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Frequently Used Links
The Six Wednesdays Project
What You'll Need to
Complete This Course
Learning Units
Evaluation Summary: Assignments/Tests/Due Dates
Final Exam Substitute
Part 6
Your Professor
Course/Professor
Information
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 how consumers behave.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites: 1) For students in an Honours program,
AP/ADMS 2200 3.00, or 2) other students, a grade of C+
or better in AP/ADMS 2200 3.00. Course credit exclusion:
AP/ADMS 4220 3.00 (prior to Fall 2012).
Course Director:
Professor M Louise Ripley, MBA, PhD
Office: Atkinson 268C
EMail:
Reach me at:
lripley@yorku.ca (not by telephone)
Course Time and Location:
Monday and Wednesday
afternoons 4:00 - 6:45
p.m., TEL 1004
Course Consultation Hours:
Wednesdays, 2:00 - 3:30, or by email or email me to set
a time
Catalogue
Number
Z07A01
Organization of the Course
This course is given in the special
fast-track S1 Summer 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, with some by electronic means, particularly
around Victoria Day. The first group assignment is due on the
first Wednesday of the course and each Wednesday after, except
for Part 4 which is done as an in-class individual test.
When you hand in the sixth assignment, which serves as the
Final Exam Substitute, you are done.
There is no formal final exam. We meet in a traditional classroom, and I do some formal
lecturing at the start of each class, with some class time devoted to in-class work on the project. You will need to expect to do some of the reading and
studying on your own as we move quickly through this
fast-paced course, noting particularly preparation for the
in-class test. We also have a guest speaker, a
former student in this class, now working in Marketing. You cannot work
alone in this course. If you cannot commit to being here
the first night, being in class for most sessions, and doing your fair share of
group work and individual preparation, you should not enrol.
The
Course Kit for this course is entirely online,
including this Course
Syllabus and anything linked from
it, and the Learning Units. The web pages are colour coded,
each with its own
colour. In addition to the ground rules and information
about communicating, grades, and tests, there is page of
frequently asked questions in courses, 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 teaching, research,
and service, some more about me, a page of important other
links, and a general alphabetical index
to my website. In each of the Learning Units, designed to
help you prepare for class and to take notes, I make use of
what I call the Waving Hand Exercises. Don't be put off by
this little disembodied hand, waving frantically! It's
supposed to represent a student in a classroom waving a hand
and saying, "I know! I know!". Think through your answers to
these questions and come prepared to class.
This
Course Kit/Syllabus is designed as an on-line
facility, not to be printed in its entirety. Read some
Testimonials from
former students who liked the way this course is taught.
Important
Dates and Information
Start Date
May 5, 2014
End
Date June 11, 2014
Last Day to Drop Without a Grade
May 30, 2014
Last Day to Enrol Without Permission of
the Professor May 9, 2014
(Read here why I do
not give permission to enrol after this date or in a class that
is full)
Student Financial Services
Academic Fees
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. Sixth 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
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Warning:
Photocopying more than 10% of a
textbook is illegal, and may involve penalties. Do not
duplicate textbooks or obtain these
photocopies. |
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Supplementary Reading
Regular reading of a good daily newspaper and some of the
popular business magazines |
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Getting
Started |
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What You
Will Need To Complete This Course |
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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
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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.
Note for those who have taken Internet courses with me:
there is no online discussion group. Just use these
exercises to think about the day's reading and what you
might say in class 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 seven, 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, and an individual test worth 40% of your mark.
A Note
About Teamwork
Part of the curriculum of Business
education is learning to work in teams; in this course
it is crucial. You will need to work to make your groups
work. Read here for
More About 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,
except for Part 4 which is an individual in-class test.
A good part of the group work is done in the classroom.
Assignment Type
(All Group
Work except Part 4 TEST) |
% of Grade |
Due Date
First 15 minutes of class, Wednesday |
Description |
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Assignment 1 |
0% |
May 7 |
See Part
1 |
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Assignment 2 |
15% |
May 14 |
See Part
2
Marks for
Part 2 |
| Assignment 3 |
15% |
May 21 |
See Part
3
Marks for
Part 3 |
In-Class Test
(Individual)
OPEN
BOOK |
40% |
May 28 |
See Part
4
Marks for Part 4
Test
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| Assignment 5 |
15% |
June 4 |
See Part
5
Part 5 and Term Marks |
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Final Exam
Substitute: Assignment 6 |
15% |
June 11 |
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
in the first 15 minutes of class,
on the date listed. With such a fast-moving course it is
not possible to give extensions or make-up work. Groups are assigned the first night of class;
latecomers will be put into a group together.
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About Your Professor
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I'm your
professor, Louise Ripley. Call me "Louise". My office is 268C
Atkinson. Find where to reach me on my
Home page. 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. For many years, I supervised graduate
students in Environmental Studies but am now restricting
my cross-appoinment to only two Schools. I earned 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 more
than
thirty 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
Evaluation Summary.
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.
Reappraisals
For reappraisal procedures and information, see
http://www.yorku.ca/laps/students/reappraisal.html
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.
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