Course Assignments
Fall 2000

During the semester you will be required to create a personal web site, complete an individual written assignment, and contribute to two team projects.  The purpose of these "application exercises" is to give you an opportunity to apply concepts learned during the semester. Each of these assignments will involve application of critical analysis and effective writing skills. 

All students will be required to complete the personal web assignment:

Personal Web Site.  This is an individual project that involves the creation of a simple personal Web site or home page in HTML format.

There are three individual assignments students will be able to select from.  Each student will complete one assignment from the list provided below.  Students will negotiate with other team members as to who will do what assignment.  The assignments include:

Internet Marketing Watch.  Students will be required to find ("watch for") one article in the current business press that addresses Internet marketing issues. The assignment involves writing a short paper discussing how this article relates three marketing concepts examined in the course and making a short presentation of your findings to the class. Each student is expected to present a unique article.

"Find (and Do) an Internet Marketing Assignment" Project.  Internet Marketing courses are beginning to surface at a variety of universities in the U.S. This assignment will require you to do a search on the Internet to find an assignment required at another university for an Internet Marketing course (or one that is similar in purpose). Part of your task will be for you to document your search strategy, as well as how and where you found the assignment. Once you have identified a project you would like to do (and have gained instructor approval for it), your task is to then complete the assignment.

New Internet Service Assignment.  Students choosing this assignment will be required to identify a new service being provided on (or facilitated mainly through) the Internet and presenting it to the class. The assignment will also involve writing a paper discussing how the organization has implemented Internet marketing strategies in getting their endeavor off of the ground.

Finally, there will be two team projects.  Teams of students will work together to complete these assignments, which include:

Cutting Edge Topic (Team) Report.  No one person can possibly keep up with all of the quickly changing information about the Internet. And, it is very likely that a variety of topics that some students find boring others will find fascinating. So, in an attempt to customize some of the class discussions to better meet students’ interests, a team of students will prepare a written report on a cutting edge topic of interest. The assignment also involves making a presentation of the team’s findings to the class so that we can all learn from your research.

Web Site Strategy Analysis (Team) Project.   This is a team project that involves a written analysis of the Web sites of several different, but competing, companies. The companies must all be from the same industry, and the Web sites must all be either business-to-business or business-to-consumer oriented (so that comparisons are made between "apples and apples"). Each team must analyze a unique set of companies. The assignment also involves making a presentation of your findings to the class.

Each assignment should be word-processed, double-spaced, and printed using no larger than 12-point type.  Concise, clear writing in each of these assignments is expected.  As such, you will not receive extra credit for proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc., but will receive a poor evaluation of the assignment if these areas are found to be lacking.

Each assignment will be due in class at the beginning of class on the assigned due date. If you have any questions about any of these assignments, please come see me. It is your responsibility to seek clarification on any assignment you do not understand.

In addition to the projects listed above, a significant portion of each student’s grade will be based on class participation.  Click here for guidelines to be used in assessing class participation.

To provide you with the opportunity to gain experience in web page layout and design and, in doing so, allow you to gain experience in using some form of HTML editor.

This is an individual project that involves the creation of a simple personal Web site or home page in HTML format. HTML programming will NOT be covered in class, but no more than a very rudimentary knowledge should be necessary for successful completion of the assignment. Students are free to be creative and include any kind of information they want about themselves. One possibility is for the student to create a Web site based on his or her resume (i.e., linking a general introduction about the student to employment history, education, accomplishments, references, etc.). 

Students are expected to create a personal web site that contains at least one visual graphic image (which could be a self-portrait).  The web site should consist of at least four pages that are accessible to each other via hypertext links.  Students will be required to upload the Web site to their own personal Web storage area and provide the instructor with a complete URL location.  The site should contain at least one table.

Although you may put your web site wherever you like, two FREE "locations" you might consider include http://geocities.yahoo.com/ or the class provided web space on a BGSU server (see instructor for details).  Note:  if you already have a personal web site, my hope is that you would enhance what you currently have rather than just turn in what you already have in place.  Thus, I am appealing to your honesty and integrity!

Due Date

The personal web site should be complete and operational by October 8.  By this date the student should have sent to the instructor, via an e-mail message, the complete URL location of the main (index) page.  

To have you identify key concepts examined in the course that relate to Internet marketing and discuss the implications for marketing practitioners.

Examples of the Internet marketing principles covered in this course can be found in many business and academic publications. Your assignment is to seek out a current (published after July 1, 2000) article that addresses Internet marketing issues for a particular business (or industry). You may choose any relevant current event or discussion (from the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Newsweek, Business Week, or other publications) you feel is relevant for discussion in an Internet Marketing course.  The article you find should be one that is both  published in the traditional (hard copy) way and is available to the general public on the Internet.  I would prefer the original (printed) version of the article be turned in for this assignment.  When in doubt, you can always look for the article the old fashion way--by actually looking at a physical copy of the publication.  (Articles that were previously discussed in class, either by students or by the instructor, are not acceptable.)

Preliminary work.  (20 points)  One of the requirements for this assignment is for you to provide some information in advance of the due date.  This should include:

Written Assignment. (100 points) This assignment requires you to write a short paper (4-5 pages, double-spaced) which should include:

(1) a brief summary of the key point(s) of the article.

(2) a discussion of how this article relates to three key concepts examined in this course and the implications for Internet marketing practitioners (no more than one concept that has been discussed by another student in a previous Internet Marketing Watch should be included).

(3) your personal evaluation of and reaction to the article, based upon the marketing perspective you have gained during this course. Be honest in giving your evaluation.

(4) a clean, nice-looking photo-copy of the original (printed) version of the article (not an online version) on 8½ x 11" paper.

(5) a separate sheet of paper, attached to the copy of the article, that identifies:

- your name

- the complete citation of where this article was published, including:

    a. author’s full name (or names)
    b. name of periodical
    c. title of the article
    d. date of publication
    e. volume number
    f. issue number (if applicable)
    g. page numbers
    h. complete URL

A key evaluation criteria will be how well you clearly identify the concept you are discussing and explain the implications for marketing management for a firm in this industry.

Presentation. (30 points) In addition to the written portion of this assignment, students also will be asked to make a 3-4 minute presentation that provides a summary of the key point(s) of the article and a discussion of the how this article relates to three key marketing concepts examined in this course.  Two to four PowerPoint overheads that summarize the key points being made and illustrate the key marketing concepts you identified in the paper would be appropriate.  You will need to create this in "IBM" format, as the equipment in the classroom is not able to read "Mac" files.   (Click here for an example of a PowerPoint file for an Internet Marketing Watch presentation.)

A sign-up sheet will be circulated to allow students to select the class session in which their Internet Marketing Watch assignment is due. The paper is due at the beginning of class on the day for which the student has signed up. In order to get full credit for the assignment, students must be in class and available to briefly discuss the article at any point in class on that day.  (See Student Presentation Schedule for when you signed up.)

To have you become more comfortable with the Internet by using online search tools and to facilitate additional learning by having you further examine key Internet marketing concepts through completion of an activity of your choosing.

Internet Marketing courses are beginning to surface at a variety of universities in the U.S. This assignment will require you to do a search on the Internet to find an assignment required at another university for an Internet Marketing course (or one that is similar in purpose). Part of your task will be for you to document your search strategy, as well as how and where you found the assignment. You should look for an assignment that is worthy of 100 points (or approximately 13% of your grade). Once you have found a project you would like to do (and have gained instructor approval for it), your task is to then complete (do) the assignment. Two students will not be allowed to work on the same assignment without prior instructor approval. In those cases where more than one student wants to do the same assignment, priority will be given to the student who completes and turns in the Find portion of the assignment first.

In selecting an assignment, you should look for a project that:

Discussion of Search Strategy.  (10 points) This portion of the assignment requires you to discuss the overall approach you undertook in looking for such an activity on the Internet, what on-line tools you used to carry out your search, why you used this tool(s), and the criteria you will use in selecting an assignment.  

Discussion of How/Where Found.  (10 points) This portion of the assignment requires you to (1) discuss how you discovered this activity, (2) discuss where you found this activity, and (3) provide the specific URL where the assignment can be found.

Justification.  (5 points)  Here you are required to provide justification as to why this assignment is an appropriate for the amount of your grade that it constitutes.

Description of Activity.  (15 points) This portion of the assignment requires you to (1) provide a clean (hard) copy of all relevant pieces of information for this assignment and  (2) a brief summary of what you believe this assignment is requiring you to do and what you will be doing.

Evaluation Criteria. (10 points)  Finally, students will be required to provide a detail discussion of how the assignment is to be evaluated.  The find portion of the assignment is due on September 19.

As with any of the assignments in this class, any papers turned in for this project should be word-processed and double-spaced.

The actual activity.  (100 points) The actual activity you have selected, once approved by the instructor, will be worth 100 points and will be evaluated according to the information provided above.  Your activity must be approved in order to be acceptable for this assignment.   Any modifications to the original project, or an alternative project (if recommended by the instructor) should also be approved by the instructor prior to undertaking to Do portion.   (In cases where no clear criteria are provided for evaluating this assignment, I will use what I believe to be appropriate criteria.)  You should word-process your assignment and use the same format as you would for other assignments in this course (e.g., double-spaced, page numbers, etc.) unless the directions call for a specific format.

If your intended activity from the "Find" portion of the assignment is not judged to be appropriate for the amount of points allocated to it, you may need to make modifications to it or choose another assignment.  Any such changes should be approved BEFORE you begin working on the project.

In order for me to evaluate this project, you will also need to submit (1) a copy of all relevant pieces of information (from the web) that provide direction/instructions for this assignment (from the "Find" part), and (2) the criteria that should be used in evaluating the assignment (you may want/need to update this criteria from what you turned in for the "find" portion of the assignment).  The original "Find" portion of the assignment (complete with the instructor's comments) and any modifications made to it should be turned in with the "Do" portion of the assignment on November 21 or whenever the assignment specifies, whichever is earlier.

The Find part of the assignment is due at the beginning of class on September 19. The Do portion of the assignment is due at the beginning of class on November 21 or whenever the original assignment specifies, whichever is earlier.

To have you identify new service opportunities available to businesses with the advent of the Internet and to facilitate additional learning by having you further examine key Internet marketing strategies being employed by "netrepreneurial" companies.

Your assignment is to seek out an organization that is providing a relatively new type of service via the Internet.  You may choose any business that you feel is providing a service that prior to the technology available on the Internet probably could not have been provided (or at least not without much difficulty).  Some examples of services that have sprung up in the last five years include eBay's online auctioning, PayTrust's online bill paying, and eComplaints' online complaint-handling service.  (If you are unsure as to whether the service you are thinking of is appropriate, you can always check with the instructor.) 

Written Assignment. (100 points) This assignment requires you to write a short paper (4-5 pages, double-spaced) which should include:

(1) A brief discussion of how you found out about this service (e.g., friend, banner advertisement, TV advertisement, surfing the net, etc.).

(2) A description of the organization's business.  Among the issues you should discuss are the primary benefit this company provides, who the primary target market is, how the organization is positioning its services, and the primary competitive advantage that this firm has over the competition.  For each of these issues, your discussion should be as specific as possible.

(3) A description of what you believe to be the key marketing issue/challenge facing this organization as it attempts to strengthen its competitive position in the marketplace.

(4) A discussion of at least three major marketing strategies this company is employing.  Evaluate these strategies, and discuss whether or not you believe they will lead to success in the long-run.  Also, suggest two additional marketing strategies you believe the firm should employ and why.  Will this combination of strategies sufficiently address the key marketing issue/challenge discussed in (3)?

(5) Finally, discuss how the service might be expanded or enhanced in order to better serve customers or attract other customer segments.

Presentation. (30 points) In addition to the written portion of this assignment, students also will be asked to make a 3-4 minute presentation that provides a summary of the key point(s) of their paper and a discussion of the key marketing strategies being employed by this company. Two to four PowerPoint overheads that summarize the key points being made and illustrate the key points you made in the paper would be appropriate.  (Click here for an example of a PowerPoint file for one relatively new service, PayTrust.)

Demonstration. (20 points) In addition to the formal presentation, students also will be asked to demonstrate how the service they have identified works.  This should include a 3-4 minute demonstration that illustrates key features, navigation of the site, and other issues of relevance to the company's customers or potential customers.

Due Date

A sign-up sheet will be circulated to allow students to select the class session in which their New Internet Service assignment is due. The paper is due at the beginning of class on the day for which the student has signed up. In order to get full credit for the assignment, students must be in class and available to make their presentation and demonstrate the web site at any point in class on that day.  (See Student Presentation Schedule for when you signed up.)

To explore a current topic related to Internet marketing of interest to the students and to share this knowledge with the rest of the class.

http://equinox.comnet.unr.edu/homepage/jstrauss/prenhall/projects1.html

Note:  The intent of this assignment if for your team to focus on a CURRENT TOPIC or ISSUE, not a specific company or industry.   If you have any questions about what might be appropriate for this assignment, please see the instructor.

Written assignment. (100 points) This assignment requires a team of students to write a short paper (7-10 pages, double-spaced–excluding references and any appendices) on a topic of interest to the students on the team.  The paper should include:

A key evaluation criteria will be how well you clearly identify the topic you are discussing and how well you explain the implications for marketing management for a firm in this industry (or for the industry as a whole).  A minimum of 10 sources should be used (and, of course, cited in a reference list at the end of the paper).

Presentation. (50 points) In addition to the written portion of this assignment, students also will be asked to make a 10-15 minute presentation that provides a summary of the key point(s) of their report. PowerPoint overheads that summarize the key points being made would be appropriate to use as part of the presentation.

