Module Handbook

BTEC Level 4 HN Diploma in Business (QCF)

Module:

Unit 19: Marketing Planning

Programme Name:
(QCF)

BTEC Level 5 HN Diploma in Business

Unit code:

Y/601/1259

Credit value:

15 credits

Lecturer:

SHMINA MANDAL
Londonacademy@hotmail.com

Lecture Duration:

3 Hours (per session)

Assignment Deadline
Date
WEEK 15

Unit aim: The aim of this unit is to provide learners with the understanding and skills to
develop marketing plans that meet marketing objectives, and meet the needs of the target
make plans that meet marketing objectives, and meet the needs of the target market

CONTENTS

Page

1. UNIT ABSTRACT.3
2. LECTURE SCHEME.4
3. ASSIGNMENT BRIEF..7
4. LEARNING OUTCOMES.8
5. TASKS9
6. GRADING CRITERIA..12
7. GENERAL GUIDANCE...16
8. PREPERATION STAGES....17
9. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES21
10. NOTES.22
11. STRUCTURE AND FORMAT...23
12. PLAGIARISM.23
13. HARVARD REFERENCE SYSTEM.24
14. ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST.26
15. ASSESSMENT PLAN.27

Unit 19 : Marketing Planning

Unit code: H/601/1259
QCF level: 5
Credit value: 15 credits

Aim
The aim of this unit is to provide learners with the understanding and skills to develop marketing
plans that meet marketing objectives, and meet the needs of the target make plans that meet
marketing objectives, and meet the needs of the target market.

Unit abstract
Effective planning is essential for any marketing activity to ensure that an organisation realises its
marketing objectives. Without planning, marketing activity can be inappropriate and waste
resources and opportunities.
This unit introduces learners to different ways of auditing, to looking at how internal and external
factors can influence marketing planning for an organisation, in order to build up a picture of the
marketplace. Learners will gain an understanding of the main barriers to marketing planning, the
effects of barriers, and how these can be avoided or overcome. Ethical issues in marketing are
important in terms of how an organisation and its products are perceived by customers and
employees, and can affect the overall ethos and ultimate success of the organisation. This unit will
enable learners to investigate and examine how exemplar organisations have been affected by
ethical issues, how they deal with them, and how ethical issues should be taken into account when
develop marketing plans. On completion of this unit learners will be able to produce a marketing
plan for a product, a service or an organisation that is realistic, in terms of objectives and
resources, and effective in terms of the current situation in the marketplace.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit a learner will:

1 Be able to compile marketing audits
2 Understand the main barriers to marketing planning
3 Be able to formulate a marketing plan for a product or service
4 Understand ethical issues in marketing

Essential Requirements
Learners must have access to the internet in order to carry out research. They will also
require access to a range of case studies and exemplar material which illustrate the
theories and practice covered in the learning outcomes. Tutors must build a bank of
resource materials to ensure there is a sufficient supply of relevant information across a
range of business types and sectors.

Links
BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals specification in Business
Units Issue 7 May 2014 Pearson Education Limited 2014
UNIT 19: MARKETING PLANNING This unit links to other marketing units within the
pathway Unit 17: Marketing Intelligence, Unit 18: Advertising and Promotion in Business
and Unit 20: Sales Planning and Operations.
The unit is also linked with Unit 4: Marketing Principles and Unit 6: Business Decision Making.

LECTURE SCHEME
Sessions

Session 1

Topic
Notes: Define what is Marketing

Explain with the use of examples some of the changing

perspectives in marketing planning.
Explain how technology has an impact on marketing
How organisations can use of internet, JIT, on marketing and
competition
DISCUSSION QUESTION

Assess the creative possibilities of using the Internet, mobile

phones, interactive television, databases and related
technologies in marketing practice

Explain what is the difference between

-Sales- Production- Marketing- Orientation

Evaluation
of organisations capability for planning its future marketing
Revise areas
done week before and debrief homework question
activity

Session 2

Explain Culture, Structure and People and relate it to the

HomeworkExplain capability
with the use of examples some of the changing
organisations
perspectives
in
marketing
Class questions onplanning.
College- Debrief with model answers

Benchmarking,

How would you as a manager evaluate an organisations capability for planning

future
Seven
S model
its
marketing
activity.

BREAK
Provide feedback to question and discuss model answer
What is a mission statement/ A goals/ Objectives
Class work- Write the introduction and Mission statement/ A goals/
Objectives on their own organisations, define their culture and structure.

