discussion

  •  Here’s the scenario to imagine: a new five week marketing manager internship has opened up at each of the organizations listed below. And based on your past accomplishments (and that awesome business card), they all want you. The internship involves researching your employer’s current marketing efforts and then creating a marketing plan for a new product or service that you dream up. So, the question is – who would you choose to work for and why?
  • The List
  • Your choices span a variety of categories as well as marketing approaches. We’ve provided website links, so you can learn more before making a decision. You will be working with this brand throughout the course, so choose carefully.
  • Uber (Links to an external site.)
  • Budweiser (Links to an external site.)
  • Bank of America (Links to an external site.)
  • H&M (Links to an external site.)
  • Subaru (Links to an external site.)
  • Under Armour (Links to an external site.)
  • Taco Bell (Links to an external site.)
  • Guided Response:
  • You’re going to create a discussion post that includes the information below. See our sample post for Harley Davidson (which is not one of your choices).
  • 1. Include the brand you’ve selected to do your marketing internship with.
  • Choose from the list above.
  • 2. Give the reasons you selected the brand you did.
  • Give at least two reasons. No right and wrong answers here.
  • 3. Provide a link to a representative tweet from your brand.
  • See the step-by-step tutorial on how to find a tweet and copy the link (Links to an external site.).
  • 4. Answer these questions about your brand’s unique selling proposition in at least 350 words:
  • Using your textbook, define what constitutes a USP.
  • How would you describe your brand’s unique selling proposition?
  • How is that USP reflected by your chosen tweet?
  • Do not forget to cite and make a reference to your textbook.
  • Discussion 2
  • Every year hundreds of millions of dollars are spent marketing products (or services) that fail. Millions of dollars those companies would love to get back.
  • Fortunately you happen to have a functioning time machine that you bought on Craig’s list. And now you’ve got one chance to fix what went wrong in the marketing research process and convince one of those companies not to spend that money.
  • image: Gary Knight via Flickr (Links to an external site.) (CC BY 2.0)
  • Guided Response:
  • You’re going to investigate and document the story of a famous new product flop (and market research failure) and how you went back in time to fix it. Your response must be at least 350 words and also refer to your textbook.
  • Identify and research a prominent new product/service failure.
  • The press loves failures, so you won’t have any problem finding examples.
  • Identify the following: product/service name, the company who marketed it, the year it was introduced and where (particularly if not in the U.S.).
  • Answer the following questions about the market research process. Refer to Section 2.3 in the text.
  • What are the steps in a market research process? Provide each step relating it to your product as possible.
  • Where was the failure in your product’s market research process? Which step was missing, not followed correctly, misinterpreted, or misrepresented?
  • What is the market research finding that you’re going to go back in time and share with management to stop this introduction?

BACKGROUND FOR THE PAPER

BACKGROUND FOR THE PAPER: This is a 5-paragraph paper based on research in designated sources.  It is a position paper in which you support a thesis statement by reason and historical examples.  The United States went through dramatic economic change after the Civil War, as industrialization spread rapidly and changed society. This transformation and some of the apparent abuses that developed (monopolistic practices, work conditions, low wages, arbitrary and oppressive expectations) led to an increased role of the government in regulating businesses and society. Government might intervene on the side of business owners for a variety of reasons.  Or it might intervene on the side of workers. Or it might intervene for more general reasons.  This role was heightened as government was viewed as the arbiter between business and organized labor. One can explore these developments from 1865 on through to the end of the 1930s.  Examine the two statements below and drawing from provided sources, present a paper with specific examples and arguments to demonstrate the validity of your position. [Don’t use this background paragraph in your paper.]

Topic and Thesis Statement—choose one of the following as your Thesis Statement:  

THESIS STATEMENT 1.  From the late 1800s to the end of the 1930s, increasing government interventions and regulations of business tended to help the overall economy and the common workers.

THESIS STATEMENT 2. From the late 1800s to the end of the 1930s, increasing government interventions and regulations of business tended to hurt the overall economy and the common workers.

  • Plan to make that thesis statement the last sentence in your introductory paragraph.  The general subject is GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC INTERVENTIONS and regulations in that period of history.  You may moderate the wording slightly to fit more precisely the position you wish to take.  This is NOT a simple statement of a topic; it is a statement of a position you are taking about that topic.  p.s.—Valid arguments and “A” papers can be made with either thesis.  So, you choose the one you think is the stronger position.

After giving general consideration to your readings so far and any research (using sources listed on this sheet), select one of the positions above as your position—your thesis. (Sometimes after doing more thorough research, you might choose the reverse position. This happens with critical thinking and inquiry. Your final paper might end up taking a different position than you originally envisioned.) Organize your paper as follows, handling these issues with this FOUR-PART organization (see TEMPLATE also):

