you to live a full and valued life. I accept this responsibility. I will always be fully prepared for all classes, will be on time (hopefully, at least 5-10 minutes early), and will provide each of you with a comprehensive course syllabus that contains all relevant guidelines.

I will carefully grade all class assignments and exams and return them in a timely manner (normally five working days, except the final project). I will make myself available a minimum of 10 hours per week, plus additional times by appointment, to assist you in resolving any problems you may be having with course materials, computer problems, or career decisions. I will regularly measure your performance toward the stated course objectives, and will keep you informed of how you are doing.

It is my responsibility to remain current in my subject fields, related technologies, and the teaching profession. It is my responsibility as a scholar-teacher to synthesize and assimilate existing knowledge, and to take personal responsibility for the improvement of my teaching and, when asked, the teaching of my colleagues. I will follow all ethical rules of Miami University and the Student Handbook, with particular attention to Good Teaching Practices.

I will treat and respect you as a unique individual with special needs and abilities. I recognize that you have very complex lives outside the classroom, and reasonable accommodations are appropriate and necessary when conflicts arise between classroom obligations and personal emergencies and growth opportunities outside the classroom. However, classroom attendance is expected!

I believe in constructive, and whenever possible, positive reinforcement. A good teacher inspires confidence and motivates students to exceed their own expectations. My role is to be a catalyst in your learning environment that sparks you to achieve your potential. You are all exceptionally bright and creative individuals; therefore, high expectations for performance are appropriate.

Your Responsibilities and Rights

It is the responsibility of each of you to attend all regularly scheduled classes. You should bring extensive notes to class each day that reflect your best thinking about the topic assigned for the day. This "class" should be treated as a business conference where you are consultants to a variety of executives. In business, you would never show up late or unprepared for such an important meeting. Your academic colleagues and I expect the same. You should actively and regularly share your insights, questions and ideas with your teacher and classmates. All papers and projects should be turned in on time and in the format assigned. You should take on the responsibility of helping your peers to learn when necessary through the sharing of your knowledge and opinions. You will not knowingly cheat in any way.

If you have suggestions for a better way to stimulate learning in class or are unhappy with any activities of your teacher or fellow students, it is your responsibility to let the teacher know. You are paying a large amount of money to attend each class at Miami University, and have a right to expect your teachers to fulfill all their responsibilities identified above. Learning is an active, not passive process. This year may be one of your last chances to make mistakes without the very real threat of career damage. Make your mistakes now, and then learn from them.

Philosophy of Student Assessment

Grades are a necessity of our current academic environment and will be used to provide constructive feedback to you concerning your demonstrated level of attainment of the knowledge and learning skills defined in the course under "Course Objectives". There is no ideal, target or predetermined grade curve for my classes. It is my responsibility to design fair and relevant exams in terms of timing, length, content and style, to grade these exams in a timely, impartial manner as objectively as possible, and to provide you with constructive criticism and complements when returning the exams. The questions remain my property, while the answers are your property. The grading standards are published in the course syllabi, and will not be changed. Criteria that will be used in evaluating the term projects are attached. These should be considered as guidelines as you develop your project. They are not absolutes, and the sum of the weights and chapter grades will often not match their mathematical total. The overall paper quality is sometimes greater than…or less than the sum of the parts. As the three exams are given in the evening, you will receive 4.5 hours of classes beyond that normally received in a three credit hour class. What a deal! And it’s free.

Teaching Method for MKT 461 –Fall, 1998

During this fall semester of 1998, 1 will continue trying a number of experiments that I hope will more precisely address your learning needs. During the past two summers, I have taken 38, fifty-minute lectures, and filtered out all those topics that duplicate material presented in Marketing 291, 351, 391 and 491. Second, I have eliminated a number of topics that are very likely to be covered in one or two of your 4x1 courses and that are not particularly unique to the field of retailing. I have taken the remaining material, updated it using the best textbooks in the field, trade publications, plus my industry experience, and put it together in a series of lectures, discussions and multimedia presentations. This will free up 30% of the course to actually apply these ideas to a major project.

A major project has been added to the course that should be done in groups of three. Be sure of your partner up front. If she or he doesn't hold up their part of the bargain, just like in industry, you will all still be held responsible for the final outcome. If one of your partners is not doing their fair share, the team must give that person a two weeks notice in writing. If the situation is not corrected, you may fire that person from your team. The individual must then create a project on their own (not join another group) or drop the course. For the project, we will be building a new shopping center in Scottsdale, Arizona. Our mall is called The Promenade and will be located at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. It is currently being built by the Pederson Group, Inc. You will receive a copy of the shopping center layout, dimensions, and design constraints. A copy of your project will be submitted to the company for their "review." It will be your responsibility to select a location for your specialty store within that mall and then plan the following elements of your business: 1) Introduction and Strategic Planning Statement; 2) Trading Area and Site Analysis; 3) Exterior Store Design, Interior Store Design, Visual Merchandising; 4) Organizational Structure and HR Plan; 5) Merchandise and Pricing; 6) Develop a Sales Promotion Plan for the Grand Opening and First Year; and 7) Overall Summary & Odds of Success. This entire project will be presented in multimedia, plus 2-3 store drafts on large drawing boards. As part of the course, I will teach you how to use the newest version of PowerPoint 1997 IF you are not currently a user. As you will note, we will be using actual industry facts whenever possible. Your final "paper" will take the form of a 50 minute multimedia presentation, plus a hard copy printout of your presentation "slides and notes".

