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Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy (10thedition)
by Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, and Best
McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0-07-310137-0
Other readings as assigned. The instructor will either post these on his web site, or place them on reserve at the main library.
Course Website
http://mkt3352.wordpress.com
Objectives
The primary purpose of this course is to provide an overview of customer behavior as a function of relationship marketing, and marketing strategy.
The course will explore customer behavior, grounded in Resource-Allocation Theory, as it represents a part of relationship marketing. We will look at several issues surrounding the firm’s customers, including the external and internal influences that shape the customers’ decisions through the exchange process. Specifically, we will examine how:
- external factors influence customers’ decisions;
- internal factors drive customers’ attempts for satisfaction;
- and, how customers respond and react in the exchage process.
The course will direct your study of customers as members of an alliance (either a profit-oriented firm or a non-profit organization) comprised of suppliers, internal members, and lateral partners, as a market entity existing in a competitive environment. The emphasis will be on understanding the importance of working with customers to obtain a sustainable, competitive advantage. We will consider the ethical, legal and societal issues related to customer behavior.
Teaching Philosophy
Class time will be spent on lectures, discussions, in-class exercises, and guest speakers. You are expected to read each chapter prior to the date assigned in the course schedule. By staying current with the reading, you improve your chance for success in this course. Exercises are used to provide hands on experience with business issues, problems, and decisions. In addition to in-class participation and discussion, I strongly encourage you to contribute postings and topics to the class blog. These items (discussion in class, exercises, cases, and blog postings) will comprise your participation points.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Understand Resource-Advantage Theory.
- Name the four relational partners, three elements of strategy, and the 5 Ps.
- Recognize and evaluate ethical issues that may arise from the management of customer behaviors.
- Discuss internal influences related to customer behavior.
- Comprehend the external influences on customer behavior.
Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes for the Course
The expected learning outcomes for the course will be assessed through:
- Cases, exercises, and quizzes
- Discussion (both in class and via the course web site)
- Five exams
American with Disabilities Act
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, classroom accommodations will be made for students with disabilities at the request of the student. Please notify the instructor at the beginning of the semester if you have a disability and need special accommodations.
Civility in the Classroom
Students are expected to maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. In order to assure that all students have an opportunity to gain from time spent in class, students are prohibited from using cellular phones or beepers (please turn these OFF) or laptop computers, making offensive remarks, reading newspapers, sleeping, talking to each other, or engaging in any other form of distraction. Inappropriate behavior in the classroom shall result in, minimally, a request to leave class.
Any student observed reading the Daily Toreador, snoring, doing homework, reading other material, talking, or otherwise causing a disturbance will be asked to leave the classroom and/or will be marked absent for the day. Due to the large number of students in the class and the acoustical problems often encountered in the classroom, this strict policy regarding disturbances will be consistently enforced.
Attendance
“Responsibility for class attendance rests with the student. Regular and punctual attendance at all schedule classes is expected…” Texas Tech University OP 34.04, Academic Regulations Concerning Student Performance. Excused absences, which are approved by the Dean’s Office, the athletics department, or other appropriate Texas Tech offices, will be allowed IF documentation is provided prior to the absence. The participation portion of the grade is determined by attendance, completion of in class assignments, quizzes, extra credit assignments, and postings on the blog. These are NOT automatic points.
A student may miss one (1) class without losing attendance points. If a student misses more than 1 class, then he or she will have points deducted from their attendance points.
A student who has an excused absence (a letter from the dean’s office, athletics office, recreation office, etc.) AND notifies the instructor (Michael Levin) prior to the absence may make up no more than two (2) missed exercise(s). If the student fails to notify the instructor (Michael Levin) prior to the absence, then the student is not allowed to make up the missed exercise. A student who has an excused absence (a letter from the dean’s office, athletics office, recreation office, etc.) AND notifies the instructor (Michael Levin) prior to the absence has the option not to complete the make up exercise(s). If the student exercises the option not to complete the make up exercise(s), then he or she will lose attendance points and receive a zero (0) for all missed exercises caused by the absence.
