Prerequisites (applies to degree students only)
EC1002 Introduction to economics or SC1021 Principles of sociology or MN2079 Elements of social and applied psychology.
Syllabus
The subject guide is divided into two parts. Part A focuses first on the evolution of marketing and the various management (and other) disciplines that have contributed to this growth. Undoubtedly, economics has been a major influence on the subject but other disciplines such as psychology and sociology have helped explain various marketing/consumer phenomena and have contributed immensely to the growth of the subject. This discussion in Part A then sets the tone for the other chapters. In Part A, we largely focus on the strategic aspects of marketing which requires students to understand the nature of the overall market, analyse the various stakeholders involved (customers, competitors etc). Special emphasis is laid here on a
multi-dimensional understanding of the customer who is the most important reason for a firm’s existence. Here, the focus is on normative and non-normative frameworks that help explain consumer behaviour; organisational behaviour; market segmentation and the business imperative of managing customers from a long term perspective. Part B builds on the strategic understanding in Part A to highlight frameworks that are useful to understand and implement operational marketing approaches that would lead to consumer/brand preference and higher firm profits. Here, we address issues related to marketing mix techniques (product, price,
placement and promotion), brand building and critically analyse the ethical and social issues surrounding the subject as a whole.
Part A. Understanding consumer and buyer behaviour 1. Introduction to Marketing: Theoretical evolution of the subject.
2. The marketing environment and strategic situation analysis 3. An introduction to consumer behaviour.
4. Introduction to market segmentation.
5. Organisational buyer behaviour.
6. Customer relationship management (CRM).
Part B. Understanding organisational marketing behaviour 7. Introduction to promotion and advertising.
8. Brand Management
9. Managing new and existing products.
10. Introduction to pricing strategy.
11. Introduction to placement and distribution analysis.
12. Ethical and social implications on marketing.
Essential reading
For full details, please refer to the reading list
Kotler, P. and K. Keller Marketing Management. (14th Edition (Global), Pearson)
Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., and Wood, D. J. (1997) Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience:
defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review. 22:4 pp853-886.
Dibb, S. and L. Simkin ‘Implementation problems in industrial market segmentation’, Industrial Marketing Management 23(1) 1994, pp.55–63.
Ring, P.S. and A.H. Van de Ven ‘Structuring co-operative relationships between organisations’, Strategic Management Journal 13(6) 1992, pp.483–98.
Gaski, J.F. ‘The theory of power and conflict in channels of distribution’, Journal of Marketing 48(3) 1984, pp.9–29.
MT105A Mathematics 1 (half course)
Note
Graph paper will be provided.
Exclusions
May not be taken with MT1173 Algebra.
May not be taken with MT1174 Calculus.
Syllabus
This course develops basic mathematical methods and will emphasise their applications to problems in economics, management and related areas.
Basics:
Basic algebra; Sets, functions and graphs; Factorisation (including cubics); Inverse and composite functions;
Exponential and logarithm functions; Trigonometrical functions Differentiation:
The meaning of the derivative; Standard derivatives; Product rule, quotient rule and chain rule; Optimisation ; Curve sketching; Economic applications of the derivative: marginals and profit maximisation
Integration:
Indefinite integrals; Definite integrals; Standard integrals; Substitution method; Integration by parts; Partial fractions; Economic applications of integration: determination of total cost from marginal cost, and cumulative changes
Functions of several variables:
Partial differentiation; Implicit partial differentiation; Critical points and their natures; Optimisation; Economic applications of optimisation; Constrained optimisation and the Lagrange multiplier method; The meaning of the Lagrange multiplier; Economic applications of constrained optimisation
Matrices and linear equations:
Vectors and matrices, and their algebra; Systems of linear equations and their expression in matrix form;
Solving systems of linear equations using row operations (in the case where there is a unique solution); Some economic/managerial applications of linear equations
Sequences and series:
Arithmetic and Geometric Progressions; Some Financial application of sequences and series.
MT105B Mathematics 2 (half course)
Note
Graph paper will be provided.
Exclusions
May not be taken with MT1173 Algebra.
May not be taken with MT1174 Calculus.
May not be taken with MT2076 Management Mathematics.
Rules
MT105B Mathematics 2 must be taken after, or at the same time as, MT105A Mathematics 1
Syllabus
This course develops further the basic mathematical methods introduced in Mathematics 1, and also demonstrates further applications in economics, finance and management. New techniques are also
developed, particularly for linear algebra, differential equations and difference equations, and applications of these techniques are investigated.
