Faculty of
Technology, Engineering and the Environment

Brief

Programme
Academic Year

Module: Management in Engineering Innovation UG2
Assignment : Marketing plan for new engineering product

Deliverables 1:
School: Engineering, Design and Manufacturing Systems
Module Co-ordinator: Chris de Nahlik
Set Date: See ECMS My Course on the intranet for details
Submission Deadline:
Assessment Weighting:
Submission Method: Presentations in workshops
Report to
Nominal time to complete this assignment: 70 Hours
Brief Assessment Details Research and development of a marketing plan for an engineering business or project; presenting group business proposal and preliminary findings, then writing an individual report. To be based on the considerations necessary for a new engineering based product in the field of your course, outlined in an associated engineering module.
Assessment: Individual assessment. The work you submit shall be your own and not the product of collaboration with anyone else. Plagiarism will be penalised.
Group assessments. Members of the group shall be listed in the assessment.

IMPORTANT STATEMENT

Plagiarism: the presentation of the work of another (from whatever source: book, journal, internet etc) as if it were one’s own independent work. This can be anywhere on a continuum ranging from sloppy paraphrasing to verbatim transcription without crediting sources.

You are advised to refer to the Student Handbook on matters of cheating and plagiarism as they relate to coursework, group assignments, class tests and examinations. Both cheating and plagiarism are totally unacceptable and the University maintains a strict policy against them. It is YOUR responsibility to be aware of this policy and to act accordingly.

The University requires that the following statement is included in all module documents.

“You are reminded of the University Disciplinary Procedures which refer to cheating. Except where the assessment of an assignment is group-based, the final piece of work which is submitted must be your own work. Close similarity between assignments is likely to lead to an investigation for cheating. It is not advisable to show your completed work to your colleagues or to share and exchange disks.

You must also ensure that you acknowledge all sources you have used. Work which is discovered to be the result of collusion or plagiarism will be dealt with under the University’s Disciplinary Procedures, and the penalty may involve the loss of academic credits.

If you have any doubts about the extent to which you are allowed to collaborate with your colleagues, or the conventions for acknowledging the source you have used, you should first of all consult module documentation and, if still unclear, your module tutor.”

You will be asked to confirm in writing when handing in any piece of assessed work that it is your own by completing the Coursework Submission & Record Form which should be printed from ECMS My-course on https://mytid.bcu.ac.uk/.#p#分頁標題#e#

It is the STUDENT’S responsibility to accurately complete the form and comply with its rules and guidance as described in the student handbook for this academic year.
 

Learning Outcomes to be Assessed:

1. Examine change in the global business macro-environment (STEEPLE) and its effects on an engineering enterprise; report particularly on innovation, company strategy including internal evolution, professional practice and career opportunities.
3. Breakdown a task and schedule the activities for timely completion, work effectively as a proactive individual and efficiently as a responsible leading team member to achieve the aim.
4. Communicate accurately and effectively in English through structured academic style management reports, plans, proposals and presentations appropriate to the audience using a variety of media.

Assessment Details:

You are to deliver, as a Professional Engineer and/or Manager, presentations and a report in the form of a Proposal and a well researched Marketing Plan, including resource recommendations to achieve them, for a business enterprise’s proposed New Product/s (Artefact/s or Service/s) or Project; this should be in the field of your Team’s course of study and outlined in an engineering module. Recommended content of a Proposal and a Marketing Plan structure are given below.

The Proposal will explore the business environment through secondary research, examine the enterprise’s resources and capabilities and recommend initial resource development. The Plan will analyse the business environment and the resources, derive quantified marketing objectives and recommend Marketing Strategy for the enterprise to exploit both the business’s environment and its resources.

The business’s environmental considerations should include the future global, or macro, business considerations as well as the, more micro, aspects of defined markets’ & segments’ quantified size & value, alliances and competitors, particularly highlighting changes as major sources of commercial advantage. The internal considerations should include the managerial capabilities to exploit the resources, identifying core competences and the development of sustainable competitive advantage, both for the enterprise, its new product, and for the individual team member.

A hypothetical business enterprise, comprising the members of your Team formed during Week 1 workshop, will supply the Product. Your Team will discuss, agree and research the Product that it wishes to deliver, so that your Team can present the formal outline Business Proposal.

