COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course provides an examination of why people buy things and offers students an appreciation of how products, services, and consumption activities contribute to our life experiences. Using a multi-disciplinary/multicultural approach, this course emphasizes the importance of understanding consumer behavior as a first step in formulating marketing strategy. Many of these possibilities are highlighted via lecture, discussion sessions and video cases.

TEXTBOOK & RESOURCES

Consumer Behavior: Being, Having, and Being, 4th edition, Michael R. Solomon.   Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall (Required). 

Prentice Hall's web site is located at www.prenhall.com/solomoncb.   It has a study guide and research section designed for marketing students.

GRADING POLICY

Grades will be based on the following:

ATTENDANCE /CLASS PARTICIPATION/DROP POLICY

As you know, intersession has a short, intensive course format.  Each class meeting is equivalent to a week of classes in the regular semester.  Students with perfect attendance will receive three points toward their final average.   Conversely, students are allowed to miss a maximum of three class meetings without penalty. Each absence over three will result in a 2 points deduction from his/her final average.

A student may drop this course with either a "withdraw/passing" or "excused" grade before JUNE 2.   After this point, no student will be allowed to drop the course with a "w/p" or "excused" grade.

TESTS

Major Exams: There will be two major exams, a mid-term and final. Each exam is worth 100 points and accounts for 25% of your final grade. The mid-term and final only cover information over the first and last part of the course, respectively. If a student wants to discuss a makeup, documentation must be provided to support the request. If a student takes a makeup without proper documentation, he/she automatically receives a one-letter grade reduction (10%) on the test score.

Mini-Tests: In addition, six mini-tests will be given on a random basis throughout the semester. They will be given on Wednesday and only pertain to that week’s chapter materials. It is extremely important that you keep up with the reading assignments and attend class. There are no makeup exams for mini-tests, but I will drop the lowest grade. Each mini-tests is worth 20 points (or 5%) of your final grade.

All exams contain multiple choice and true-false questions taken from the textbook and class lectures. Make sure to bring a no. 2 pencil. Cheating in any form will not tolerated. Disciplinary action may result in automatically receiving a grade of "F" for the course.

CLASS PRESENTATIONS

Each student or group of students (depending on class size) will be required to prepare a formal presentation of answers to research questions for a specific chapter. This is an excellent way of applying the concepts discussed in class. Your presentation should run approximately 25-30 minutes and cover the research questions at issue. A typed (double-spaced) report must accompany your presentation. This assignment is worth 100 points (or 25% of your final grade). Listed below are some general guidelines in preparing this assignment.

Getting Prepared - It is advised that the the presenter(s) discuss the presentation with the instructor to make sure all relevant issues are understood. As you can see by the nature of the questions, your efforts require various research techniques. It may require that you observe consumers in a retail store, research a special topic, gather magazine ads or tv commercials that depict some creative strategy, perform a short in-class survey, or interview a close friend or family member about her buying behavior. I’ve tried to strike a balance between outside research and your time constraints.

Make sure to have a group meeting at least 3 or 4 weeks prior to due date, get contributions from each individual on each research questions, divide work assignments, and meet again to make sure that you are well organized. Individuals who fail to meet with other group members or do not make a reasonable contribution may be dropped from the team.

Presentation - These are considered formal presentations and the use of visual aids such as overhead transparencies, product examples, etc. are recommended to enhance your discussion. Twenty-five to thirty minutes will be allocated for each case on the due date (see class schedule). An additional 10 to 15 minutes, if available, will be used for a general class discussion of relevant issues. During your presentation make sure to communicate effectively with your audience (keep eye contact and avoid too much reading) and be creative. Think about how you can present the issues in the most interesting manner.

Case Write-up - A typed (double-spaced) report must accompany your presentation. The report should include only your analysis of the research questions. Make sure to include any materials such as ads, research data, etc. as appendices. Your answers should apply the concepts in the chapter, be consistent with your presentation, and be prepared in the same typeface.

Grading - Your presentation team's grade is based on the case write-up (75%) and presentation quality (25%) Each team member will receive the same grade unless there is evidence that someone is not pulling his/her weight.

VIDEO CASES

Throughout the semester we will use video cases to focus on a variety of consumer behavior issues such as subliminal messages, brand personality, green marketing, and the like. Specific companies such as Nike, Intel, and Dupont will be highlighted as well. Lets see how real companies are applying consumer behavior to enhance their marketing efforts.

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE