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Felicia Faria
Dr. Mitchell
BUS 365 Final Exam Reflection
7 May 2016
Step 1: Describe the Socratic Method (bucket theory) as discussed in class and relate it to
the university, college and course outcomes.
The Socratic Method, also known as the Bucket Theory, involves not only the application
of knowledge, but the understanding of knowledge and how to apply this method to the real
world. In this class, I first started off with two empty buckets. The bucket on my left started to
fill when I gained knowledge from understanding the textbook. The bucket to my right began to
fill up with the knowledge I gained in class understanding. And in front of me, was an empty
bucket. How did it slowly become to get full throughout the semester? I was able to take the
sponge (knowledge) from the textbook and the sponge (knowledge) from what I learned in
class, combined both of the sponges together and squeezed all the knowledge from each one into
the third bucket to create something totally new. This new third bucket, contained true
knowledge from both sides of the course. I was able to understand the textbook and the learning
from class to create my own personal knowledge that I will carry with me forever.
When thinking of the Socratic Method and applying it to other classes I have taken
throughout my three years at the university so far, not one class, besides this one, ever caused me
to think and reflect on what I have learned. The most important aspect to take away from this
method is INTEGRATION. If I did not combine what I learned in the textbook with what I
learned from in class, I would have not been able to fully integrate into myself everything I have
learned.
The Socratic Method also connects to another important model I have learned in this
course which is, the Hershey-Blanchard Model. This methods overall principle is creating a

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maturity to the task. At the beginning of this course, Dr. Mitchell had a low relationship and a
high task with myself and my class. As the semester when on, the relationship and the task
maturities fluctuated. At the end of the course, Dr. Mitchell came to have a low task and low
relationship with my class. He believed in us when we presented our final projects, and he did
not interfere with how each group presented their own companys marketing plan to the class.
Along with how Dr. Mitchell conducted leadership through a high/low task and relationship, the
followers (my class) also have a role. A followers maturity to the task includes their willingness
and ability. If a follower does not have the effort to create their own ability and willingness to
their leader, their maturity to the task becomes low and fails. If the follower has a strong ability
and willingness to their leader, their maturity to the task will be high and exceed the leaders
expectations. The Hershey-Blanchard Model stressed the importance of leadership and what it
means to be a leader. I came into this course believing a leader, but at the end, knowing I was a
leader.

Step 2: Reflect upon your definition of MARKETING as of today; include classroom

culture, pedagogy, assignments, individual and group assignments and client interactions.
When first signing up for this course, I was a little uneasy about taking a marketing class.
Throughout high school, the only principles of marketing I knew about were either statistics
from businesses or just that it involved numbers of some sort, dealing with the relationship
between a customer and a business. Now that I have successfully made it through the semester, I
have come to expand my knowledge of what the term Marketing truly means.

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In the first chapter we discussed as a class that really opened my eyes to how marketing
played out in the world of business is through a marketing strategy. A marketing strategy shows
the reference point for evaluating a firm on how it has met its objectives. By using a marketing
strategy, it creates an appeal to a firms potential customers. An example of these types of
strategies can be used through social media, commercialized ads, and even through direct contact
between a business and potential customer.
Along with developing a marketing strategy, a firm most also create a marketing plan. A
marketing plan is composed of a written document, outlining the firms current market situation,
opportunities and threats to the firm, and the marketing objectives and strategies specified
through the 4 Ps of marketing. The 4 Ps of marketing are essential and critical when developing
a marketing plan, which include: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. The Product includes
anything that is valued by the customer. The products Price reflects how expensive or
inexpensive the product is to the valued customer. In exchange, the customer obtains the product,
while the business makes a profit off of it. The Place showcases to accessibility for when and
where the customer wants it. This could mean buying the product online or being close and
readily accessible to a store closest to you in order to purchase the product. The last of the 4 Ps
is Promotion. This is where the marketers communicate their valued product through a variety of
media outlets including television, radio, magazines, social media, and the internet.
When understanding the 4 Ps of marketing, the most crucial three phases of the
marketing plan are planning, implementation, and control. The first step in the planning phase
defines the mission and/or vision of the business. This step is always defined in a firms mission
statement. This is where the firm gives a broad description of their objectives and activities that
the firm plans to make. They define what type of business they are and how they attempt to