Your Team should work together efficiently to prepare and present material for the Proposal and its resultant Marketing Plan. Jointly you will explore, research and analyse quantitative market & competitor data, draw conclusions, set SMART objectives and devise outline alternative marketing strategies, eg., for optimistic and pessimistic visions of the future, to exploit the specified target market for your enterprise and its new Product. Two assessed presentations will be made by Teams to the whole tutorial group - the Proposal for the enterprise, and the alternative Marketing Objectives and Strategies.#p#分頁標題#e#

You will submit your own Individual written Marketing Plan, including outline resource plan, based on the shared output of your Team’s work, using copies of your Team’s presentation slides as appendices if you wish. You will set out your own detailed specific proposals focussing on one of the alternatives previously proposed by the team for the Objectives and Marketing Mix/Strategy, stating why you have selected certain target markets/segments for the business and opportunities for your own employment, describing the key resource requirements for success in the business and your selected career, and then the objectives with how your business will most effectively exploit the market for its products.

Teamwork will be assessed summatively by tutors, as well as by peers in both inter- and intra-team appraisals which include feedback; this also serves as an aid to reflection on personal and teamwork skills performance and development.

Team Presentations – in class:

Proposal; Business Environment & The Enterprise.
- Business Objectives, STEEPLE, Markets, Segments, Customers, Alliances and Competitors.
- Resources & Capabilities, to meet the market/s’ want & needs.
Marketing Strategy Options and Resources Plan.
- Brief summary of 1 (above), plus Analysis, Conclusions, and Marketing Objectives.
- Strategic Options to meet Objectives.

Individual Written Report:

Specific Marketing Strategy for your Team’s business including brief resource plan and evaluation of personal career opportunities.

There is a separate opportunity for formative assessment of each student’s own employment portfolio.

Table of Assessment Criteria and Associated Grading Criteria

Assessment
Criteria
1.
Team Presentation: Proposal 2.
Team Presentation: Marketing Plan 3.
Individual’s contribution to Team’s work 4.
Writing Individual Marketing Plan
Weighting: 15% 15% 15% 55%
Grading
Criteria
0 – 29% Little or no knowledge of a proposal’s required content; Little or no knowledge of analysis or the business; Takes little or no part in teamwork; Little or no knowledge displayed of marketing plan structure or development;
30 – 39% Extremely patchy knowledge of proposals or of the business; Extremely patchy knowledge of analysis or the business; Contribution to teamwork is deemed to be inadequate in nearly all areas; Inadequate knowledge demonstrated of marketing strategy or the influences on its formulation;
40 – 49% Demonstrated a balanced but elementary knowledge of planning and the main external and internal factors; Demonstrated a balanced, basic knowledge of the analytical concepts and the enterprise; Contribution to teamwork is adequate in most areas; Knowledge demonstrated of structured marketing strategy and the external and internal issues relating to its development;#p#分頁標題#e#
50 – 59% Identified market segments, and the opportunities, threats, resources, capabilities, and weaknesses related to each; Analysed quantified opportunities and threats, relating to them the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise’s resources and capabilities; Contribution to teamwork is generally good in all areas; Strategies proposed in effective English to meet SMART objectives;
60 – 69%
Each segment’s opportunities & threats identified and quantified where appropriate; key resources and capabilities detailed; Derived SMART and qualitative marketing objectives for selected segments; outlined elements of marketing mix Contribution to teamwork is excellent in all areas; Proposed and explained alternative strategies specific to a number of segments;
70+%
Examined market segments’ relative attractiveness and the related adequacy of the enterprise’s resources & capabilities. Proposed alternative marketing strategies to achieve set objectives. Contribution to the team is outstanding in all respects. Evaluated alternative strategies to achieve the objectives.
Checklist
Problem solving, job sharing, delivery, punctuality, leadership, volunteering, open-minded, attendance. Structured business marketing, Personal career opportunities, written English

Presentation Assessment Guide – Proposal

Element Criteria for assessment of the Group Mark
Task specific achieve-ments.