PowerPoint

Presentation

Discussion

Exercises Q&A

Feedback

Observation

Reflection

Home work- Reading and researching on the organisations students have

chosen for assignment
Understand how to formulate a research specification

Session 3

What are the main techniques for organisational auditing and for
analysing external factors that affect marketing planning in your
organisation.
Explain environmental analysis and its importance
SWOT [SW- Internal OT- External]
Prepare a SWOT on a no frills airline
Discuss with group- SWOT and answer
Explain PESTAL Analysis- in relation to an airline
Micro and Macro to be applied to assignments and discussed
(SWOT and PEST analysis) in class

Homework- To carry out a SWOT and PEST analysis on chosen Organisation

for assignment

Session 4

What is Situation Analysis is consideration of both internal and

PowerPoint
external
Carry out organisational auditing and analysis of external factors
that affect marketing planning in a given situation in your
organisation.
How do you carry out a marketing audit
Explain Porters five forces- class group work to explain its use and
applications to a scenario.
Presentation

Homework- Apply learning the assignment at home

To carry out a SWOT and PEST analysis on their own organisations and
apply to task

Discussion

Session 5

Discuss Home work- one to ones

Explain what are the barriers to Marketing Planning
How can organisations overcome barriers
Discussion

Exercises Q&A

Class work - Apply learning to assignment/ prepare for presentation

Session 6

Feedback

Explain and discuss the Marketing Planning Process

Discuss the nature of the Marketing Planning Process and the
stages in the Marketing Planning Process
Gap analysis and SOSTAC
Ansoffs & gap analysis related to Marketing Planning

Observation

Homework- to apply strategies and audit to their organisations

Reflection

Session 7

Student Presentation

PowerPoint

Session 8

Revise Explain and discuss the Marketing Planning Process

How to carry out competitor analysis
Segmentation
Targeting
Positioning
Group work Explain how market segmentation helps the
organisation to target its marketing mix more closely on the
potential customer and thus to meet the customers needs and
wants more closely and above

Presentation

Discussion

Exercises Q&A

Class work students to work on the marketing planning stages in relation to the
chosen organisation
Describe the concept of positioning and the application of appropriate strategies.

Session 9

Introduce the Marketing Mix

Feedback
Explain Pricing and distribution strategies that can be used in the
marketing plan
Price- the approaches to price setting, the price/quality
relationship, price as a segmentation variable, price discrimination,
promotional pricing.

Observation

Product. Evaluate product/ service decisions and relate them to

the product/service life cycle and the new product development
process (NPD) and its use
Question on the marketing mix to check if applied to scenario
Low involvement and high involvement goods
Reflection
Place- The evaluation of channel and physical distribution policies
and the key concepts and models at both domestic and
international levels. This includes; channel choice, level of market
exposure, selection of intermediaries, channel conflict and cooperation, how technology is changing some traditional distribution
methods.
Home work- Apply pricing and distribution to assignment.

Session 10

Promotion- The formulation of communication plans and programs

for products, services and Organisations in domestic, international
and global markets. The communication mix elements, models and
frameworks and how to measure and evaluate the performance of
campaigns and other communication activities.
Aida/ Dagmar
Communication Mix- PR/ Advertising/ Direct Marketing
Explain and apply the 3Ps of service marketing and show how they
differ from product marketing.

Homework- Apply a communication plan to their marketing plan

Group discussion expectation for task 3

Session 11

One to ones on Task 3

Session 12

Session 13

Session 14

What is the need for new product development and examine

techniques for new product development.
New product Development
Discussion
What are the factors that can affect the implementation of the
marketing plan and how have these been taken into account.

Explain what are ethics and how can ethical issues influence Marketing
Planning
Analyse different examples of how organisations respond to ethical issues
Analyse examples of consumer ethics and the effect it has on marketing
planning.

Discuss use of Ethics in Marketing

Discuss use of Ethics as a strategy
Case study example- Body shop
One to ones on Task 4

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
Learner Name

Assessor Name
Shmina

ISSUE DATE
09/02/2015

Programme Title

Unit No & Title

Unit Code

Edexcel BTEC
Level 5

Unit 19: Marketing

Unit 1
Y/601/1259

Planning

Marketing Planning

Assignment Title
Marketing Planning

Learning Outcomes
Learning
Outcome 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4

Learning
Outcome 2

EVIDENCE

Be able to compile marketing Audits

Review changing perspectives in marketing planning

Essay

Evaluate an organisations capability for planning its

future marketing activity
Examine techniques for organizational auditing and for
analysing external factors that affect marketing
Carry out organizational auditing and analysis of
planning
external factors that affect marketing planning in a
given situation

Understand the main barriers to Marketing Planning

2.1

written
Assess the main barriers to Marketing Planning
Presentation

2.2

Learning
Outcome 3

Examine how organizations may over come barriers to

Marketing Planning

Be able to formulate a Marketing Plan for a Product

or service.

