Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer
Ronald Innis
Contact via Email, 0425157538 for emergencies
None
By appointment by email, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 10-11am
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
MKTG101
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit examines the external and internal factors that influence people's behaviour in a purchase situation. The unit provides a conceptual understanding of consumer behaviour, integrating theories from psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology and economics. The discipline-specific knowledge students should gain from this unit is to understand how and why consumers, including those from South–East Asia, make decisions to purchase, use and eventually dispose of products and services. This should also result in a better understanding of consumerism issues in both for-profit and non-profit sectors.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
MKTG203 has been designed to provide you with an introduction to the field of consumer behaviour. This unit has been designed to build upon the knowledge and skills you acquired from studying Marketing Fundamentals (MKTG101). We are all consumers. We buy a range of items from luxury goods, to mobile phones, computers, cars, and everyday items such as groceries. We use services daily when we study online, do our telephone banking, visit our favourite café/restaurant, go the doctor, or get our hair cut. Despite this commonality, we know that consumers are different from one another. We buy different phones, visit different banks, prefer different restaurants, and wear different clothes. Even within these categories our decisions change on every purchase occasion as we are influenced by the people and information that surrounds us. With this state of flux, how can we construct coherent marketing strategies to target consumers effectively?
In this class we will try to learn how and why consumers behave the way that they do. We will study theories from marketing, psychology and the behavioral sciences and we will attempt to use these theories to predict how consumers will respond to different marketing activities. You will have the opportunity to apply this theory through the analysis of a variety of real-world examples directed at amplifying your understanding of how consumer behaviour concepts are used.
This is a 3 credit point unit.
Details of Assessment
Assessed Coursework 10%
Random collection x3 typed one page responses worth 10% in total (worth 3%, 3% and 4%) due between week 2-12
Each week you are required to type a minimum 1 page response to the set questions for that week PRIOR to your tutorial. The schedule for this, and the set topic questions are outline in the "Unit Schedule" and are titled "Assessments due for discussion" each week. These responses must be brought to class. Your tutor will RANDOMLY collect three (3) of these responses for marking throughout the semester. These are respectively worth 3%, 3% and 4% each. You will be told at the START of your tutorial that your responses will be collected for marking. You will not receive prior notice of a collection. You must therefore ensure that you write your responses each week, and bring them to class.
The set questions are outlined in the presentation schedule contained in Appendix A.
Participation 10% - between block 2-12 inclusive
Each week you are required to type a minimum 1 page response to the set questions (ie. "Assessments due for discussion"). Discussion of the solutions in class attracts 1% per tutorial for a total of 10 tutorials to a maximum of 10%. In class you are required to verbally participate in class discussions by offering a substantive contribution. Your class participation grade will be composed of the quality of your verbal participation in class in response to the weekly assessed coursework topics and any other material discussed in tutorials. Each week you will receive a score of 1% or 0% between blocks 2 and 12 inclusive.
Attending classes will substantially increase your understanding of the assigned readings and provide you with insight into issues beyond those covered in the readings. It will also give you the opportunity to actively participate in class discussions and obtain a better class participation grade. Note, however, that your mere presence is not sufficient to earn points for class participation. The quantity and, especially, the quality of your contributions to class discussions are also essential.
NB. If you miss one class in which verbal participation was assessed and if you meet the criteria for "Disruption to studies", please apply. If approved, your class particpation and typed responses will be assessed in an alternate week.
NB: Knowledge of the content in the set questions and knowledge gained from the class discussions will assist with preparing for the exam.
Details of Assessment
Investigative essay 40%
Students are required to complete an individual essay during the course.
The essay topic is as follows:
“While marketers do their best to imbue brands with positive, motivating values and associations, marketers do not decide a brand's ultimate meaning. Consumers do – and sometimes they find relevance, purpose and significance that the brand's creators may not have seen or intended. DISCUSS”. – Dorothy Fitch, global analyst, Millward Brown
This is an essay based on scholarly journal article research, theory and critical evaluation/synthesis (not mere description). You must support your answer with a minimum of 6 journal articles (can be peer reviewed or otherwise but must be from sources classified as Journals). The essays upper word limit is 2,500 words. There is no minimum word limit. The upper word limit is strict. NB. The word limit does not include; title page/cover page, sub-headings, reference list (it does include in-text citations), appendix.
Notes:
Your report must be submitted online VIA iLearn for MKTG203:
Submit softcopy to the plagiarism detection system ‘Turnitin’ VIA iLearn before the deadline on Wednesday January 14 prior to the start of block 12 by 11:59pm
Please make sure that you are submitting to the correct dropbox.
Please note the following:
Final Examination
This 3 hour examination is worth 40% of your course assessment.
The weighting of your final exam is as follows:
4 mini essay Questions Answer all |
Worth 40% of your total assessment |
You are expected to clearly demonstrate knowledge from the following sources in your final exam;
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Tutorial Activities | 10% | Blocks 2-12 |
Specialist essay topic | 40% | Wednesday prior to Block 12. |
Final Examination | 40% | Formal exam period |
Weekly Assessed Coursework | 10% | Blocks 2-12 |
Due: Blocks 2-12
Weighting: 10%
Each week you are required to write a minimum 1 page response to the set questions PRIOR to your tutorial. These responses must be brought to class for discussion. Discussion of the solutions in class attracts 1% per tutorial for a total of 10 tutorials to a maximum of 10%. In class you are required to verbally participate in class discussions by offering a substantive contribution.
See Unit Schedule for due dates
Due: Wednesday prior to Block 12.
Weighting: 40%
Investigative essay - Due electronically in softcopy to Turnitin using iLearn 11:59pm sharp Wednesday January 14, 2014 prior to Block 12 of week 12.
Due: Formal exam period
Weighting: 40%
Consists of 4 mini essay style answers.
Due: Blocks 2-12
Weighting: 10%
Random collection x3 responses worth 10% in total (worth 3%, 3% and 4%).
Each week you are required to write a minimum 1 page response to the set questions for that week PRIOR to your tutorial. These responses must be brought to class. Your tutor will RANDOMLY collect three (3) of these responses for marking throughout the semester. You will be told at the START of your tutorial that your responses will be collected for marking. You will not receive prior notice of a collection. You must therefore ensure that you write your responses each week, and bring them to class.
The topics due between blocks 2-12 and indicated in the unit schedule each week as "Assessment due for discussion".
Required and Recommended texts and/or materials
One Required Textbook
Consumer Behaviour, 6th edition
Schiffman, St John's University Aron O'Cass, University of Tasmania Angela Paladino, University of Melbourne Jamie Carlson, University of Newcastle
ISBN-10: 144256153X ISBN-13: 9781442561533
Publisher: Pearson Education Australia Copyright: 2014
*Please note the 5th edition is also acceptable however you will need to cross check your weekly reading content against the 6th edition.
Highly Recommended Reading
Writing Skills
Burton, L. 2010. An Interactive Approach to Writing Essays and Research Reports in Psychology, John Wiley & Sons, Australia
McMillan, K. & Weyers, J. 2010. How to Write Essays & Assignments, Pearson Education, United Kingdom.
Researching Skills - Journals
In addition to the required textbook for this Unit, you should familiarise yourself with the relevant periodical section of the library. Journals recommended for your study in marketing include:
Recommended Research Databases
You should also familiarize yourself with key research databases available for access through the library. Databases recommended for your study in marketing include:
Consultation
teaching staff are there to assist you. Please email them directly to confirm their consultation times.
Please remember that your Tutors is your first port of call for all queries relating to the course content and that you may contact them directly via email.
If your query relates to administration please post your question on the iLearn forum under the “Administrative discussion” forum.
An ‘Exam discussion” folder, and an “essay discussion” folder are also available for student-student discussion. These folders will be checked by staff of the unit if clarification on a major point is required.
All important messages and announcements will be posted on the iLearn site regularly by staff and you must take the time to read these each week.
The iLearn site is a public forum that everyone in the unit is able to access and read. The site can be found at the following link:http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
All lecture streams in this unit will be recorded using iLearn.
Please check your Timetable for class session times via the timetables portal: http://timetables.mq.edu.au
Learning Activities Schedule – Lecture & Tutorial Schedule
Teaching Block |
Lecture Schedule |
Tutorial Schedule and Tasks |
1 Mon 8/12/14
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Foundations |
READ: Chapter 1
No tutorials
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2 Tues 9/12/14
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Market segmentation |
READ: Chapter 2
Introduction to course, course structure, assessments, study approach, & tutor expectations
In-class Discussion Values and consumption. Who is wearing what and why? Why do we consume? Who are we trying to be?
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Exercise question 2 page 27
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3 Thurs 11/12/14 |
Needs and motivation |
READ: Chapter 3
In-class discussion What are values, why are they important, how can they be used in marketing? Example?
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Exercise question 5 page 67
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4 Mon 15/12/14 |
Personality and self-concept
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READ: Chapter 4
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up: Projective techniques: Select 3 visual images that represent how you feel about studying for your degree at Macquarie. These images can be of anything you choose. Discuss these images as they relate to your own needs, goals and motivations. NB. Attach copies of your ads to your submission
Task 2. Discussion of referencing and paraphrasing.