Evaluated market segments for commercial attractiveness specific to the business and its resources. Work plan and Gantt chart. 5
For each market segment: quantified estimate of opportunities (STEEPLE changes, market/segments’ size, growth, etc) and threats (competitors’ size, growth, etc). Outline timing and resource plan. 4
Named a number of market segments: identified sought benefits for each, relevant opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses (including products & resources). Plan task list. 3
Demonstrated an elementary knowledge of the main concepts; eg, Objectives, Products, Benefits, Markets, Segments, Competitors, Resources, Costs, Planning 2
Extremely patchy, knowledge of the concepts or the business. 1
Little or no knowledge of the basic module concepts. 0

Presenta-tion. Excellent communication skills, very confident and interesting; excellent use of visual aids – clear, simple, reinforcing key issues. Coherent presentation, well structured, making good use of time. 5
Good communication skills, confident and interesting; generally good use of visual aids and within the time limit. 4
Adequate presentation, although lacking clarity in places. Some visual aids may be over-detailed or lacking a clear message. Minor deficiency in timing may occur. 3
Presentation conveys information, but with some significant deficiencies in structure, clarity, interest or timing. Visual aids add some value, but are not well planned/executed for the purpose. 2#p#分頁標題#e#
Little information conveyed; major deficiencies in structure, clarity, and timing. Visual aids add little value and are not well executed. 1
Insufficient and inadequate visual aids, containing little or no relevant information, poor communication. 0

Integra-tion & teamwork Well balanced team effort, flowing smoothly from one section and presenter to the next. 5
Cohesive, mutually supportive team-work. Clearly rehearsed. 4
All sections covered and inter-related. 3
Sections separate with no cross-referencing. 2
Severe imbalance in presentation work-load. 1
Teams misbehaved/noisy/lacking mutual respect. 0

Defence Confident, succinct and informative responses to questions, demonstrating familiarity with relevant issues. 5
Good responses to questions, generally familiar with topics and with good knowledge of relevant issues. 4
Able to respond adequately to straightforward questions. Some minor deficiencies in knowledge/clarity. 3
Some awareness of the issues, but responses lack clarity; significant gaps in knowledge at the appropriate level. 2
Poor awareness of the issues, little clarity in responses and major gaps in knowledge at a basic level. 1
Inadequate/incoherent responses to questions no basic concepts. 0

Presentation Assessment Guide – Marketing Plan, inc Resources & Strategic Options

Element Criteria for assessment of the Group Mark
Task specific achieve-ments.

Proposed appropriate alternative strategies that are imaginative, original & practicable to achieve the objectives. 5
Formulated and propose quantitative and qualitative marketing objectives that are SMART and relate to the selected segments. 4
For each market segment, analysed the quantified opportunities (PEST changes, segments’ sought benefits & values, growth, etc) and quantified threats (competitors’ size, growth, etc), examining and relating the specific relevant strengths & weaknesses of the business’s resources (H, I, & T) & capabilities to the Os & Ts. 3
Demonstrated a balanced, basic knowledge of the analytical concepts & the enterprise. 2
Extremely patchy, knowledge of the concepts or the business. 1
Little or no knowledge of the basic module concepts. 0

Presenta-tion. Excellent communication skills, very confident and interesting; excellent use of visual aids – clear, simple, reinforcing key issues. Coherent presentation, well structured, making good use of time. 5
Good communication skills, confident and interesting; generally good use of visual aids and within the time limit. 4
Adequate presentation, although lacking clarity in places. Some visual aids may be over-detailed or lacking a clear message. Minor deficiency in timing may occur. 3
Presentation conveys information, but with some significant deficiencies in structure, clarity, interest or timing. Visual aids add some value, but are not well planned/executed for the purpose. 2#p#分頁標題#e#
Little/no information given; major deficiencies, in structure, timing, interest, & clarity. Visual aids add little and are not well executed. 1
Insufficient and inadequate visual aids, containing little or no relevant information, poor communication. 0

Integra-tion & teamwork Well balanced team effort, flowing smoothly from one section and presenter to the next. 5
Cohesive, mutually supportive team-work. Clearly rehearsed. 4
All sections covered and inter-related. 3
Sections separate with no cross-referencing. 2
Severe imbalance in presentation work-load. 1
Teams misbehaved/noisy/lacking mutual respect. 0

Defence Confident, succinct and informative responses to questions, demonstrating familiarity with relevant issues. 5
Good responses to questions, generally familiar with topics and with good knowledge of relevant issues. 4
Able to respond adequately to straightforward questions. Some minor deficiencies in knowledge/clarity. 3
Some awareness of the issues, but responses lack clarity; significant gaps in knowledge at the appropriate level. 2
Poor awareness of the issues, little clarity in responses and major gaps in knowledge at a basic level. 1
Provided inadequate or incoherent responses to questions about basic concepts. 0
 

PROPOSAL – Generic outline content for guidance. See also the Learning Centre’s notes on report writing.

