Summer 2012

Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 3

MK0011 Consumer Behaviour - 4 Credits
Book ID: B1221
Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.

1. Explain the VALs theory and describe each type of consumer.

Answer :

VALS Theory & Concept

VALS: A science of using the demographics and psychology profiles to understand the
consumers in a better and in a proper way. VALS was developed by Arnold Mitchell and
his colleagues at Stanford Research Institute which is a worlds largest research institute
in California City. It was developed in the year 1978 and there have been the use of
Abraham Maslows philosophy as well the David Riesman one of the Harvard
sociologists. They have divided the buyer in different groups on the basis of the traits of
personality which are values and the lifestyles. They have done the research on the basis
of questionnaires in 4 demographic and 35 attitudinal questions. The VALS have been
updated with more than new and innovative datas and surveys of more than 85000
surveys per year. Thus VALS is known as:

V: VALUES

A: ATTITUDES

L: LIFE

S: STYLES

Mitchell have used the strategy of statistics, marketing research, attitudinal and
demographic questions, that has become very much helpful for the consumers of
America into nine types of lifestyle and that are as below with the sustained %age of the
consumers.

1.

Survivors (4%)

2.

Sustainers (7%)

3.

Bloggers (35%)

4.

Emulators (9%)

5.

Achievers (22%)

6.

I-am-me (5%)

7.

Experiencers (7%)

8.

Societal Conscious (9%)

9.

Integrated (2%)

The major tendencies of the groups with higher resources are as follows:

1.
Innovators: These are the successful people who are always active in their
activities in all their works. They are the people who have high self belief, high self
confidence and high self esteem. Their purchases always use to reflect the tastes of
cultivation. They are basically related with up-scale and niche oriented products and
services. They have the great volume and highest amount of income, they have very
good image of creativity and they have finer tastes in their life. They never depend on
others and they follow the strategy of high character.

2.
Thinkers: They are very much mature and satisfied people who have financially
strong resources and they are motivated from their ideals. They are very much
responsible in their duties honestly and whole heartedly and they are very much
professionalized in terms of education. They value their responsibilities, order, they spent
their free times in home with their gamily and give them time as well they have all the

information and ideas about the world and they are practical in terms of buying and they
take decisions optimally.

3.
Achievers: They are the people who are very much goal-oriented and want to
become successful in their fields of work. They are that type of consumers who have a
high resource group and they also get motivated by their achievements. They focus on
both their family as well their career that gets satisfaction from their jobs and families.
They are bit conserved and reserved from their nature and they respect each individuals
as well the authorities in their workplace. They believe in completion of their work and in
satisfying with their needs as well as achievements and satisfaction.

4.
Experiencers: These people are basically very young, highly energetic from their
nature and also from their activities. These people are very well organized and
enthusiastic as well make the environment also energetic. They have high income and
higher amount of resources where they get motivation from their self-expression, from
their self-abilities and self-activities. They are coming in the age group of 25 35. They
have lot of energy and they seek fun and excitement with high income on fashion,
entertainment and socialization. They spend most of their money in friends, hang-outs,
foods, music, movies and many more.

The major tendencies of the groups with lower resources are as follows:

5.
Believers: When we talk about believers, they are the people who have low
resources who are very much conservative sort of nature. They have lot of superstitions
and they believe in Gods and traditions as well as cultures to live their life. Their incomes
are also modest. They have high belief on family, church, community or nation and they
always think about all these.

6.
Makers: These people are always down to earth and never feel superior in terms
of achievement, education, profession, qualification, relationship or any other because
these types of people are very practical and they like to do their own work themselves.
They favour mostly the American made goods or products which have practical as well as
functional benefits and uses.

7.
Strivers: These people have low resources and they are very friendly and funloving entertaining people who always use to make the people laugh by some sort of
jokes or funny talks. They also like to have style in their style and personality so they
always appreciate stylish products and greater material wealth.

8.
Survivors: These people have very low incomes and they are very much old in
age. They are most eldest of all the segments but the positive thing about them is they
are brand royal and they look for change.

Thus VALS have been defined which has been divided on the basis of lifestyles and
attitudes of the consumer.

Three types of consumer

Three different types of consumers exist in the market today. Each type of consumer has
specific characteristics, tendencies and preferences.