Why are we doing this project? Why must I use multimedia? Good questions. After teaching this course for 28 years, plus consulting for dozens of retail firms, I have become increasingly convinced that: 1) Less is more. By cutting the amount of new materials by 1/3, combined with the immediate application of that material to a "real" store, retention of the concepts should be greatly increased. Secondly, your ability to creatively use today's latest presentation technologies in your chosen profession is becoming absolutely essential to the success of STARS. You are a potential STAR in your chosen field or you would not be a junior or senior at Miami University. Because this area of computer application is changing extremely rapidly, a lack of knowledge in this presentation technology will place you at a competitive disadvantage in the work place when you graduate. I want to do my part in helping you fill this potential void while simultaneously learning the subject of retailing AND HAVING FUN! Once you get past the X*I?##91 start up fear, plus usual mess ups as you go along, I hope that you will find this to be a valuable tool. Once you learn one of these multimedia programs, you can easily convert to others as new and better software and more powerful hardware explodes onto the market. This also means that the final project will NOT require 175 pages of typing. However, you must be very careful to constantly save your work so that a disaster does not occur during the semester! Set up a folder and then save each chapter as a separate file.

We will have access to color photo scans, digital photography, and hopefully a CD-ROM tower. I also have a state of the art system in my office we can use together for special needs (This includes 235,000 clip art and wav. files). The technical staff of the P & G Communication Center are also available for assistance and have a number of fun electronic toys, including scanners and digital cameras. Approach the project with a positive attitude, keep up with the class, and I think this will really be a fun and worthwhile learning opportunity.

Role of This Course and Higher Education at Miami University

The missions of Miami University, Richard T. Farmer School of Business Administration, and the Department of Marketing are to: 1) develop life long learners; 2) individualize the educational experience of each student as much as possible; 3) provide students with opportunities to achieve understanding and appreciation not only of their own culture, but the cultures of others; 4) educate women and men for responsible, informed citizenship, as well as for meaningful employment; and 5) provide professional, academic and personal guidance when requested. Marketing 461 is designed to introduce you to the basic tools and concepts in retailing as part of your core knowledge in business. Using the analogy of carpentry, this course provides you with knowledge of the basic tools (hammers, saws, drills, etc.) used in retailing today and in the next decade. I will not teach you how to build a mansion with these tools (maybe a starter house). Remember, in this course we only have 42 in-class hours, plus 100 hours of homework. That's equal to only 3.5 weeks. As you continue to take core and advanced business courses, you will acquire the complementary skills and knowledge to build your retail mansion. Add internships and employment after graduation, and a Frank Lloyd Wright or Bill Gates house could be in your future. However, if you haven't created a good foundation knowledge in finance, economics, management, DSC, accountancy, marketing .... and retailing, even that split level will collapse.

In my opinion, the most important part of your education at Miami University is to learn how to learn and to develop a love for life long learning. Read everything you can. Meet people with different backgrounds. Take part in one or more international program. Surf the web. Participate in the life of your university. Grow, share, give, receive graciously, and mature. Acquire both skills and knowledge. Work hard, and have fun. Life long learning is one of the greatest investments you can make in yourself. If you do not do this, your professional knowledge and skills will become obsolete practically overnight.

Teaching Pedagogy

During our class time, we will use a variety of interactive learning environments including: discussion, lecture, debates, simulations, internet searches, CD-ROMS, some multimedia, discovery method, speakers, current issues in the news, and Q & A. I will try to start each topic with a list of 2-10 basic concepts to cover that 75 minute period, and end with a reminder of where he have traveled. You will be fairly lost if you have not read the assigned material for that day. I will also frequently distribute a current, short retail article that we will discuss. These articles are fair game for the exams.

MKT 461

Project Criteria

Fall, 1998

1. Each of the six major chapters should be as complete as possible. It is expected that in many cases you will have back up pages that will not be part of your actual final presentation unless a specific question is asked by other students or your teacher.

2. Each chapter will be judged in terms of consistency with the rest of the chapters. For example, an upscale fashion apparel store would not normally have a grid layout and high merchandise density. One would not expect to find all fluorescent lighting and 60 inch rounders in such a store. Try to be as internally consistent as possible.

