| Unit name | Understanding Customers, Consumers and Markets |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EFIMM0058 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. David M Evans |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Management - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Understanding customers, consumers and markets is an essential part of the marketing process and function. This core unit equips students with the knowledge and skills to analyse markets and recognise the range of actors within them. It encourages students to distinguish between the concepts of customers and consumers, evaluate a range of approaches to consumption, and explore the different ways in which ‘markets’ can be defined and understood. The unit will draw on a range of disciplines from psychology and economics, through neuroscience and STS (Science and Technology Studies), to sociology and anthropology. Students are encouraged to explore actors’ motivations when entering a market and to analyse the factors that frame the encounter between supply and demand. They analyse the different ways consumers behave across range of contexts, within and beyond markets. Students are then required to reflect critically on the relationships between markets, marketing and consumption.
On completion of this unit, students will be able to:
ILO 01: Consider and distinguish between a range of approaches to the concepts of customers, consumers and markets.
ILO 2: Analyse a given market environment and appraise the range of factors that might affect the behaviour of actors within it.
ILO 3: Demonstrate an appreciation of how an understanding of customers, consumers and markets contribute to effective marketing practice.
ILO 4: Critically assess the ethical issues associated with marketing practice, its role in the organization of markets, and its influence on the behaviour of consumers and customers.
The flipped learning style adopted by this unit requires students to engage with a range of sources prior to taught sessions. These include, but are not limited to, short videos outlining key concepts, contextual video content (Youtube, TED talks), academic papers, case study material, market reports and news reports. These resources will be delivered through Blackboard and will be supported by existing reading list software.The unit structure offers 30 contact hours. The remaining 170 learning hours will be spent in independent study and in the preparation of assessment.
The summative assessment on this unit will be:
1) a reflective learning portfolio (2,500 words long, inclusive of references and appendices) and
2) a 2-hour ‘open book’ examination.
Over the course of the unit, students will be required to maintain a reflective portfolio in which they interrogate concepts covered in the unit and reflect upon their implications upon their own consumption practices and of other actors in the market environment. Students will be allowed to take this portfolio into the examination. The examination questions will require students to refer to their portfolio and reflect critically upon the relevance and application of a range of academic theory to a given market context. On completion of the examination, students hand their portfolio in alongside their exam script for marking.
The final unit mark will be comprised of 40% Reflective Portfolio (ILO1, ILO3) and 60% examination (ILO1, 2, 3, 4).
Formative assessment takes varying forms on this unit. Flipped delivery means that students are required to engage with material in preparation for taught sessions and students can test their own knowledge with online quizzes. The content of the reflective portfolios will form the basis of much of the work done in small ‘break-out’ group sessions. Students will have opportunity to present their thoughts and ideas and get verbal feedback from other members of the group and the academic present. Peer to peer feedback will be used where appropriate.
The core text for this unit is:
In addition, it is suggested that students read around the subject and may choose to draw from a range of texts including (but not limited to) the following:
Academic Textbooks
Academic and Practitioner Journals
Other news media
