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| I will not be teaching this course for a
while as I am working for my Union as Communications
Officer and it comes with teaching release. |
Calendar
Description Introduces students to
the general perspectives currently taken in the study of
consumer behaviour. Emphasis is on consumer decision processes
and the influence of social, cultural and psychological
factors on consumer behaviour SWP Prerequisites 1) For students in an Honours programme, 78 credits
including AK/ADMS2200 3.0 or AK/ADMS 3200 3.0 (prior to Summer
2005), or 2) other students, a grade of C+ or better in
AK/ADMS2200 3.0 or AK/ADMS3200 3.0 (prior to Summer 2005).
Course Credit Exclusion: None.
Additional Unofficial Prerequisites: You also must be
prepared to be present at every class and to pull your weight
in group work. These pages form part of the rules you agree to
by staying registered in this course.
Course Director
Professor M. Louise Ripley, M.B.A., Ph.D. (see
me here with my MG!)
Office: Atkinson 268C
Reach me at:
lripley@yorku.ca (not by telephone)
Course Consultation Hours: Monday and Wednesday afternoons
Course Time and Location
Monday and Wednesday nights 7-10
p.m., TBA
Catalogue
Number
XXXXXX
Organization of the Course This course is given in the special
fast-track summer S1 Session. We meet twice a week for
three hours for six weeks and then we're done; there is
no time to waste. Most group work is done in the
classroom. The first group assignment is due on the
first Wednesday of the course and each Wednesday after that
except the last one which due to the meeting of the
Congress
of the Humanities and Social
Sciences is due on a Monday (you gain extra time).
When you hand in the sixth assignment, you are done.
We meet in a traditional classroom, and I do some formal
lecturing at the start of each class, with the bulk of the
class time devoted to in-class work on the project; we also
may have a guest speaker. You cannot work
alone in this course and there is no provision for
make-up work. If you cannot commit to being here
the first night, being in class for every session if at all
possible, and doing your fair share of
group work, you should not enrol.
The
Course Kit for this course is only online, and consists of this Course
Syllabus and anything linked from
it. The web pages are colour coded: each course has its own
coloured stripe
down the left side. The Teaching
Policy Pages all have a common stripe; in addition
to the ground rules and information about communicating, grades,
and tests, there is page of frequently asked questions in courses I
teach, and a warranty page that tells you that after completing a course with me you have a life-long invitation to return,
either to ask for help or to give it, or just to chat.
At the top of this page
are links to pages that tell you about my schedule, teaching,
research, and service, some more about me, a page of important
other links, and a general alphabetical
index to my website.
Read some
Testimonials from
former students who liked the way this course is taught.
Important
Dates and Information
Start Date
xxxxxx End
Date xxxxxx6
Grade
Components Date xxxxxx
Last Day to Drop Without a Grade
xxxxxx
Last Day to Enrol Without Permission of
the Professor xxxxxx but you cannot make up work already missed
(Read here why I do
not give permission to enrol after this date or in a class that
is full)
Academic
Fees
Information About Helping Finance Your University Education
Dates
for
Withdrawal and Return of Fees |
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Course Readings and
Materials |
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Solomon, Michael
R. et. al. Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having,
and Being. Third Canadian Edition. Toronto:
Prentice Hall Canada. ISBN 0-13-121881-6
The
publisher also provides an
Online Study Guide. There
is also an online study guid available. There is a copy
of the textbook on 2 hour reserve in the Peter F.
Bronfman
Business Library in the Schulich School of Business,
Call Number PCOP.1600BG
| Warning:
Photocopying more than 10% of a
textbook is illegal, and may involve penalties. Do not
duplicate textbooks or obtain these
photocopies. |
| Supplementary Reading
Regular reading of a good daily newspaper and some of the
popular business magazines |
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Getting
Started |
| What You
Will Need To Complete This Course |
| To be registered: unless you are registered
in this section of this course, I cannot grade your work |
Regular access
to a Yorku.ca student (or York employee) email
account:
Click here to activate
We use this for group work
correspondence and it's how I contact you individually.
You also may provide me with a substitute email address |
| The
Webpage Learning Units prepared by the professor:
access these at any time; I use no passwords |
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Textbook:
find this at the
York University Bookstore
and
other places |
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Willingness to
participate in class discussion; review the Waving Hand
Exercises
in each week's online materials to prepare for discussion |
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| Time to spend in
class and in email contact with group members for the
Final Exam Substitute
Project |
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Course Purpose/Learning
Objectives
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In addition to the basic
learning objectives that are common to all
courses I teach, in this course I want you to develop an
appreciation for how the study of Consumer Behaviour can
help an organization to compete in the marketplace
today. We use Peter Drucker's classic questions:
Who
is our customer?
What
is of value to our customer?
What
business are/will/should we be in?
to help us understand why
consumers buy and have the things they do, how these
help define who they are, and how knowing all this helps
an organization better meet the needs of its consumers.