3. Your paper should be as realistic as possible, and future oriented. You will need to talk to "real" retailers in similar businesses. Your store will be opening August 15, 1999. Think future, not past or present. Incorporate evolving technologies and future trends. Be creative.... but also realistic.

4. Creative use of the multimedia environment is important. This does not mean that you will be judged on the complexity of the presentation, but on the effectiveness of the total communication package. However, scanned images, animation and clip art should be incorporated as appropriate.

5. It is my hope that you will not simply feed back all the material presented in the class lectures. You should pick and choose those dimensions in each chapter that are most appropriate to your business, plus material you acquire from the book, internet and outside human sources. Guidelines distributed in class might earn you a "C" if done well.

6. When evaluating your exterior and interior store designs, plus visual merchandising, I do not expect you to be great artists, although many of you have significant talents in this area. However, with a compass, protractor, ruler and a few other very basic tools, you will find you can create a very logical and appropriate set of designs. Be sure the scale is marked on your floor plans and an index key of symbols is included. Everything must be to scale and labeled. This includes non-selling areas. A box marked storage area or break room is not acceptable. Details.

7. Be sure not to ignore the content from our textbook. In class we only highlight maybe 40% of the book material. The rest is also important, but has been presented so well by the authors that I have chosen not to spend additional time on the topics in class.

8. We have an excellent physical and electronic library and information network that can provide you with a wealth of information on a broad spectrum of topics directly related to your retail store project. Make good use of these materials, and don't forget to include important things like bibliographies and a table of contents. The Internet is

particularly valuable when working on your trading area analysis and merchandising sections. You will find my home page of particular assistance.

9. If you have made an honest attempt to discover a certain fact, or are having difficulty with any particular dimension of your paper, be sure to come see me. I'll try to point you in the right direction or call a retailer who can hopefully help you answer your question. Large voids in your presentation because the information was not available is not a very strong argument unless together we have been unsuccessful in finding answers.

10 Be sure to use computer time productively. Come in with ideas, outlines, notes, etc. The scheduled lab times on the syllabus are not optional, but an important part of the total class. I will also be available to help you during office hours or by appointment.

11. Do not try to wait until the last minute to complete this project. It probably cannot be done! Be sure to save your work regularly and maintain at least one backup file of your material. Print hard copy when you have a reasonably good rough draft of a chapter. You may find it best to save each chapter separately and then to tie them together electronically using PowerPoint. A "student data" drive memory space has been reserved for this class. Feel free to use it, but don't abuse it. Memory is not infinitely available.

12. Only you can learn. What you get out of this project is almost totally dependent upon what you put into it during the semester. You also have a moral obligation not to let your partners down and to do your fair share of the work. I hope you will be excited and proud of your final output! You have limited reading and almost no other outside written homework in this class. This project will take you at least 65 hours of hard work.

13. At the time of your presentation you will need to turn in your design boards (minimum two;[Interior Exterior, Exterior Exterior ] each must be a minimum scale of 1" = 4' on foam filled board) and three hard copies of your slides with speaker notes. These should be spiral bound. I will keep one copy, one will be sent to the developer, and I will return the third to you. Be sure to also make copies for yourself as part of your professional portfolio. Your boards will be returned after they are graded and photographed for the developer.

CHAPTERS

Chapter 1: Introductory overview and strategic plan (10%)

Chapter 2: Trading area and site analysis (10%)

Chapter 3: Exterior store design, interior design & visual merchandising (30%)

Chapter 4: Organizational structure and human resources plan (10%)

Chapter 5: Merchandising and pricing (20%)

Chapter 6: Sales promotion for grand-opening and first fiscal year (10%)

Overall summary and Odds of Success (1%)

Oral and Multi Media Presentation: (10%)

[ All the above %s are only guidelines; your final project grade may be higher or lower then their mathematical sum based upon how well they flowed together and my overall evaluation of the quality of the project]

Date Subject Matter Class Preparation

September 1 Introduction to Retailing Preface, Chap 1 (1-25)

September 2,3 PowerPoint Practice 7:15-9:15 LWS 207

(Either as needed)

Dec, 3 Evening Exam #3 5:00-6:45pm or 7:00- 8:45pm

December 3 Project Presentations 9:30-10:30am

December 7 7-7:50 pm,8-8:50 pm, 9-9:50 pm presentations

December 8 7-7:50 pm,8-8:50 pm, 9-9:50 pm presentations

December 9 7-7:50 pm,8-8:50 pm, 9-9:50 pm presentations

December 10 7-7:50 pm,8-8:50 pm, 9-9:50 pm presentations

[ Must attend any three of the above presentations]

Dates to remember:

Dec. 11 Classes end at 10:00 p.m.