Learning objectives
This course has been designed to illustrate the evolution of the role of themarketing function in business strategy formulation processes in the lightof the deep changes there have been in the competitive environment.In terms of skills, at the end of the course students will have an advancedknowledge of marketing management tools to understand changes formthe macro-environment and the implications for strategic marketing plan.In particular, the student will have the necessary knowledge tounderstand the issues related to the selection and management ofdistribution channels (maneuvering the levers of retail mix by commercialcompanies, allocation of trade marketing investment by industrial firms)in a context made more complex by the coexistence of physical andvirtual channels.Case studies, business games and managerial lessons will allow to verifythe correspondence between the theory and business practice.Finally, the course aims to help students to develop a properindependence of judgment and communication skills.With regard to the independence of judgment, students will be able to use the conceptual and operational tools acquired during the course inorder to develop their own independent thinking. This will be expressedthrough the ability to develop an individual process of informationanalysis and interpretation of the same from the quality and quantitypoint of view. Students will be able to take strategic decisions and toidentify operational solutions with respect to the various problems ofretail and channel management. Judgment will be pursued through thecombined use of different teaching tools: critical analysis of some casestudies that will be discussed in the classroom with the activeparticipation of the students, the realization of specific group work andinteraction with qualified manager who will present in classroom casestudies on topics covered during the course.In terms of communication skills, students will be able to transferinformation and concepts relating to issues in retail and channelmanagement in a clear and timely manner. In addition, duringmanagerial lessons, students will adopt behaviors of "active listening"understanding the concepts and terms used by corporate stakeholders.Students should be able to prepare brief papers, or providing an oralsummary of a particular theme, even with an information technologypresentation. At the end of the course students will be able to transferinformation clearly to any audience (managerial, academic or none x p er t s ).In terms of learning skills, at the end of the course students will havedeveloped the ability to expand, update and develop the level andvariety of the knowledge acquired in the classroom. More specifically, thedevelopment of these skills will enable students to have a broadintellectual curiosity and wanting to be updated in order to understandthe issues of retail and channel management in a competitive scenarioevolving.