GSB 623 Agribusiness Marketing
This unit focuses on the marketing environment of agricultural products and identifies the marketing management implications of these unique environmental characteristics, which are different to varying degrees from those assumed in standard marketing theory. This means the focus of discussions will be on agricultural product marketing at the farm level and input marketing to farmers. However, this unit does not cover all marketing activities related to all agricultural products and inputs. Wherever the marketing of these products can be easily undertaken by direct application of marketing principles, we have generally said little. The unit focuses on those products for which marketing is not a simple matter and which, for a variety of reasons, demand special consideration. There is thus a strong emphasis on analysing the parameters of markets, products, and demand to identify good marketing management practice for agricultural producers and input suppliers.
There is a fair amount of reading material in the unit, but the unit's aims and your time constraints limit the extent to which descriptive material is appropriate. As well, much change is occurring in agribusiness systems affecting the currency of presented material. Therefore, the descriptive material that has been included is usually incorporated to support the analytical perspective under discussion. In addition to reading materials provided to you, you are strongly encouraged to keep abreast of the latest developments and current affairs in the Australian agribusiness by accessing regularly various rural-linked sites on the World Wide Web provided by the government agencies, private organisations, and business and rural press. Useful websites will be provided to you in the unit folder.
As the agribusiness environment moves increasingly to deregulation and globalisation, sophisticated analysis of marketing issues becomes increasingly important. The alternative is naive and expensive marketing decision making. This unit aims to increase your understanding of the critical dimensions of the marketing environment of products exchanged in agribusiness systems; and the marketing management implications of the status of these dimensions. At the end of this unit, you would have had a good understanding of the agribusiness marketing system and related marketing issues and gained experience in applying marketing and management theory to practical problems and issues related to agribusiness.
In addition to GSB 731-Marketing Management, which is the prerequisite for this unit, GSB 620 The Agribusiness Environment is closely linked to this one and will provide important contextual material for this unit. It is also helpful if students have some background in management and previous exposure to, and experience in, the agricultural input and production sectors. As such, it is highly recommended that students have taken GSB 725-Strategic Management, as well as GSB 620 , prior to taking this unit.