MKT 3230 A01 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR June Day, Summer 2014

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1 MKT 3230 A01 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR June Day, Summer 2014 Hello! I am Subramanian Sivaramakrishnan. I go by the easier "Subbu". My office is 316 Drake. You can reach me at or subbu.s@umanitoba.ca. My office hours are by appointment. Talk to me or and we can make a mutually convenient appointment. Or you can talk to me right after class if you wish. P.S.: If you have a question that may require a long answer, please ask me in person rather than e- mailing. Thanks. Why a course in Consumer Behaviour? Why do department stores usually play soft, slow music? When is a black-and-white ad more effective than a color ad? When we are considering purchasing a particular brand of laptop, why do we notice others using that laptop brand a lot more? Are we more likely to donate money to charity when we are happy or when we are sad? Why do some millionaires drive rusty old cars? All these questions relate to consumer psychology. At the end of this course, you will know the answers to questions such as these. Why should we know the answers to such questions? If a firm is to be successful, it needs to have a good understanding of how its customers think and why they behave the way they do. Rarely does a marketing strategy work if it doesn t consider how consumers would react. Think about it. Wouldn t you be a much better marketer if you had a good understanding of what goes on in consumers heads? That s what this course will help you do. We will examine many concepts from areas such as psychology, sociology, and marketing and discuss their applications in developing effective marketing strategies. No, we are not going to learn how to manipulate consumers. Rather we are going to learn how to satisfy their needs and wants better. A convenient aspect of this course is that we, being consumers ourselves, can draw on our everyday experiences to understand the consumer behavior theories we will be discussing. At the end of this course, you will find yourself reading into strategies that marketers use. A by-product of this course that you will also be a smarter consumer by the end of it. What are the objectives of the course? 1. Help you recognize the importance of understanding consumer behavior for successful marketing. 2. Introduce you to consumer behavior theories and their applications in marketing. 3. Help you appreciate the application of consumer behavior concepts around us. What book will we use? Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, and Being, Sixth Canadian Edition, 2014, Michael R. Solomon, Katherine White, and Darren Dahl, Pearson Education Canada.

2 How will this course be taught? Class discussions and thinking exercises form a major component of this course. Discussions will be based not only on the book, but also from other sources. Due to the inability of the human brain to take in too much in too little time, we will not be able to cover the book page by page. However, the important portions will be discussed. Discussion format will be very interactive. Out-of-Class Communication I will be posting PowerPoint files, other class-related files, and grades on Desire2Learn (D2L). Moreover, any announcements outside of class will be sent by from D2L. As that mail goes to your D2L mail Inbox by default (not your UofM mail inbox), please check your D2L mail regularly or have it permanently forwarded to any other account by using the forward feature (available under Mail Preferences). But, remember to put the D2L-forwarded mail in the Safe List of your other account, as it may end up in the Junk/Spam Mail folder otherwise. FAQ: What s your grading scale? There will be four components to the grading: Midterm Exam (June 12) - 30 % Final Exam (June 26; as per univ schedule) - 30 % Individual Assignment (due June 20) - 20 % Group Project (due July 1) - 20 % I will be using the following letter-grading scheme: 93 A+ 75 C+ 90 A 70 C 85 B+ 60 D 80 B <60 F I know my grading scale is higher than in many other courses. But then, usually so also is the mean in my classes. As a guide, the overall mean was 86% the last time I taught this course. Exams: The exam will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. The exact format of the exams will be announced sufficiently in advance. Assignment: The assignment instructions are available on D2L and will be explained in class. You should work on the Individual Assignment individually (duh!). If you need help with the assignment, talk to me. Seeking help from or collaborating with anyone else constitutes academic dishonesty. Please consult the Academic Integrity Sheet attached to this outline to see what is (un)acceptable. Assignments turned in late will lose 1 mark per day. Group Project: The project instructions are available on D2L and will be explained in class. You will be assigned to a team for this project. Teamwork is expected. In the event of one group member engaging in academic dishonesty such as plagiarism, the entire group will be subject to disciplinary hearings until the guilty person is identified. Therefore, it is in your best interest to confirm the group paper is legit before it is submitted. After your group has submitted its group project, there will be a confidential peer evaluation to prevent free-riders from earning marks off others work. Projects turned in late will lose 1 mark per day.