Once all teams have identified their topic and received approval from the instructor, the instructor will determine a tentative schedule for when each project is due. The paper is due at the beginning of class on the day for the class presentation is scheduled for that team.  Selections for a presentation date will be based, in part, on the degree to which the topic chosen fits with something we will be discussing in class.  In order to get full credit for the assignment, students must be in class and available to make their presentation at any point in class on that day.  (See Student Presentation Schedule for when you are assigned to present.)

To synthesize the material covered in this course and to develop a thorough understanding of the marketing strategies being employed in a particular industry with a presence on the Internet.

Your assignment is to write a paper that analyzes a group of web sites (all from the same industry) from the list provided below. All of the sites you include in your analysis must be commercial in nature and should be competing with each other for customers (and sales). Thus, you should be looking for sites that are focused on brand-building and sales of products and/or services. The list of possible industry choices includes:

Only one team will be allowed per industry category. Assignments will be made on a first come-first serve basis (i.e., the first team to communicate their choice to me via an email message will be assigned that category).

(1) Introduction:

Provide a brief discussion/description of the industry you have chosen.
Provide a brief description of what is happening on the Internet in this industry.

(2) For Each Site:

Overview:

What is the complete URL? (Print the opening screen for each site and include these printouts as an appendix to your paper.)
What are your first impressions?

Segmenting/Targeting/Positioning:

Who seems to be the target market (or markets) for this site?
Generally speaking, what is the target customer’s goal in visiting this site?
How well does the site appeal to the targeted group?
How has the firm positioned itself or its product? (What are the primary benefits being communicated, and what benefits does this firm provide to set it apart from the competition?)

Communication:

What do you believe to be the communication objectives of each site? How well do those objectives seem to be met?
How are these objectives translated into specific marketing and/or communication strategies? Do you believe these strategies to be effective?
Is this product/service category well-suited for web-based advertising? Why or why not?
How effectively does each site utilize interactive technologies to communicate with those who visit the web site? Explain.

Relationship Marketing:

What does each site do in attempt to develop a relationship with each customer?
Do customers have an experience that encourages them to come back to the site and keeps them from going to competitors?
How good is the company at one-to-one marketing (as evidenced through the web site)? Explain.

E-tailing Experience:

How is the overall customer experience?
How quick is the site to load? Is it slow because of too many graphics, Java applets, and/or third-party-served banners?
How reassuring is the site's security?
Does the site have a professional appearance that leads to trust and credibility?
Are both the shopping cart and checkout area easy to find?

Customer Service:

Does the site offer several payment options?
Can you contact customer service by e-mail?
Does the web site provide a phone number for those who would rather speak to someone?
Is there a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section to provide answers to commonly asked questions and cut down on phone/employee costs to handle questions?

Overall Evaluation:

Overall, what are the web site’s strong points? (Discuss 3-4 issues.).
Discuss what you believe are unique (or different) aspects of the web site.
Provide an overall rating on a 1-10 scale (10 = "worth a bookmark" and 1 = "don’t bother") and explain your reasoning.

Suggested Improvements:

What could/should be done to improve this site? (Discuss 3-4 issues.)

(3) Overall Comparison:

How do these sites compare with each other?
What are the competitive advantages of each web site?
Which site is the "best of class"? Why?
Which site is the poorest? Why?

Due Date

This project will be due at the beginning of class on December 14.  All students will be expected to attend class in order to answer questions regarding this project.

Class Participation Score

The scheme listed below provides the guideline that I will use in assigning your class participation score.

Scale Description

100%      An outstanding leader in class discussions. Always prepared and has worked out an analysis of assigned readings. A frequent initiator of class discussion. Excels in interacting with class fellows in a professional manner. Comments are focused, integrative, demonstrate preparation, and indicate active listening.

90%       A consistent leader in class discussions. Almost always prepared to discuss assigned topic in class. A regular initiator of class discussion. Interacts with class fellows in a professional manner. Comments demonstrate preparation and indicate active listening.

80%       Quality participation based on sound preparation. Regularly responds to instructor=s comments and questions. Also responds to comments of class mates. Occasionally takes the lead in class discussion. Often volunteers illustrations about the subjects being discussed.

70%       Occasional contributions to class based on solid preparation. Occasionally responds to the remarks of the instructor and/or class mates. Rarely volunteers to begin a discussion.

60%       Answers questions posed by the instructor. Responds to other students in active learning assignments when required to do so.

50%       Answers questions from the instructor if explicitly asked. Otherwise, does not take part.

40%       Shows up regularly to class but takes no part in classroom discussion.

0%       Completely avoids any attempt to contribute to classroom discussion.