Emerging Themes

Examiner Report September 2009

Grade Profile Sep 2009

Grade Profile Dec 2009

Grade Differentiation
Grade A candidate will generally have:
Completed all tasks.
Completed all elements within each tasks (e.g. providing equal weighting to both the macro & meso emerging themes) and focused clearly on the task. Demonstrated an excellent knowledge of relevant theory within the syllabus for this unit. Demonstrated a strong understanding of the sector/industry they have investigated through the use of up-to-date evidence. Demonstrated confidence and creativity in their answer. Presented their assignment in an excellent professional manner.

Grade Differentiation
Grade B candidate will generally have:
Completed all tasks.
Completed all or most elements within each tasks (e.g. providing equal weighting to both the macro & meso emerging themes) and focused clearly on the task. Demonstrated an good knowledge of relevant theory within the syllabus for this unit. Demonstrated a good understanding of the sector/industry they have investigated through the use of up-to-date evidence. Used appropriate format & presentation . Demonstrated competence in their answer.

Grade Differentiation
Grade C candidate will generally have:
Completed all or most tasks. Completed all or most elements within each tasks giving an adequate level of depth and detail. Demonstrated an adequate knowledge of relevant theory within the syllabus for this unit. Format is adequate.

Grade Differentiation
Grade D candidate will generally have:
Completed most tasks. Completed most or some of the elements within tasks (i.e. may have only covered a macro or meso theme) Demonstrated a weak knowledge of relevant theory within the syllabus for this unit. Demonstrated a weak understanding of the sector or one that is not based on any evidence. Format is poor.

General Overview
All candidates completed the tasks. Most candidates demonstrated their ability for creative thinking at strategic level.

Good writing style and produced very credible articles.

There were some issues regarding the interpretation of the tasks and how well they were undertaken.

General Overview
All candidates completed the tasks. Most candidates demonstrated their ability for creative thinking at strategic level. Good writing style and produced very credible articles.

There were some issues regarding the interpretation of the tasks and how well they were undertaken.

Task Two of the Assignment

(10 Marks) are available for format and presentation. Relevance to the task. Use concepts and frameworks to support arguments, points and recommendations. Use professional tone and required format. Appropriate use of examples to illustrate the points. Harvard referencing.

Issues Regarding Interpretation

Justification for the choice of themes in the context of the industry / sector:
The themes chosen should be contemporary, in the context of the industry / sector.

The appropriateness of the theme needed to be evidenced. (Backed up by national statistics, or other suitable sources, such as academic journal material).
Not all candidates clearly articulated the link between macro & meso themes. A good working knowledge of the sector was demonstrated.

Issues Regarding Interpretation

Production of a short-list of the most suitable potential publications for the article & critical evaluation for the potential publication of the article:
All candidates attempted to provide criteria to make some sort of shortlist (such as subject coverage, circulation figures, etc,).

Not all candidates made reference to the publications editorial policy, which would have helped provide a case for fit between content of the article & potential publication.

Brief justification as to why one of the publishers should publish the article, as such, would be suitable for inclusion in a covering letter in support of their application:
This was completed by all candidates, but the better answers referred to the publications editorial policy.

Issues Regarding Interpretation

Critical evaluation & assessment of the impact of one macro and one meso level change on the chosen industry / sector:
Whilst all candidates made an attempt t do this, there was a big difference in the quality of the answer. . It was entirely down to their ability to critically evaluate & assess based on the use of theoretical principles/approaches/models relevant at Level-7.

Many of the weaker answers did not make reference to any academic theory. Whilst the assessment did expect them to look at a specific sector and there may not be theory available relevant to that sector there is generic theory/literature that could have been applied.
In the best answers, the theoretical underpinning to any critical evaluation & assessment came from academic journal answers. Most candidates used only industry sources & this affected the quality of the answer.

