Defining and Research: Finding Job that Aligns to Personal Values

Find Field Project 1 in the syllabus I will attach. Follow the instructions step by step.

Course Description An interdisciplinary approach to the study of consumer behavior and motivation. Topics include behavioral science findings and their implications in the marketing mix; socioeconomics, demographic and cultural influences; theories of promotion and communication; consumer behavior models; attitude measurement; perception and consumerism. Specific Course Objectives The purpose of this course is to provide students with a strong and thorough understanding of the elements of the consumer decision-making process by examining some of the basic concepts that underlie consumer behavior. This course is structured to enable students to gain knowledge of the theoretical background of consumer behavior from the perspectives of marketing, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics. In addition, the course will provide students with the fundamental, conceptual and analytical tools essential for a comprehensive understanding of the psychological processes that characterize consumers' consumption experiences, the influential and persuasive mechanisms involved in attitude, belief, and behavior change, and the application of concepts, theories, and models used to address specific marketing problems. Given this multifaceted approach to the study of consumer behavior, students will be better able to understand how marketers anticipate, adapt, and respond to consumer needs by applying the insight from basic consumer behavior concepts to their marketing strategies. 1 Section L01 Wednesdays 11.30am-2.15pm 140 West 62nd, 325 This learning-by-doing course examines consumer behavior from multiple perspectives including cognitive, affective, behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives. Course projects prepare business professionals for customer-focused marketing functions, especially conducting consumer research, generating consumer insights, and refining goods and services to better serve customers. The combination of readings, lectures, assignments, and other pedagogical tools used throughout the course is geared toward helping you to: 1. Appreciate the nature and scope of consumer behavior and its role in designing and implementing successful marketing programs, 2. Understand theories of consumer behavior and their applications in the marketplace, 3. Learn to develop and implement programs for studying consumer behavior and draw appropriate conclusions from collected data, and 4. Evaluate and consider appropriate aspects of consumer behavior when developing and revising marketing programs. Required Textbook The textbook we will use for this class is: Schiffman, Leon and Leslie Kanuk (2010), Consumer Behavior, 10th ed., Prentice Hall (ISBN-10: 0135053013). [An electronic version is also available at www.coursesmart.com (just enter the ISBN number).] OR Schiffman, Leon and Joseph Wisenblit (2015), Consumer Behavior, 11th ed., Pearson (ISBN10: 0132544369) OR Schiffman, Leon and Joseph Wisenblit (2019), Consumer Behavior, 12th ed., Pearson (ISBN10: 9780134734828) Note: the day by day schedule refers to the chapter numbers as indicated in the 10th edition [so, if you purchase the 11th edition, make sure refer to the day by day schedule by topic, and not by chapter number]. This textbook will provide you with a comprehensive background of various topics in the study of consumer behavior. Please read assigned chapters thoroughly before class. We’ll spend our time in class expanding on and illustrating the assigned topics and discussing things that might not be covered in the text. We won’t talk in class about each and every text topic—I’ll rely on you to ask questions about anything that you don’t understand. And, of course, I would hope you’ll know the text material very well at test times. Blackboard website 2 This course will have a Blackboard website. Course materials such as PowerPoint notes, class handouts, and assignment information will be made available on Blackboard. It is strongly recommended that you obtain the notes prior to each class and review them along with the assigned chapter(s) so check the Blackboard website often and regularly. Also, you will be asked to submit most of the assignments via blackboard. Grading Your grade will be based on exams and other assignments in the following way:  Class Participation 10%  Field projects 28%  EXAM 1 20%  EXAM 2 20%  Group project Report 12%  Group Project Presentation 10% Note that the grading structure is the following: A 93.0 – 100 A- 90.0 – 92.9 B+ 87.1 – 89.9 B 83.0 – 87.0 B- 80.0 – 82.9 C+ 77.1 – 79.9 C 73.0 – 77.0 C- 70.0 – 72.9 D 60.0 – 69.9 F Below 60.0 Each grade will be rounded to the first decimal. For example, a 92.89 course grade is going to be rounded to 92.9, which means A- (not A). So every point matters! Class Participation and Attendance Attending class is the minimum requirement for the course. The professor will circulate an attendance sheet during each class so please make sure to sign it. However, sitting in class is not enough; your contributions in class will