When it comes to identity theft, credit card numbers and bank account information
stolen through electronic means is becoming more popular than the traditional check
fraud schemes. It seems that there is a new press release every day indicating a
corporation has had customers' financial information stolen. Check forgeries and
alterations, however, are still a problem in the banking world and an issue that
consumers should be aware of.
Especially in difficult economic times, the loss or theft and cashing of a single check can
cause enormous financial difficulties for a family. Even if the money is eventually
reaccredited back to the banking customers, the time period in which it takes to file a
dispute can ensure that the consumers fall behind on other bills or monthly obligations.
This is why homeowners facing foreclosure should be aware of the different types of
check fraud, in case they become a victim.
The first type is when a thief forgers a consumer's signature on a check and then cashes
is. In these cases, it is the bank that will be forced to take the loss. The general theory is
that, because the bank making the payment has the customer's signature on file on a
signature card, pointing out a forgery should not be difficult. Of course, in practice banks
never scrutinize signatures.
A forged signature is considered ineffective and cannot bind the banking customer. Banks
are allowed to withdraw funds from a consumer's account only if the check is properly
payable, and a check with a forged signature does not count as properly payable. And
the bank is in the position of being able to examine the consumer's signature card to be
able to spot potential forgeries.
Thieves that forge endorsements of checks are also a problem in the banking industry.
This may happen in cases where the check is lost or stolen after the customer has signed
it. As with a forged signature, however, a check with a forged endorsement is not
properly payable. If the bank debits the checking account, it should later be reaccredited
for the amount of the check.
A final type of check fraud is when a check is altered after it has been written. The most
frequent alternation, not surprisingly, is when the amount is changed. For example,
$5.00 becomes $500, and "five dollars" is changed to "five hundred dollars" written on
the check. In cases where the alternation is made fraudulently, the consumers may have

no obligation at all. However, in other cases, the banking customer may be debited for
the original intended amount of the check. Of course, this makes it worthwhile for
wrongdoers to alter checks, in the hopes of getting away with the larger amount.
Forged signatures, forged endorsements, and alterations of checks are the three
prominent types of check fraud that consumers should be aware of. If there is any
suspicion that any of these actions have occurred, the first action should be to begin
disputing the account debits with the bank. Many of these issues can be resolved by
working with the bank, but there are also strict statutes of limitations in which to begin
the process.

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Q2. Discuss Freudian theory of personality. Give practical examples wherever

possible.

Q3. Describe cognitive learning theory and cognitive response model.

Q4. Describe diffusion process and adoption process.

Q5. Explain briefly about communication process and barriers to

communication.
Q6. Discuss cross cultural influences & Explain cultural differences in Nonverbal communications.
Answer : Introduction

Summer 2012
Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester 3
MK0011 Consumer Behaviour - 4 Credits
Assignment Set- 2 (60 Marks)
Book ID: B1221
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions.
1. Explain characteristics of culture and classification of cultural values.
Answer : The characteristics of culture are shared; group products; symbolic; learned;
patterned; integrated; adaptive; compulsory; cumulative; dynamic and diverse.

1. It is shared.
The culture is shared by the social interaction may take in many forms to transmit the
beliefs, values and expectation of the human society. The exchange of social ideas may
provide understanding and learning the human culture and tradition.
The culture works by social dynamism using language, communication technologies and
commercial trade.
a) The use of language as a form of social communications such as group
communication, informal communications, discussion and public speaking. The sharing of
information is done through the transmittal of knowledge .The use of language or dialect
may transmit information to the group of people that may later on learn and understand
the culture, tradition, beliefs and expectations of a given society. The common human
activities are the grapevine information, social occasions, and public debates.
b) The use of communication technologies through powerful media tools such as
computers, televisions, DVD and cell phones. The modern technologies have gradually

exposed universal culture that can easily transmit with mass media. The ethnic traditions
and cultures are documentarily televised by cable programs such as national geographic
or discovery channels. The modern fashion and fads of the western culture becomes the
basis of global design in clothing for different occasions.
c) The commercial trade and global enterprises provide the better social exchange
through the manufactured goods and services provide in the public and private
enterprise. These technological change given the opportunity to sell products that are
now fuse in the modern living of the human society.
The traditional concept of shared culture emphasizes the ethnic traditions, beliefs, norms
and other social activities that may be transmitted by the elders and parents in the
family and the tribe. However, the modern life has changed so many things in the
sharing of the universal culture for all.

