COURSE NUMBER: EWMBA 299M-1   

COURSE TITLE: Marketing Strategy   

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 units   

INSTRUCTOR: Peter Wilton

MEETINGS DAY(S)/TIME: Thursdays, 6 – 9:30pm

PREREQUISITE(S): EWMBA 206

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course provides the opportunity to sharpen strategic analytic skills by exploring in greater detail selected concepts covered only briefly in the core MBA functional courses, and by introducing additional frameworks specifically addressing strategic decisions; those decisions having a long-term impact on the organization and which are difficult or costly to reverse. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to:

► strategic market planning frameworks

► causes of strategy underperformance: the “strategy-to-performance” gap

► causes of strategic decline

► strategic growth options and their relationship to profitability

► business context analysis and scenario planning

► managing evolutionary versus disruptive strategic change

► organizational responses to environmental uncertainty

► identifying and articulating unique customer value propositions

► aligning internal operations with external strategic vision

► understanding the process of strategy formulation and strategic thinking

► valuing and implementing strategies

► building strategic capability; the build/buy/ally decision

► managing strategic alliances

The course is cross-functional in its focus, attempting, where appropriate, to integrate marketing, financial, and operational strategy issues.

In order to provide a sense of realism, the course will introduce important concepts through lectures, case studies, and a dynamic marketing strategy simulation game known as MARKSTRAT. Competing in teams throughout the semester, students will have full responsibility for all aspects of competitive strategy and business performance in a dynamic market environment.

What makes the MARKSTRAT simulation challenging and rewarding is the uncertainty associated with overall market conditions, the volatility of each firm’s operating environment, the unpredictability of competitors’ intended strategies, and the responses of competitors to other firms in the industry. Students are assured of a series of unanticipated market and competitive developments which will test and sharpen their strategic market planning skills in a real-world, dynamic, market environment.

Finally, to add to the realism, the class may occasionally be addressed by outside guest speaker(s) with substantial experience and success in marketing strategy. Attendance at these guest lectures is a requirement of the course, notwithstanding that regular class times may need to be adjusted in order to accommodate the schedules of guest speakers.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Dr. Peter Wilton teaches strategy, marketing, and international management at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. He has also served as Visiting Professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and as faculty at University of Melbourne and the Australian Graduate School of Management. Dr. Wilton has received numerous awards and fellowships for his work in management, including from the National Science Foundation as well as the Marketing Science Institute. He has been the recipient of the Australian Overseas Fellowship in Management and the Market Research Society of Australia Prize. In the US, he has been recognized by Business Week magazine as one of the country’s leading business instructors. In addition to his teaching activities, through his private consulting company ORBIS Associates, Dr. Wilton also provides a range of strategic management and executive development services to a list of clients representing diverse industries and regions of the world. Among others, his global clients include Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co. Inc. and Rockwell International. Dr. Wilton holds a Bachelor of Commerce (1st Class Honors) from the University of New South Wales in Australia, and a Ph.D. in Management from Purdue University in the United States.

Website: http://facultybio.haas.berkeley.edu/faculty-list/wilton-peter