The course operates on the
edge of an interesting dichotomy. Since everyone has experience being a consumer, it is
often tempting to assume that we can generalize from our
own experience to understand the behaviour of potential
customers, and sometimes we can; one of the best
laboratories in which to study consumer behaviour is our
own behaviour as consumers. Yet as Marketers, we risk
profound misunderstanding if we automatically assume
that other people see the world and react to it in the
same way we do. One of the major goals of the course is
to help students learn to recognize the difference and
the balance between these two approaches.
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Expanded Course Description
We will examine the behaviour of customers both in general
through the study of theory and concepts, and specifically
in class discussion through examination of our own behaviour as consumers. In addition, in groups
usually of five, we will study the behaviour of consumers who
purchase a particular product; each group will then plan for
the introduction of a new product that also will be
attractive to those same customers. This term project
constitutes each group's assignments and final exam
substitute. All work is team-based in this course.
A NOTE ABOUT
TEAMWORK Part of the curriculum of Business
education is learning to work in teams; you cannot do
the Final Exam Substitute Group Project alone. Take a
look now at the project and be sure that you are willing
and able to commit to it the time and cooperation it
requires. It is a term-long project, and is not to be
left until the last week. Think through your current commitments to
such things as job, family, recreation, and health, and
decide whether you are prepared for this fast-paced
short-term course. If you are, then come prepared,
and be sure to keep track
of all contributions you make to your group, records of
written work submitted and what you "bring to the table"
for each meeting, in case there are debates later about
who contributed what. Students in past summers have said that
although the pace is fast and the demands of group work
high, they have learned more in this course than in most
others, partly because they are working with the
material in an in-depth demanding series of assignments
rather than memorizing for exams. It can be a good
experience, but you must accept responsibility for your
contribution to the teamwork.
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Evaluation
Summary and Description of Assignments
Effective writing is one of the most
important skills you can acquire in a university course,
and one that you will use in your education, your career
and your life; so too is the skill of following
instructions. All assignments in all courses I teach
require you to write well and to submit work properly.
Read carefully the full instructions on this web site on
Writing
Well for a Better Grade, on References,
and on Format
For Submitting Work Properly, and check out the
Writing Programmes. Do not assume that because you
have written papers before you have mastered the art;
writing is something we continually work on to improve.
For this course particularly, read about
Writing in Point
Form. The Six Wednesdays
Project
The Six
Wednesdays Project constitutes all the work you will
hand in for this class. It is all done as group work and
most of the group work is done in the classroom.
Assignment Type
(All Group
Work) |
% of Grade |
Due Date
(7:15
pm) |
Description
(click on link for further
description) |
| Assignment 1 |
6% |
May 3 |
See Part
1 |
| Assignment 2 |
14% |
May 10 |
See Part
2 |
| Assignment 3 |
20% |
May 17 |
See Part
3 |
| Assignment 4 |
24% |
June 7 |
See Part
4 |
| Assignment 5 |
16% |
June 14 |
See Part
5 |
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Final Exam
Substitute: Assignment 6 |
20% |
June 19 |
See Part
6 |
NOTE: A student's final course
grade is not necessarily confined to a compilation of
marks earned on individual course components. Final
course grades may be adjusted to conform to Programme or
Faculty grades distribution profiles. The average mark
in this course is usually a low B.
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If you took your required Introductory
Marketing prerequisite some time ago and would like a
review, click here to view the materials I use to teach
Intro on the
Internet |
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Grading, Assignment Submission,
Lateness Penalties and Missed Tests
Grading
The grading scheme for the course conforms to the
9-point grading system used in undergraduate programmes
at York. For a full
description of York grading system see the
York
University Undergraduate Calendar.
Students may take a limited number of courses for degree
credit on an ungraded (pass/fail) basis. For full
information on this option see
Alternative Grading
Option and scroll down to "Grading."
Assignment
Submission/Lateness
Penalty/Missed Tests: The assignments are due in the classroom by 7:15
on the date listed. This is it - there are no tests or
exams and your Part 6 serves as the Final Exam
Substitute, but there also are no extensions or make-up
work. Groups are assigned the first night of class, and
latecomers may not join a group already working.
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About Your Professor
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I'm your
professor, Louise Ripley. Call me "Louise" or address me
as "Dr. Ripley" but just don't call me "Miss" because
where I grew up that's for young girls, old unmarried
ladies, and schoolmarms, or "Mrs. Ripley" because that's
my Mom; I'm happily married but I'm not anyone's "Mrs."
The name Ripley belonged to my labour-union-organizer
father and I carry it proudly. My office is 268C
Atkinson. Find when and where to reach me in the Schedule.
email me; I don't answer my phone but I'm always on the
email.
