I have provided readings in your study guide. Note that there is a vast body of literature covering the topic of market orientation.
Assignment questions
1. Reflecting on Marketing Management and Market Orientation (MO) list and briefly explain at least 4 ways market orientation benefits an organisation.
2. Select and analyse an organisation and determine how market oriented it is. You MUST utilise the Narver and Slater (1990) tool (14 Question) or other similar tool as a basis of analysis.
3. Develop a list of between 3 and 5 recommendations in a time bound schedule for action (tightly linked with MO) based on your survey results that will make the surveyed organisation more market oriented.
Selecting an organisation to study;
You should not feel restricted to studying large companies. Not-for-profit organisations, public sector departments, or small businesses could also be studied. Choose an organisation you aspire to work with or a potential organisation you would like to manage. The basic principles of market orientation can be applied to all organisations. The literature you search for and use in your assignment should be relevant to the kind of organisation you choose to study (there are many studies on market orientation outside of 'big business' – search under terms like not-for-profit, nonprofit, public sector etc).
If you are unsure of which organisation to study, your literature search may help you to decide.
Remember that you are expected to demonstrate research and critical thinking skills in this assignment. Sometimes it is easier to demonstrate those skills to a high level when you select a more challenging context to study.
Measuring a market orientation
A questionnaire has been developed and tested by Narver and Slater (1990) to measure the level of market orientation of a firm’s strategic business unit. In undertaking your assignment, you should use this to measure the market orientation of the firm you have selected. To do this in a simple, but effective manner; you should identify those individuals within the organisation that are able to respond to the questions, based on them having the appropriate level of knowledge. I suggest that you survey around 4 - 8 people and have them complete the questionnaire.
To arrive at an overall measure of the organisation’s level of market orientation, simply sum up the responses to each of the statements. use the supplied spreadsheet to help you with your analysis.
Using the Narver and Slater Questions
The 14 statements/items were developed by Narver and Slater (1990) to measure how market oriented an organisation is. The statements/items were developed using a rigorous approach and as such, each statement/item is important. Having said that, given the wide variety of organisations that each of you may decide to select for this assignment, it is not unreasonable to expect that for some organisations, (small v large; public v private) some of the statements/items may not be appropriate in a particular context. If you feel this is the case, I would recommend that you make a slight modification to a particular statement/item to suit the particular circumstances. (see interact resources for some other versions and a spreadsheet to colatel results.
An electronic survey i.e. survey monkey could be used to deliver the survey tool
Rationale
This assessment has been designed in order to:
- Assist you to develop and demonstrate your understanding about the nature of marketing and the market orientation, though a literature review and application of knowledge to a real business context;
- Allow you to develop your research and critical thinking skills; and
- Provide you with further experience in academic writing and communication.
- Develop a deeper understanding of organisational issues around marketing and the market orientation
- Prepare a report to communicate your finding with a view to action on the issues
The report part of this assignment is worth 40% of the total mark, .
Your assessment will be assessed on the following criteria:
Key issues Are the questions all answered fully, with theory explained, cited, and applied? Demonstrated understanding of the theory is the main assessment criteria – this understanding will be shown through clear explanations of the relevant theory, as well as sound application of that theory to the organisation studied.
- Critical analysis: Is some in-depth analysis evident or has the source material been accepted uncritically?
- Research: Has research from a range of authoritative sources been integrated into your work?
- Structure: Is the essay developed logically and well-structured? Does the writing flow well?
- Writing style: Is the style concise and lucid or is it difficult for the reader to get the point? Is the grammar and language appropriate for a postgraduate level academic essay?
- Presentation: Have you presented a quality product with tidy layout, and free of typos?
- Word limit: Does the assessment meet the word limit?
- Referencing: Have books and articles which have contributed directly to the assessment been acknowledged appropriately throughout the essay? Is a well formatted reference list been included?
Format
• You should be presenting your answers in a report format. The following sections are likely to be included (all except the cover/title pages, table of contents, reference list, and appendix will count in your word limit). However, you are welcome to use a different structure and headings.
- Assessment cover page - Subject details, assessment number and topic, your name and ID number.
- Report title page – Title of the report, your name, date.
- Executive summary – summary of key points
- Table of contents (with page numbers)
- Introduction – a brief overview of the report to set the scene
- The assignment should then have a section heading which corresponds with the questions 1 - 3.
- Action Plan and finally, a brief summary and conclusion should 'tidy' everything up if the action plan does not cover this.
A holistic, concise and informed assignment on the outlined questions
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