DIVERSITY
MKTG 411 - MULTI-NATIONAL MARKETING
This course was centered around examining the operational and cross-cultural aspects of international marketing, including the nature of competition, developmental marketing structures and channels, price and credit policies, promotional methods, trade barriers, and international arrangements.
This marketing course allowed me to develop a managerial understanding of marketing fundamentals in the context of the global environment. In addition, I was able to study marketing theory in light of different political, cultural, legal, and economic environments. Guest speakers attended course lectures allowing me to gain insight from professionals currently navigating the changing global climate and trends.
One of the biggest topics that were emphasized in this course was cross-cultural sensitivity and diversity in marketing. There are plenty of examples that were provided throughout the semester explaining how companies have failed to try and understand cultural differences and the advertising fell short.
Examples of coursework
For this assignment, I had to come up with a company and pick a country that I think it could be expanded to. It was hard to choose a company and a country, but I went with moving Trader Joe's Company to Scotland, UK.
Working on the Country Pitch Deck project made marketing a reality for me. This is something companies do all the time when expanding into foreign markets and I was able to get a sample of what that takes. It was eye-opening to see how much research goes into this, and we were not even required to do a full country notebook report.
Every class period, we would have a guest speaker that would talk to us for thirty minutes to an hour, about various topics in marketing. Our professor asked us each to write a thank you note afterward since these individuals took time from their schedules to present to us.
This was not an assignment, but I thought this was a good example of the exposure that I received in this class. The guest speaker's reflections show how different aspects of marketing were conveyed to the class and what I got from it. I did not list all of the guest speakers, but the ones that I found the most interesting and noteworthy.
skills employers are seeking
Technical knowledge of the job:
I learned marketing-specific skills through research on how marketers present foreign expansion opportunities. Plus, each class had a guest speaker that talked in-depth about different aspects of marketing. This gave the entire class an opportunity to hear from professionals about the types of jobs we can look for once we graduate.
Sell or influence others:
With the individual assignment, I put together a marketing pitch for my mock manager, to expand a chosen company into another country. I had to “sell” the idea in a way that would benefit the company and the new market. Extensive research was done to provide appropriate pros and cons for the expansion.
relation to my future goals
This Diversity course aided me in achieving my future goals by helping me figure out what type of role I want when I go into marketing. When I transferred into the marketing program, I had no idea if I was even going to be using this degree. However, there are so many different roles that you can take on within the marketing industry, that I don’t necessarily need to pinpoint one just yet, since I don’t have any experience. I do know that I am interested in Digital Marketing, Marketing Claims, and Social Selling. I at least know what direction I am leaning towards.
Moreover, this course has made me realize how important diversity is in the workplace. That is something that I will be paying attention to when I step into my next role.