MKT 450 – Consumer Behavior and Marketing

Syllabus (Revised: 01/04/2016)
Spring 2016 16496 T/Th 12:00 - 01:50 pm HOH 303 16498 T/Th 02:00 - 03:50 pm HOH 303 16499 T/Th 04:00 - 05:50 pm HOH 303 Professor: Gülden Ülkümen Office: HOH 620 E-Mail: ulkumen@marshall.usc.edu Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00 am-12:00 pm

Course Description

We are all consumers. We buy groceries, computers, and cars. We purchase services ranging from bank accounts to college educations. However, we also know that consumers are different from one another. We buy different clothes, drive different cars, and eat different foods. Moreover, even the same consumer can make different decisions depending on the situation. So how are we to construct coherent marketing strategies?

In this class we will learn how and why consumers behave the way that they do. We will explore our intuitions about our own behavior. We will learn about theories developed in marketing, psychology and other behavioral sciences. And we will learn to use these theories to predict how consumers will respond to different marketing activities.

Learning Objectives

* To acquire a framework for analyzing consumer behavior problems * To learn how consumer behavior can be affected by different marketing strategies * To show how behavioral evidence can be used to evaluate alternative marketing strategies * To develop a deeper understanding of consumer behavior by learning about relevant psychological and sociological theories * To acquire experience in applying these theories to real-world consumer behavior problems

Learning Goals: In this class, emphasis will be placed on the USC Marshall School of Business learning goals as follows: | Goal | Description | Course Emphasis | 1 | Our graduates will understand types of markets and key business areas and their interaction to effectively manage different types of enterprises | Moderate | 2 | Our graduates will develop a global business perspective. They will understand how local, regional, and international markets, and economic, social and cultural issues impact business decisions so as to anticipate new opportunities in any marketplace | Moderate | 3 | Our graduates will demonstrate critical thinking skills so as to become future-oriented decision makers, problem solvers and innovators | High | 4 | Our graduates will develop people and leadership skills to promote their effectiveness as business managers and leaders. | Moderate | 5 | Our graduates will demonstrate ethical reasoning skills, understand social, civic, and professional responsibilities and aspire to add value to society | High | 6 | Our graduates will be effective communicators to facilitate information flow in organizational, social, and intercultural contexts. | High |

Required Materials

Textbook
Consumer Behavior (2012, 6th edition), by Wayne D. Hoyer, Deborah J. MacInnis, and Rik Pieters, Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston: MA.

Readings & Assignments
Additional exercises, journal articles, and recent news from the popular business press will be provided throughout the semester. The journal articles will provide you with a deeper insight into selected topics and methods of consumer behavior research. The business news articles and exercises will give you the opportunity to apply the textbook’s conceptual framework to current real-world marketing problems.

Make sure that you have read the readings assigned for each class. This will help you to better understand the material discussed in class and to actively participate in class discussions. These readings and assignments will be handed out in class or posted on the class website. It will be the student’s responsibility to obtain these materials if a class session is missed for any reason.

Course Website https://blackboard.usc.edu This website is an important part of the course and you will want to refer to it frequently for information on each session. It contains important announcements, course syllabus, copies of the PowerPoint slides we will use in class each day, readings and other handouts and assignments. Please check this website regularly. It is your responsibility to check this website once before every class for important announcements and updates.

Course Notes

A subset of the PowerPoint slides for each class will be available for downloading from the website by 10 am the morning of the relevant class session. You will still need to take additional notes to fully capture the material discussed in class. It is the student’s responsibility to print out lecture notes and bring them to class.

Prerequisites

This class does not have a prerequisite.

Assignments and Grading Detail

Final grades represent how you perform in the class relative to other students. Your grade will not be based on a mandated target, but on your performance. Historically, the average grade for this class is about a (B). Three items are considered when assigning final grades: 1. Your average weighted score as a percentage of the available points for all assignments (the points you receive divided by the number of points possible). 2. The overall average percentage score within the class. 3. Your ranking among all students in the class.

