Since a couple of weeks ago when I penned an ode to how easy my Marketing class would be, it appears that I have created a nice batch of crow to dine on. I am sure T will love this.
My first paper in the class got me a 7.5 out of 12 which, if you can do the math, adds up to a very bad score. When I first saw the grade I started to think that maybe I hadn't figured this marketing thing out. Now that I see what I was marked off on I think it means that I haven't figured this professor out.
Each paper we hand in is actually a detailed response to questions about a test case that we must analyze. The first paper had four questions, but all the rest have three.
First and foremost I was marked off because I put too many words in my paper. The very first comment on my paper stated that I took too long to get to a point. I'll accept that and be short and to the point from now on. I only wrote in the form I did because my OB professor dinged me for not having proper introductions and conclusions and for not including enough material from the book for my papers in that class.
The second thing, though, kind of bothers me. I got marked off in a couple places because I included information that was not in the case. I am not saying I introduced facts. I am saying that I provided speculation in my paper that did not come directly from the case. This is Marketing. It is supposed to be open-ended.
What is weird is the only question that I got a perfect score on was the one that I more or less copied the information from the case. It was the last question and I was tired and not thinking clearly, so I kind of took the easy way out and reworded what was already in the case. I was convinced that my professor would see through the fact that no thinking had gone into my responses for this question and I would be graded down at that point.
So, now I have been obsessing about my next paper as I have been typing it today because I can't make sense of how my last paper was graded. I have stopped providing much insight, but rather just copying information from the case, since I have to surmise that this is what he wants. I don't know what I'll do if this doesn't work.
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5 comments:
For the record, I would never be happy that someone got a less then desirable grade.
I can't speak for your professor and I won't pretend that my classes that were for a bachelor's degree were the same level as your masters. But I will say that I did well in the classes that I was able to pull information out directly from the cases and when I worked with groups, our group overall did better when kept on target to the specific information at hand.
For me that was more of an instinctive move then academic. I like to keep people focused on the point at hand. I am sure dash can put the academic spin on this. There are times in marketing when creativity and drawing conclusions come into play, but when dealing with the cases that you have on hand you have to assume that process was already done and the case written after the fact. (In my experience.)
BUT my experience is also very dated by now. How sad is that?! And I have not been working in the field to stay up on things, so what do I really know? Not much! :)
Hope you figure out your professor soon.
I certainly don't mean to imply that you enjoy someone bombing on a paper, but I figured you might get a smile from the turn of events.
The cases do cover a lot of what is necessary to make final assessments on a marketing plan, but the questions I was supposed to address were not fully answered in the case, in my opinion.
I need to be careful not to get too carried away, though. I might forget to get to a point. :)
I should have put a smile on the the end of my opening statement! :) I wanted to make sure you knew I don't revel in your crow dinner!
BTW, I also should have deleted the middle paragraph and just said...
I hope you figure out your professor soon! :) :) :) Sorry I get long winded sometimes. Thanks for your patience with me! :) :)
:) :) :) :) :) :)
...And for that reason, Dust. Yo' fired!!!
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