3.1

Write a marketing plan for a product or a service

3.2

Explain why marketing planning is essential in the strategic

planning process for an organisation

3.3

Examine techniques for new product development

3.4
3.5

Justify recommendations for pricing policy, distribution

Explain how factors affecting the effective implementation of the
and communication
mixtaken in to Account
marketing
plan have been

Learning
Outcome 4
4.1

Report

Understand ethical issues in marketing

Explain how ethical issues influence marketing planning
Essay

4.2

. Analyse examples of how organizations respond to

4.3

ethical issues
Analyse examples of consumer ethics and the effect it
has on marketing planning.

The assignment involves a written Presentation, a Report and hand-outs.

TASKS
Scenario
You are a Marketing manager in a medium size organisation currently experiencing
declining sales. You have been in your position for 6 months and realise the organisation has
never had a marketing plan.
Your task is to prepare a marketing plan and present it to the senior management.
Be able to compile marketing Audits
TASKS 1 LO1

Section
Outcome 1

The organisation should understand that the marketing audit is a key aspect of
the marketing planning process.
Explain with the use of examples some of the changing perspectives in
Marketing Planning. (1.1) (250 words)
How would you as a marketing manager evaluate the organisations capability
for planning its future marketing activity? (1.2) (250 words)
What are the main techniques for organisational auditing that you would use
and for analysing external factors that affect marketing planning in your
organisation? (1.3) (250 words)
Carry out organisational auditing and analysis of external factors that affect
marketing planning in the given situation in your organisation?. (1.4)
(250 words)

Understand the main barriers to Marketing Planning

Task LO2:

Task 2 LO2:

Prepare a 10 minute written presentation with speaker notes to senior

management with presentation slides to be used These will be
handed in at the end of the presentation.
Explain and assess the main barriers to marketing planning faced by your
organisation (2.1)
For each barrier mentioned now explain how the organisation may overcome
each barrier to marketing Planning. (2.2)
(6 -- 8 Presentation Slides)

Able to identify the various stages of the marketing planning process

Prepare a Report to senior management
Task 3
L03

As the marketing manager for the medium size organisation

Write a full marketing plan and explain all the stages of the plan and how it
would help achieve more sales. (3.1) (1500 words)
Explain to senior management why marketing planning is essential in the
strategic planning process for an
organisation. (3.2) ) (200 words)
Explain to senior management what is the need for new product development
and examine techniques for new product development. (3.3) (400 words)
Justify recommendations to senior management for their approval for the
pricing policy, distribution and communication mix that you have suggested
in the marketing plan. (3.4) (450 words)
What are the factors that can affect the implementation of the marketing plan
and how have these been taken into account. (3.5) (250 words)

Prepare for Senior Management in Essay Format

Task 4 LO4:
Explain what are ethics and how can ethical issues influence (4.1)
marketing planning, How can your organisation respond to ethical
issues it faces? ? (4.2 )
Analyse examples of consumer ethics in general and how can they effect marketing
planning. (4.3)

(350 words)

Summary of Grades
In order to achieve a pass in a unit All learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria have
been met.
In order to achieve a merit in a unit All learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria have
been met.
All merit grade description are achieved
In order to achieve a distinction in a All learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria have
unit
been met
All merit and all distinction grade descriptions are achieved

11

Grading Criteria
Example: HNC/D Business
Unit 3: Organisations and Behaviour, Learning Outcomes 1 and 2

Learning Outcome 1:
Be able to compile marketing Audits.

For a Pass the learning outcomes below must be achieved and

the work to be presented in a report format.
1.1 Review changing perspectives in marketing planning
1.2 Evaluate an organisations capability for planning its future marketing activity
1.3 Examine techniques for organizational auditing and for analysing external factors that affect
1.4

marketing planning.
Carry out organizational auditing and analysis of external factors that affect marketing planning
in a given situation

Merit Descriptor

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Select/ design and

apply appropriate
Methods/
techniques

Distinction
Descriptor
Demonstrate
convergent/ lateral/
creative thinking

To achieve the relevant grade illustrated at least one bullet point must be
achieved.

12

Learning Outcome 2:
Understand the main barriers to Marketing Planning

For a Pass the learning outcomes below must be achieved and

the work to be presented in a report format.
2.1
2.2

Assess the main barriers to Marketing Planning

Examine how organizations may overcome barriers to Marketing Planning

Merit Descriptor
Identify and apply
strategies to find
appropriate
solutions

Distinction
Descriptor

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Indicative characteristic

Contextualisation

Use critical
reflection to
evaluate own work
and justify valid
conclusions

To achieve the relevant grade illustrated at least one bullet point must be
achieved.

