COURSE
NUMBER: MBA269.1
COURSE TITLE:
Pricing
UNITS OF
CREDIT: 3.0
INSTRUCTOR: Wasim
Azhar
E-MAIL
ADDRESS: azhar@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB
PAGE LOCATION: https://bspace.berkeley.edu/portal
MEETING
DAY(S)/TIME: Mondays/Wednesdays, 2:00PM – 3:30PM
PREREQUISITE(S):
MBA 206
CLASS FORMAT:
Case discussions, Lecture Discussions, and Summaries of Key Takeaways and
Frameworks..
REQUIRED
READINGS:
1) Required
Textbook: The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More
Profitably 5th edition: Nagle, Hogan and Zale. Pearson Prentice
Hall
2) Cases and
readings package.
BASIS FOR
FINAL GRADE:
20% each for
Individual Class Participation and Individual Take-Home Quiz
30% each for Group take –home midterm, and
Group take- home final or planning exercise
(option given).
ABSTRACT OF
COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
Optimal
pricing is an essential component of marketing strategy in a competitive
business environment and yet many firms employ arbitrary rules and haphazard
approaches to pricing that adversely affect their profits and competitive
positions. This course aims to equip participants with innovative and useful
concepts, techniques, frameworks and templates for assessing, formulating, and
implementing optimal pricing strategies and tactics. The course will draw on
behavioral and economic foundations, mathematical techniques, analytical
marketing frameworks, principles of marketing strategy, and game theory to
develop and describe effective systematic and structured approaches and
frameworks for assessing, formulating and implementing optimal pricing
decisions. Concepts and topics covered in the course will include new product
pricing, pricing over the product life cycle, value pricing, segmented pricing,
price discrimination, pricing B2C and B2B products, and product line pricing
strategies. Pricing strategies and tactics in competitive bidding situations
will also be covered. The course will primarily use cases which will be
supplemented by lecture discussions and Guest Speakers. The cases will be drawn
from B2B and B2C industries and also cover the challenges of developing revenue
sources for internet services such as Dropbox, Online Newspaper Services,
YouTube and LinkedIn. The course is primarily intended for managers who in
their careers will be involved in evaluating, formulating, implementing and/or
recommending pricing policies, strategies and tactics within the context of
integrated business strategies. Upon completion of this course, participants
will:
Understand
the significance and impact of pricing practices in manufacturing and service
industries including online services.
Develop and
learn concepts and frameworks for analyzing and implementing pricing decisions.
Master
techniques for formulating and implementing optimal and profitable pricing
decisions.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH:
Continuing
Lecturer in Marketing, Wasim Azhar has been at Haas since 2005, Wasim
specializes in Pricing Strategies, International Marketing and Sales Force and
Channel Strategy. Wasim won the Cheit Award for Best
Teaching in the EWMBA program for 2007-8. He is also a Director and designated
Faculty Coach at the Center for Teaching Excellence at Haas and a member of
P-FACT, the 6 member Professional Faculty Committee that advises the Senior
Associate Deans on Policy and Planning issues at Haas. He also serves as a
Board Member at the University level for the ASUC
Commercial Student Services Board and as a Faculty representative on the Dean's
Advisory Committee for the design of the
new Haas Building. . He also teaches in programs offered by the Center for
Executive Education at Haas.
Wasim also
taught at Stanford from 2001-2009 where he offered MBA elective courses in
Global and International Marketing and Sales Force and Channels Management as well as the core
marketing course for the Sloan program. He also taught in Stanford Executive
Program courses on Strategic Marketing, Executive Program for Growing
Companies, and a number of company and industry specific programs offered by
the Executive Program Center. Wasim also authored and published four
cases while at Stanford.
He is also
Partner and Marketing Director of Amzone LLC., and on the Board of
Directors of Global Equity Partners, Verisys Corporation and
three overseas universities.