1. Learning and Teaching Approaches Advice and Guidance for Practitioners
National 5 Business Management
Management of Marketing and Operations

2. About this resource
The potential learner approaches that follow present the opportunity to explore the topics in the Management of Marketing and Operations unit in more depth in order to reinforce knowledge and understanding of this unit.
For most activities, the range of working methods and presentation media are left to practitioner/learner choice. Use of ICT for some activities is recommended and web research will be an integral part of several suggested approaches.
These suggested learner approaches can be adapted to suit the needs of practitioners.

3. Management of Marketing

4. Welcome to
SuperJam™ is a range of 100% pure fruit jams sweetened with grape juice and made using super fruits, such as blueberries and cranberries.
SuperJam was created by Scottish jam-maker Fraser Doherty after he was taught to make jam using his Gran’s secret recipes at the age of From humble beginnings, the company has gone on to sell millions of jars, has won a variety of awards and is even exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland as an example of an ‘iconic Scottish food brand’.
Watch the interview with Fraser Doherty here.

5. What do customers want? (1)
Learners could watch the video interview with Fraser Doherty of SuperJam and use this information as a basis for further investigation.
Learners could suggest how SuperJam researched the market during the early stages of the formation of the company.
In groups or pairs, learners could mind map or summarise the different methods used to undertake market research and illustrate which of these methods are primary and which are secondary.
For reflective questioning or to prompt further discussion, learners could decide how the information gathered might have affected the new company and/or which decisions may have been made with the researched information in mind.

6. What do customers want? (2)
To further investigate the possibilities of market research, learners could use their own enterprise or business idea (perhaps created in the Understanding Business unit) and create a simple internet survey to research the needs and wants of their potential market.
The links below lead to internet survey sites where learners can look at ready-made questionnaires and/or design their own questionnaire for their business idea or a product/business familiar to them.
Alternatively, learners could base a survey on SuperJam, with the aim of further expanding its market.
Note: Some sites may require account creation or trial subscriptions.
Survey
Monkey
Polldaddy
Zoomerang

7. What do customers want? (3)
In addition to surveys, learners could discuss/list other methods of market research in groups or pairs.
Learners could then decide on the three methods that they think would be most appropriate for SuperJam based on the company information they have (eg market, location, size of company etc).
Alternatively, learners could decide on the methods of market research that they would use for their own business idea or enterprise and justify why they think these would be effective.
Learners could present their findings using an appropriate method and include their plans for using the market research information within their organisation.

8. From launch to decline (1)
Learners could be introduced to this topic using reflective questions such as:
– Is a product always an instant success?
– What happens to sales at the launch of a product or after it has been on the market for some time?
– Why and when are products replaced?
Learners could be encouraged to research the different stages of the product life cycle and to find examples of products that are currently at each stage, eg video recorders are in the withdrawal stage.
Using examples, learners could be encouraged to research and produce product life cycle diagrams for very different products, eg a novelty product relating to a specific event, a lifetime success like Coca Cola, a seasonal product like Crème Eggs etc.

9. From launch to decline (2)
Learners could again look at the information on SuperJam and produce a product life cycle diagram for this business, perhaps explaining to the group which stage of the cycle SuperJam is currently at.
Learners could select a product familiar to them (or one provided by a local company) and try to establish the product life cycle of this product. This could be achieved through group discussion, working in pairs or internet research. Ideas could be presented using an appropriate form of ICT.
Additional study could be made on the product life cycle and extension strategies by using the linked resource below, which looks at Kellogg’s products and how their success has been maintained in the market by the company.
The Times 100

10. Promoting the product (1)
Learners could be introduced to the topic of promotion with an entertaining approach to marketing demonstrated by the linked adverts below.
Learners could then be tasked with using internet resources to find the most effective example of this type of shock marketing.
Discussion points or possible additional activities focused around the results of the research could be:
– What are the costs and benefits of this type of marketing?
– Can learners come up with a similar type of marketing event or incident to promote SuperJam, their own business idea or a local business that is familiar to them?
Nike
Coca Cola
Bravia

