Course Resource

Course Guide

FUNDAMENTALS OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT COURSE GUIDE COURSE CODE: SC-FMM-1

INTRODUCTION TO THIS COURSE GUIDE Welcome to this short course, titled: Fundamentals of Marketing Management. This is the course guide for the Fundamentals of Marketing Management short course, and you are required to familiarise yourself with the contents herein as it contains very important information regarding the course itself, how to complete and submit assignments, student support, certification and how to access the administrative support services offered by iQ Academy (iQA). We sincerely hope that your studies will be a fruitful and enjoyable experience. In addition, we sincerely hope that, once you have completed this short course, you will experience a significant improvement in your business insight and that the insight gained will enable you to perform your work with much more confidence. Our wishes are that you will experience improved levels of job and personal satisfaction, allowing you to play a more active part in your workplace and community environments. We encourage you to log into iCan, where you can post a short informal hello message in the “Meet Your Classmates” discussion forum, to briefly introduce yourself to the class and to say a few words about what you hope to get out of this short course.

Your Tutor

© Copyright 2021 In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, no part of this study material may be reproduced, be stored in a retrieval system, be transmitted or used in any form or be published, redistributed or screened by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of iQ Academy (Pty) Ltd Company Registration No. 2006/033114/07. However, permission to use any material in this work that was derived from other sources must be obtained from the original sources.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |2

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO THIS COURSE GUIDE ....................................................................................... 2 STUDENT HANDBOOK ................................................................................................................. 4 COURSE OVERVIEW...................................................................................................................... 4 Course Purpose ................................................................................................................................... 4 Course Outcomes ................................................................................................................................ 4 Course Structure ................................................................................................................................. 5 Credits ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Course Duration .................................................................................................................................. 5 Exclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Certificates .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Approach to the Course ...................................................................................................................... 6 Course Schedule.................................................................................................................................. 6 SUPPORT FOR THIS SHORT COURSE ............................................................................................ 7 Student Portal – “iCan” ....................................................................................................................... 7 Course Textbook ................................................................................................................................. 8 Assignment Guide ............................................................................................................................... 8 Academic Queries ............................................................................................................................... 8 General Queries .................................................................................................................................. 8 ASSIGNMENTS ............................................................................................................................ 9 Submission of Assignments................................................................................................................. 9 Assignment Results ............................................................................................................................. 9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 10

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |3

STUDENT HANDBOOK The Short Course Student Handbook is available online for you to download from the student portal, iCan (https://ican.iqa.ac.za). The Short Course Student Handbook is located in the Student Information section of iCan in the menu on the left of the screen. If you are using a smart phone, then click on the two stripes in the top left corner of your screen. The menu will open. Scroll down to the bottom where you will see Student Information. Click to open. The Short Course Student Handbook provides you with information regarding iQA as an institution, key office bearers, contact details of academic staff and support services, etc. In the Handbook you will also find the General Rules of the Institution as well as specific rules pertaining to the particular short course you are registered for. The rules cover important aspects of your relationship with iQ Academy, from assignment submission to certification. You must familiarise yourself with these Rules.

COURSE OVERVIEW COURSE PURPOSE The purpose of this short course is to introduce the key concepts, tools and applications in contemporary marketing. It equips students to understand the nature of the different marketing functions, particularly in a South African context. The course explores the role of marketing in supporting a company to achieve its goals and objectives. The core focus of the course is introducing students to the marketing mix to be able to build foundational competence in the marketing field.