Homework: Complete the three research skill modules on iLearn
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5 Tues 16/12/14 |
Perception
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READ: Chapter 5
In-class discussion What is self-concept? Why is it important for marketers to understand?
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Step 1: Visit the link below to take a personality assessment using the Big Five. Print a copy of your result and attach it to your submission. Within the test click the link that says “click here” to learn more about each OCEAN dimension. http://drphil.com/shows/bigfivepersonalityquiz
Step 2:With reference to your results for step 1, complete exercise question 1 page 141
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6 Thurs 18/12/14 |
Learning and Involvement
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READ: Chapter 6
In-class discussion What is a servicescape, what are its elements and how does it influence consumer perception?
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Exercise question 4 page 191 .Session 3 Break - December 19 , 2014 to January 02, 2015 |
7 Mon 5/01/15 |
Attitudes
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Read ; Chapter 7 Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Exercise Question 4, page 239 |
8 Tues 6/01/15 |
Social influences
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READ: Chapter 8
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Visit the following website to view the photo : http://chasethis.me/2011/06/02/who-is-your-brand/ Interpret this image in light of attitude formation and development theory. Exercise question 3 page 274
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9 Thurs 8/01/15 |
Culture |
READ: 11
Class time allocated to group report and Q&A with tutor.
You must bring a mind map of ideas/themes you feel relate to the topic AND a 2 page summary of at least 3 articles that you have selected for inclusion in your report and the way in which they relate/link to the essay topic.
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10 Mon 12/01/15 |
Cross-cultural influences |
READ: Chapter 13
You must bring a 2 page summary of your second set of 3 articles that you have selected PLUS your detailed table of contents with your chosen “themes” fleshed out with bullet point details/links to the essay topic.
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Exercise question – Set by your tutor
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11 Tues 13/01/15 |
Decision making
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READ: Chapter 14
Assessment due for discussion: Draft of your essay structure including; the major theoretical themes you will be writing to, and bullet points outlining the evidence-based points that you intend to make in your essay under each theme. Minimum of 2 pages, and a maximum of 4 pages.
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12 Thurs 15/01/15
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Read Chapter Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up Exercise question - set by your tutor |
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13 Mon 19/01/15 |
Exam Review & Tips |
Class driven Q&A tutorial session
Unit and Lecturer Evaluations
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READ: Chapter 7
Assessment due for discussion: 1 page type-up
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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Changes from previous offering: Five assessed coursework submissions (30%), group project (30%), exam (40%)
ESSAY WRITING SKILLS
Writing the Introduction
The introduction outlines the topic that you are going to address, states the purpose of the essay and outlines the main points you will argue. It is typically only a few paragraphs long and is designed to capture the readers interest and attention. Tips on writing an introduction are provided next:
Organising the Information to Start Writing
Now that you have an outline of what it is that you need to write about and how you will structure your report, you now need to start the writing process. Organising your information throughout is essential. Some tips are provided next:
Paraphrasing
Why is referencing important? Referencing is important for two main reasons. Firstly it allows you to acknowledge the source of the information that you have included in your work. Whenever you use someone else’s ideas in your report, you must in-text cite their work. Secondly, in-text citations within your report allow the reader to identify the original source of the idea.
Referencing therefore ensures that you do not commit plagiarism. Plagiarism is the copying of other authors ideas and passing them off as your own. Its something to be avoided as it is equivalent to cheating. Plagiarism will lead to a grade of zero. In MKTG101 we use Turnitin to assist us in the process of identifying plagiarism.
In order to avoid plagiarism you need to undertake paraphrasing. This means rewriting the original idea in your own words to explain the idea. Think about the following example. The original sentence taken from Bowden (2010) said:
Similar to satisfaction, delight may also be influenced by the customer’s anticipatory expectations. That is, in highly hedonic service contexts where customers have high anticipatory expectations shaped by strong brand equity and strong word of mouth recommendation, the customer may expect to be delighted.
It is not appropriate to simply change a few words in every sentence and then place an in-text citation at the end of the sentence. You would be guilty of plagiarising if you wrote:
In highly hedonic service contexts here there is strong brand equity and strong word of mouth recommendation, delight, like satisfaction can be influenced by the customer’s anticipatory expectations (Bowden, 2010).
In order to avoid plagiarism you need to put the ideas into your own words and cite the original author of the idea:
Bowden (2010) found that the nature of the service context strongly influenced customer’s expectations of the service delivered. Where customers’ a priori expectations were considered to be high and where brand equity played a significant role in shaping these expectations, customers expected to feel delighted by the service.