Further differentiation and integration:
Mathematics 1 material on differentiation and integration; Using derivatives for approximations; Elasticities;
Taylor’s theorem; the effects of taxation. Definite integrals and the calculation of areas; Further economic applications of integration: includes consumer and producer surplus
Functions of several variables:
Mathematics 1 material on functions of several variables; Homogeneous functions and Euler’s theorem;
Review of constrained optimisation; Constrained optimisation for more than 2 variables; Further applications of constrained optimisation
Linear Algebra:
Mathematics 1 material on matrices and linear equations; Supply and demand, and the imposition of excise and percentage tax; Consistency of linear systems; Solving systems of linear equations using row operations, in the case where there are infinitely many solutions; Determinants and Cramer’s rule; Calculation of inverse matrices by row operations; Economic applications of systems of linear equations, including input-output analysis; Eigenvalues and eigenvectors; Diagonalisation of matrices
Differential equations:
Exponential growth; Separable equations; Linear differential equations and integrating factors; Second-order differential equations; Coupled equations, including the use of matrix diagonalisation; Economic applications of differential equations
Difference Equations:
Solving first-order difference equations; Application of first-order difference equations to financial problems;
The cobweb model; Second-order difference equations; Coupled first-order difference equations, including the use of matrix diagonalisation; Economic applications of second-order difference equations.
MT1173 Algebra
Exclusions
May not be taken with MT105A Mathematics 1.
May not be taken with MT105B Mathematics 2.
Syllabus
This unit develops basic mathematical methods and concepts of algebra and will include their applications to problems in economics, management and related areas.
Matrices, vectors and their geometry:
Vectors and matrices, the algebra of vectors and matrices; Cartesian and vector equations of a straight line;
normal vectors and planes; the Cartesian and vector equations of a plane; extension to higher dimension.
Systems of linear equations:
Systems of linear equations and their expression in matrix form; Solving systems of linear equations using row operations; consistent and inconsistent systems; systems with free variables; range and rank of a matrix;
general solution of linear systems.
Matrix inversion and determinants:
Finding inverses using row operations; determinants; matrix inversion using cofactors; Cramer’s rule; input-output analysis.
Sequences, series and difference equations:
Arithmetic and Geometric Progressions; sums of numbers, squares and cubes; solving first-order difference equations; application of first-order difference equations to financial problems; The cobweb model; Second-order difference equations.
Vector spaces and related concepts:
Vector spaces; subspaces, including those associated with matrices; linear span; linear independence and dependence; bases and dimension; coordinates; linear transformations.
Diagonalisation of matrices:
Eigenvalues and eigenvectors; diagonalisation of a matrix and its connection with eigenvectors; finding powers of matrices using diagonalisation.
Applications of diagonalisation:
Markov chains; using diagonalisation to solve systems of differential equations; using diagonalisation to solve systems of difference equations.
MT1174 Calculus
Exclusions
May not be taken with MT105A Mathematics 1.
May not be taken with MT105B Mathematics 2.
Syllabus
This unit develops basic mathematical methods and concepts of calculus and will include their applications to problems in economics, management and related areas.
Basics:
Revision of basic algebra; powers; sets; functions (including trigonometric functions); graphs; factorisation;
inverse and composite functions; exponential and logarithm functions; conic sections; trigonometric identities.
Differentiation:
The meaning of the derivative; standard derivatives; Product rule, quotient rule and chain rule; Tangent lines;
Taylor series; using derivatives for approximations; marginals; elasticities.
One-variable optimisation:
First-order conditions; first and second-order tests for nature of a critical point; convexity and concavity; profit maximisation; the effects of taxation; curve sketching.
Integration:
Indefinite integrals; Definite integrals; Standard integrals; Substitution method (including trigonometric substitutions); Integration by parts; Partial fractions; consumer and producer surplus.
Functions of several variables:
Contours, principal sections and partial derivatives; chain rule, homogeneous functions, gradient vectors, directional derivatives, tangent planes, Taylor series.
Multivariate optimisation:
Unconstrained optimisation; convex and concave functions; constrained optimisation; applications of unconstrained and constrained optimisation; the meaning of Lagrange multipliers.
Differential equations:
Separable equations; first-order linear equations; homogeneous equations; exact equations; second-order equations with constant coefficients; systems of first-order equations; some applications.