3 Make-up Exam Policy If you have to miss an exam for medical reasons, you should inform me by phone before the exam has begun (call or leave a voice mail) and subsequently provide a doctor s note (see attached Medical Absenteeism form). Informing me after the exam is not sufficient. In some cases, I may call the doctor s office to verify the validity of the doctor s note. If your absence is for an official universityrelated reason (e.g., academic conference or inter-university competition), the professor organizing the visit will have to inform me before the exam. Make-ups will not be given for any other reason. I cannot guarantee that the difficulty level of the makeup exam will be the same as the one the rest of the class got. Attendance Policy You are allowed to miss a maximum of 20% of the classes without a valid excuse. Excused absences include a medical reason (with doctor s note), travel for an approved academic event (the Undergrad Program Committee has a list of those), or death of a close family member. In each of the above cases, documentation will be required. No other reason is considered a valid excuse. If a student has over 3 unexcused absences, it will result in an automatic F grade in the course, as per the Asper School s Debarment Policy. There will be no exceptions to this rule. If you feel you will miss more than 3 classes without valid excuse, you are strongly encouraged to VW if possible. Attendance will be taken daily starting June 5. Arriving in class over 10 minutes late or leaving more than 10 minutes early (without my prior approval) will be considered absent for that class. Marking attendance for a friend who is absent is Academic Dishonesty and will be dealt with severely, often resulting in an F grade and possible debarment from the Asper School for both people concerned. Business Discipline An important part of business education is learning business etiquette. Therefore, we will follow some simple rules as if you were in a business setting. a. Turn off your cellphone or set it to silent mode. Absolutely no texting. Would you text if you were in an important business meeting? b. Don t walk in and out when the class is in progress unless it s a washroom emergency! c. If you are using a laptop, please sit in the last row. Otherwise, it tends to distract those sitting behind you. Practice self-control don t browse the Internet or check your in class. d. If you are over 10 minutes late to class, unless you have informed me previously, it s better not to show up rather than get noticed as a laggard. e. No matter how boring the class or how tired you are, don t sleep. You will be in many long, boring meetings at work, but you cannot afford to fall asleep there. So, start practicing to act interested now! Speak up! Rarely are silent people successful in business. Therefore, class participation is highly encouraged to develop your ability to speak in public and contribute to a business meeting. So, please make sure you come to class regularly and actively participate in class discussions.

4 Tentative Class Schedule Week of: June 2 - General Introduction; Chapter 1-4 June 9 - Chapters 5-8 June 16 - Chapter 9-13 June 23 - Chapters 14 and 15 Important Dates to Remember Attendance recording begins - June 5 Midterm Exam - June 12 VW deadline - June 18 Individual Assignment due - June 20 Final Exam (university final exam schedule) - June 26 Group Assignment due - July 1 Some Info About Me I m Acting Associate Dean at the Asper School and Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing. I have a Bachelor s degree in Mathematics and an MBA. After my Master s, I worked in marketing information systems before going to Penn State for a Ph.D. in marketing. Courses I have taught include Consumer Behavior, Marketing Research, Marketing Management, International Marketing, and Fundamentals of Marketing. I have also taught courses in the US, Spain, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. I have co-authored two editions of a Marketing Management and two editions of a Marketing Research textbook. My research is in the area of consumer behavior. Some of my recent publications have appeared in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, and Journal of Product & Brand Management. My hobbies include photography, badminton, cricket, and singing. * * * * * If the human brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn t. Emerson M. Pugh, Physicist