13

Learning Outcome 3
Be able to formulate a Marketing Plan for a Product or service

For a Pass the learning outcomes below must be achieved and

the work to be presented as a written presentation with
handouts.
3.1 Write a marketing plan for a product or a service
3.2 Explain why marketing planning is essential in the strategic planning process for an organisation
3.3 Examine techniques for new product development
3.4 Justify recommendations for pricing policy, distribution and communication mix
3.5 Explain how factors affecting the effective implementation of the marketing plan have been taken
in to Account

Merit Descriptor

Identify and apply

strategies to find
appropriate
solutions

Distinction
Descriptor

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Use critical
reflection to
evaluate own work
and justify valid
conclusions

To achieve the relevant grade illustrated at least one bullet point must be
achieved.

14

Learning Outcome 4
Understand ethical issues in marketing

For a Pass the learning outcomes below must be achieved and

the work to be presented in a report format.
4.1 Explain how ethical issues influence marketing planning
4.2 Analyse examples of how organizations respond to
4.3 Analyse examples of consumer ethics and the effect it has on marketing planning
.

Merit Descriptor
Select/ design and
apply appropriate
Methods/
techniques

Distinction
Descriptor

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Indicative
characteristic

Contextualisation

Demonstrate
convergent/lateral/
creative thinking

To achieve the relevant grade illustrated at least one bullet point must be
achieved.

15

GENERAL GUIDANCE
Scheduling techniques
A diary is a simple but powerful tool for organising your time. If you do not manage your
time effectively you will find yourself rushing your work, reducing its quality. By planning
out your day systematically, you will be better able to see how much time is available for
different activities. By having a realistic picture of how much you can achieve, you will be
better able to organise your time so that you do not overload yourself with work from day to
day.
Research and preparation are key to successful assignments.
There are a number of study skills, which are vital to develop if you want to become an
effective independent learner. This section will support you in collecting the information
that you need to complete assignments, and in making effective use of the research resources
available to you through your centre and the internet.
Effective note-taking
In order to prepare to write assignments, you will need to be able to write useful and accurate
notes. Note- taking is not about creating word-for-word copies of a lecture or of a page in a
book, but about summarising key points quickly while including the main points and themes.
When taking notes, it is worth investing in a notebook with a margin. This allows you to
record your notes in the main part of the page and to use the margin for cues. A cue is a
comment you can make on the notes you have made as a reminder to yourself, or as a
stimulus for further investigation. For example, you might add a question mark in the
margin next to topics that you think you should investigate further.
Alternatively, you might write questions that you will later try to answer through reflection or
further study, or by asking your tutor. When you are taking notes, you should aim to reduce
the material that you are taking notes on. This means you have to take information and
simplify it. You can achieve this in a number of ways:
Abbreviate terms where possible.
Try to simplify the information by leaving out long examples or points that are not
relevant to your assignments.
Record keywords and references to the source of the information you are using, such as
page numbers and titles. This will let you go back and check facts later.
Mind-mapping
There are many forms of note taking and different approaches work for different people.
Some especially those with a tendency for visual learning find that Mind mapping is a
helpful way to make notes in class or from books. A mind map visually represents the
main points in a topic. It can be particularly useful for providing an overview of a topic
and helping to draw out links between different key points.

16

17

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

One important part of the strategic planning process is doing a SWOT analysis, where you identify the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your business. Using more traditional methods of doing SWOT analysis,
you just consider all the strengths first, and then all the weaknesses and so on. One of the advantages of doing this
using Mind Maps is that you can be open to use brain storming techniques where you come up with ideas that
relate to all four areas in any order, and you can attach them to the Mind Map as topics at the appropriate place as
you think of them.
The basic SWOT analysis just includes those four areas, but for strategic planning, its a good idea to extend and
focus a bit beyond just those four areas, so we have provided this Mind Map which may help direct your thinking
in appropriate directions for strategic and business planning (its in the document you can download from the link
above).
When you have gone through the strategic planning process and identified the detailed Vision, Mission, Values,
Objectives, strategies and goals, it is often useful to feed the main points back to an overall strategic plan Mind
Map which you can then make into a poster for your office, and can also include with a company prospectus or bids
for contracts etc. This helps everyone within the company or associated with the company in any way understand
what the company is all about, and where they fit in to the accomplishment of those objectives.
Along with strategic planning, it is important to make sure that the business you have and the business you are
building is protected in case of disasters, so make sure you include these in your planning:

18

Disaster Response and Recovery Plan

Out of the planning process comes the disaster response and recovery plan, like the second Mind Map to the right.
We can use the same techniques we used for project planning and management, to ensure that everyone
understands the objectives, their roles and responsibilities, and how to effect a speedy recovery from any disaster. It
is at times like that, that you need to have the clear and efficient communication that is provided by Mind Maps.
So as you can see, using Mind Maps for strategic planning helps make sure all aspects of the plan are dealt with
properly, in a way that everyone can understand what the strategic direction of the company is, and how you are
going to achieve it.

