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Chapter 02 - Developing Successful Organizational and Marketing Strategies
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b. The relevant trends IBM should consider for the next three to five years.
• Environmental Trends.
3. How can IBM communicate its strategy to companies, cities, and governments?
Answers:
IBM’s marketing and communications professionals developed a marketing plan that
included:
4. What are the benefits of the Smarter Planet initiative to (a) society and (b) IBM?
Answers:
5. How should IBM measure the results of the Smarter Planet strategy?
Answer:
Chapter 02 - Developing Successful Organizational and Marketing Strategies
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Epilogue
In a recent quarterly report, IBM reported that its Smarter Planet initiative is growing at a
rate of 20 percent. The company also announced the introduction of IBM MessageSight, a new
technology designed to help organizations communicate with the billions of mobile devices now
connected to the Internet. Marie Wieck, a general manager at IBM, observed that “When we
launched our Smarter Planet strategy nearly five years ago, our strategic belief was that the world
was going to be profoundly changed as it became more instrumented, interconnected, and
intelligent. IBM MessageSight is a major technological step forward in continuing that
strategy.” IBM MessageSight is capable of supporting up to thirteen million messages from
smart devices each second. In addition, IBM is developing a new platform called MobileFirst to
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TEACHING NOTE FOR APPENDIX D CASE D-2
Daktronics, Inc.: Global Displays in 68 Billion Colors
Synopsis
Daktronics, Inc. was founded in 1968 by two college professors at South Dakota State
University (SDSU) with a goal of starting a business to help keep college graduates in their home
state. Its first products, an electronic thermometer and automated blood pressure gauge, were a
disaster according to one of its founders. The SDSU wrestling coach then approached the
professors with the idea of designing a more useful mat-side scoring system for wrestling
matches. That first success helped make Daktronics today’s world leader in electronic video
displays for its three main market segments: sports, business, and government.
Teaching Suggestions
Daktronics has produced thousands of electronic displays. To help students understand
the wide array of electronic displays:
1. Have students go to the Daktronics website (www.daktronics.com) and click on Project
Gallery.
2. Have them select several displays they have seen from different segments and describe
them to the class.
3. Ask them what benefits the display provides the organization having the display
background for Question #1 in the case.
Answers to Questions
1. What are the reasons or appeals that might cause potential customers in the following
markets to buy a Daktronics scoreboard, electronics display, or large screen video?
(a) A Major League Baseball team, (b) a high school for its football field, (c) a local
hardware store, and (d) a state highway department.
Answers:
Chapter 02 - Developing Successful Organizational and Marketing Strategies
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Chapter 02 - Developing Successful Organizational and Marketing Strategies
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2. (a) Do a SWOT analysis for Daktronics. (b) For one entry in each of the four cells in
your SWOT table (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) suggest an
action Daktronics might take to increase revenues.
Answers:
Chapter 02 - Developing Successful Organizational and Marketing Strategies
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3. Using Figure 2-5 in Chapter 2 as a guide, identify an action Daktronics might take
to increase sales in each of the four cells: (a) current markets, current products;
(b) current markets, new products; (c) new markets, current products; (d) new
markets, new products.
Answers: Applying Figure 2-5 to Daktronics’ situation might provide the following
actions:
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ICA 2-1: IN-CLASS ACTIVITY
Calculating a “Fog Index” for Your Own Writing1
Learning Objectives. To have students (1) learn how to calculate a Fog Index and then
(2) calculate the Fog Index for a sample of their own writing to help them improve their writing.
Nature of the Activity. To have students work outside class (1) to calculate a Fog Index
for a sample of their own writing and (2) then share ideas with each other later in class on ways
their writing samples could be made clearer by perhaps lowering their Fog Indexes.
Definitions. Because the class is not yet familiar with marketing terms, instructors may
wish to define the following terms before starting the ICA:
• Fog Index: A linguistics test that measures the readability of an English writing
sample.
• Polysyllables: Complex words that consist of three or more syllables.
Estimated Class Time and Teaching Suggestions.
• During the first class, spend about 10 minutes to explain to students the red call-out
boxes in Appendix A and the Fog Index.
• Have students spend about 15 minutes to calculate a Fog Index outside class for a
sample of their own writing.
• During the following class, spend about 10 minutes and have students share the
“lessons learned” about the “fogginess” of their writing samples.
Materials Needed.
• Have students provide a sample of at least 150 words of each student’s writing.
• Copies for each student of the:
– “What is Your Own Fog Index?” handout.
– “Calculating a Fog Index” handout.
• The Excel spreadsheet file ICA02-1FogIndex.xls.
• Optional: A calculator.
Steps to Teach this ICA.
1. Skim the following background information before conducting this ICA:
Chapter 02 - Developing Successful Organizational and Marketing Strategies
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A number of indices have been introduced to try to measure the readability of a
written English passage. The Fog Index is popular because (1) it is easy to calculate
2. Pass out copies of the “What is Your Own Fog Index?” Handout and “Calculating a
Fog Index” Handout to each student.
