Practicum Final Report Apr 2013 Page 1
GUIDELINES
ADVANCED MARKETING
PRACTICUM 4 (AMP401)
FINAL REPORT
The copyright of all IMM Graduate School of Marketing material is held by the
IMM GSM. No material may be reproduced without prior written permission from
the IMM GSM.
Revised: April 2013
Practicum Final Report Apr 2013 Page 2
CONTENTS
Section
Content Page
1 Introduction 3
2 Learning objectives 3
3 Final Report requirements 4
3.1 Report Structure 4
3.2 Planning the Final Report 5
3.3 Final Report – Theoretical overview 8
3.3.1 Process for Strategic Audit 8
3.3.2 Critical reflective analysis and new trends 10
3.3.3 Using models and theory as tools to do an audit 13
3.3.4 Further Examples of Application of Models 19
3.4 Final Report – Technical & Quality Issues 22
4 Evaluating the Final Report 23
4.1 Academic Considerations 23
4.2 Technical Considerations 24
4.3 Mark Allocation 25
5 References 25
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Final Report: AMP401 Practicum
1. Introduction
In the Midway report you were required to select a specific marketing area of activity
or product and document a Strategic Marketing plan or Marketing strategy. To
achieve this you were required to document marketing activities taking place within
the organisation and compile a report around one of the main activities.
The Midway report thus forms the first part of the experiential approach designed to
complement the course work so that your business and education experience is
enhanced. You will by now have observed that what happens in practice is not what
is taught in the theory. However, with some reflective thinking you may well find that
there is far more overlap than what first meets the eye, and it is this reflective
thinking that we want to reinforce in the final report.
The Final report thus takes the process a step further by using models and theory as
tools to further interrogate and audit the way things are done in the company and of
course to audit the content of your report. Take note – this final report is not about
discussing the theory behind the models, but about applying the theory and models
to the actual marketing problem.
2. Learning Objectives
Before commencing on your Final report, read your Midway report guidelines again
and reflect on the obvious and underlying objectives of this module. The emphasis
given in the Final report will be on a subset of the overall objectives given in your
midway report guidelines. Emphasis will thus be given to:
A critical reflective analytical approach to work related marketing activities
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Developing experience in applying management and marketing theory and
models to a wide range of marketing applications
Practice introspective learning, (ie. Critical self reflection)analysing how
decisions are made and how theory can be applied to the practice of
marketing.
Seeing the broader picture (ie the obvious problems are not always the issue
Identifying a role you can play in the organisation
The Final report must be submitted on the due date as indicated on the course
schedule.
3. Final Report Requirements
3.1 Report structure
The 10-15 page final report will look as follows:
Cover page and title of paper
The cover page should contain the following information:
o Title of the paper
o Course name
o Student Name and number
o Company name
o Report Submission Date
Table of content
Table of figures
1. Introduction / Problem Context (1 page) -- review what you have done in
the Midway Report and adapt for the Final Report
2. Strategic Audit (+/-10-12 pages) See appendices for more examples
This will consist of the external and internal analyses sections copied and pasted
from the Midway Report. Use the “Review” function to clearly designate the
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models used for the audit /benchmarking of these two sections; as well as the
critically reflective discussions based on the issues emerging from the audit.
2.1 External Analysis – for example
o Situational analysis
o Competitor analysis
2.2 Internal Analysis – for example
o Product analysis (or other analysis, as applicable) depending on your
particular problem
o Risk analysis, etc.
3. Recommendations (1 page max)
4. Reference list**
IMM regards plagiarism is a very serious light and uses software package called
“Turnitin” that is used to monitor the level of copying and plagiarism on submitted
assignments.
3.2 Planning your Final Report
Plan the report layout so that the report has a logical flow and moves from broad to
specific. Decide what models you are going to consider and plan the flow according.
For instance – which models are you going use to look at the macro-environment;
the industry environment; the internal marketing environment?
Consider whether you need to speak to more people in order to do a proper audit –
who, where and when do you have to speak to, what do you need to ask them in
order to gain the information you need for the audit?
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the practice of copying or taking someone else’s work, words
or ideas and passing them off as one’s own (e.g. not acknowledging the
original author or source).
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The easiest way to ensure such a logical flow is to draw up a framework / plan for
the report, and then to populate the sections in the framework – see layout and
structure guidelines later in this document.