5 Academic Integrity: What You Need to Know It is critical to the reputation of the Asper School of Business and of our degrees that everyone associated with our faculty behave with the highest academic integrity. As the faculty that helps create business and government leaders, we have a special obligation to ensure that our ethical standards are beyond reproach. Any dishonesty in our academic transactions violates this trust. The University of Manitoba General Calendar addresses the issue of academic dishonesty under the heading Plagiarism and Cheating. Specifically, acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:! using the exact words of a published or unpublished author without quotation marks and without referencing the source of these words! duplicating a table, graph or diagram, in whole or in part, without referencing the source! paraphrasing the conceptual framework, research design, interpretation, or any other ideas of another person, whether written or verbal (e.g., personal communications, ideas from a verbal presentation) without referencing the source! copying the answers of another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment! providing answers to another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment! taking any unauthorized materials into an examination or term test (crib notes)! impersonating another student or allowing another person to impersonate oneself for the purpose of submitting academic work or writing any test or examination! stealing or mutilating library materials! accessing test prior to the time and date of the sitting! changing name or answer(s) on a test after that test has been graded and returned! submitting the same paper or portions thereof for more than one assignment, without discussions with the instructors involved Group Projects and Group Work Many courses in the Asper School of Business require group projects. Students should be aware that group projects are subject to the same rules regarding academic dishonesty. Because of the unique nature of group projects, all group members should exercise special care to ensure that the group project does not violate the policy on Academic Integrity. Should a violation occur, group members are jointly accountable unless the violation can be attributed to a specific individual(s). Some courses, while not requiring group projects, encourage students to work together in groups (or at least do not prohibit it) before submitting individual assignments. Students are encouraged to discuss this issue as it relates to academic integrity with their instructor to avoid violating this policy. In the Asper School of Business, all suspected cases of academic dishonesty are passed to the Dean's office in order to ensure consistency of treatment.

6 TYPICAL PENALTIES AT THE ASPER SCHOOL FOR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Ignorance of what constitutes academic dishonesty (e.g., when and how to cite sources) is no excuse. Therefore, make sure you read and understand the attached Academic Integrity: What You Need to Know sheet. In case of the student being from another Faculty, the student s home faculty often matches the suspension and/or adds penalties beyond the Asper School s. F-DISC on transcript indicates the F is for disciplinary reasons. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Cheating on exam (copying from or providing answers to another student) Possession of unauthorized material during exam (e.g., cheat notes) Altering answer on returned exam and asking for re-grading Plagiarism on assignment Submitting paper bought online Inappropriate Collaboration (collaborating with individuals not explicitly authorized by instructor) Group member had knowledge of inappropriate collaboration or plagiarism and played along Signing Attendance Sheet for classmate PENALTY Impersonation on exam Expulsion from University of Manitoba

7 University of Manitoba I.H. ASPER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MEDICAL ABSENTEEISM FORM STUDENT IDENTIFICATION: (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY) Last Name First Name U of M Student Number Course # Student s Signature Instructor Name Date TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: (after the above section is completed) (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY) Physician s Last Name Physician s First Name Street Address City, Province Postal Code Telephone Number Fax Number To the attention of the physician: Your evaluation of the student s condition is being used for the purpose of determining whether or not the student has a valid reason to miss an important exam or assignment. Your professional evaluation is necessary to ensure that only valid cases are excused. I certify that the nature of the student s condition is severe enough to prevent the student from taking an exam or completing an assignment. If requested, my associates or I will verify for the above named instructor/administrator that this information is accurate. The student s condition will likely span the following dates: until (Indicate start date) Physician s Signature (Indicate end date) Date NOTES TO PHYSICIAN: Please make a note in the student/patient s file indicating that the student has given the above named instructor/administrator permission to verify with you, your staff, or your colleagues, and that the information contained on this form is correct. Thank you for your professional evaluation of this student s condition. PLEASE ATTACH THIS FORM TO YOUR REGULAR OFFICE STATIONERY THAT INDICATES THE STUDENT VISITED YOUR OFFICE. NOTE TO STUDENT: The use of this form is at the option of the student. However, in order to obtain an excused absence for an assignment or exam, the student must obtain a doctor s certificate that the student s condition is severe enough to prevent the student from taking the exam or completing the assignment. It is NOT SUFFICIENT to provide a note that the student visited the doctor s office.