Practice your paraphrasing skills with the following pointers:
In-Text Citations
An in-text citation is an acknowledgement of the sources that you have used in your report. In an in-text citation you write the authors surname and the year that the article was published in. In MKTG101 we use the Harvard author-date convention of referencing and in text citations. This is a specific style as illustrated below.
The citation can be placed at the start of a sentence, or at the end of a sentence where you have used another author’s ideas.
At the end of a sentence the in-text citation is placed in parentheses and is separated by a comma:
The study concluded that delight was not an important determinant of customer loyalty (Bowden, 2010).
At the start of a sentence, the author’s name becomes a part of the sentence itself:
Bowden (2010) found that delight was not an important determinant of customer loyalty.
If there are three or more author’s of the article you have read you simply cite the first authors name and then add the words et al. This is a latin abbreviation for “and others.” A full stop must be included after the “al.”.An example of this is as follows:
The study concluded that delight was not an important determinant of customer loyalty (Bowden et al. 2010).
Quotations are a special case of citation. Quotations used in MKTG1O1 essays should be short and limited to one or two sentences in length. It is advisable to limit the number of quotations that you use to around 5 per essay. Quotations should be placed inside quotation marks and cited using the authors name, year of publication and the page from which the quotation came from.
“Delight may be influenced by the customer’s anticipatory expectations. That is, in highly hedonic service contexts where customers have high anticipatory expectations shaped by strong brand equity and strong word of mouth recommendation, the customer may expect to be delighted” (Bowden, 2010, p. 13).
You should always try to read original sources rather than relying on the summaries that other authors have provided you with. However sometimes you may need to include a secondary source in your in text referencing. Citing a secondary source requires you to acknowledge two sets of authors – that is, the authors of the article you are reading (primary source) and the original source which you have not read (secondary source). For example:
Delight is defined as a distinct and separate evaluative response to the satisfaction response (Oliver et al. 1997 cited in Bowden, 2010).
In the reference list (to be discussed next) you would only include the article that you have actually read. So using the above example you would only include Bowden, 2010.
Concluding
The conclusion summarises your main points. You should not introduce any new material in the conclusion that have not already been discussed. In the conclusion you describe the answers to the research topic that was set.
The information above was adapted from the following text which is in the reserve section of the library and which is also available for purchase from the Co-op Bookshop on campus: Burton, L. 2010. An Interactive Approach to Writing Essays and Research Reports in Psychology, John Wiley & Sons, Australia
Reference List – Journal articles & Books
A reference list provides the reader of your essay with full publication details of all of the sources that you have used in your essay. Like the in text citations, a reference list allows the reader to identify where you have obtained your information from and to retrieve it if necessary. A reference list only includes those sources you have actually cited in-text. It does not include sources you have simply read but have not used in your essay. Reference lists should be compiled in alphabetical order.
Journal articles are your primary source of material for this essay task. A journal article reference includes the following, author’s surname, first name initial, year of publication, title of publication, journal title from which the publication came, volume of journal, issue number of journal and page references for the article. An example is provided next:
Bowden, J., 2009. Customer Engagement: A Framework for Assessing Customer-Brand Relationships. The Case of the Restaurant Industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 18 (6), 574-596.
It is important that each of these elements in the reference are presented exactly as above. This includes ensuring that the journal title is in italics; that a full stop and a comma follows the authors initial; that a full stop follows the title of the article; that the issue number is in brackets etc.
You may wish to use the referencing convention for Harvard Author-Date as presented in the above. This style is based on that of McMillan, K. and Weyers, J., 2010. How to Write Essays & Assignments, United Kingdom: Pearson Education.
ALTERNATIVELY you may wish to refer to the Macquarie University Referencing resource website (Monash University, University of Queensland, University of Leeds, University of Western Cape):
http://www.library.mq.edu.au/research/referencing.html
For further information on referencing and essay writing it is highly recommended that you obtain a copy of one of the following texts from the reserve section of the library or from the Co-Op Bookshop.
Burton, L. 2010. An Interactive Approach to Writing Essays and Research Reports in Psychology, John Wiley & Sons, Australia
McMillan, K. and Weyers, J., 2010. How to Write Essays & Assignments, United Kingdom: Pearson Education.
MKTG203 builds on material introduced in previous marketing units. In doing so, the unit has a dual focus. The first objective is to develop students' skills in using theoretical research in marketing to develop a sound knowledge of the complexities of consumer behaviour. The second objective is to introduce students to the practice of consumer behaviour and familiarise them with marketing strategies which are designed to more effectively target consumers.