weigh heavily on your participation grade. There will be several opportunities for class participation, including class discussions about the course material, your own examples and observations as a consumer, and team work exercises and activities throughout the semester. All these activities are designed to encourage you to think analytically about situations, which is a vital part of learning. Therefore, it is very important that you voice your thoughts and/or ask questions. When doing so, keep in mind that there are rarely right or wrong answers. However, there are strong and weak arguments. This course is designed to give you tools to help you make strong arguments for/against particular marketing tactics and strategies. I will expect you to 3 practice using these tools throughout the course. This means that you should strive to develop and communicate strong arguments whenever voicing an opinion in class. Note that if you limit your participation to sitting in class your participation grade will be a D at the most. Lastly, in the interest of facilitating in class-discussion and giving you proper credit for your participation, please have a name tag on your desk during each class AND hand-in a copy of the student information sheet on January 22nd (hard copy in class, which should include a small facial picture, see p.10). Exams There will be two exams. Questions will be theoretical, conceptual, and applied. They will cover any material presented in class, from the assigned readings, or from class activities. There will be a review during the class before the exam. In case a student misses an exam, a make-up will only be allowed in the case of a documented emergency. Field Projects and Applied assignments You will have a total of seven field projects or applied assignments that are worth 4% each of your total grade. On the due date, please submit its electronic version on blackboard. The projects will be discussed during the class prior to their deadline. Here follows a complete least of the projects: #1 JOB POSTINGS (due on Jan 29th): Find 5 different job ads (internships or permanent jobs) in marketing or other business areas that interest you. Aim for as much variety as possible. At least one of these jobs should be at a global company (e.g., Nestle, P&G, Unilever, etc.). At least one of these jobs should be at a relatively small company in NYC and/or a business-to-business or digital enterprise. (a) Provide web links to the descriptions of each of these 5 jobs. (b) Which of these jobs most closely aligns with your personal values and how? (c) Identify all the educational, experiential, psychological, and practical hurdles you might face in securing these jobs. (d) Enumerate the steps that you are going to take to overcome these hurdles and get these jobs/internships in the next few months. #2 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION (due on Feb 12th). Review any five theories of motivation listed at the following link http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/a_motivation.htm. (a) Search the web for multiple descriptions of each theory. Summarize the key claims of each theory in your own words. (b) For each theory, describe how learning about this theory has given you new insights into routine consumer behaviors (e.g., drinking coffee, checking email, surfing Facebook, etc.). It could be useful to organize your responses in a two-column table: “Theory” on the left, “Insights” on the right. #3 ASSOCIATIVE NETWORKS (due on Feb 19) Imagine you are a manager of a brand of your choosing (e.g., Pepsi). (a) Draw associative networks for your brand and its major 4 competitor (e.g., Coke). (b) Identify your top 3 target markets (e.g., middle-class families buying in bulk, sports fans at stadiums, college students in campus dining halls, etc.). Explain the market segmentation thought process that led to your conclusions. (c) Based on your associative networks, answer the following question. When marketing to each of your top 3 target markets, which brand associations would you highlight and why? (d) Research how your brand is currently advertising itself to different target markets. In what ways does its advertising strategy seem effective and ineffective? #4 SENSORY MARKETING (due on March 11th). Go to a local restaurant (e.g., Michelangelo) or retailer (e.g., Walgreens). Name the location and answer the following questions. (a) What are the customers experiencing through each of their five senses - hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch? (b) What in this environment could be added, subtracted, or changed to enhance the overall customer experience? Explain how each of your recommended changes would affect consumer behavior in this environment. #5 ELM EMAIL (due on March 25th). This project is composed of a few parts (a) Compose an email to a junior advertising account executive explaining the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). (b) Educate the advertising executive on all the ways in which content and style in (i) brand webpages, (ii) highway billboard ads, (iii) print magazine ads, and (iv) online banner ads tend to differ and why. (c) Imagine an