11. Promoting the product (2)
Learners could use the linked information below to suggest the most appropriate/accessible/cost-effective marketing tools for SuperJam, their own product or service idea, or a product that is local or familiar to them.
Learners could produce a mini marketing pitch for the group, with discussion and sharing on the most effective marketing strategies.
Guerrilla
marketing

12. Promoting the product (3)
Learners could explore the use of promotional pricing with an initial web research task where pairs or teams compete to find as many different promotional pricing strategies as they can on internet advertising sites.
Following this task, learners could produce a ‘top five’ of the most effective strategies, working as a whole group, and decide why these are the most effective.
Learners could then research the different methods of pricing and link the defined methods to the examples they have found using the internet.
Links are given to assist in finding a range of pricing methods and to an additional activity that could further support this topic.
Pricing strategies
Pricing activity

13. Brand beautiful (1)
Learners could begin investigating branding by creating their own short definition of branding using a well-known product to illustrate the key points of their definition. This information could be presented as a short report or presentation using an appropriate form of ICT.
A more detailed approach to this may be to task learners to create the brand for their own product or service idea and to ‘pitch’ this to the rest of the group, inviting comment from peers on the effectiveness of their brand. A time limit could be set for pitches and an evaluation system developed by the group to assess each presentation on the same basis.
The learning objective in this approach would not be to establish ‘winners’ but to share consumer information on branding amongst the group as peers play the part of consumers offering comment on each branding presentation.

14. Brand beautiful (2)
In further investigation of branding, the objective here would be for learners to explore the benefits of branding to an organisation.
This could be approached using a familiar Scottish product such as Irn Bru, which has a strong and very distinctive brand. Other iconic products could be used and/or strong local brands.
Learners should research the brand using a range of resources, including the internet, the media and even product packaging.
Learners then summarise what the brand represents, how it is effective for the organisation and what benefits the strong brand may bring to the organisation.
Ideally, each small group or pair could work on different brands and then present their findings to the whole group.

15. Brand beautiful (3)
Finally in this topic, learners could review the information available from SuperJam.
Learners could then comment on the branding of this product using the following suggestions for extended discussion or summary of their ideas:
– Does the brand represent the objectives of the company?
– Does the brand display the product positively? How?
– What makes this brand distinctive from others?
(In order to answer this, learners could research competitor products and the branding they use. Links are given below to support this.)
– Could any changes be made to this brand to make it more effective?
Mackay’s
Hartley’s
Mrs Bridges

16. Marketing and ICT (1)
Learners can explore how ICT can be used to enhance marketing using the following approach:
– From the linked list of marketing tools below learners could establish how many rely on methods of ICT.
– Learners could then define how the use of ICT enhances these methods and the benefits brought to marketing through an increased use of ICT.
Marketing tools

17. Marketing and ICT (2)
Learners could use an appropriate method of ICT to produce/suggest three marketing strategies that SuperJam could use.
Suggested approaches could include:
– producing leaflets/fliers using desk-top publishing or word processing
– using to circulate company information or special offers information
– using a website or internet advertising to reach a wide market.
Learners could opt to produce marketing materials using ICT or to summarise and outline how they would use ICT to promote SuperJam and why this would be effective.

18. Management of Operations

19. Getting it right (1)
Fraser Doherty of SuperJam says finding the right companies to work with was a challenge when he first set up in business.
Learners could explore the factors for consideration in finding good suppliers and working partners for SuperJam, their own business idea or a local business.
Learners could work in groups or pairs to establish a list of factors they would have to consider in choosing the right supplier or working partner.
Thinking in more detail about the production of a specific product and what is involved in producing, packaging and distributing products may support learners in this activity.

20. Getting it right (2)
Following on from the previous slide, learners could collate their group ideas and decide through discussion and debate which would be the top three priorities to consider when choosing a supplier.
Learners could summarise these three factors, including their justification for why they are the most significant factors and what impact the wrong decision could have on the business they have chosen to study.

21. Too little or too much? (1)
Fraser Doherty of SuperJam says he was making up to 1000 jars of jam per week when he first set up the business.
Learners could discuss how the correct level of production could be decided for SuperJam or for their own business idea.
For a new business, the lack of historical sales data would be a factor. Learners could decide how they would overcome this and predict the level of demand at the start of the SuperJam business or their own business idea.
Learners could discuss the consequences for their own business idea or for SuperJam of producing too many products or too few products.

22. Too little or too much? (2)
At the start of his business, Fraser Doherty would have produced SuperJam products to satisfy demand so would not have had to store any products.
Learners could discuss the implications of having to store products and what additional costs this may lead to for SuperJam or for a local business familiar to them.
Learners could create a list of consequences of stocking too many products versus having too few products in stock. What are the costs of each option?
Learning could be guided in this activity using the following:
– What might be the costs of stocking too many products?
– What may be a consequence of not holding enough stock?
– What factors would have to be considered when deciding on stock levels of SuperJam?

23. Ethical production (1)
To begin this topic, learners could use internet resources and other information sources to research what ethical production means and to find at least two examples of ethical production practice from a real-life organisation.
The links below may help to support learners with the first part of this activity.
Ethical production 1
Ethical production 2

24. Click on the links to read about non-ethical production.
Following on from their previous research, learners could investigate the following:
– an example of ethical production in a Scottish organisation
– an example of non-ethical production in an organisation.
Learners could then discuss/summarise in groups or pairs:
– what benefits ethical production may bring to the Scottish organisation
– what impact non-ethical production may have had on the organisation.
Adidas
Click on the links to read about non-ethical production.
Designer brands
GAP

25. Ethical production (3)
Finally in this topic, learners could investigate the possible ethical practices of SuperJam.
Using the information provided and the SuperJam website, learners could research and suggest possible ethical practices that the business may already use or could adopt.
Learners could summarise their findings, presenting their information as a report for Fraser Doherty of SuperJam, highlighting the benefits that these practices may bring to the business. Learners could use an appropriate form of ICT to do this.
Alternatively, learners could produce a report on their own business idea or a local business familiar to them and suggest what ethical practices could be adopted and what benefits may be achieved by doing this.

26. Quality production (1)
As an engaging and active introduction to the topic of quality, learners could do the following practical exercise:
– Using the range of cut-out templates provided, learners form production groups and decide how many models they will produce in the time given. All groups should make the same model.
– At the end of production time, each group’s products should be quality checked by a quality group. This group should accept or reject models following a set of quality guidelines drawn up earlier.
– Each group should review their performance against the quality indicators and discuss how they could improve the quality of their production in future.
See the quality production worksheet Appendix 2 in the Advice and Guidance booklet for full instructions and templates for models. A full range of models is available using this hyperlink.
Paper Toys

27. Quality production (2)
Following their production activity, learners could research all current methods of quality assurance using a range of available resources.
Learners could then decide which method(s) would be most appropriate to apply to their own business idea, a local business they have studied or SuperJam.
Learners could produce a short report or presentation outlining their chosen methods of quality assurance and the costs and benefits of each method.
This could be an oral presentation, use ICT or be hand-written as appropriate for each learner and practitioner.

28. Technology in production (1)
As an initial research exercise, learners could be asked to use internet resources to find at least three different examples of how technology can be used in production.
Learners could summarise their findings using an appropriate form of ICT.
Learners could then use information about SuperJam to decide which forms of technology may be used in the production of this product.
Learners could mind map this information and work in groups or pairs.

29. Technology in production (2)
Using the hyperlinked information below as an example or starting point, learners could be asked to find real-life examples of three of the technologies highlighted. For example, learners could select robotics, databases and computer-aided design.
Learners then present three case studies of the use of this technology in production or operations and outline the possible costs and benefits that each example has brought to the real business organisation.
Three sample case studies are also accessible through this hyperlink.
Technology

30. Technology in production (3)
Finally, learners could be asked to apply the theoretical knowledge they have gathered to their own business idea or enterprise (or a local business familiar to them).
Learners should decide how the use of technology could improve the operation of the organisation and what the costs of employing this technology may be.
Learners could be encouraged to think beyond the financial cost and to consider employment of staff, maintaining and researching new technology, training issues and other more complex factors.