Preparation Stage
Read all Core Material
Read all the Supplementary Articles
Consider the range of issues/problems/difficulties/threats that your organisation is
currently facing
Ideally, discuss these with your Line Manager
Discuss the final selection with your personal Tutor
When you have the final agreement from your Personal Tutor, submit the proposal.
Reviewing your notes
It is wise to review your notes within a short time of making them for two reasons:
It will help you to remember the contents. Repetition aids recollection.
You might find you have different ideas about some of the points that you made.
This might spur you to write down a question for your tutor or to look up a particular concept
again so that you can clarify something you have written. It is better to find a gap in your
notes the next day rather than weeks later or the day before an assignment deadline.

Recommended Resources
When you are studying for a higher-level qualification, you will need to use a library to
independently research topics. You will be expected to read around topics that are delivered
in class the reading list at the end of this Study Skills Guide will provide you with some
useful sources of further reading. This will be particularly important if you want to complete a
degree or other higher-level qualification after your BTEC Higher National.
There are a number of resources that you can find in a library with which you should be
familiar. Different sources have different purposes, so you should take care to use materials
that are pitched at the appropriate level for your course. When investigating different sources
of information, try
to look at and compare a range of different titles and authors. You might find that different
writers explain topics in different ways. You might find particular texts more accessible than
others. This is quite normal and is nothing to worry about. If you find one resource does not
meet your needs, you should investigate others.

19


Books
Might focus on a specific area of a topic or give an overview of a range of subjects. You
should aim to use the most recent books possible. Be aware that some titles will have more
than one edition. You should try to study from the newest version of a text, as this is likely to
represent the most up-to-date theories and examples available in your field.

Periodicals
More commonly known as magazines and newspapers. These document current events
locally and nationally, and can often be a useful starting point for contextual information

Journals
Sources of the latest academic research. These publications are often highly specialised,
focusing on a particular areas of interest. Some journals are of particular importance in each
field and you should ask your tutor where they would recommend you look for research.

Reports
Documents that might be published by government agencies, charities, political think-tanks
or businesses. They are likely to contain a mixture of quantitative and qualitative
evidence. When scrutinizing reports, you should do so with a clear awareness of their source,
as some agencies will have a bias. For example, think-tanks such as Policy Exchange have
ties to particular political parties and may represent a specific point of view.
Interpreting an assignment brief
In order to interpret an assignment, you need to identify a number of key points. You need to:
find the command words in each question or task
determine what content is being assessed
establish the context of the assignment.
1) Command words
Each task in your assignment will contain a verb that indicates to you the level of the response
that you are expected to give. It is important that you interpret these verbs correctly so that
you fully recognise the level of demand in each task.
2) Content
It is important to establish which theories and concepts must be covered in your assignment.
Your tutor might provide you with a copy of the specification for the qualification.
3) Context
Your assignments will relate to a particular scenario. This might be something relevant to
your workplace or it might be a situation relating to a case stud y selected by your tutor. You
should normally ensure that your assignment relates closely to this context. This is because of
the nature of the qualification you are studying for: you are expected to demonstrate academic
knowledge in a workplace setting.
There are some additional considerations that you must take account of. The word count on
your assignment should inform how much you write and help you to structure your response.