Your evaluation will be based on 2 midterms, 1 final exam, an individual assignment, a final project, and your class participation:

Midterm 1: 20% Midterm 2: 20% Final Exam: 25% Individual Assignment: 10% Final Project: 15% Class Participation: 10%

Midterms 40% (Midterm 1: 20% & Midterm 2: 20%)

The two midterms will be based on the lectures, class discussions, assigned readings, and class assignments. They may include multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. The midterms will include material primarily covered in lectures, but material from the textbook and assigned readings may also be included. There will be no makeup exam. If you cannot take one of the midterms due to a documented medical condition, the other midterm will count for 40% of your grade. If you fail to take both midterms due to a documented medical condition, your final exam will count for 65% of your grade. The medical report should specifically mention that the student was affected/excused on the day of the exam, or for a period that covers the day of the exam.

Final Exam 25%

The exam may consist of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. The exam will primarily include material covered in lectures, but material from the text, group presentations, and assigned readings may also be included. There will be no makeup exam. The current university policy is that no student may omit the final examination, or request to reschedule the final examination date.

Individual Assignment 10%

Evaluation & Choice Assignment is designed to help you better understand and remember the issues discussed in class. This assignment should be done individually. Final Project 15%

A significant part of your course grade will be determined by a final project, which will be completed in groups. As professionals interested in marketing, you are all going to be part of teams that work together in finding solutions to common marketing problems. Therefore, as part of this course, you will be required to carry out a team project. More information on the final project will be posted on Blackboard at a later date. You are responsible for selecting your team members, coordinating schedules, and communicating your expectations about division of labor. For the final project, I expect the members of each team to contribute equally. At the end of the semester, each team member will be asked to evaluate the contribution of every other member in their team. Part of your grade on the final project will be based on these peer evaluations.

Class Participation 10%

Your class participation grade will be composed of your attendance and quality of your participation.

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. What matters more is the quantity and, especially, the quality of your contributions to class discussions.

Assignment Submission Policy

All assignments are due at the beginning of class. Please turn in a hard copy of each assignment at the beginning of class on their due date. Assignments submitted by email will not be accepted. Late assignments will lose points. Students are responsible for knowing when the assignments and reports are due. If you are unable to turn in an assignment on or before the due date, for whatever reason (e.g., illness), you must contact me prior to the due date. Your grades will be posted on our course page on Blackboard. Please check there from time to time to make sure all your points are recorded properly.

Evaluation of Your Work

To keep things fair for future students, I do not allow students to take their actual exams out of the classroom. You may look over your exams in my office during office hours, or by appointment.

You may regard each of your submissions as an “exam” in which you apply what you’ve learned according to the assignment. I will do my best to make my expectations for the various assignments clear and to evaluate them as fairly and objectively as I can. If you feel that an error has occurred in the grading of any assignment, you may, within one week of the date the assignment grade is posted, write me a memo in which you request that I re-evaluate the assignment. Attach the original assignment to the memo and explain fully and carefully why you think the assignment should be re-graded. Be aware that the re-evaluation process can result in three types of grade adjustments: positive, none, or negative.

Extra Credit Policy

Please note that there will be no opportunities to improve your grade through the completion of extra credit work.

Communication

The best way to reach me for general questions is via email. However, if you have specific questions that pertain to the content of the class, please arrange to meet me face to face. If you cannot make it to the regularly scheduled office hours, please email me and set up an appointment for a different time.

I will use Blackboard’s email system to contact you individually or as a group about the class (e.g. changes in the syllabus, assignments, etc.). It is your responsibility to make sure that emails sent via Blackboard can reach you at an email address you check on a regular basis.

Attendance Policy

I expect everyone to attend classes. Aside from being an essential part of the learning experience, regular attendance is a prerequisite for contributing to class discussions. Moreover, please keep in mind that: * Attendance is an important component of your class participation. * You do not need to notify me if you cannot make it to class, unless it’s an exam day or if you are not able to attend for an extended period of time. * Absences will be excused only due to documented medical reasons (including the specific date), or when accompanied by a note from another USC instructor. Absences due to job interviews or other reasons will not be excused. * All assignments are due at the beginning of class and late assignments will be penalized. * If you have to miss class you are responsible for getting notes from other students, and in general understanding the material covered, and for knowing any changes or assignments announced in class.

