Skill Building in Marketing Courses

In a recent survey of corporate recruiters the following were considered the most important student competencies:

• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Leadership skills
• Ability to work in teams
• Analytical/critical thinking skills
• Decision-making/problem solving skills
• Integrative understanding of the functional areas of business

Through the use of business simulations in most marketing courses, we provide students with marketing decision making experience and immediate feedback on the quality of those decisions in terms of sales, profit, share of market, and other standards of performance. Very few undergraduate business schools use simulations. Our graduates have told us that these experiences, and writing plans that accompany the simulations, have provided them with a competitive advantage over their colleagues.

The marketing major will write marketing plans and cases in most courses, including strategic marketing plans/cases in senior level courses. Marketing professors provide significant feedback to the students to improve their planning, analytical, and business communication skills.

After the major takes the initial Marketing Principles course, MKT 300 Marketing Information & analysis is required to provide the student with the necessary marketing related quantitative analysis skills to successfully complete other marketing courses. The student has the option to take the following other 200 or 300 level courses: Consumer Behavior, Advertising, Professional Selling, Advanced Professional Selling, Sales Management, Market research, and Marketing in an International Environment. The student has the following 400 level options: Integrated Promotion Management and Retail Management. The student has the following options for the required capstone course: International Marketing Management or Marketing Management Seminar.

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