20

A good way to do this is to start on a blank page and divide your overall assignment into
subheadings. These should usually relate to the main themes or theories you need to cover.
Once you have done this, allocate a number of words to each subheading, remembering that
you will need to include a brief introduction and a longer conclusion to sum up your
arguments overall.
Budgeting words in this way will help you to keep within your word count. It will also help
you break the assignment down into more manageable pieces that you can approach step
by step over a period of days or weeks.
Your assignment will have a submission deadline, set by your tutor. Finishing well before
this is important. You should ensure that you plan for enough time to read through your
assignment and check you have covered all of the required content. You might find what you
originally thought was well written and eloquent actually lacks a degree of coherence, so
you might want to make some improvements to make your arguments more
sophisticated or to add a point that you had accidentally omitted.
Types of assessment
There are two different types of assessment that you are likely to experience during your
higher National course.
1) Formative assessment refers to activities that are designed to give you feedback and
allow your improve your work. Your tutor might sit down with you and discuss your work
and progress, helping you to prepare an
action plan to improve your work.
2) Summative assessment refers to the final, formal assessment of your work that assigns
you a grade. This is likely to happen at least once during each term or semester on your
course. While you might get feedback from your tutor on the strengths and weaknesses of
your work it is not always the case that you will be able to make further improvements to
your work after these assessments.
Accessing higher grades
You will naturally be concerned with making the most of your studies and accessing the
highest grades possible. There are specific qualities that an assessor will be looking for in
your assignments, such as an ability to critique theories and ideas. You should make sure you
are familiar with these requirements before you start writing your assignments. There are a
number of practical steps you can take to maximise your opportunities to achieve higher
grades.
Independent reading is vital
You will not be able to get the best grades by simply relying on the notes that you are given in
class. You will be given a reading list for different modules that you study. This is the
minimum that is expected of you in terms of independent study. You should aim to read
and make notes on the relevant sections of each book on your reading list as well as
following up on references highlighted by tutors during lectures, seminars and tutorials.
Another way of finding further texts to study is to look at the references at the end of
chapters in your course
texts. This will allow you to explore the material that informed the books you have
read and explore the concepts in them in greater depth. This can help you develop your
understanding of key points.

21

Understand the demands of your assignment brief

One of the easiest ways to lose marks is to provide a response that does not fully answer the
questions set. You should take great care to read your assignment thoroughly and to clarify
any points of uncertainty with your tutor. You need to make sure that your answer is well
focused on answering questions. Detailed recitals of material from course textbooks might
show that you have a superficial understanding of a topic but will get you, at best, a passing
grade or worse. You need to demonstrate your ability to think critically and to apply theory to
a range of different scenarios.
Demonstrate originality
To achieve the very highest grades, you should demonstrate some evidence of the ability to
construct original thoughts and ideas. This does not meant that you are constructing your
own theories, but it might be that you find a novel application of existing ideas or offer a
unique criticism of established ideas. A good way to approach this is often by using your
own experiences and insights to inform your work. Basing your assignments on workplace
experience or primary research can provide a source of unique insights. However, be careful
to avoid long descriptions of scenarios in this case. You should ensure that your insights are
relevant to the questions that you are answering and that you are not simply going off on a
tangent.
Make the most of class sessions. It might sound obvious, but regular attendance at lectures,
tutorials and seminars will help you to perform better.
Your tutor will regularl y offer advice on assignments and you should take note of this. You
are also likely to hear explanations of a range of theories and concepts that go beyond those
in the material on your reading list. This will give you clues as to what to look for in the
library to read around the topics studied more effectively.
Be critical
This does not mean that you have to tear apart every concept that you write about, but it
does mean that you should not simply accept ideas at face value. Just because a concept has
weaknesses does not invalidate it, but if you fail to acknowledge and address these
weaknesses, then it will make your arguments far less convincing and constrain you to lower
grades.

22

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Dibb, Simkin, Pride and Ferrell Marketing: Concepts and Strategies - 2000, Houghton and Mifflin
Dibb, Simkin, Pride & Ferrell Marketing Concepts & Strategies (4th European Edition)
Dibb S et al Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 4th Edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2000)
ISBN: 9780395962442
Fifield P Marketing Strategy, 3rd Edition (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007) ISBN:
9780750656757
Hatton A The Definitive Guide to Marketing Planning (Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2000)
ISBN: 9780273649328
McDonald M and Wilson H Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them, 5th
Edition (John Wiley and Sons, 2011) ISBN: 9780470669976

JOURNALS

The Marketer (Journal of the Chartered Institute of Marketing)

Marketing Week (Centaur Communications Ltd)
All newspapers and magazines will provide some source material for this
unit,
but a more formal and critical perspective will be found in the business
sections
of the quality newspapers, which often report on marketing plans and the
ethical
issues that affect organisations

www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog Website for the BBC consumer programme,

which often includes an examination businesses affected by
of ethical issues that affect consumers.

WEBSITES

www.cim.co.uk The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) - a

professional marketing body based in UK.
www.marketingmagazine.co.uk Website for Marketing magazine, for the
latest stories across the industry including the major
media, branding, direct marketing and retail sectors.
www.marketingweek.co.uk Website for Marketing Week magazine, for
marketing jobs, marketing news, opinion and
Like newspapers, the reporting of general marketing strategy and plans
is often
covered in news broadcasts and news magazine programmes. Ethical
issues
that affect organisations and their plans are often included in consumer
oriented programmes such as Watchdog on the BBC.