COURSE OUTCOMES Upon completion of this short course, you should be able to: 

Explain the basic Marketing principles and concepts;



Determine how a company can identify and segment its target market;



Apply the stages of the Marketing research process to a given Marketing problem or opportunity;



Discuss the similarities and differences in marketing goods or services;



Explain the influence of pricing, communication and distribution on marketing strategies; and



Describe the decisions required with regard to a branding strategy.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |4

COURSE STRUCTURE The Fundamentals of Marketing Management short course comprises the following compulsory modules: MODULE CODE

MODULE NAME

SC-FMM-MOD1

Marketing Fundamentals

SC-FMM-MOD2

Consumer Behaviour

SC- FMM-MOD3

Marketing Research

SC-FMM-MOD4

Products and Services

SC-FMM-MOD5

Pricing, Communication and Distribution

SC-FMM-MOD6

Branding

CHAPTER / UNITS • • • • •

Unit 1: Introduction to marketing Unit 2: The marketing environment Unit 3: Consumer buying behaviour Unit 4: Market segmentation Unit 5: Marketing research

• • • • • •

Unit 6: Products Unit 7: Services Unit 8: Pricing Unit 9: Promotion Unit 10: Placement (distribution) Unit 11: Integration through branding

Modules should be studied in the order in which they appear in the table above. It is important to note that the content of each module builds on knowledge acquired in previous modules.

CREDITS This short course is non-credit bearing. The short course is therefore not a registered qualification in terms of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and does not carry credits towards any other qualification.

COURSE DURATION The duration of the course is 12 months and teaching and learning activities will take place during the first 6 months of the course, thereafter academic support will be provided to you during the remaining 6 months, in a case where you have not completed the course in the first 6 months.

EXCLUSION In the case where you did not complete your studies within the 12-month period, you will be at risk of possible academic exclusion. Should you be academically excluded all outstanding fees is still payable therefore we encourage you to actively participate in order to successfully complete all modules.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |5

CERTIFICATES A certificate will only be made available to you once your fees for the course have been paid in full and all modules have been successfully completed (passed all compulsory graded assessments).

APPROACH TO THE COURSE All of the required course information and resources can be found on iCan. This includes the learning materials, discussions, activities and assignments. This course will have regular scheduled discussions via the discussion forums in the modules, as well as readings and course materials that you are required to keep on top of each week. This is not a selfpaced course. You must manage your own time each week, to know when assignments are due and any other weekly course obligations, and all students move through the course together each week over a period of 6 months. This will involve regularly logging into the online learning system (iCan) to check forums, communications, monitor your email address, and virtually interact with classmates, team members, tutors and course materials. Every Monday, the tutor will send you an iCan message with detailed instructions as to what you need to focus on in the week. On completion of reading this Course Guide, you are encouraged to log into iCan, then visit the iCan Calendar, where you will find the Course Schedule and Assignment dates for this course. To complete this course, you will need to work through each module in the course. For each module, you should: 

Start reading through the course textbook content;



Then complete the self-reflection questions in the course textbook;



Log into iCan, then complete all the learning activities for the module;



Complete the module assignment, then submit it online or via email for marking; and



Then repeat these steps for the next module;

COURSE SCHEDULE The mode of delivery for this short course is distance education. Distance education is a method of study where lecturers and students do not meet in a classroom but use a Learning Management System (LMS) to teach, communicate and interact. The iQ Academy LMS or student portal is called iCan. Furthermore, distance learning is about taking full responsibility for your own studies. This provides flexibility, but also requires self-discipline. In other words, the more time you spend studying in a week, the sooner you can complete the course.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |6

To assist you in planning your study time over the 6 months, we have included a 6-month Course Schedule as well as the assignment deadlines in the iCan Calendar. The iCan Calendar can be found in the side menu on iCan. If you are using your smart phone, then enter into the Fundamentals of Marketing Management course, click on the stripes in the top left corner to open the side menu. In the menu, select the Calendar. Scroll through the Calendar to see the Course Schedule for each month as well as the deadlines. Write these dates down. Tutors will regularly send out iCan messages to remind students of deadline dates. Remember that the duration of this course is 6 months and therefore all assignments must be completed in that period.