Issues Regarding Interpretation

Forecast of the implications of these change on organizations within the chosen sector, giving due consideration to the application of an appropriate business strategy: :
All candidates made an attempt, but many did not focus on any one particular business strategy. Many candidates tended to talk vaguely about lots of different approaches (segmentation, niche marketing, strategic alliances, digital marketing etc. The better candidates applied one strategy (e.g. cost leadership) in a logical way. many candidates did not make use of published academic theory to substantiate their answer or even cite the appropriate theorist behind the strategies they were discussing. (e.g. Michael Porter)

Issues Regarding Interpretation

Prediction of the future of the marketing professional within the chosen industry/sector, paying particular attention of how the skills, attitudes & behaviors of marketing professionals will have to change:
Not all candidates made explicit reference to marketing professionals talking more generally about making instead. Many did give a creative and insightful response to this part of the assessment, but , this was lacking in evidence.

Format & Presentation

To article needs to conform to CIMs protocols with regards to referencing etc, even if this does not meet with the publishing criteria of the journal or periodical.

Comments on Strengths'
Choosing an industry which the candidate had obvious familiarity with. Contemporary themes that are relevant to the industry context. Clear linkage between themes. Clear & justified list of criteria for short-listing potential publications. Reference to editorial policy of publication(s). Persuasive style of justification. Predict the impact on marketing prfessionals.

Comments on Strengths
Confident and visionary writing style. Equal attention paid to both themes. Analysis of themes based on theory/literature. Clear application of themes to sector.

Thorough application of a recognized business/marketing strategy.

Explanation of impact of strategy on sector. Well presented and accurately referenced. Dedicate enough attention to tasks where the majority of potential marks could be awarded.

Task One of the Assignment

Focus upon the identification of the themes in the context of the industry/sector. Identification of a suitable range of potential publications that might choose to publish the candidates finished article and a justification for the most appropriate publication. Candidates should find out more about the editorial policy of the short-listed publications and that will help them make a judgment as to which was the most suitable. (20 Marks) are available for Task One.

Task Two of the Assignment

Critically evaluate & asses the impact of ONE macro level and ONE meso level change upon a industry/sector. (30 Marks). Forecast implications of these changes on organizations within the chosen sector/industry, giving due consideration to the application of an appropriate business strategy. (20 Marks). Predict the future for the marketing profession within the chosen industry/sector, paying particular attention to how the skills, attitudes and behaviors of marketing porfessionals have to change. (20 Marks)

Harvard Referencing
Making Citations Within the Text
All statements, opinions, conclusions, etc taken from another author's work must be cited, whether the work is directly quoted, paraphrased or summarised. Cited publications are referred to in the body of an essay by giving the author's surname and the year of publication in one of the forms below.

Example: The author has also discussed the implications of these results on the advertising industry in another paper (Ward, 1999).
Example: Other writers have commented on related issues, notably Murray (1998, 1999) and Smith (1997). Example: Turner (1999) argued in favour of the marketing industry becoming more ethical in general.

Harvard Referencing
Two Authors:

Example: Smith and Jones (2003) argue that...

Example: The production of goods, and their distribution, took place on a small scale before the industrial revolution (Lancaster and Massingham, 1999).

More than Two Authors:

Example: The lack of marketing leadership is damaging to many large companies (McDonald et al, 2006).

Harvard Referencing
If the same author has published more than one work in the same year and students refer to several of them, the citations should be listed in chronological order with lower case letters after the date in order to differentiate them. The same applies to an author who has discussed a subject and produced works in several years. Example: Studies show that the marketing of fair trade products is leading to increased consumer demand (Hobbs, 1999a, 1999b, 2000).

If more than one author is used to illustrate a point in the same

sentence/paragraph, citations should be listed by date and then alphabetically. Example: There is evidence that marketing to older people is becoming an attractive proposition (Brown, 1995; McKay and Donaldson, 1999; Segal, 2000; Thomson, 2000).

Harvard Referencing
Quotation marks must be used when quoting from a text word-forword. The page number that the quote is taken from should also be given in the citation. Short quotes are written in the body of your text.
Example: Kotler (2001, p3) states that Marketers are skilled in stimulating demand for their products.

However, longer quotations are separated from the text in their own paragraph.
Example: Stuart Derrick (2006, p12) finds that Scotlands emergence as a business destination is due to several factors: The countrys main selling points have always been its landscape, culture and the friendliness of its people. However, in recent years other aspects of the Scottish brand have come to the fore, powered by a national tourist organisation with redoubled resources.

