COURSE ASSESSMENT METHODS2nd Assignment [80%]

Dr Kalliopi Chatzipanagiotou

Senior Lecturer in Marketing

2

2nd Assignment

Course Code MGT4057

Coursework format Individual Assignment

Weighting 80%

Word limit 3,000 words (+/- 10%) (excluding table of contents, appendices and bibliography).

3

Assignment task

Assume that you have the intention of starting a new service company in the near future. Yourtask is to provide a critical evaluation of the main service topics that you need to focus on inorder for your company to be successful.

Specifically, by using concepts, models and tools of services marketing, you must provide:

a)A concise explanation regarding the company’s strategic positioning. You should provide abrief explanation of the sector to which the company will belong, the name of your company,the existing competitors and your company’s competitive advantage

b)An analysis of your company's target market(s). You should explain the profile of thecustomers and identify their needs, expectations and set particular quality standards for yourservices

c)An in-depth analysis of your decisions concerning your company’s marketing mix (7Ps), withparticular emphasis on the 3Ps of services (People, Processes, Physical Evidence).

4

USEFUL STEPS

RESEARCH AND PREPARATION

1

LINK THE THEORY WITH THE

ASSIGNMENT TASK

2

BUILDING IT

3

FINAL CHECK & SUBMISSION

4

5

RESEARCH AND PREPARATION

Research for various secondary data to get ideas for the new services company that you need to establish, e.g.,oVisit the official sites of services companiesoRead business reports, statistics about the industry, academic papersoSearch for customers' surveys results, online customers’ reviews, etc.oObserve similar service companies as a customero Informally discuss with potential customers of your services

Bear in mind that there is no need to create or use a radical innovation in your assignment.

You can use a service that will be NEW to you, but not to the entire market. In this way, you can choose to develop a NEW restaurant, gym, bank, hotel, online store, mobile app and so on.

1

6

LINK THE THEORY WITH THE ASSIGNMENT TOPICS

1

Units 1 & 2

SERVICES MARKETING ASSIGNMEN

T

o What could the new service be?o How should the new service be delivered?o Will my service be a high-contact or a low-contact service system?o How the application of the ‘servuction’ model will look like to my

service?o What will my customers value in my services?o What is the nature of the different sources of information that my

customers may decide to use?o Are there any specific criteria that my customers may use to evaluate my

services?o Are there any direct or indirect competitors?o What is it going to be the completive advantage of my services?

Next, the structure of the course will help you organise your thoughts/ideas by answering particular yet relevant with the assignment topics questions

7

LINK THE THEORY WITH THE ASSIGNMENT TOPICS1

SERVICES MARKETING ASSIGNMEN

T

Units3 -5

o What are the segmentation criteria that I should use?

o Are there any customers’ segments? o What are the potential customers’ expectations

for my services? o What is going to be the positioning of my service

organisation?o Can SERVQUAL explain the main dimensions of

quality that my customers want?o Is E-S-QUAL more suitable for my services and

why?o What kind of standards should I have in place?o Could Gaps Model help me to understand the

strategic directions that I have to follow?o What type of relationship will my service

company have with its customers?

8

Link The Theory With The Assignment Topics

1

SERVICES MARKETING ASSIGNMEN

TUnits 5 & 6

o What would the service product be?o Should I use a specific distribution channel or a mix

of distribution channels?o What is the ideal way to communicate my services?

What is going to be the pricing strategy?o What are the service processes and systems?o How can I build a service blueprint for my services

(or for one part of my services)?o What type of physical evidence should I include?o What would be the primary strategic role of

physical evidence? How can I justify my decisions?o What is the role of service employees for my

services?o How many employees will I need?o What type of strategies (e.g. selection, training,

empowerment, reward, communication, etc.) should I use?

o What is the role of my customers in the service delivery process?

9

BUILD IT

Put it all together

e.g., create a mind-map

10

BUILD IT

Put it all together and write your assignment 1

• Read once again the requirements of the assignment

• Your assignment should be clearly divided into sections based on the assignment’s topics. You could use, sub-headings within these sections to better organise your answers

• You could use an appendix to include evidence that will help you to further justify your decisions e.g., figures, tables, photos, etc.

11

INDICATIVE STRUCTURE

SectorCompany’s name Competitor AnalysisCompetitive Advantage

12

1

Criteria Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Weak

Apply core services marketing concepts to address the assignment task.Assignment task is addressed with a clear identification and use of terminology and key concepts, with consistently precise definitions.

Literature review. Rich evidence of relevant literature (e.g., academic papers) used to justify the assignment answers.

Critical analysis/ Developing ideas. Clear evidence of development of own ideas and/or critique of existing ideas. Excellent depth and substance in justification as well as clarity and consistency in the analysis

Inclusion of other relevant information sourcesRich evidence of relevant sources of information (e.g., industry statistics) used as references to support the assignment answers

Organisation of content. All elements of the text are clearly and logically related to the overall assignment task. Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence, which flows naturally and is engaging to the reader.

Self-Assessment Rubric

13

CHECK & SUBMISSION

1Finally, be sure that:

✓ All topics have been answered clearly with the appropriate focus

✓ You have prepared a critical analysis of the assignment topics.

✓ You have provided depth and substance in your argumentation and judgment to develop logical conclusions.

✓ You have incorporated a wide range of evidence about your service from secondary sources, including books, academic papers, websites, similar companies’ business reports., etc.

✓ You have avoided the extensive use of bullet points.

✓ You have included relevant, updated references

14

Please check the document with the Assignment briefing as well as the FAQs section

If you have any further questions, please post them on the Moodle Assignment Forum.

15

Thank you for watching!