How then do the examples above serve to assist you in the documentation of your
final report? Obviously you cannot be expected to intervene in the work process and
query what models are being applied. But you can reflect on the process. You can
also ask at a convenient time as to which marketing models were, or could be,
appropriate. Whatever the answers you need also to go back to all the theory you
have covered in the course work, be it Strategic marketing, Brand management or
Global marketing and so on. Reflect also on what you have recorded in your midway
report and ask yourself ‘have I considered appropriate marketing models or theory?’
Now that you are ready to start the strategic audit and critical reflective analysis you
revert to your Midway Report and do the following:
1. Start a new document titled “Final Report”
2. Section 1: Company Description: Reflect on whether the company
background depicts any of the issues or concepts you have discovered in
your reading of marketing magazines, and if not why not. Comment
reflectively on this and where appropriate document a revised company
background for the Final Report.
3. Section 3: Strategic marketing Plan or Strategy: Copy the following 2 sections
in the Midway Report - and paste those 2 sections into your Final Report:
External Marketing Analyses including risk analysis
Internal Marketing Analyses including risk analysis
4. Save the new document titled Final Report.
5. Click on the “Review” button and choose the “Track Changes” function. The
“Track Changes” function provides you with the option to “Change tracking
Options”.
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Fig. 1. Screenshot of Review options.
6. Under the “Change tracking Options” choose the following:
Insertions: Underline (no 3 on screenshot); choose colour – blue
works quite well
Changed lines: Outside border (no 4 on screenshot)
Comments: Choose colour blue (no 5 on screenshot)
Track Formatting: deselect the option (no 6 on screenshot)
When you start the audit and do reflection on the external and internal analyses with
these “Review” setting – the changes you made / comments added to the document
will be in a different colour – see the screenshot below:
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Fig. 2 Screenshot of changes made to document using the “Review” function.
Please note: you will be marked on the changes you made to the document: e.g.
benchmarking of the way things are currently done in the company (Midway Report)
using appropriate models - versus what the theory and models suggest. This should
be followed by critical reflection on the differences between the current ways of doing
things in the company as opposed to the new trends in marketing.
It is critical therefore, to use the Review function on order to show what you have
added to the material brought over from the Midway report in terms of models,
comments and reflection. If those changes are not visible as illustrated in the
screenshot above, the Final Report cannot be marked.
3.3. Final Report - Theoretical Overview
3.3.1 – Process for Strategic Audit
The Midway report started off looking at the marketing projects and activities in the
company as a whole. Then the scope narrowed to marketing strategy and projects
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and activities within your area of responsibility or interest. The foundation of the
Midway Report is used to conduct an audit, which will comprise your Final report. An
audit is simply critically reviewing what has been done and in this case what has
been done in your report.
The requirement for the final report is a Strategic Audit , focussed mainly on the
external and internal analyses you have done in your Strategic Marketing Plan in
the Midway report.
Fig 3: Focus areas for midway report and for the final report
As a start, critically reflect on what you have documented in the context, as well as
the external and internal analyses sections in the Midway report. Secondly to do the
strategic audit you have to choose the appropriate theory and models with which
to audit (benchmark) the marketing issues identified in the external and internal
analyses sections of the Midway report. You have to substantiate your choice of
theory and models – e.g. why those are the most appropriate models to use to
analyse those particular issues?
The theory and models serve as tools with which to explore the marketing issues in
the Final report. It will not be acceptable simply to re-submit the midway report in a
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new guise simply by changing a few words. You will thus need to demonstrate a
critical reflective approach.
3.3.2 Critical reflective analysis and New Trends
You will be required to argue your audit analysis in terms of text book theory and
current literature. More specifically you are required to audit the process you have
followed the in the light of new marketing perspectives. For example – if you have
done an external analysis of your customer base profile did you use the old system
of LSM levels, or did you consider the new approach of demographic profiles as
suggested by Chang ?
To do this you are required to read at least 4-6 marketing magazines, some of which
should be IMM’s own magazine, Strategic Marketing. At least one of these
magazines should provide you with new perspective on marketing. In your strategic
marketing audit you will need to reflect if such trends have at least been considered
within your organisation and thus applied in marketing plans including the marketing
plan you have submitted in your midway report.
The Midway report is a factual review of marketing and marketing related activities
within the organisation. It does not necessarily represent the optimum or best view
with respect to current up to date theory and marketing perspectives. In order to
achieve a holistic work integrated learning outcome the Final report needs to take
the process one step further and apply critical reflective analysis to the facts
recorded.
What does it mean to do critical reflective analysis…? Perhaps it might be helpful to
first look at what is understood by the concept “reflection”: Collins Concise Dictionary
(2001, p.1259) defines reflect as: “… think, to meditate, to ponder”; while reflection is
described as “ .careful or long consideration or thought.”