3. Give the following mini-lecture about the Fog Index and how to calculate it:
“Good writing is hard work. Throughout our lives, we are called on to write memos,
letters, and reports that need to be easily understood for effective communication.
Today’s activity gives you a simple way to assess and perhaps improve your own
writing by determining the reading level of a sample of your writing.
4. Show Slide 2-44. Calculating a Fog Index Handout. Show students how to calculate
the Fog Index for The New York Times article. Click on the Excel icon to calculate
the Fog Index for a current or an alternative writing sample in class.
5. In the following class, ask students:
a. To identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the Fog Index:
• Strengths. Easy to calculate; fun to be able to equate the result to years of
Marketing Lesson. To succeed in today’s competitive marketplace, students need to
make sure that their intended audiences understand their written communication.
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WHAT IS YOUR OWN FOG INDEX? HANDOUT2
Briefly, review this handout on how to calculate a Fog Index using the writing sample below
from The New York Times.
How to Calculate a Fog Index. Let’s calculate a Fog Index for the writing sample below, which
was taken from a recent article in The New York Times newspaper. The topic concerns the changes that
are about to occur in the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), the test needed for admission to many graduate
schools.
“Although the GRE still includes sections on verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and
analytical writing, each section is being revised. The new verbal section, for example, will eliminate
questions on antonyms and analogies. On the quantitative section, the biggest change will be the addition
of an online calculator. The writing section will still have two parts, one asking for a logical analysis and
the other seeking an expression of the student’s own views. The biggest difference is that the prompts the
students will receive will be more focused, meaning that our human raters will know unambiguously that
the answer was written in response to the question, not memorized,” said David G. Payne, who heads the
GRE program for the testing service.”
We can calculate a Fog Index for The New York Times passage using these steps:
1. Select a passage that is about 100 words.
2. Count the number of words in the passage (W): ........................................................120
3. Count the number of sentences (S): ...............................................................................5
4. Count the number of complex words or polysyllables (3+ syllables) in the passage
but exclude proper nouns (e.g. Chicago) or suffixes (-es, -ed, -ing) as a syllable
(CW): ...........................................................................................................................14
5. Divide the number of words in the passage by the number of
sentences: ............................................................................. (W ÷S) or (129 ÷5) = 24.0
6. Divide the number of complex words in the passage by the number of words,
7. Fog Index = [0.4 × ((W ÷ S) + ((CW ÷ W) × 100))]
= [0.4 × ((120 ÷ 5) + ((14 ÷ 120) × 100))]
Calculating a Fog Index for Your Writing. For the sample of writing you brought to class,
calculate your own Fog Index.
Getting Feedback. Share your writing sample in your group. See if they agree with the
readability of your sample that is indicated by its Fog Index. What parts are easy to read? What parts are
bit difficult to understand?
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CALCULATING A FOG INDEX HANDOUT3
1. Select a passage that is about 100 words.
2. Count the number of words in the passage (W): ........... 120
3. Count the number of sentences (S): ................................... 5
4. Count the number of complex words or polysyllables
(3+ syllables) in the passage but exclude proper
nouns (e.g. Chicago) or suffixes (-es, -ed, -ing) as a
syllable (CW): ...................................................................... 14
5. Divide the number of words in the passage by the number
6. Divide the number of complex words in the passage
by the number of words, then multiply the result
7. Fog Index = [0.4 × ((W ÷ S) + ((CW ÷ W) × 100))]
ICA 2-2: IN-CLASS ACTIVITY
3 The numbers are for the passage from The New York Times quoted in the student handout.
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MARKETING YOURSELF
Learning Objective. To show students that marketing relates directly to their future by
using the strategic marketing process and marketing mix when preparing for life after graduation.
Nature of the Activity. To have students do a SWOT analysis and goal setting for
themselves to develop a plan that enhances their marketable skills before starting job interviews.
Estimated Class Time and Teaching Suggestions.
• During the first class, spend about 10 minutes to explain the purpose of this ICA.
• During the following class, lead a short discussion of actions they plan to take as a
result of the ICA—perhaps asking them to turn it in for suggestions.
Materials Needed. Copies for each student of the:
• “Marketing Yourself” handout.
• “The Do-It-Myself Marketing Plan” worksheet.
Steps to Teach this ICA.
1. Pass out copies of the “Marketing Yourself” Handout and “The Do-It-Myself
Marketing Plan” Worksheet to each student.
2. Ask students about the type of jobs they hope to land after graduation and how they
intend to find these jobs. Most students will describe a “shotgun approach” of aiming
at any job without any focused or targeted effort at specific careers (product
management, marketing research, advertising, sales, etc.) or positions (assistant
product manager, marketing research analyst, etc.).
Suggest students look at Appendix C for career ideas. Explain how research can help
students target specific jobs and learn about potential opportunities through
networking, internships, informational interviewing, and many secondary sources.
3. After passing out the handouts, explain the importance in marketing themselves by:
