Preparing the challenge

In the preparation phase, the teacher sets the scene for the development work and considers what kinds of teams and what kinds of contexts would be best suited to the intended learning outcomes.

5.1.1.1 Preparing the teams

Preparing the teams refers to the intended levels of cross-functionality and inter-nationality in the teams. A functional group consists solely of marketing students.

Even though the students differ in terms of their background, they have a similar starting point because they are majoring in marketing. All these students are fa-miliar with the basics of marketing knowledge – the concepts, frameworks and principles. Sometimes they share such similar views that they do not engage in any critical thinking about how the things are done.

The teamwork challenge level can be increased by introducing team members representing different professions to the project work. Cross-functional teams consist of students from different functions, for example marketing, design, communication and/or industrial marketing. Cross-functional teams may consist of members representing two or more different functions. The clients’ problem area and development context guide the choice of different functions. For exam-ple, if the project is expected to produce visionary prototypes, design students can be brought on board. If marketing communication concepts are expected, com-munication and language students can be integrated into the team. If the order-delivery process is expected to be re-engineered, production engineers can be integrated.

Cross-functional cooperation poses a number of different challenges. First, the ways of thinking may vary between professions: for example, designers take a

broad, exploratory and visionary approach to thinking, whereas many marketers are more analytical and goal- and business-oriented. Indeed, as Holm and Johans-son (2005) have pointed out, marketers and designers working together run into difficulties before they find a mutual understanding. There can also be similarities between functions: for example, marketers and communication students both have a similar perspective on communication and this lays common ground for their teamwork. The following case illustration describes the cross-functional team-work challenge.

In service design projects, designers and marketers were combined to create innovative new service concepts for a city (Future Fair and New Festivals in Vaasa 2010). The course integrated cross-cultural cooperation with many different nationalities as well as cross-functional designers and marketers.

Some groups worked well, but some groups faced many challenges due to cultural differences. As the focus had not been on cross-cultural aspects, on-ly a little guidance was provided on those aspects. Some groups lost too much time struggling with their teamwork. These difficulties should have been anticipated earlier. (Case illustration)

Professional differences may stem not only from individual differences but also from educational differences as discussed in the Essay 3. The way in which the students are taught and mentored to adopt their professional way of thinking af-fects how they work. Indeed, this is obvious in the differences between individu-ality-centered, project work-based design education and lecture-based and disci-pline-based marketing education. The different educational backgrounds thus set expectations towards the teamwork.

Yet another aspect that increases the challenge level in teamwork is the cross-cultural aspect. As modern business is international or even global, cross-cross-cultural teams enhance the experiential development of cross-cultural skills. International students may introduce new insights, new approaches and viewpoints, thereby helping the team to see the problem from different perspectives. Cross-cultural teams may consist of two or more nationalities. Differences between different cultures provide endless possibilities to challenge the students, as such differences affect the group dynamics. However, there is a risk that cultural differences can lead to too many difficulties that affect the project work.

The most challenging level of teamwork is expected when combining cross-functional teams with cross-cultural teams. Then the teamwork is affected both by differences in professional thinking and by cultural differences.

5.1.1.2 Preparing the context

The client refers to any organization or part of it that cooperates with the course.

Those can be small, medium-sized or large companies, both local and global, dif-ferent kinds of governmental organizations such as development agencies or hos-pitals, or third-sector organizations such as sports clubs or charities. Marketing knowledge is applicable almost everywhere. The students appreciate real-life cli-ents and get a motivational boost if the client actually takes part in some work-shops or meetings. Sometimes it is enough that a person from the company visits a class to make it a real-life case.

The client can be acquired by the faculty, teacher or by students themselves.

However, not any client will do, as the client and the development challenge have to be a good fit for the intended learning outcomes (Goodell & Kraft 1991). The environment must be suitable for enhancing the practical use of knowledge and the development of the intended skills. The challenge, the actual project brief, needs to be negotiated to the intended level.

Often the client’s expectations regarding cooperation are fuzzy. The client is not really certain what to expect. Thus it is crucial to negotiate with the client about what it will gain by working with the students. Students are not consultants or professionals yet, and the main focus is on the development of students’ learning.

Also, the cost for the client is typically far lower than when using consultants or research agencies. Indeed, in most cases, the client gains ideas that challenge the company’s in-house thinking and give food for thought. Sometimes the client also gains applicable solutions or even usable concepts. Sometimes the students are not as motivated as one would hope and the results may lack rigor. A simple three-stage method to negotiate the objectives with the client is described in Ap-pendix 1. Also, Lopez & Lee (2005) provide hands-on guidance on how to choose and prepare clients for client-based courses.

There is a need for clear commitment from the client. The client transfers tacit knowledge on how to behave in marketing development projects. If the client is motivated, the students feel that their work is important. However, if the client shows that the project is not so important, for example by accidentally saying that it does not really matter what the students do, the students’ motivation suffers greatly. This study suggests that the client-student relationship is very important and sensitive and thus the teacher should focus on those clients that are willing to invest their time and motivation into cooperating with students.

How many clients should there be? Should there be one for each student team, one for a couple of student teams or one for all student teams? In

some courses, we have had one client for each pair of students, resulting in 12 cases in one course. Some of these were acquired by the teacher and some by the students themselves. In some courses we have had one client for a group of four to five students and in some cases we have had only one client for the whole group of 25-30 students. If each group has its own case and client, the group members need to keep in contact with that client on their own and take responsibility for the cooperation. Thus, it is useful for students to acquire their own clients, as this gives them a greater sense of responsibility for the project. However, some students have a very difficult time trying to find suitable clients and sometimes it is hard to control the level of the cases. Also, for the teacher it is challenging to guide several dif-ferent cases throughout the project work. (Case illustration)

This study suggests that having only one client for the whole group is useful for several reasons. First, it is easier to negotiate with only one client and come to an agreement on what will be done. One client also means that there is an opportuni-ty to share knowledge throughout the project. For example, several groups can carry out trend, competitor, market and customer analyses using the same data.

This makes it easier to manage the starting point and understanding of the phe-nomenon. This can also build up the social capital of the whole student group.

Third, it is a learning experience for the students to understand that one starting point may result in several different outcomes. This also emphasizes the complex, context-dependent and relative aspect of marketing as professional knowledge.

However, if the teacher wants to have several clients or maybe encourage the stu-dents to acquire the clients on their own, it is suggested to keep something else as a constant in order to manage the fuzziness. A constant may well be an industry in question or the focus of development, such as brand building. This can also lead to discussion on different solutions to that constant, which again emphasizes the relativity and context dependency of marketing knowledge.

The problem area refers to the focus of the development work, that is, what actu-ally needs to be developed for the client. It refers to the substance area, i.e., the marketing knowledge. A variety of different problem areas are available for mar-keting development projects. Product development, brand identity, product profit-ability, sales management, customer relationship management, marketing com-munication and distribution provide problem areas for the context, whether as the core topic or part of a larger and more holistic marketing concept. For example, a company might have a problem with its branding and thus the project could aim to develop a new brand identity for the client. The students may use theoretical knowledge on branding to approach the problem. The problem areas vary from abstract and strategic to more concrete and operational. Some problem areas are more interesting for the students than others.

The problem area suggests what kinds of theoretical marketing knowledge can be used when doing the project work. However, sometimes the problem area may be left very open – even so open that the students first need to identify the client’s main problem and then determine on their own how they want to approach it.

The environment refers to all the external contextual factors that affect the client and its business such as political, economical, social, technological, ecological and legal trends. Students might find it harder or easier to grasp different indus-tries. For example, the fast-moving field of consumer goods provides a more fa-miliar starting point for the students than business-to-business environments. Tra-ditional industries such as shipping are easier to understand than innovative new fast-changing industries such as IT gaming. The phase of industrial maturity, the nature of competition, the changing customer wants and needs, and the speed of change affect the complexity of the industry. Further, local, international or global industries set less or more of a challenge for understanding the environment. In other words, the students need to understand the playground where the client is playing at that moment – or understand the strategic question of how to change the game.

To summarize, the teacher needs to decide on different aspects on the team and the context based on the intended learning outcomes.