• Introduction and background to the enterprise.
• General aims and specific objectives.
• Outline the benefits to be derived from the enterprise and its products, and who will gain from it/them.
• Proposed business activities, along with potential markets & segments and estimates of their size & growth
• Resources that may be needed. These could be in various categories: accommodation, industrial equipment, computer hardware & software, people, information, etc.
• A module work plan. You should plan a realistic time to be spent on each task of the module (taking into account the syllabus, module guide, and assignments schedules and time needed for work on other modules).
• Safety assessment. Any potential sources of health and safety risk should be identified along with ways of mitigating the hazard.

MARKETING PLAN – Generic outline structure for guidance.

• Adaptable to suit the Company’s circumstances and objectives.
• Applicable at all levels; corporate, business, to individual sales person.

• ‘Executive’ Summary – at least products, objectives, sales, profits, & costs.

• Appreciation of Current Situation

2.1 Introduction & Summary of existing strategies and plans.

2.2 External influences (Opportunities & Threats) – Noting changes:
Corporate policies & Business Objectives.
Environment: Macro; Political/legal, economic, ecological, technological, sociological/demographic, ethical. [Specific effects.]#p#分頁標題#e#
Market: Segments: Size & demand, growth, share, profitability, entry price, trends, [Quantitative]; Critical success factors inc. needs and required benefits; Seasonality. Assumptions.
Customers: Needs, benefits sought, perceptions, [B2B; products, size, growth, profitability, share, strategy, resources]. Assumptions.
Competition: Companies; resources, competences/limitations, size, growth, share, profitability, strategies. Mkt barriers. Substitutes. Assumptions.
Suppliers: Power, stability. (See also Internal, resources, deficiencies below.)
Alliances: Laterally, vertically; joint venture, licences, mergers, acquisitions.

• Internal influences (Strengths & Weaknesses) – Noting changes:
Performance, trends & variances against plan.
Resources: Tangible; (production) facilities, products (volumes, capacity, costs, margins, trends), finance, designs, IT, distribution.
Intangible; service, technology (concepts, IS, CRM), reputation (brands, culture), tacit knowledge, processes, communications.
Human; knowledge, skills, experience (sales & marketing inter alia), motivation, flexibility.
Limitations & Deficiencies. (See also External, suppliers above.)
Capabilities: Organising ability; resource bundling/integration, teamwork, etc.
Core competences; good, distinctive, superior performance.
Limitations & Deficiencies.

• Analysis - Summary of key External & Internal issues – OTSW [SWOT].
Targetable segments & customers [Quantify].
Major commercial opportunities [Quantify]. Needs, wants & sought benefits
Significant competitive threats.
Value of resources & competences, and deficiencies to remedy.
Perceptual position map, including competition.

• Conclusions – based on Analysis
Results of quantitative analysis.
Sustainable competitive advantages.
Products’ benefits & unique selling propositions.
 

• Objectives – based on Appreciation of Current Situation – SMART by Segment
Financial: Sales value, profit(ability), etc.
Marketing: Sales volume, growth, share - by product.
Qualitative: Market perception, new products & markets, innovation.

• Strategies – 1-2yr (& 3-5yr rolling). To achieve objectives, based on analysis.

Target: Markets/segments/sectors/customers – plan-level dependant.
Portfolio: Products: core, augmented, unique, position; supplementary benefits; NPD, R&D
Price: Costs & estimating, market relative, premium, profit, terms, exchange rate policy, channel dependency.
Promotion: Target, Objective, Message, Channel, Budget, Mix, Management. (Branding) e-Marketing.
Place (Distn): Representatives, agents, distributors, stockists, e-commerce, after-sales service, facilitators.

NOTE. Also part of a complete general marketing plan, but not required in this assignment:#p#分頁標題#e#

• Action Programmes – to achieve each strategy
- What will be done, When, by Whom and for How Much?

• Budgets – phased monthly
Income: Sales, financing, etc
Costs: People/pay, benefits, bonuses, cars, travel, training, market research, IT, promotion, etc.

• Controls
Actual v’s plan/budget, variance, recovery.
Review.