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Using this as our working definition one can argue that reflection is not simply giving
facts nor is it simply asking questions. It requires actions such as thinking;
comparing; evaluating issues from different perspectives and considering the
practical implications of certain decisions or actions.
Critical reflective thinking requires experience, hard work (perseverance), the
knowledge and application of marketing theory and the application of a critical
reflective thinking framework (Kolb, 1984). Both the application of marketing
knowledge and critical reflective thinking are therefore essential for the success in
this module and must be evident in the final report.
Work Integrated Learning refers to the application of knowledge of marketing theory
to practical, work related issues. The application of marketing knowledge to work
related issues, however, can only take place through critical reflective thinking and
the application of appropriate marketing models as well as an awareness of current
trends.
Critical reflective analysis is not easy and you will require a good base from which to
work. A good base will be marketing models as these models reflect a considerable
The following components illustrate some of the principles of critical reflective
analyses:
Comparing what the company does in terms of marketing to what other
companies do, or to what the theory suggests
Identifying gaps and problem areas in terms of the marketing
processes or activities.
Recognising patterns and differences in these approaches
Taking it further – finding additional information when required
Considering the advantages and disadvantages of the different
approaches in terms of budget, resources, meeting customer
expectations, etc.
Coming to an informed decision on the focus for the final report
Reflecting on what that identified focus means in terms of the report –
magazines to read, models to consider, etc.
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depth of marketing theory. A second base is to read what is happening in the market
and marketing magazines would be a good start for this.
Mapping the new trends that you discover as illustrated in the following diagram, can
provide a useful holistic “picture” that can assist you in deciding which new market
trends are most applicable; or has the most potential in terms of the focus of your
final report.
Fig 4: Consider the various new trends found in the magazines
Reflect on which of the new trends you found in the magazines are relevant to your
area of focus for the final report.
Exercise 1:
Read 2-3 copies of the IMM Strategic Marketing magazine and 3-4 other
marketing journals or magazines. Make notes of the new trends in marketing
that you encounter in those publications. Identify the new trends that are applicable
to the focus area of your final report. Discuss it with your marketing manager to gain
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a second opinion. List 2-3 new trends applicable to the focus area of your final report
and add as an addendum to your Final Report.
New trends:
___________________________________________________________________
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You should have a clear understanding of the auditing (benchmarking) you need to
do for the final report at this point. Similarly you will have studied recent trends in
marketing that is relevant to your final report. Remember to keep note of the sources
where you have found suitable material that you will use in the report – referencing
those sources is an important aspect of this module. Otherwise you may run the
risk of being accused of plagiarism.
3.3.3 Using models and theory as tools to do an
audit (benchmarking)
The next step in the process is to find 2-4 relevant models which you can apply and
use to audit (benchmark) the identified marketing approaches and activities against.
By applying the models to the issues you will be able to explore the issues in more
depth, gaining a deeper understanding of where the gaps, bottlenecks and barriers
are in the processes and activities.
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and
performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other industries.
Benchmarking usually look at processes, and focus on performance measures such
as quality, time and cost (Wikipedia, 2013).
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You can find theory, strategic and marketing models in most of the handbooks you
have from previous courses, as well as in online EBSCOHost articles and marketing
magazines. This step requires development of suitable search terms to use when
browsing for relevant theory or models on the online databases or the internet
Suitable search terms
When looking for theory or models relevant to your study, you will have to use words
that will describe the information you are looking for. “Search terms” refers to the
descriptive words or terms applicable to your topic and underlying themes.
Finding suitable material takes time and patience. When using search terms to look
for relevant material on the online database or internet, it is recommended that you
Start with the general term
If you find a lot of material when using the general term, you can start using
more specific terms
If you do not find what you are looking for, try using other ways to describe the
concept you are looking for.
Begin with the key terms or concepts – then expand the search.
If, for instance your topic deals with the management of customer expectations you
can
Start with the search term ”models customer expectations OR you can try
changing the wording in the search to customer needs; customer
management or customer requirements.
Sort the theory and models according relevance and usability. Make sure
the models you pick contain concepts or components that speak to the issues
you picked up in the midway report and are investigating in the final report.
If the search produces many models, you can refine the search to reflect your
specific topic more closely, for example:
“Knowledge is knowing... or knowing where to find out”.
(Toffler, no date, in Literacyla, 2012)
.