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achieve their goals and objectives. Along with the mission statement in the planning phase,
another step also takes place, known as the situation analysis, SWOT for short. This analysis
assesses both in the internal environment, regarding its Strengths and Weaknesses along with its
external environment, which includes the firms Opportunities and Threats.
The second major phase of a marketing plan is its implementation. Located in this phase
is where STP (segmentation, targeting, positioning) takes place, along with the 4 Ps in which I
had discussed earlier. STP describes the processes of segmentation, targeting and positioning that
firms use to identify and evaluate opportunities for increasing sales and profits. In segmentation,
the firm divvies up the market into groups of customers with different needs, wants, or
characteristics. Targeting discusses the process of evaluating the attractiveness of various
segments, then deciding on which to pursue as the main target. Lastly, positioning involves the
process of defining the marketing mix variables that that a firms target customers have a clear
understanding of what the product does or represents among other competing products.
The final phase in a marketing plan is control. This is where a firm evaluates their own
performance using marketing metrics. A metric is a measuring system that quantifies a trend,
dynamic, or characteristic. They are used to explain why things happen and are able to project
future outcomes. When a firm comes to understand their weaknesses and strengths through using
marketing metrics, they are able to improve their marketing strategies and techniques in the
future for other products they may offer to targeting consumers.
Everything I have just previously stated refers back to the first bucket in the Socratic
Method, the bucket full of textbook knowledge. In order to fully integrate marketing into my
own knowledge, I must combine it with what I have learned in class this semester. In my overall
final company presentation, my group focused on Ben & Jerrys Marketing Plan. Our goal was to

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fully integrate everything we have come to know in class and apply it to a real life company
example.
We each had our own roles in presenting every marketing plan aspect to the class, and my
cooperation included Ben & Jerrys three-part mission statement as well as Ben & Jerrys
advertising aspects. As I had mentioned earlier, the mission statement falls into the planning
phase of a marketing strategy. I explained to the class what Ben & Jerrys mission statement
consisted of and how it applied to how they carry out their business truthfully. When I presented
at the end Ben and Jerrys advertising strategies, it opened my classmates eyes to how this
company connects with their consumers and does so in a very specific way. They appeal to
mostly families in their advertisements through the uses of humor, comfort, and happiness; also
known as emotional appeals. Along with what I had presented to the class, the rest of my group
emphasized the 4 Ps of Ben & Jerrys, their SWOT Analysis, STP, the Four Excellence Theories,
as lastly their Analytics and Metrics Analyses. Who would have known that in such a small
amount of time, I would be able to take everything I have known in this class and successfully
apply it to a very popular company in todays world?
In my reflection, I have been able to showcase an extensive growth of defining marketing
and what it means to me. Along with how I observed marketing as at the beginning of the
semester. It is crucially important to know and understand The Marketing Plan diagram of what a
marketing plan and marketing strategy truly mean. In a marketing plan, it consists of five major
steps when being explained through its three major phases of the Planning Phase,
Implementation Phase, and its Control Phase. Under the planning phase, this is where the firm
gives out its mission statement along with its situation (SWOT) analysis. Following in the
implementation phase, this is where STP is introduced, followed by the 4 Ps of marketing.

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Finally in the control phase, this is where the firm evaluates their self-performance using
marketing metrics. Along with providing my knowledge of the textbook to explain what
marketing means to me, I was also able to combine this knowledge with what I took away from
attending class. My group was able to successfully implement everything we have learned about
marketing and apply it to a famous known company, Ben & Jerrys. I am so proud of everything
I have learned and look forward to applying my knowledge of marketing to my life way beyond
my college career.