21

NOTES

Your evidence for assessment must be handed in with a signed learner declaration

You must hand in individual work for assessment for all tasks (including group
work tasks) to the examination office

You must following the assessment criteria above to ensure that you meet all of the
criteria in order to pass the module

Your assignment should be in report format

You must include in your assignment a cover page with your details and your
course details using the template provided

Submission deadline: Check and comply with the assessments schedule in your
course handbook

Submission type: Check and comply with the assessments schedule in your course
handbook

References: Ensure that all references are quoted at the end of any
question/document submitted; you must apply the Harvard S ystem of Referencing
in your work.

Ensure that font style should be Tahoma and font size should be 12 in all
assignments

Ensure that (in paragraph) line spacing should be 1 or 1.15 and alignment should
be justify

Ensure that all work has been proof-read and checked prior to submission

Ensure that the layout of your documents is in a professional format

22

STRUCTURE AND FORMAT FOR REPORT WRITING

You are advised to use the following format
Title page The details of author, circulation, purpose of submission and date.
Acknowledgements To those who assisted the author in the production of the report.
Contents With page numbers.
Introduction The background, the issue and the aim of the investigation.

Major sections As many as necessary, usually covering the concepts used, the
information collected and the evaluation.

Conclusions Overall findings of the investigation: the overall picture that has emerged
and the implications.

Recommendations Actions that should be taken, based on the conclusions.

References Identification of literature and other sources used and referred to in the text.

PLAGIARISM/COLLUSION
Any act of plagiarism or collusion will be seriously dealt with according to the regulations. In
this context the definition and scope of plagiarism are presented below:
Plagiarism is presenting somebody elses work as your own, It includes copying information
directly from the Web or books without referencing the material; submitting joint coursework
as an individual effort; copying another students coursework; stealing coursework from
another student and submitting it as your own work.
Collusion is working collaboratively with another learner to produce work that is submitted as
the individual learners work.
Suspected acts of plagiarism or collusion will be investigated and if found to have occurred
will be dealt with according to the college procedure.
For Presentations students will need to prepare power point slides. This presentation slide has
to be merged into their main word document. To merge these files:
Click and open power point slide and copy all content
Click and open the word document and scroll to the end of document
Paste copied slide as Bitmap using paste special option
Insert 2 slides per page

23

REFERENCING USING THE HARVARD SYSTEM

It is not enough for you to state that you have read a number of texts in the preparation of your
assignment; it is important to show how and where you have used your sources within the
assignment itself.
Referencing allows you to do this and ensures that you avoid plagiarism.
The finest source of reference is the peer reviewed journal since it will be current and reliable
as it has been peer reviewed. The least reliable source is the website and these should be kept
to a minimum with no more than two or three appearing in a list of 30 references. Thus, if
you use 150 books, articles and journals you should only have about 5 web references!!!!
Tabloids, the Metro, the Evening Standard or Wikipedia are not acceptable references and
you should trace any of their material to the original source and quote this.
Equally you cannot quote a lecture unless you are citing the lecturers published book or
journal. Three points are important when referencing with the Harvard Referencing System
Acknowledge the work by other people that you have used in your assignment
Offer enough information to allow the reader to follow up your reference, and access it
for themselves
All references should appear as a (name, date) in the text and in full on the Reference list.
CURRENT REFERENCES (THIS CENTURY!)
References should be current 2010+ and preferably post 2012. If you are using an older
model
then quote the original date followed by a recent journal article which mentions it to show that
it is still part of the contemporary debate. For example Kolbs learning cycle would be (Kolb,
1974; Simmonds 2009) and both would be listed separately on your reference list.
1. Referencing in the text itself with the Harvard Referencing System
You can demonstrate how you have used sources in your assignment through appropriate
referencing in the text itself. The Harvard system uses the authors surname and year of
publication as the main way to identify documents within the text. Here are some practical
examples of referencing within the text.
For a single author:
E.g. It has been shown that (Jones, 2009) E.g. Jones (2009) shows that.
For something written by two people:
E.g. the main features of . have been identified as.. (Jones and Brown, 2010)
For papers written by more than two authors: E.g. Smith et al (2010) indicate that .
The full list of authors must appear in the reference section at the back
For corporate authors, for instance a consultancy report:
E.g. Key issues for Anderson industries were.. (Anderson plc. 2008)
For publications with no obvious author, such as ACAS
E.g. Key stages in the discipline process are. (ACAS, 2009) Quotations