SUPPORT FOR THIS SHORT COURSE This discussion which follows introduces you to some of the key resources available for you to successfully complete your course and the modules associated with it. You are, however, encouraged to refer to the Student Handbook (available online on iCan) for a more detailed discussion of support services available to students. For academic related enquiries, the service offered by our academic and student support departments are outlined in the Student Handbook (available online on iCan). Contact details have been provided to facilitate any enquiries you may have during the course of your studies. The Handbook also contains a discussion of technology enabled learning and the platforms iQ Academy uses to facilitate the teaching and learning process. Students are encouraged to engage with tutors using the technology enabled platforms such as our Student Portal, titled iCan.

STUDENT PORTAL – “ICAN” iCan is an Internet-based student portal which is facilitated by a tutor. Not only does iCan enable you to engage with your tutor, but it is also the place where students can meet and engage with their peers who are registered for the same course. You can access iCan through a PC, laptop, tablet or smart phone. When you log onto iCan for the first time you must go to https://ican.iqa.ac.za and enter the username and password that was sent via SMS. iCan will require a change of password when logging in for the first time. It is important that you update your email address on iCan in your Profile as all communication from iCan goes to your email address displayed on iCan. You must remember that it is possible for iCan messages and notifications to end up in your Spam/Junk mailbox. This mailbox must be checked in the week of Orientation as a lot of communication is sent out by the tutors. If you experience difficulties logging into iCan, then you must immediately contact Student Services via email or phone. Refer to General Queries below for their contact details. Course materials will not be visible on iCan until the start of the intake. However, the iCan orientation for the course will be visible and you can complete the DoLife micro courses that are available at no additional cost.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |7

COURSE TEXTBOOK A course textbook was included in the course pack.

ASSIGNMENT GUIDE You will find the compulsory assignments for this course in the iCan course under “Assignments and Other Resources” below Orientation. This section will be available from the week of Orientation. Download the assignment guide.

ACADEMIC QUERIES For enquiries regarding help needed to complete your assignments, or understanding the learning materials, contact your tutor via iCan: iCan

Login to iCan at https://ican.iqa.ac.za and message your tutor or post your question in the General Discussion Forum in the Welcome section.

GENERAL QUERIES For enquiries regarding results, academic record, assignment receipt, proof of registration, change of student details, account information, payment information, or contact information changes, contact the Student Services team using one of the following channels: Phone Email

086 111 5054 [email protected] (Note: Always include your Student Number in the email subject header)

Important Note: Formal tuition in this course will be conducted in English only. Where capacity exists, and upon request, individual discussions may be conducted in any preferred South African language.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |8

ASSIGNMENTS Assignments for this course can be found on iCan in the Assignments and Other Resources section of the course. Assignments form an important part of the learning in this course. As you do the assignments, please make sure you actively engage with the learning material as well.

SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignments must be submitted as per the deadline dates provided in the iCan Calendar. You have the following submission options available: •

Complete assignment on iCan You have the option of completing the answers for an assignment on iCan. With this method, you will receive your results instantly because the assignments are marked automatically. You also have immediate access to the marked assignment as well as feedback. We strongly suggest you make use of this method.

•

Upload the assignment to iCan or email to Student Administration Assignments that are uploaded to iCan or emailed to Student Administration must be completed in MS Word, then saved in a .pdf format before uploading the assignment to iCan. The assignment upload section is at the end of each module. You also have the option of emailing your assignments to Student Administration. A person in Student Administration will then be appointed to upload the assignment on your behalf. All assignments are marked online. Online marking and moderation take approximately 21 days.

ASSIGNMENT RESULTS Assignment results will be made available on iCan in what we refer to as the Gradebook. You can access your results and assignment feedback, in Grades. If you are using your smart phone, then click on the stripes at the top left of the iCan screen. This will open the menu. In the menu click on Grades. Here you will see the results for each of the assignments. Click on the assignment, to view the marked assignment with feedback.

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

Page |9

CONCLUSION We trust that you will enjoy a rich learning experience for the duration of your studies at iQ Academy. As you pursue your learning journey, we hope that we will be able to meet and exceed your expectations for this short course. All of the best for your studies!

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 10

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 11

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 12

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 13

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 14

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 15

Course Guide: FMM

iQ Academy

P a g e | 16