Classroom Etiquette

Out of respect for the other students in the class, it is important for you to focus your full attention on the class, for the entire class period. While most students do observe proper decorum, it takes only a few to bother the entire class. In a busy, electronic age, proper class etiquette means observing the following standards: * Arrive for class on time. * Once you have arrived, you should leave the classroom only if absolutely necessary. Leaving to make or take phone calls, to meet with classmates, or to go to an interview, is not considered appropriate behavior. * The only material you should have in front of you is reading concerned with the class. Reading of any other material, such as newspapers or magazines, or doing work from another class, is not acceptable.

Technology Policy

Laptop and Internet usage is not permitted during academic sessions unless otherwise stated by the professor. Use of other personal communication devices, such as cell phones, is considered unprofessional and is not permitted during class time. ANY e-devices (cell phones, PDAs, I-Phones, Blackberries, other texting devices, laptops, I-pods) must be completely turned off during class time. Upon request, you must comply and put your device on the table in off mode and FACE DOWN. You might also be asked to deposit your devices in a designated area in the classroom. Videotaping lectures is not permitted due to copyright infringement regulations. Audiotaping may be permitted if approved by the professor. Use of any recorded or distributed material is reserved exclusively for the USC students registered in this class.

Add / Drop Process

If you are absent six or more times prior to January 30 (the last day to withdraw from a course with a grade of “W”), I may ask you to withdraw from the class by that date. These policies maintain professionalism and ensure a system that is fair to all students.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me at least two weeks before the first midterm. DSP is located at 3601 Watt Way, Grace Ford Salvatori Hall, 120. It is open 8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Conduct and Support Systems Academic Conduct

Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standards https://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.

Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage sarc@usc.edu describes reporting options and other resources.

Support Systems

A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.htmlprovides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.

Class Notes Policy

Notes or recordings made by students based on a university class or lecture may only be made for purposes of individual or group study, or for other non-commercial purposes that reasonably arise from the student’s membership in the class or attendance at the university. This restriction also applies to any information distributed, disseminated or in any way displayed for use in relationship to the class, whether obtained in class, via email or otherwise on the Internet, or via any other medium. Actions in violation of this policy constitute a violation of the Student Conduct Code, and may subject an individual or entity to university discipline and/or legal proceedings.

No recording and copyright notice. No student may record any lecture, class discussion or meeting with me without my prior express written permission. The word “record” or the act of recording includes, but is not limited to, any and all means by which sound or visual images can be stored, duplicated or retransmitted whether by an electro-mechanical, analog, digital, wire, electronic or other device or any other means of signal encoding. I reserve all rights, including copyright, to my lectures, course syllabi and related materials, including summaries, PowerPoints, prior exams, answer keys, and all supplementary course materials available to the students enrolled in my class whether posted on Blackboard or otherwise. They may not be reproduced, distributed, copied, or disseminated in any media or in any form, including but not limited to all course note-sharing websites. Exceptions are made for students who have made prior arrangements with DSP and me.

Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity

In case of emergency, and travel to campus is difficult, USC executive leadership will announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies. Please activate your course in Blackboard with access to the course syllabus. Whether or not you use Blackboard regularly, these preparations will be crucial in an emergency. USC's Blackboard learning management system and support information is available at blackboard.usc.edu.

Thank you for your co-operation in these very important rules. I am looking forward to an exciting class and semester!

