“@#$%^ FINALLY I’M DONE THE GROUP ASSIGNMENTS!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”  -Inner Joe as soon as he walked out of the last meeting.

So… I remember Tamar telling us that students used to write an entire Marketing Plan with 30 pages as a group assignment back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, so no matter how I look at it, this is an improvement. Especially with Assignment 1, I thought that was an effective learning tool to study for the midterm. It forced me to think of examples using the Marketing Mix etc and apply it to a designated company. I was in charge of summarizing and editing so it made sense that I had a more complete perspective of the assignment, which made studying for the midterm much easier.

Since this is an introductory course, I believe the series of assignments give students a great opportunity to apply the material taught in lectures and the textbook to a real company. The assignments offered the same critical thinking process that is vital to making any marketing plan, but without actually having to grind out the entire 30 page report .

“Some people enjoy working in groups. Some do not. But this is Sauder , so you better get used to it. ”   -Chapter 3 from the bestseller:  Chronicles of Joe Ip

The “invaluable” learning experience that I so “cleverly” alluded to in the title refers to the teamwork aspect of the assignments. I’ve actually had a relatively cohesive team last term in OB (yeah I took OB last term as a transfer student from Science :O )  , but… we got horrible marks… perhaps because no one would bother to criticize one another, even when mistakes were blatant.. In other words… group assignments can be all “gumdrops and ice-cream”.. but if we come out with a low mark, then.. perhaps it is better to have a group riddled with conflicts? THAT is the conclusion I established after my experience in Comm 296. Communication is vital to team cohesiveness.

“Another battle, another day. When there is a fray, what more is there to say?”
Dec. 11th, 2008 ( Joe Ip)

“Sauder strife? Sauder life” – Joe Ip circa. 2012

15 year-old  Joe made an interesting observation.

That being said, without the group assignments, marketing class would not be marketing class. What is one without the other? If anything, this is one of the few classes where I got the opportunity to apply in class material to the “real” world (There is no spoon -Matrix) . The lectures were extremely engaging , and the examples were relevant and easily relateable. Participation came naturally , created by the warm environment.  All in all, Comm 296 was a great class, and it is no less thanks to the dedication of Tamar that I am considering taking marketing courses in the near future.