MEng Civil Engineering (Enterprise) / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Enterprise Strategy and Marketing

Course unit fact file
Unit code MCEL40031
Credit rating 15
Unit level Level 4
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

Enterprise Strategy and Marketing, has been developed to look at some of the key business activities that entrepreneurs will need to consider when developing and growing a small to medium size organisation.

Students will consider the entrepreneurial process from its earliest starting point (a product/service) which is being commercialised and will consider the key process involved in the development of the business around this central theme the ’Value Proposition’. Specifically Students will consider the importance of the marketing function and will learn to understand the key strategic considerations around how products and services are branded and marketed, communicated to the customers and eventually sold to the customer. The unit will not only consider the theoretical frameworks which underpin many of these activities but will also consider the practical solutions involved in undertaking these activities.

Pre/co-requisites

There are no prerequisite needed.

Aims

The unit aims to:

Develop a basic understanding of marketing, its application and the process and skills required for its use in the development and management of New Entrepreneurial Venture. Students should leave with a greater understanding of the application of business analysis and strategic marketing relating to the business environment.

Syllabus

The unit aims to develop depth and understanding of the processes and skills needed in planning a new venture or taking an existing business forward. The main focus being, the marketing process and its importance within the business environment including: strategic positioning, marketing communication strategy, tactics, and the importance of innovation and product development.
The unit focusses on the following content:
•    What do marketers do
•    Marketing environment and strategy
•    Marketing and its wider environment and connection to business
•    Business planning and future strategy
•    Innovation and new product development
•    Marketing research
•    Customers, segmentation, targeting and positioning
•    Marketing communication
•    Brands and corporate identity,
•    Service marketing
•    B2B marketing
•    Marketing and innovation failure

Teaching and learning methods

Lecture

The unit will be delivered as a series of lectures together with relevant and topical case studies and in-class activities for students to work on both alone and in small informal groups.

Employability skills

Other
This unit has a number of Employability Skills:- 
1, The ability to spot and develop a business opportunity, (this will target students who wish to develop their own businesses in the future).
 2, Intrapreneurial skills, any student wanting to work within a business environment, will gain an appreciation for an organisational business functions specifically around the area of Marketing and Market Research 
Note: - a number of students having undertaken this unit have gone into marketing roles within companies.

Assessment methods

Formative assessment: A small set of PowerPoint slides related to assignment topic.

Summative assessments: Assignment: - a structured market report, on a given topic.

Feedback methods

  • Attending lectures, joining discussions about case studies and doing short work tasks set within the lecture session.
  • Your lecturer will reply to brief individual questions at the end of each lecture session, if there are a few minutes to spare. 
  •  Your lecturer will provide brief replies to your e-mailed enquiry.
  • Your lecturer may feedback messages to the whole class via Blackboard if the point that you have raised could be of benefit to the whole class.

Recommended reading

•    Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G., 2018. Principles of Marketing (17th Global ed.). Pearson Education Inc. 
•    Valentin, E.K., 2014. Business Planning and Market Strategy. SAGE Publications. 
•    Fahy, J. and Jobber, D., 2019. Foundations of marketing. McGraw-Hill Education. 
•    Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C., 2016. Services Marketing: People, Technology. World Scientific Publishing Company. 
•    Ellis, N., 2010.Business to business marketing: Relationships, networks and strategies. Oxford University Press
•    Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G. and Smith, A., 2014. Value proposition design: How to create products and services customers want. John Wiley & Sons.

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 24
Independent study hours
Independent study 126

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Robert Martin Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Available as a free choice option 

For Academic Year 2023/24

Updated: March 2023

Approved by: March UG Committee

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