Projected Class Schedule Spring 2016 updated 01/04/16

Please note that this is a tentative class schedule – it may change in the course of the semester. You are responsible for any changes announced in class or posted on Blackboard. Date | Day | Topic | Assignment | 01 / 12Session 1 | Tuesday | Introduction to the Course | | 01 / 14Session 2 | Thursday | Overview of Consumer Behavior | Read Chapter 1DUE: Personal Profile | 01 / 19Session 3 | Tuesday | Measuring Consumer Behavior (Qualitative Methods) | Read Appendix | 01 / 21Session 4 | Thursday | Measuring Consumer Behavior (Quantitative Methods) | | 01 / 26Session 5 | Tuesday | Consumer Behavior and Marketing (Segmentation & Targeting) | | 01 / 28Session 6 | Thursday | Consumer Behavior and Marketing (Positioning)Consumer Decision Making ProcessOverview of Final Project | | 02 / 02Session 7 | Tuesday | Need Recognition & Search | Read Chapter 7 | 02 / 04Session 8 | Thursday | Exposure & Attention | Read Chapter 3 | 02 / 9Session 9 | Tuesday | Perception | | 02 / 11Session 10 | Thursday | Course Review | | 02 / 16Session 11 | Tuesday | Midterm 1 | | 02 / 18Session 12 | Thursday | Opinion Formation - I | Read Chapters 5 & 6 | 02 / 23Session 13 | Tuesday | Opinion Formation - II | | 02 / 25Session 14 | Thursday | No Class | | 03/01Session 15 | Tuesday | Storage & Retrieval | Read Chapter 4 | 03/03Session 16 | Thursday | Evaluation & Choice - I | Read Chapter 8 | 03/8Session 17 | Tuesday | Evaluation & Choice - II | DUE: Form Groups for Final Project | 03 / 10Session 18 | Thursday | Decision Biases | Read Chapter 9 | 03 / 15 | Tuesday | Spring Break - No Class | | 03 / 17 | Thursday | Spring Break - No Class | | 03 / 22Session 19 | Tuesday | De-biasing & Choice Architecture Overview of Final Project | | 03 / 24Session 20 | Thursday | In-Class Workshop | DUE: Evaluation & Choice Assignment Bring Laptops | 03 / 29Session 21 | Tuesday | Course Review | | 03 / 31 Session 22 | Thursday | Midterm 2 | | 04 / 05 Session 23 | Tuesday | Influencing Consumers | Read Chapter 11 | 04 / 07 Session 24 | Thursday | In-Class Workshop | Bring Laptops | 04 / 12 Session 25 | Tuesday | Pricing, Mental Accounting & Financial Decision Making | | 04 / 14 Session 26 | Thursday | In-Class Workshop | Bring Laptops | 04 / 19 Session 27 | Tuesday | Consumer Well-being | Read Chapter 17 | 04 / 21 Session 28 | Thursday | Project Presentations | DUE: Final Project for All Groups | 04 / 26 Session 29 | Tuesday | Project Presentations | | 04 / 28 Session 30 | Thursday | Course Review | Bring Laptops | Section: Final exam date & time 16496 T/R 12:00 - 01:50 pm Wednesday, May 11, 2-4 pm 16498 T/R 02:00 - 03:50 pm Thursday, May 5, 2-4 pm 16499 T/R 04:00 – 05:50 pm Thursday, May 5, 4:30-6:30 pm | | |

PERSONAL INFORMATION FORM
MKT 450 – Consumer Behavior and Marketing

Please staple your photo here

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Professor Gülden Ülkümen, Spring 2016 Your name: _____________________________________________ Cell phone number: _______________________________________

Major(s): ________________________________________________ Expected graduation date:___________________________________

Please read the following statement and indicate your agreement by providing your signature below.
“I have read the syllabus thoroughly. I understand and agree to the requirements associated with this course.” ___________________________________________ _________________ Signature Date

1) List any class you might miss for religious observance.

2) List any classes you are currently taking, or have taken in the past that is relevant to our course (e.g., Marketing, Psychology, Communications).

3) What is your recent work experience?

4) What are your favorite brands? List four.

5) Who are your favorite celebrities? List four.

6) What are your favorite movies?

7) Tell me something about yourself that is important to you and/or makes you unique (your interests, hobbies, background, talents, collections, etc.) Use the back of the form if you need more space.

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[ 1 ]. All deliverables (i.e., forms, reports, assignments, etc.) are due in hard copy, in class, on the due date indicated in this schedule.