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o Models Customer needs and after sales service
Models Communication process in sales encounters
Models Complaints management.
Aftersales quality
o Customer retention systems
o Etc.
Play around with the words to see what theory or models come up that deal
with the issues relevant to your research topic – even if the models deal with
research in other industries.
Exercise 2: Draw up a table of search terms for the themes or categories for
your topic.
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Exercise 3: List the names and references for 4-6 models most suited to audit
(benchmark) the marketing issues identified in the external and internal
analyses in the Midway Report.
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________
6. _________________________________________________________________
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The marketing issues identified in the external and internal analyses in the Midway
Report will indicate whether you need to consider the macro, micro or the internal
organisational environment for the audit in your Final report – or perhaps you will
have to consider more than one of these environments.
Fig 5: Factors to consider in the macro-, micro- and the company environment
Exercise 4: Looking at the marketing problems in your midway report – which
these environments do you need to look at, and the related models.
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Example 1
Say for instance in the midway report two problems stood out – the company was
losing market share; and many customers were moving away from doing business at
your company (micro-environment).
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A very useful model to consider in this case is Porter’s five forces model.
Fig 6: Industry environment -Five Forces model (Porter, 1985, in Porter 2008)
The components in the diagram of the model can triggers questions that will help you
consider the issues in relation to the problem identified before. For instance - the
loss in market share and customer moving to competitors may be due to:
New competitors entering the market; and /or
Competitors engaging in a price war, and /or
Competitors selling similar products (substitutes).
Based on your particular marketing problem, you can now critically reflect on the
underlying reasons for the problems. This is a clear illustration of how models can
help you think the problem through.
Example 2
Using the same problem as in the example above – that of the company losing
market share; and many customers moving away from doing business at your
company - one can now look internally at the company’s marketing strategy or
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approach (company-environment). The following model is only one of many that can
be used to investigate these problems better…
Fig 7: The Four P's of Marketing (adapted from McCarthy, 1975)
This model can assist you in auditing / benchmarking your company’s marketing
approach regarding the 4 P’s. If you do not have the answers to all these questions,
go and ask someone in the company who can assist you with finding the answers.
Then critically reflect on the gaps and issues in the current marketing approach.
Quality versus quantity: It is more important to choose 4-6 models based on their
ability to help you consider the underlying issues within the marketing problem
(quality); than dumping a large number of models that do not really help you gain
better understanding of underlying issues (quantity).
More examples of how to choose and use models are given in the appendices of this
document.
Online activity
Look at the following slideshow online for an interesting application of Porter’s
models used to compare well-known companies:
http://www.slideshare.net/dipalij07/porters-generic-strategies-with-examples
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3.3.4 Further Examples of the application of Models
The Framework as an example of how to use appropriate models
Cover page, Title, table of content, etc.
1. Introduction / Problem Context - review what you have done in the Midway
Report
2. Strategic Audit (+/-10pages)
External Analysis
o Situational analysis
o Competitor analysis
Internal Analysis
o Product analysis (or other analysis, as applicable) depending on your
particular problem
o Risk analysis
o And so on
3. Recommendations (1 page max)
4. Reference list
Strategic Audit
External analysis
Loss of Market share: Industry analysis
Note that the subheading here does not give a model name but refers to the theme
and the environment that will be considered in this section.
As mentioned previously – a useful model here would be Porter’s five forces model –
see figure 4. Think about how these forces play out in your company’s target market
– can you answer the questions posed in that model for your own company? If not
who do you need to speak to in order to get more information?
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What do those answers tell you in terms of the areas where the company is
competing; they are under threat from competitors; how competitive the company
marketing products ranges and prices are when compared to what is available in the
market place…? Where are the gaps and the risks to the company in the market
place?
Perhaps this calls for some detailed market analyses – similar to the example given
below.
Fig 8: Market analysis: Formal food retail shares in South Africa, 2009 (The Merger
of Walmart and Massmart Economic Issues, 2011)
Such an analysis could lead you to consider the company’s marketing strategy and
approach – the next subheading?
Marketing strategy and approach
The questions here would be – how is the company planning to compete in this
market…? A useful model to consider here could be Ansoff’s Growth Vectors (1965).
This model also provides another way to view the difference between analysis and
an audit
The first model gives you the choices to be made – is the company perhaps planning
to penetrate a new market…?