24

When you quote directly from a source you should place the quotation in inverted commas
and the page number should be given in the reference.
e.g. The employment relationship is central to personnel and development, whether in terms
of the direct employment of staff by an organisation, or the subcontracting of work to external
bodies. (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2010:7)
Direct quotations should be kept to a minimum as paraphrasing is preferred with the reference
(name, date) in brackets after it. A direct quote always requires a page number.
2. REFERENCING IN THE REFERENCE SECTION USING THE HARVARD SYSTEM
The Reference section follows the end of your assignment text (but comes before any
appendices). This is where you list the publications you have referred to in full and in
alphabetical order. The following information should be provided to allow anyone to follow
up your reference and access it accurately:
Authors surname and initial(s)
Year of publication
Title of book (or article) either underlined or italicised (or italicised)
Publisher of the book (or journal in which the article was found)
Place of publication (e.g. London, New York, Paris) EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES ON
THE REFERENCE LIST
Reference to an article in a journal:
Riusala, K. and Suutari, V. (2008) Expatriation and careers: perspectives of expatriates and
spouses. Career Development International Vol.5. No. 2 pp. 81-90
NB where the journal has volume numbers and part numbers these should be clearly shown
page numbers of an article should be given wherever possible
Reference to a book
Bloisi, W. (2008) Management and Organisational Behaviour (2 nd European Edn.) McGraw
Hill, London.
Reference to a booklet
Department for Education and Employment (2009). Delivering Skills for All: Second Report
of the Skills Task Force. HMSO, London.
Reference to the work of someone cited in a different source (such as a text-book).
McGregor, D. (1960), The Human side of Enterprise. cited in Bloisi, W. (2009)
Management and Organisational Behaviour (3rd European Edn.) McGraw Hill. & then give the
page number where you found it!
Reference to a particular chapter in an edited book:
OSullivan, N. (2009) The Future of Work in Matthewman, L., Rose, A. and Hetherington, A.
(eds.) (2009) Work Psychology . Ch. 16. pp. 348-367. OUP England
Reference to an item found on the internet.
Internet sources should be cited in the text as (Web 1), (Web 2) etc. with a fresh number for
each reference. The bibliography should then list them separately. If the same Web page is
used on different dates as a regular source of information then the date should also be included
in the reference e.g. (Web 1, 22/3/10) then (Web 1, 24/3/10) on subsequent occasions.

25

They need not be alphabetical order in your reference list.

This should include the fact that the item was accessed on-line & when e.g. Web1, (1999)
Pay and Conditions in Call Centres, available at http://www.incomesdata.co.uk/callcent/htm
Accessed 23 October 2008
Graphs, charts and tables
You should make reference to Graphs, charts and tables used in your text to strengthen your
arguments, clarify concepts or give proof. These should be numbered in sequential order with
the data source shown beneath them.
Table 1.1 Percentage of unemployed builders in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire 19992001
Year
1999
2000
2001
Carmarthenshire
23 %
27%
19%
Pembrokeshire
14%
38%
8%
Source: Welsh Employment Statistics (2002)
*** Remember all graphs, charts and tables MUST be sited in the back! METHODS OF
WORKING:
Lectures must be attended. Weekly reading is essential!!!! You are likely to find Lecture work
easier to accomplish if you have a copy of the lecture notes with you.
Lectures are essential for developing the required skills for the module.
On this module you are treated as an ADULT Graduates independent and autonomous
learner. As such, to succeed in the module you will need to read around your subjects; both in
the recommended texts and in relevant journals, think things through, reflect in a critical way
about your own transfer of knowledge to practice as well as that of organisations you notice
around you, solve problems, research topics and integrate your learning in a coherent way.
It is recommended that you match your college time for this module with an equivalent
independent study period each week.
GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS
This handbook is not a definitive statement of EDEXCEL regulations, but merely a guide
specially written for you in order to complete the four contemporary issues in marketing
management assignments
ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST
Assessment Decisions
Cover Sheet
Plagiarism Report
Module Title & Code
Lecturers name
Student Name
Student Number
2 x Paper copy of report
2 x Memory stick or disc in envelope attached to the report (non-returnable)
Assignments email to h.admin@lbbaglobal.com

The night before hand-in date latest by 23:30pm

It is important that you retain a copy of any documents that you hand in for assessment.
Any students having an y difficulties with any area of the assessment must inform the
administrator immediately. A meeting will then be arranged with the lecturer to give further
support.

26

LBBA
London Bridge Business Academy

Assessment Plan : : Marketing Planning

DATE

Unit &
Title

Learning
Outcome

Hand
In

Summative
Assessment

25/01/16

Be able to compile
marketing Audits

LO1

29/02/2016

Week 15

25/01/16

Understand the main barriers

to Marketing Planning

LO2

14/03/2016

Week 15

25/01/16

Be able to formulate a Marketing

Plan for a Product
or service.

LO3

02/05/2016

Week 15

25/01/16

Understand ethical issues in

marketing

LO4

23/05/2016

Week15

27