Exams
Exams cover the lecture material and the text for each portion of the course. The exams consist of multiple-choice question that cover the textbook, and class discussions. Roughly 50% of test questions will come from lecture and class discussion. The remainder will come from the text. You will need to bring a scan-tron sheet for the five exams. Once the first exam is completed, you may not start your exam.
If you arrive to class once the exam has been distributed, you have until the first exam is turned in to start your exam. If you arrive after the first exam has been turned in, you may not start your exam. Thus, you will receive a zero (0) for the exam.
Any students caught cheating during an exam will receive, at a minimum, a zero (0) for that exam. Further disciplinary action may be taken.
An optional sixth exam will be offered. The score of the sixth exam will replace the lowest exam score provided the sixth exam is not the lowest exam score. Please note, this optional, sixth exam CANNOT be used to replace an exam where a student received a zero (0) for cheating. If you are caught cheating during the exam, you cannot replace the zero (0) with a score from the optional sixth exam.
Exercises and Cases
You will perform several in-class exercises that should improve your understanding of the concepts from the book and lecture. These exercises will be done either individually or in small groups where you will wrestle with tough and interesting questions. These exercises will require you to think critically and apply the concepts that we have discussed in class.
For group exercises including cases, you are expected to discuss the assignment with your group members, develop coherent responses, and submit the exercise by the announced deadline. All group members who participated will put their name at the top of the exercise or case.
For individual exercises, you are expected to perform all work by yourself. Further, only your name will appear on your exercises. If any responses are plagiarized either from external sources (i.e., the web), or internal sources (i.e., your classmates), then you will receive an automatic zero (0) for the exercise. If this happen twice during the semester, then you will be withdrawn from the course with a WF.
Quizzes
Throughout the semester, quizzes will be given unannounced at the start of class, or made available on line (i.e., web site). Students who are not present at the beginning of class will not be able to make up the quiz.
Participation
The participation portion of the grade is determined by attendance, completion of in-class assignments, quizzes, extra credit assignments, and postings on the blog. These are NOT automatic points.
Extra Credit
Throughout the semester, you will have the opportunity to earn extra credit points, which may be unannounced. Extra credit points may come from additional questions on exams and/or quizzes, or from outside assignments. Because of the extra credit points, please do not ask for additional points for the final grade.
A note about grammar and grading of written assignments
The Rawls College of Business expects all students to write business English accurately and clearly. The minimum writing standard for assignments is a maximum of one gross writing error per page of a double-spaced typescript. Examples of gross errors are: to begin a sentence without a capital letter; to end a sentence without a period or other punctuation mark; to misspell; to confuse “its” and “it’s”; to confuse plurals and possessives, “companies” versus “company’s”; and so forth. Slight differences of style, such as use or absence of commas in some instances, are not gross writing errors.
If more than one gross writing error per page is discovered, the grader will stop reading and give the paper an incomplete “I” grade. Upon resubmission, with the first submission attached, the paper will be given a grade one grade lower than the paper normally would have earned if it had not been rejected initially.
Grading Procedures
Exam I: 100 points
Exam II: 100 points
Exam III: 100 points
Exam IV: 100 points
Exam V: 100 points
Cases (4): 130 points
Exercises: 170 points
Participation: 200 points
Total: 1000 points
I will post grades as quickly as possible. If you want to discuss your grade or progress in the course, please arrange a convenient appointment. Grades will not be discussed over the phone or through e-mail.
Scale
The grades will be distributed as follows:
A: 900 – 1000 points
B: 800 – 899 points
C: 700 – 799 points
D: 600 – 699 points
F: 0 – 599 points
Summary
You are expected to attend all class sessions and to have read the assigned material prior to each session. The use of cell phones, outside reading material, and tobacco products is prohibited in class. In-class side conversations will not be tolerated.
Exams must be taken on the date listed in the course schedule. If you do not take an exam on the scheduled day or if you come late to the exam you will receive a zero. Make-up exams will not be scheduled!
In class work, cases and exercises cannot be made up if you are absent. If you will miss class due to official TTU business, then you need to make arrangements with the instructor two working days prior to your absence.
To receive credit for in-class assignments you must sign your name. If working in groups, then all group members must sign the assignment prior to turning it in for a grade.