integrated marketing campaign for a new product that will be launched next year. Design and deliver a one-page print magazine ad mockup. You can create it from scratch or collage existing images. Be sure to explain how the print magazine ad reflects your fresh knowledge of consumer behavior. #6 ARTICLES AND APPLICATIONS (due on April 8th) (a) Select any 2 of the following recent articles from HBR on Marketing. Please a) indicate your choice (b) Summarize the key messages of each article in your own words. (c) Describe how each article applies to a different marketing problem that brands you know well are facing. Using ideas borrowed from each article, please recommend actionable solutions to each problem. The New Science of Consumer Emotions: https://hbr.org/2015/11/the-new-science-ofcustomer-emotions Change Consumer Behavior with These Five Levers: https://hbr.org/2012/11/changeconsumer-behavior-with Why Your Customers’ Social Identities Matter: https://hbr.org/2015/01/why-yourcustomers-social-identities-matter Don’t Persuade Customers — Just Change Their Behavior: https://hbr.org/2014/02/dontpersuade-customers-just-change-their-behavior 5 #7 THE PARADOX OF CHOICE (due on April 15th). Watch the following talks by Gladwell and Schwartz on choice. http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html Then, (a) Summarize Malcom Gladwell’s arguments in your own words. (b) Summarize Barry Schwartz’s arguments in your own words. (c) Who do you agree with more and why? (d) Develop your own argument, one that forges a strategic compromise between Malcolm and Barry’s arguments. Don’t say “it depends.” Do say what “ it depends on…” Your argument should answer the question “when and why is Malcolm/Barry right?” (e) If you were the Ragu brand architect trying to decide how many varieties of Ragu pasta sauce should be created and sold at supermarkets, how would you arrive at a final number? Explain your thought process. (f) Would your response to (e ) vary depending on whether you are selling your product online (vs. offline)? Why or why not? When motivating your answer, make sure to explicitly refer to consumers’ choice process in an online (vs. offline) shopping experience. Group Project Report/ Presentation Groups will be formed at the beginning of the semester. Each group will hand in a group report and make an oral presentation in class at the end of the semester. A primary objective of this project is to provide students with direct experience in exploring aspects of consumer behavior and developing marketing applications. A second objective of this exercise is to provide an opportunity for students to practice their communication and presentation skills. Thus, all projects should be written professionally, and carefully proofread. They should also be presented using appropriate media such as PowerPoint. Presentations should be creative and interesting. Further details will be provided during the course of the semester. In the meantime, please consider the following key guidelines: ● Select a product that is not (or no longer) popular with consumers ● Conduct consumer research (primary/secondary data collection/analysis) and present your main findings. ● Renovate the marketing strategy (segmentation/targeting/differentiation/positioning) ● Renovate the marketing mix (placement, pricing, promotion, product) ● Explicitly state how critical renovations are linked to consumer interests When doing so it is extremely important that you:  Utilize tables and charts where appropriate to summarize data. 6  Explain whether the findings are consistent with what you would expect based on consumer behavior theory, when appropriate. If your findings are different from what would be predicted based on consumer behavior theory, explain why. It is perfectly fine if your findings conflict with what the “book” says. In fact, presenting and explaining unanticipated results can make for a very strong paper.  Support your conclusions and recommendations using findings from your research. For example, if you have quotes from someone, present the supporting quotes. If you conducted a survey, present the findings in a summary form. It is critical that you support your analyses with references to the information provided by your sample.  Utilize appropriate consumer behavior terminology. Rules: 1. Groups should consist of approximately 4-5 people. 2. Group reports are due on April 21st. Please bring a hard copy to class AND submit its electric version on blackboard (only one submission per group). 3. Group presentations are on the last two days of class. Each member of the team must present. Please plan accordingly. On the day in which your team is scheduled to present you must submit on blackboard a copy of your presentation (again, one submission per group). 4. It will be necessary for you to confer periodically outside of class to coordinate, and complete assigned activities. Some class time will be allocated for this. 5. Do not plagiarize. Any plagiarized work will receive a zero as a grade. Students will also be reported to the Dean. 6. All team members must participate in the oral presentations and its preparation. Specifically, it is important that every group member makes fair contribution to the project and to the final presentation. To this end, attached to the syllabus you will find a peer evaluation form (each member can choose to complete this form and submit it along with the written report). If a member of the group receives consistently low evaluations, I may lower that member’s grade. Note that this form is optional- if all members of the team are happy, there is no need to submit the form. Policies: Late Policy: Please remember that arriving late to class is disruptive. In addition, assignments will not be accepted if they are handed in after the due date; late assignments receive 5 points off for each day they are late. Make-up exams will be given only for a documented emergency. Cell phone/Laptop Policy: A successful class depends on the active attention and engagement of everyone in the classroom. You cannot be actively attentive and engaged at the same time you 7 are checking email, texting, or surfing the internet. So please restrict the use of your laptop only to class activities. Classroom Etiquette: Everyone in the classroom has the right to voice their opinions. While there should be debates and differences of opinion, tone and language should be respectful. Please act as you would during an important business meeting (cell phones, beepers turned off, and no personal or side conversations while someone is speaking to the class). Responsibility: It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of all handouts, assignments, due dates and announcements given in class and via the course website. The Honor Code Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and they are encouraged and promoted by the honor system. It is the responsibility of the students and is governed by the students. As your instructor, I share the commitment to the ideals of the honor system. All inclass exams will be taken without notes, text, or help from other students and the assignments completed within the same required honor system framework. Furthermore, all credit needs to be given when due including proper referencing and citation of work of others. In addition, all group assignments will be completed without consultation with other groups. Anyone caught engaging in such activities will be dealt with according to the University’s academic honesty policy. In addition, any student who breaks academic rules will receive a zero for that assignment. 8 Day Date Topics Homework W Jan-15 Course Overview and Introduction Consumer Behavior: Changes and Challenges Read Chapter 1 W Jan-22 Consumer Research Process; time for group project; FP1 overview Read chapter 2 & hand in Student Information Sheet (hard copy in class) W Jan-29 Market Segmentation and Strategic Positioning; Time for group project (prepare your proposals) Read chapter 3 & Field project 1 due (JOB POSTINGS; submit on blackboard before class) W Feb-5 Consumer Motivation – FP2 overview Read chapter 4- Group proposal due (submit on blackboard) W Feb-12 Personality and Consumer BehaviorFP3 overview Group proposals- feedback Read chapter 5 + Field project 2 due (THEORIES OF MOTIVATION; blackboard) W Feb-19 Personality and CB.. Cont’d Exam review Time for group project Field project 3 due (ASSOCIATIVE NETWORKS; blackboard) W Feb-26 EXAM 1 STUDY Chapters 1-5 W Mar-4 PerceptionFP4 overview Read chapter 6 W Mar-11 Consumer Learning FP5 overview Read chapter 7 & Field project 4 due (SENSORY MARKETING; blackboard) W Mar-18 No class – spring recess W Mar-25 Attitude Formation/Change Read chapter 8 + Field project 5 due (ELM mail; blackboard) W April-1 The Family and Its Social Class Standing; Influence of Culture on CB time for group project; FP6 Overview Read chapters 10 & 11 W April-8 Culture and CB.. cont’d time for group project - FP 7 overview Field project 6 due (ARTICLES AND APPLICATIONS; blackboard) W April 15 Decision Making and Beyond Exam Review; Q&A Group report/PPT Read Chapter 15 & Field project 7 due (CHOICE; blackboard) Have your questions ready! W April 22 EXAM 2 Study Chapters 6-8, 10-11,15 W April 29 Presentations Group Report is due (hard copy in class + electronic copy via blackboard + submit presentation slides 9 STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET (January 22nd) (please write legibly) Photo Course Number: Family Name: First Name: Major and Year: E-mail Address: Expected Graduation Date: Career goals: Anything else that you’d like to add: 10 Peer Evaluation Form Since you need to work as a team in your group project, you will also evaluate each other’s performance. Each member of the group can choose to complete this form and submit it along with the written report. The purpose of this form is to let me know whether all members of the groups are making fair contributions to the final product. If a member of the group receives consistently low evaluations, I may lower that member’s grade. (This form is optional- if everyone in the group is happy, you don’t need to submit it.) Name of your team members (excluding yours) Grade (out of 10) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) YOU (name)_____________________ ______________ Date: Signature: 11