I am a Professor of Marketing and in
Women's Studies and Environmental Studies, with a PhD in
Management Studies (major in Marketing) from University of
Toronto, an MBA in Finance from Loyola University of
Chicago, and a Bachelor's degree
from Shimer, one
of the world's finest (and smallest) liberal arts
undergraduate schools. I worked in Finance and Marketing
Research in Chicago and have taught at York for over
twenty years. Click here to read more
about me professionally and
personally.
Consumer Behaviour is one of my
favourite courses to teach because it's all the stuff
that fascinated me in my own undergraduate education. It
borrows heavily from psychology, sociology, anthropology
and other people-related disciplines as we try to
understand why human beings buy and keep and discard
products. |
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IMPORTANT YORK POLICIES |
Academic Honesty and Integrity
York students are required to
maintain high standards of academic integrity and are
subject to the
Senate
Policy on Academic Honesty.
By staying in this course, you agree to abide by these
rules. Students should also review materials on the
Academic Integrity Website.
I expect that all work submitted by
individuals or groups is the work of only that
individual or group, for only this course, not having
been done for any other course in any way, by the
current members or any one else. You are welcome to talk
with anyone you like while preparing for any part of
this course, but what you put together and hand in must
be your own work and original to this course. Violation
of these premises is grounds for prosecution under the
rules of the Faculty and the University.
Read here York's new booklet,
"Beware! Says Who?
Avoiding Plagiarism"
Accommodation Procedures:
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Deferred Standing:
I do not give permission to defer work. If
you feel you must defer work, you must
petition. See
School Policy on Deferred Exams. |
Students with Special Needs
York University is committed to making reasonable
accommodations and adaptations in order to make
equitable the educational experience of students with
special needs and to promote their full integration into
the campus community. If you require special
accommodations, alert the Course
Director as soon as possible. Failure to notify the course director of
your needs in a timely manner may jeopardize the
opportunity to arrange for academic accommodation. Visit the
Counselling Centre
for more information.
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Ethics Review Process
York students are subject to the York
University Policy for the Ethics Review Process for
Research Involving Human Participants. In particular,
students proposing to undertake research which involves
human subjects such as interviewing the director of a
company or government agency or having people complete a
questionnaire, are required to submit an Application
for Ethical Approval of Research Involving Human
Participants at least one month before you plan to begin
the research. If you are in doubt as to whether this
requirement applies to you, contact your Course Director
immediately.
Grade Component Deadline
The course assignment structure and grading scheme (i.e.
kinds and weights of assignments, essays, exams, etc.)
must be announced and be available in writing to
students within the first two weeks of classes. Please see
Important Dates.
Graded Feedback Rule
Under normal circumstances, students should receive some graded feedback worth at
least 15% per cent of the final grade for Fall, Winter or
Summer term, and 30% for full-year courses in the
Fall/Winter term prior to the final date for withdrawal
from a course without receiving a grade, with the following exceptions:
- graduate or upper level undergraduate
courses where course work typically, or at the
instructor's discretion, consists of a single piece of
work and/or is based predominantly or solely on
student presentations;
- practicum courses;
- ungraded courses;
- courses in Faculties where the drop
date occurs within the first three weeks of classes;
- courses which run on a compressed
schedule, e.g.: a course which accomplishes its academic
credits of work at a rate of one credit hour per two
calendar weeks or faster.
Note: Under unusual and/or
unforeseeable circumstances which disrupt the academic
norm, instructors are expected to provide grading schemes
and academic feedback in the spirit of these regulations
as soon as possible.
For more information, see the
Graded Feedback Rule.
Reappraisals
For reappraisal procedures and information, see the
Office of the Registrar
Website.
Religious Observance Days York University is committed to
respecting the religious beliefs and practices of all
members of the community and making accommodations for
observances of special significance to adherents. Should any
of the dates specified in this syllabus for in-class test or
examination, or for any scheduled lab, practicum, workshop
or other assignment pose a conflict for you, contact the Course
Director within the first three weeks of class and obviously
before the date that is a problem; you cannot do this
after-the-fact. To arrange an
alternative date or time for an examination scheduled in the
formal examination periods (December and April/May),
students must complete an
Online Examination Accommodation Form or pick one up
from the Student Client Services in the Student Services
Centre.
Student Conduct
Students and instructors are expected
to maintain a professional relationship characterized by
courtesy and mutual respect and to refrain from actions
disruptive to such a relationship. It is the responsibility of
the instructor to maintain an appropriate academic
atmosphere in the classroom, and the responsibility of the
student to cooperate in that endeavour. The
instructor is the best person to decide, in the first
instance, whether such an atmosphere is present in the
class. Read the full
Policy on Disruptive and/or Harassing Behaviour.
Twenty Percent (20%) Rule No examination or test worth more than 20% of the final
grade will be given during the last two weeks of classes
in a term, with the exception of classes which regularly
meet Friday evenings or any time on Saturday or Sunday. For further information visit the
20%
Rule Website.
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