  1. Part One—one paragraph.  INTRODUCTION AND THESIS STATEMENT.  The position you choose will be the thesis statement in your opening paragraph; make it the last sentence of the paragraph.
  2. Part Two—two paragraphs normally.  FOUR EXAMPLES.  To support your thesis, use four specific examples from different decades between 1865 and 1940. However, one of your four examples must be from the 1930s. The examples should be specific and clearly support your thesis.  These should be examples of actual government intervention (not just the hope for it).  In these paragraphs one generally must have in-text citations to support your specific examples and to show where the information was found.  Spread out the examples—different decades.  Make the examples SPECIFIC.  The FORMAT SAMPLE paper can also help on this part.
  3. Part Three—one paragraph normally. DEALING WITH THE OPPOSING VIEW. The opposing view is the thesis statement you did NOT choose. Identify the opposing view and explain why the opposing view is weak in comparison to yours. No new research needed; just one paragraph of critical thinking suggesting why your thesis/position is stronger than that different view.  Approach it this way:  You adopted a thesis statement. The opposing view is the thesis statement you did NOT adopt. You might start this paragraph by saying “Some may disagree with my thesis and argue that  ——- .”  THEN—you spend 3 or 4 sentences giving a reasoned argument why your thesis is stronger than the opposing view.
  4. Part Four—one paragraph:  LEGACY TODAY AND CONCLUSION:  Consider your life and work today in relation to issues of government involvement and regulation of business and the economy.   Also consider your major. Many of these types of government economic programs, laws, and regulations from this period (late 1800s to the 1930s) became a normative part of our economic structure. In what way does the history you have shown shape or impact issues in your workplace or desired profession? This will work as the conclusion paragraph.  Be succinct. Keep your thesis statement in mind.  The FORMAT SAMPLE paper has good suggestions for this part also.

After the fourth part concluding the paper, be sure you have the numbered list of sources at the end.  And be sure each source listed is also used and cited clearly in the body of the paper.  The FORMAT SAMPLE paper illustrates this.

Length: The paper should be 500-to-750 words in length. 500 is a minimum. 750 is a guideline as a maximum. This word-count does not include any title page or sources list.

Research and References: You must use a MINIMUM of three sources; the Schultz textbook must be one of them. Your other two sources must be drawn from the list provided below on this instruction sheet. This is guided research, not Googling.

Source list for Assignment 2:  Most primary sources listed below can be accessed via direct link on the list.  For others on the list, they are accessible through the permalink at the end of the source entry. Those sources (listed below) have libdatab.strayer.edu as part of the URL—this is the permalink to that source in our university’s online library. (The link takes you to the library log-in; you then log in, and then the source appears for you right away).  Each source below is shown in SWS form, so if you use it, you may easily copy the entire entry onto your paper’s sources list. (On a paper, never list an item as URL link only.)

SWS Form for the textbook:

Kevin M. Schultz. 2018. HIST: Volume 2: U.S. History since 1865. 5th ed.

Choose sources relevant to the topic government economic interventions and the position you are taking:

D. P. Del Mar. 1998. Region and Nation: New Studies in Western U.S. History.  http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=957156&site=eds-live&scope=site

S. Gompers. 1914. The American Labor Movement: Its Makeup, Achievements, and Aspirations. http://wwphs.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_10640642/File/bugge/Chapter%2021/Gompers.pdf

S. M. Jacoby. Oct., 1983. Union Management Cooperation in the United States: Lessons from the 1920s. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=4462675&site=eds-live&scope=site

R. La Follette. 1924. La Follette’s Progressive Platform.    http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_9781133309888/unprotected/ps/follette.html

T. C. Leonard. Spring, 2009. American Economic Reform in the Progressive Era: Its Foundational Beliefs and their Relation to Eugenics.  http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=36656984&site=eds-live&scope=site

H. D. Lloyd.  June, 1884. The Lords of Industry from North American Review, 331. In Modern History  Sourcebook.  https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1884hdlloyd.asp

E. Rauchway. 2008. The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction. eBook.  http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=218056&site=eds-live&scope=site

Populist Party Platform. 1896.

http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_9781133309888/unprotected/ps/populist_partyplatform_1896.htm

Kevin M. Schultz. 2018. HIST: Volume 2: U.S. History since 1865.  5th ed.

Upton Sinclair. 1906. Attack on the Meatpackers.

http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_9781133309888/unprotected/ps/attack_meatpackers.htm

L. Steffens. 1904. The Shame of the Cities.

http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_9781133309888/unprotected/ps/steffens.html

F. W. Taylor. 1911. The Principles of Scientific Management.

http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_9781133309888/courseware/ps/taylor.html

S. Vaheesan. Jan-Mar, 2019. The Progressives’ Secret Weapon. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=133679932&site=eds-live&scope=site

J. Whitaker. 1871. The Impact of the Factory on Worker Health. Retrieved from

http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_9781133309888/unprotected/ps/impact_factory.htm

——————

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements below:

  • This course requires use of new Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.
  • If you use ECREE as a rough draft tool, the document of the rough draft that you download will be single-spaced.  Once you download and save that, use your Word or other program to double space between lines and to make other edits and additions as necessary.
  • Your final Assignment 1 paper must be typed, double spaced between lines, and use one of these font styles:  Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, or Calibri.  Font size must be between 10 and 12.  Try to use one-inch margins on all sides, but don’t justify the right margin. In-text citations (in the body of the paper) and a numbered Sources list at the end are required, and they should follow SWS format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • Include a title page containing the title of the assignment, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date you completed the paper. (Please—on the title page—keep it fairly plain, no fancy colors, boxes, etc.)
  • The title page and the Sources list are not included in the required assignment length.

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, is it necessary that more basic needs be maintained before more advanced needs are attained? For example, can someone have esteem but not love/belonging? Please provide examples to illustrate your answer.

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, is it necessary that more basic needs be maintained before more advanced needs are attained?  For example, can someone have esteem but not love/belonging?  Please provide examples to illustrate your answer.

Do you think the variables are appropriately used? Why or why not?

Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts and comment on the following:

  1. Do you think the variables are appropriately used? Why or why not?
  2. Does the analysis answer the research question? Be sure and provide constructive and helpful comments for possible improvement.
  3. As a lay reader, were you able to understand the results and their implications? Why or why not?