Reading and learning material

YOUR success in this course will depend on keeping up with the required readings. You will need to juggle several types of reading material. There is a text-book, a book of case studies, and one of readings, and a weekly periodical to which you will subscribe.

Required reading

You should familiarize yourself with the course load and organize your studies in a way that will help you relate different sources to the concepts under discussion. Here is the list which also includes recommended sources for written English communication. The cases and the readings are available as a collection in the Providence College Bookstore.

Books

• David Aaker, Strategic Market Management Eighth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007.

Articles

• Marketing Myopia
• The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning

Cases

• 21-Speed Gizmos, Inc
• Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)
• MicroFridge: The Concept
• Intel (online)

Periodicals

• Develop a habit of reading news and business periodicals, and keep up with the world around you. Consider Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Strategy+Business, The New York Times, and other similar publications and read them with the intention of linking what you read to what you are learning in this course. At the beginning of every class we will have a brief section on "What's new in your World" where you will share your findings, insights, and other pertinent current information.
  

  Remember that this conversation should be substantive, not simply telling me of something you have read on your way to class with the hopes of collecting participation points. I expect that you will relate what you have read or heard to some aspect of marketing strategy, more specifically, the subjects of recent classes and readings. Merely stating that you have read in Business Week that Intel has introduced a new CPU chip does not earn participation points.

• I have some articles from Strategy+Business, linked with permission, for you to read or use in your research. This requires that you create an account for yourself at their site, which is free of charge. Other magazines and journals may require a similar sign up. You should use all the resources at your disposal for your research, in this course or later in your career.

Recommended reading

Case study and active learning through discussions are the main pedagogical tools in this course. Although we will spend time on how to study cases and write case reports, you may find the following book helpful in this regard.

• William Ellet, The Case Study Handbook: How to Read, Discuss, and Write Persuasively About Cases. Harvard Business School Press, 2007

Although no book is required, the writing style and formatting will follow the guidelines explained in detail elsewhere in this Web.You may find one of the following writing guides helpful in preparing your written work.

• Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, Third Edition. Bedford Books, 1999 (or later)
• Corbett & Finkle, The Little English Handbook: Choices and Conventions. Seventh edition. Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.
• Andrea Lunsford, Robert Connors. Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide. St. Martin's Press, 1997.
• You may find and use other similar sources as long as they have a section on Chicago Style of referencing citations.

In addition to these, there may be other readings that you will obtain and study. For these, refer to the weekly assignments.