Harvard Referencing
If a section of the quote is omitted, use three dots to show that words are missing.
Example: Scottish golf is not resting on its laurelsand there are numerous plans afoot for new or revamped courses (McKelvie, 2006, p36).

Secondary referencing
Students may wish to refer to studies that are themselves referred to by another author. In cases such as this, when the original work has not been seen by the student, both the original work and the secondary source should be cited. Example: Three reasons for the mediating role of brand loyalty on information processing are given (Tellis, 1988, cited in Laroche et al, 2006).

Harvard Referencing
Listing references
A full list of the references used must be included at the end of essays, dissertations, etc. These are listed alphabetically by authors surname and then by date (earliest first). If an author has produced more than one work per year, which have been cited in the text, these are listed by date using a lower case letter to differentiate them (as per the citation in the text).

Harvard Referencing
If the same author has published more than one work in the same year and students refer to several of them, the citations should be listed in chronological order with lower case letters after the date in order to differentiate them.

The same applies to an author who has discussed a subject and produced works in several years.
Example: Studies show that the marketing of fair trade products is leading to increased consumer demand (Hobbs, 1999a, 1999b, 2000).

Harvard Referencing
Use the title page, rather than the front cover, when referencing books, as these sometimes differ. Punctuation should be as given in the examples below, with publication titles given in italics. Books follow the pattern:
Surname, Initial. (Date) Title of book: given in italics. Edition. Place of publication, Publisher. A book by one author:
Kotler, P. (2001) A framework for marketing management. United States, Prentice Hall.

Harvard Referencing
A book by two authors:
Lancaster, G. and Massingham, L. (1999) Essentials of marketing: text and cases. 3rd edition. London, McGraw Hill.

A book by more than two authors:

McDonald, M. et al (2006) Marketing due diligence: reconnecting strategy to share price. Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann.

A book by a corporate author:

HMSO (2000) Interpreting statistics successfully. London, HMSO.

An edited book:
Baker, M. (ed) (1995) Companion encyclopedia of marketing. London, Routledge.

Harvard Referencing
A chapter in a book:

Brownlie, D. (1995) Environmental analysis. In: Baker, M. (ed) (1995) Companion encyclopedia of marketing. London, Routledge. pp318-336.

An article in a journal:
Derrick, S. (2006) Modern twist on traditional perceptions. Conference & Incentive Travel, August, pp12-15. Laroche et al (2006) Competitive advertising interference and ad repetition effects. International Journal of Advertising, Vol25(3), pp271307.

An article in a newspaper:
Shephard, A. (2004) As well as chocolateThe Times, 3 April, p4.

Harvard Referencing
Articles cited from particular sections of newspapers should be referenced as:
Smith, K. (2006) From here to eternity. The Guardian (Education Guardian) 10 April, p12.

Conference proceedings:
Tynan, C. (1997) Review of the marriage analogy in relationship marketing. In: Proceedings of the 1997 Academy of Marketing Conference held at Manchester Metropolitan University. Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University. pp318-336.

Harvard Referencing
A secondary reference (article)
Tellis (1988) Advertising exposure, loyalty and brand purchase: a two stage model of choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 25 (May) pp134-144. Cited in: Laroche et al (2006) Competitive advertising interference and ad repetition effects. International Journal of Advertising, Vol25(3), pp271-307.

A secondary reference (book)

McDonald, M. and Wilson, H. (2002) The new marketing. Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann. Cited in: McDonald, M. et al (2006) Marketing due diligence: reconnecting strategy to share price. Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann.

Harvard Referencing
Electronic resources
It is important to give a viable link and the date accessed when referencing electronic resources, such as websites. Anon (2004) One third of Sky viewers press red button. Carat, http://www.carat.co.uk/whats_new_item.asp?is=66 [Accessed on 15 March 2004] P&G marketing chief critiques the advertising industry. AdAge, www.adage.com [Accessed on 9 September 2004] More information on referencing electronic sources can be found at http://www.shef.ac.uk/library/libdocs/hsl-dvc2.pdf