2. It is a group product.
The group product is the by-product of culture is shared by the social activities of the
society. The group products provide important knowledge and experiences about the
racial and ethnic activities.
It is the result of lifelong social experience made by those living in certain communities
that governed by the family of elders. They formed tribe with their own cultures and
traditions that have been dependent in hunting, fishing, and agriculture. The culture and
tradition are passed on to the succeeding generation by educating the children from all
the social life activities of the tribe.
Generally, the group product usually done by cultural diffusion, innovation and
amalgamation of cultures.
a) The group product is made through the social interaction among the members of the
group to form a unique life in a given geographical location. The social life has always
imbibed the unique contribution of individual life. This is adjusted by the geographical
conditions to ensure a better life.
b) The group product is multi-dimension activities that provide the understanding and
learning the elements of culture such as values, beliefs, norms, language, folkways,
mores, laws, material culture and technology. The complexities of culture have been
integrated to form part the universal human society
c) The group products primarily use language and education of the offspring to ensure
the survival of the culture and tradition of the tribe. The transmission of culture is done
by giving informal and formal education.

3. It is learned.

The cultural transmission or enculturation is the best way to describe culture is learned.
The people acquire information about the culture by many ways. This is done by learning
the language and other form of educational information of the society.
a) The members of the group learn to understand and apply certain ideals, values,
expectations, beliefs and traditions to the society.
b) The younger generations readily accept the norms of the society as a part of their
education to sustain the societal system within their family or tribe.
c) The culture is also learned by the language, literature, arts, music and local history
that are passed across generation.
Usually, it is through formal and informal education that the culture is transmitted across
generation. The parents provide the early education of their children from the way they
live in the family and society. The social influence taken from their friends and relatives
including their actual experiences provides the actual learning on a given societal culture.
Modern society learns the culture by the formal education from varied levels such as the
basic education and tertiary education. However, the advent of modern technology the
culture is easily learned through mass media and internet.

4. It is Symbolic.
The communication process uses symbols to identify the given actions, attitudes and
behaviours of the people.
a) The use of language has varied types of symbols depending on its natural
environment, exposure and education to groups or tribes, the social experience and
influence.
b) The social experiences as a whole provides specific communicative symbols along
arts, music, literature, history and other forms of societal actions.
c) The abstract knowledge is reinforce in the way they understand and learn the feelings,
ideas and behaviours of certain group of people in the society.

5. It is patterned and integrated

The culture is patterned by specific dimension of social life such as the economic and
political activities. These are the norms of conformity for the human beings to follow in
order to meet the psychological and social needs. The social activities
a)The economic activities are patterned by the innovation and inventions of cultural
groups that need to be integrated by the social life of the members of the society.

b) There are activities that we always do such as going to toilet, washing the hands,
cleaning the house, driving the car, going to bedroom and etc. We tend to follow certain
habits that are patterned by specific culture of a given society. Remember that the
American way of life maybe totally different to the Africans and Asian way of life.
c) There are cultural values that are patterned to be followed to live on specific group of
people with unique cultures that individual must also follow to integrated similar social
life.

6. Culture is adaptive
The cultural adaptation is the evolutionary process that modifies the social life of the
people in the given natural environment.
1. The social evolutionary process is created by the condition of the natural environment
that human being constantly adapting on any changes.
2. The biological modifications and adjustments are always flexible to adapt even in the
harsh conditions of the environment.
3. The human adaptations uses innovative way to create new cultural dimension on its
way of life from the cultural transformation of clothing, food shelter, music, arts including
the beliefs, traditions and history.

7. Culture is compulsory.
The human beings always consider the harmonious relationship with any of group
cultures being grown for a period of time.
1. The group members of the conformed with the ways of living within the bounds of
beliefs, expectation, and norms.
2. The behavioural conformity is expected to follow any violations within the norms have
specific sanctions as to the provisions of law or even a given set of norms in the social
context.
3. The social interaction of man follows the collective activities with common goals
including specific norms, traditions, and beliefs which is followed as a blue print of its
distinct cultural existence in the society.

8. Culture is cumulative.

The cumulative culture may be passed from one generation to the next generation.
Those pertinent knowledge and culture are gradually built as it is useful to the society.
However, those information that no longer useful to the society may gradually phased
out.

9. Culture is dynamic.
There is continuous change of culture as new ways of life evolved by the changing
conditions of the societal life. There are cultural practices that no longer useful today.

10. Culture is diverse.

The culture is different from each other as we must consider the social experiences,
traditions, norms, mores and other cultural ways in the community.

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Q2. Explain the types of Reference group and its influences.

Q3. Discuss the types of Decision making.

Q4. Explain first two process of consumer decision Process.

Q5. Explain the factors influencing organisational buyer behaviour.

Q6. What is cognitive dissonance? Briefly explain Leon Fasteners Theory.

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