Syllabus for MKTG 442
Customer Analysis
Fall 2007

 

Instructor

Jim Hamerly, Ph.D.
jhamerly@csusm.edu

office: Markstein Hall 342, schedule

 

 

Class Schedule

Tuesday & Thursday, MARK 205, 8:00 – 9:50 AM, CRN 42210

 

 

Course Web Site

http://courses.csusm.edu/mktg442jh/.  Presentation materials will be posted in advance and all homework assignments and materials will be routinely posted on this site.

 

 

Required Textbook

The Survey Research Handbook, by Pamela L. Alreck, Robert B. Settle, (paperback) 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill.  ISBN 0-07-294548-6.  Available in the CSUSM Bookstore. 

 

Selected readings will be required from Customer Orientation and Market Action, by Michael D. Johnson, (paperback), ISBN 0-13-328667-3.  On reserve in Kellogg Library.  Additional library and online reading will be required.

 

 

Course Description and Objectives

Customer analysis is a vital function of any organization providing a product or service.  This course will introduce you to factors underlying consumer decision processes and provide you with tools and techniques for understanding customer buying behaviors.  Particular focus will be placed on questionnaire development and analysis, including: Formulating research questions; sampling; data analysis; and, writing the research paper.  

 

This course consists of lectures, classroom discussions, group break-out sessions, individual and team projects and exercises, three quizzes and a final exam.  There will be a major team project to perform customer analyses. Teams will self-select and must have 3-4 members.

 

As a result of taking this course, students will:

  • Learn about and focus on customer orientation
  • Be able to identify customer characteristics and behaviors
  • Acquire basic skills needed to perform customer analysis.

 

 

 

 

University Writing Requirement

Students are required to write more than 2,500 words throughout the semester.  All assignments must be typed. Thirty percent of each writing assignment’s grade will be based on style and mechanics including items such as clarity of communication, sentence and paragraph construction, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.  If you have difficulty meeting the writing requirements, you will be asked to get remedial help from the Writing Center.

 

In any homework or writing assignment, important factors will include:

-- clarity and conciseness

-- comprehensiveness in depth and breadth

-- originality       

-- accuracy                                                                                   

-- organization, format, spelling and grammar

-- quality of literary sources used for reference, if needed.

 

 

Grading Policy

Quizzes (three)                      30%
Homework                             30%

Team written project              30%

Team presentation                10%

An Excel spreadsheet to help you track your grades in available here.

 

Assignments for the following week will be emailed to you weekly.  It is your responsibility to ensure that the instructor has your correct email address.  Assignments are late if not submitted by the beginning of class on the due date.  A penalty of 20% will be assessed for late work.  Work handed in more than one week late will receive zero credit. 

Your enrollment is contingent upon attendance during the first class.  Absence without prior arrangement with your instructor will be considered voluntary dis-enrollment. 

 

Students are graded on achievement, rather than effort.  It is the responsibility of the student to come prepared for class.  If you are not present for a quiz or the final, no make-ups will be allowed, unless arrangements prior to the class have been made with the instructor.  There are no planned extra credit projects.

 

You will be asked in each class to give anonymous feedback to the instructor on materials covered, please help him to improve the course by participating in this elective activity.

 

Grading Scale

 

A: 90-100%  

B: 80-89%

C: 70-79%

D: 60-69%

F: 0-59%

Please note that there are no +/- grades.

 

 

Expectations of Students

CSUSM expects that each student will maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior.  All written and oral assignments completed in fulfillment of course requirements must be the student’s own work.  All assignments are meant to represent the effort of each individual student.

               

Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic honesty and will be referred to the Office of Academic Affairs if detected. Acts of plagiarism may result in any of the following:

§         0 points for the assignment

 

§         F grade for the course

§         Academic suspension

§         Expulsion from the University

In all cases, acts of plagiarism are investigated and become part of the student’s permanent academic record.

Students and faculty members must not share present or past employer information that would be considered proprietary, confidential, company-sensitive, or protected trade secrets. Students are encouraged to examine their organization's limitations on sharing information externally. 

Students and faculty members may appropriately choose to illustrate lessons from their experience that might challenge these boundaries without identifying specific employers or individuals by name. 

 

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations must be approved through the Office of Disabled Student Services (DSS).  The office is located in Craven 5205 and can be contacted by phone at 760.750.4906 or 760.750.4909 (TTY).

 

 

Writing

In any homework or writing assignment, important factors will include:

-- clarity and conciseness

-- comprehensiveness in depth and breadth

-- originality             

-- accuracy                                                                                   

-- organization, format, spelling and grammar

-- quality of literary sources used for reference, if needed

                                                       


MKTG 442 Customer Analysis
Fall 2007 Schedule


NOTE: This schedule is a draft, and I pace the class to your learning, please do not rely upon the syllabus for detailed schedule information.   I use weekly emails to communicate assignments, etc. with you.  It is important for me to always have a valid email address for you.

 

 

Meeting Number

Date

Topic

 

 

 

 

1

Aug 23

Course overview, introduction to Customer Analysis (Johnson Chapter 1)

 

2

Aug 28

Market Action and Customer Information (Johnson chapters 2 & 3)

 

 

 

 

 

3

Aug 30

Lab session with in class exercises

 

4

Sep 4

Obtaining information on customers

 

5

Sep 6

Obtaining primary information (Alreck & Settle chapters 1 & 2)

 

6

Sep 11

Designing a Sample (Alreck & Settle chapter 3)

 

7

Sep 13

QUIZ #1

 

8

Sep 18

Developing survey questions: Composing questions (Alreck & Settle chapter 4)

 

9

Sep 20

Developing survey questions: Creating scales (Alreck & Settle  chapter 5)

 

10

Sep 25

Building questionnaires (Alreck & Settle chapter 6)

 

11

Oct 27

Self-administered surveys (chapter 7)

 

 

 

 

 

12

Oct 2

Customer experience model (Johnson chapters 4 & 5)

 

13

Oct 4

Consumer information processing and choice (Johnson chapters 6 & 7)

 

14

Oct 9

Customer satisfaction (Johnson chapter 8)

 

 

15

Oct 11

QUIZ #2

 

16

Oct 16

Self administered surveys (Alreck & Settle chapter 7)

 

17

Oct 18

Gathering data: Interviews (Alreck & Settle chapter 8)

 

18

Oct 23

Lab session with in class exercises : Software tools

 

19

Oct 25

Lab session with in class exercises : Software tools

 

20

Oct 30

 

 

 

 

 

 

21

Nov 1

Data analysis (chapter 9)

 

 

 

 

 

    22

Nov 6

Data analysis (chapter 9)

 

 

 

 

 

23

Nov 8

Data distributions (chapter 10)

 

 

 

 

 

24

Nov 13

Interpreting statistics (chapter 11)

 

 

 

 

 

25

Nov 15

Interpreting statistics (chapter 11)

 

 

 

 

 

26

Nov 20

Writing research reports & making presentations (chapter 12)

 

 

 

 

 

27

Nov 22

No class -- Thanksgiving

 

 

 

 

 

28

Nov 27

Quiz #3

 

 

 

 

 

29

Nov 29

Lab session

 

 

 

 

 

30

Dec 4

Project Presentations

 

 

 

 

 

31

Dec 6

Project Presentations

 

 

 

 

 

32

Dec 11

Project Presentations, as needed