Encourage them to learn: Case Study of Fictitious Product and Virtual Market in Marketing Communications Degree Course

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2019.120301

Keywords:

Curriculum, Fictitious product, Marketing, Moodle, Promotion, Virtual market

Abstract

At the Faculty of Economics and Management at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS Prague) a wide range of marketing courses are taught, covering many aspects of marketing theory. The curriculum of the majority of marketing courses consists of case studies and project work in teams. The students in their MSc. studies have five marketing subjects in total, and work with different teachers, though the same teaching approach and design (project teaching) is used. In this article, we present the results of a new design for the Marketing Communications course. In this case, students are engaged in designing a real package for a fictitious product, and to enter a virtual market using a wide range of promotional tools. The students then debrief the entire experience as consumers in that virtual market. The course uses a mix of traditional and contemporary teaching techniques in the field of marketing communications. It can be used in traditional or blended learning or adapted for online courses. The innovative course design has been shown to be a key factor to stimulate the students to learn, rather than simply study and repeat their lectures. The learning efficiency compares favourably with the original course design.

References

Aberson, C.L., Berger, D.E., Healy, M.R., and & Romero V.L., (2002) ‘An Interactive Tutorial for Teaching Statistical Power’, Journal of Statistics Education, vol. 10, no 3, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691898.2002.11910682

Blackmon, M., Hong, Y. and Choi, I. (2007) Case-Based Learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology, [Online], Available: http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/ [23 Apr 2018].

Bobbitt, M. L., Inks, S. K., Kemp, K. J. and Mayo, D. T. (2000) ‘Integrating Marketing Courses to Enhance Team-Based Experiential Learning’, Journal of Marketing Education, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475300221003

Cachia, R. (2008). Social computing: Study on the use and impact of online social networking, [Online], Available: http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/111111111/6952/1/jrc48650.pdf [22 Feb 2018].

Camarero, C., Rodriguez, J. and San Jose, R. (2009) A comparison of the learning effectiveness of live cases and classroom projects, [Online], Available: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/bmaf/documents/publications/IJME/Vol8no3/6IJME254.pdf [22 Feb 2018].

Caputo, A., Wolf, P. and Borho, S. (2006) Technology Brief: Digital Media, University of Guelph, [online], Available: http://www.uoguelph.ca/tss/pdfs/TBDigMedia.pdf, [using www.archive.org 08 Aug 2019].

Cole, J. and Foster, H. (2007) Using Moodle, Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media.

Dillenbourg, P. (2000) ‘Virtual learning environments: Learning in the new millennium’, Proceedings EUN Conference: Learning in the New Millennium: Building New Educations Strategies for Schools, Geneva, pp. 1-30.

Edmondson, A. C. (2013) Teaming to innovate, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Elam, E. L. R. and Spotts, H. E. (2004) ‘Achieving marketing curriculum integration: A live case study approach’, Journal of Marketing Education, vol. 26, no.1, pp. 50-65. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0273475303262351

Fraser, S. and Bosanquet, A. (2006) ‘The curriculum? That’s just a unit outline, isn’t it?’, Studies in Higher Education, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 269-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600680521

Gray, D., Brown, S. and Macanufo, J. (2010) Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media.

Hackbert, P. H. (2006) ‘Integrating Active Learning and Cases in Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Classes across the Curriculum’, Proceedings of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship 2006 Conference (USASBE 2006), Tucson, pp. 1-8.

Hamer, L. O. (2000) ‘The Additive Effects of Semistructured Classroom Activities on Student Learning: An Application of Classroom-Based Experiential Learning Techniques’, Journal of Marketing Education, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 25-34. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0273475300221004

Hawrylyshyn, B. B. (1967) ‘Preparing Managers for International Operations: Role of Management Development’, Business Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 28–36.

Hedberg, J. G. (2011) ‘Towards a disruptive pedagogy: Changing classroom practice with technologies and digital content’, Educational Media International, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2011.549673

Hendl, J. (2015) Přehled statistických metod, Prague: Portál.

Hruby, M. (2008) ‘Freedom in Adult Education’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, vol.1, no. 2, pp. 12-19.

Huddleston, P. and Unwin, L. (1997) Teaching and learning in further education, diversity and change, London: Routledge.

Joshi, M. P., Davis, E. B., Kathuria, R. and Weidner, C. K. (2003) ‘Learning and teaching strategic management through experiential methods’, Academy of management proceedings, Seattle, pp. D1-D6. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2003.13792569

Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Kolb, A. Y. and Kolb, D. A. (2011) ‘A Dynamic, Holistic Approach Education and Development’, in Armstrong, S. J. and Fukami, C. V. (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Management Learning, Education and Development, London: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 42–68. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857021038.n3

Law, K. M. Y., Lee, V. C. S. and Yu, Y. T. (2010) ‘Learning motivation in e-learning facilitated computer programming courses’, Computers & Education, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 218-228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.01.007

Mayer, R. (2005) The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning, New York: Cambridge University Press.

Merseth, K. K. (1991) The Case for Cases in Teacher Education. Washington: Opinion Papers.

O’Reilly, T. (2005) What Is Web 2.0 Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, [Online], Available: https://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html [24 Mar 2018].

Polackova, J. and Jindrova, A. (2010) ‘Innovative Approach to Education and Teaching of Statistics’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 14-27.

Simkins, B. J. (2001) An innovative approach to teaching finance: Using live cases in the case course, Oklahoma: Oklahoma State University.

Svec, V. and Kaderabkova, T. (2010) ‘Using Experiential Learning in Marketing Communication Course’, Proceedings of the 19th International Scientific Conference Agrarian Perspectives, Prague, pp. 257-264.

Svec, V., Ticha, I. and Kaderabkova, T. (2011) ‘Learning Experience Through Team Re-Shuffle (Two Years Study)’, Conference Proceedings of the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines (IABPAD), pp. 886-903.

Watson, J. A. and Pecchioni, L. L. (2011) ‘Digital Natives and Digital Media in the College Classroom: Assignment Design and Impacts on Student Learning’, Educational Media International, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 307-320. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2011.632278

Young, M. (1995) Teacher education for the further education sector: Training the lecturer of the future, London: Institute of Education.

Additional Files

Published

2019-10-04

How to Cite

Švec, V. and Selby, R. (2019) ’Encourage them to learn: Case Study of Fictitious Product and Virtual Market in Marketing Communications Degree Course’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 66–74. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2019.120301

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2019)

Section

Research Paper

License

Authors declare with this manuscript intended for publication to ERIES Journal that:

  • all co-authors agree with the publication of the manuscript even after amendments arising from peer review;
  • all co-authors agree with the posting of the full text of this work on the web page of ERIES Journal and to the inclusion of references in databases accessible on the internet;
  • no results of other researchers were used in the submitted manuscript without their consent, proper citation, or acknowledgement of their cooperation or material provided;
  • the results (or any part of them) used in the manuscript have not been sent for publication to any other journal nor have they already been published (or if so, that the relevant works are cited in this manuscript);
  • submission of the manuscript for publication was completed in accordance with the publishing regulations pertaining to place of work;
  • experiments performed comply with current laws and written consent of the Scientific Ethics Committee / National Animal Care Authority (as is mentioned in the manuscript submitted);
  • grant holders confirm that they have been informed of the submitted manuscript and they agree to its publication.

Authors retain copyright and grant ERIES Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the published work with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in ERIES Journal. Moreover, authors are able to post the published work in an institutional repository with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in ERIES Journal. In addition, authors are permitted and encouraged to post the published work online (e.g. institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.