Class Title: Marketing Management Class Code: MG925 Class Coordinator: Olalonpe Ige Group Assignment: The assignment

counts for 50% of the class mark Final Submission Date: Written Report: TBC Oral Presentation: TBC
Instructions:
This group assignment built around a case study is worth 50% of the final mark for the course. The case study is on IKEA, with a focus on the companys growth strategy for the US Market.

Note: The IKEA Case is available in the Core Text: Case 1: Page 387. Copies of the case will
not be provided; you are expected to use your textbook as the main source of any case study information. If you have not already done so, ensure you collect a copy of the core text from Natalie Wilson! You are required to work in groups to answer Two Key Questions of the case study which are: 1. What Strategic focus should the company take as it looks to further expand into the U.S. Market? In answering this question, specific focus for your reading should be from Chapter 5 of the core text. 2. Is it a good idea to penetrate the U.S. Market? Are there any other alternative markets that could provide opportunities for growth? In answering this question, you should particularly justify your answer yes or no by means of appropriate marketing strategy analytical tools mentioned below*. For instance, assume that you have been asked to advise Ikea on its Future strategic direction. The time span

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you should focus on is a 3 year period until January 2015. You should justify your proposal in light of relevant marketing theories. Since the case study was revised in 2010, you are expected to find more up to date information on Ikea. This means that you should visit the Ikea website

(http://www.ikea.com/) for further information on their current activities. The case study provides you with the most important information about the IKEA concept, including a relatively detailed environmental analysis which should kick start your discourse on Strategic focus.

*Helpful areas for theoretical focus include:

Analysis of past and current marketing strategy (STP) Analysis of past and current marketing mix activities Analysis of Ikeas micro and macro environments A SWOT analysis You should present your work both in writing (a report with a word limit of maximum 2,000 words (The word limit does not include tables/figures/appendices/references) (worth 25% of the total mark) and orally (PowerPoint Presentation worth 25% of the total mark). Please read the guidelines supplied on how to present your work. Please note that students must utilise the plagiarism software Turnitin in advance of the submission of their assignment.

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Further Guidelines Individuals may do things in different ways; therefore, there cannot be only one way for presenting your work. This however does not mean that your presentation can be just in any form and structure. You should treat your presentation as storytelling in which the story should follow a reasonable structure and the sequence of the topics presented should make your story more appealing as well as much easier to follow, believe, and understand. Your presentation should rotate around the central theme of the task assigned to you. Whilst specifically answering the question(s) of the case study, your presentation should generally demonstrate your deep understanding of the varying issues related to the case study. These may include the overall macro/micro environments, the nature of the management problem, the challenges of the organisation related to the problem, the possible solutions, and your recommendation. Oral Presentation Here are some suggestions that can help you better understand the requirements of the oral presentation task: The presentation MUST be strictly limited to 20 minutes only. You will be stopped once your 20 minutes is over. Your actual time for presentation will be 15 minutes followed by a 5 minute Question & Answer. Managing your time is 100% your responsibility. Q&A is the most important part of your assessment; therefore, if you exceed your 15 minute presentation time, you will indeed reduce your Q&A time. This will be to your disadvantage. A minimum number of 3 members of the group MUST participate in the oral presentation. 20 minutes is not a long time. Therefore, do not use too many slides as you will not be able to cover too many things and collectively communicate a single message. Fourteen slides would be reasonable enough for your presentation. Do not use a small font size for your text. Your text should be easily readable for your audience even from the back of the lecture room.

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 Do not undermine your audiences intelligence by explaining the most basic things. You and your audience are supposed to have some common grounds and understanding of the topic. Use a balanced blend of text and image. Visualisation is not limited to the use of pictures/images. It also encompasses other issues such as the colour mix/match, font size, an appropriate use of bold/italic/underline options and any other editing tools that would serve to better communicate your message to the audience. Last but not least, the climax of your presentation is in the end. Therefore, do not just finish your presentation! Finish it effectively!

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The Written Report The written report must not exceed 2000 words (excluding appendices and references). Although this will be a relatively short report, it should have appropriate headings (and subheadings if any). Structure your report based on the following: Cover page: Group number, the complete names of the group members, their student numbers, and word count. Main Body: - Begin with a short introduction highlighting which methods/tools you have used in answering your questions. This of course will require a heading Introduction. - Use appropriate headings and subheadings (if necessary) to communicate your message clearly with your reader. - Recommendations: give precise recommendations to IKEA management. Be realistic. Do not throw raw and naive ideas at them. Think about the limitations of your recommendations. - Conclusion: briefly (short paragraph) conclude your report by highlighting what you did in this report References: follow Harvard Referencing System and list the key references you have used in your report. This includes both academic references and also others (e.g., database, website, blog, etc.) Appendices: Do not use a large number of appendices. Only use the materials that you think are necessary to justify your rationale in answering your questions. You can use for example charts and tables that summarise your analyses as appendices. Similarly, you can use statistical tables and similar data as your appendices. Keep your appendices as concise as possible. These appendices MUST be referred to in your report.

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