Shoprite 33%
Pick 'n Pay 31%
Spar 23%
Woolworths 11%
Massmart 2%
Share of Retail Food Sales
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Fig 9: Ansoff’s Growth Vectors , 1965
The second model gives you a breakdown (audit) of the relative risks for the various
strategies:
Fig 10: Risk associated with strategy (Ansoff’s Growth Vectors , 1965)
In your Midway report you may have documented the strategy as a product launch.
However, in your audit you need to reflect more specifically as to whether this was
for market penetration purposes, or new product development purposes, etc. Once
you have done this you need to reflect further: Were the various risk factors taken
into consideration?
Other risk factors may be in the decision on how and whether to respond to a
competitor’s market penetration strategies, like the example below:
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Fig 11. Risk analyses - The threat of Google's free offering (Based on Bryce, Dyer
and Hatch, 2011)
The Midway report is thus the starting point i.e. to ascertain what is being done in the
company (or in your particular section). The second stage (Final report) is to
ascertain what the appropriate theoretical principles are relating to those marketing
activities in your section, and to what extent they have been applied (gaps) /applied
successfully (barriers /bottlenecks).
A Strategic marketing audit demands not only an external analysis (situational
analysis ) but also an internal analysis e.g. a resource based view e.g. production
capacity, sales capacity etc.
3.4 Final Report - Technical and quality issues
The final report must be presented as a professional business report. The following
structural guidelines apply to the final report:
All pages must be computer generated and submitted on A4 paper.
All pages should be consecutively numbered and the report should contain a
table of contents.
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All sections and subsections should be clearly marked with headings and a
logical numbering sequence.
All supporting material should be placed in an appendix. These appendices
must be clearly labelled and the information in each appendix should be
referenced within the body of the final report.
Arial 12 font, 1.5 spacing and right justification
All diagrams must have the figure number, title of the diagram and the source
given at the bottom of the diagram.
All tables in the text must have the table number, title of the table and the
source given at the top of the table.
Check that all the sources given in the text are listed in the reference list; and
vice versa.
4. Evaluating the Final Report
What the examiners will look at when marking the paper.
Important: The review function must be used to indicate the comments and the
reflections made as part of the audit done on the external and internal analyses
copied and pasted from the Midway report. Without that clearly designated new
content (new content in a different colour and underlined), the report cannot
be marked and you will forfeit the marks.
4.1 ACADEMIC considerations
Relevance context and themes
Marketing issues emanating from midway report external and internal
analyses
Relevance of models to themes
Choice of models – link to themes
Quality not quantity – choice of suitable model or models per area that
really helps them with audit, instead of dumping any model that seems
remotely connected.
Use of the models to conduct a strategic audit
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How effectively the models were used
Critical reflective discussion
Not discussing the theory or the models, but applying them
Recommendations practical, relevant and appropriate
4.2 TECHNICAL considerations
Language
Style of writing (critical reflective)
Structure of the dissertation (e.g. title page, contents page, numbering, etc.)
Typing/spelling errors
Reference list
4.3 Mark allocation
Introduction /context (1 page max) 15%
Strategic audit (10-12 pages max) 60%
Recommendations (1 page max) 10%
Referencing in text and reference list 5%
Structure, language and spelling. overall quality 10%
Total 100%
Note:
No marks are allocated for material in the addendums – make sure important
issues and models are in the main document.
Keep to the page limits set out above
This Final report contributes 60% towards the final mark (Midway report - 40%)
Please contact the practicum coordinator if you have any questions:
Rabia Carvalho
011 628 2064
Practicum Final Report Apr 2013 Page 25
5. References
Ansoff, H I.,1965. Corporate Strategy, New York: McGraw Hill; (1986) London
Bryce, Dyer and Hatch, 2011. Competing Against Free. Harvard Business Review,
June 2011.
Collins Concise Dictionary, 2001. 21st Century Edition. HarperCollins Publishers,
Glasgow.
Literacyla, 2012. Quotes [online] Available at < http://www.literacyla.org/quotes.htm>
Accessed on 10 December 2012.
McCarthy E.J, 1975. Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. Fifth edition, Richard
D. Irwin, Inc.
Porter M.E., 2008 The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, Harvard
Business Review. January 2008, p.86-104
The Free Dictionary 2013a. Inductive reasoning [online]. Available at
<http://www.thefreedictionary.com/inductive+reasoning > Accessed on 10
February 2013.
The Free Dictionary 2013b. Deductive reasoning [online]. Available at<
<http://www.thefreedictionary.com/deductive+reasoning> Accessed on 10
February 2013.
Wikipedia, 2013. Benchmarking [online]. Available at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benchmarking. Accessed on 10 February 2013.
The End
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