Why We Buy Field Project Summary
For this project you are being asked to conduct observational research on a local retail store.
- This must be a retail establishment
- It cannot be a restaurant, large chain, or franchise store (e.g. Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Taco Bell, Home Depot, etc.)
Your job will be to analyze this establishment and its customers guided by the principles discussed in Why We Buybook and the CB textbook.
Your write up should include a drawing, or computer generated figure, of the store layout. The major sections of the store should be labeled along with store entrances, exits, cashiers, etc. For example, is it noisy? Crowded? What does the store smell like or look like? What do the people in store look like (employees and consumers)? What type(s) of products does your store sell?What is their social media presence like? What is motivating these consumers? How are they acting? Why are they there? What is influencing their behaviors and decisions? Etc. Etc. Etc.
From a Consumer Behavior perspective, what is the firm doing right and what is it doing wrong? Be specific in your observations and suggestions using the concepts you have learned from the Why We Buy book and CB textbook.
The deliverable will be a written analysis at least 8 and do not to exceed 10 pages (double spaced, 12 point, New Times Roman), excluding the title page, figures (store layout, etc.), and any appendices.
It should be structured as if you are presenting it to the business owner and describe, in detail, your observations, what they should keep and what they should change using the principles you have learned from the texts.
Note that strong papers will use the ideas, theories, and research discussed in Why We Buy and from the CB Text to frame the analysis and provide observations and suggestions for improvement.
This project is meant to simulate real work scenarios. In those situations, rather than being told exactly what to do, you are given an assignment and told to complete it. I am leaving it up to you to determine how to best gather, organize and present your information(format, length, slides, organization, etc.) to your clients.Simply stated, show me what you have learned in this class through this project. Be creative and organized in your approach.
- This project is worth 120 points
- Retail establishment chosen – 5 points
- Outline – 5 points due by Friday, July 20, 2018
- Rough draft – 10 points
- Report – 100 points
- The outline and rough draft are completion points. How much detail you include is up to you. However, the more detail you provide, the more input I can provide. You will receive the full points if I can see that you are moving forward with the project
- You will primarily be graded in comparison to the work from the other students in this course.
Why We Buy Field Project Rubric:
An “A” paper will exemplify the following:
- Explicitly define and utilize specific and relevant concepts from both the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book and effectively apply those to an appropriate retail establishment
- Demonstrate a deep understanding of the material in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- In other words… prove to me in an unequivocal manner that you have read and understand the material in both the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book and can apply it to a real world situation
- Include a well-developed, substantial, and clearly articulated section dedicated to specific “lessons learned” from this project and course material.
- What did you learn, why was this valuable, how might you use it in the future, what relevance does it have to your life, etc. etc. etc.
- Retail establishment
- Clearly explain and demonstrate why the retail establishment was chosen and how it exemplifies specific concepts in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Include pictures, drawings, charts, graphs, anything, etc. that help to support and illustrate the concepts in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Include well thought out and articulated observations from your time spent in the retail establishment and how those specifically relate to the material in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Based on the course material, highlights and effectively communicate areas of strength as well as potential areas of improvement for the chosen retail establishment
- Report
- 12 point, Times New Roman, Double Spaced
- Interesting, original, clear, concise, yet of adequate and substantial length to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the course material
- Well formatted, easy to read, follow and understand, etc.
- In other words… If you were paying $30,000 for this consulting project as a customer, how would you want it to look, and what would you want it to contain?
A “B” paper will:
- Adequately define and utilize specific and relevant concepts from both the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the material in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- In other words… demonstrate that you have read and understand the material in both the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book and can apply it to a real world situation
- Include an adequately developed section dedicated to specific “lessons learned” from this project and course material.
- Retail establishment
- Adequately demonstrate and explain why the retail establishment was chosen and how it exemplifies concepts in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Include pictures, drawings, charts, graphs, anything, etc. that help to support and illustrate the concepts in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Include observations from your time spent in the retail establishment and how those relate to the material in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Highlight and effectively communicate areas of strength as well as potential areas of improvement for the chosen retail establishment
- Report
- 12 point, Times New Roman, Double Spaced
- Clear, concise, yet of sufficient length to demonstrate an adequate understanding of the course material
A “C” paper will:
- Adequately define and utilize major/general (as opposed to more specific and retail establishment related) concepts from both the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book and effectively apply those to an appropriate retail establishment
- Demonstrate a good understanding of the material in the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Include a section dedicated to general lessons learned from this project and course material
- Retail establishment
- Provide an acceptable explanation of why the retail establishment was chosen and how it exemplifies concepts from the CB textbook and the Why We Buy book
- Not contain supporting pictures, drawings, etc.
- Not include adequate observations from time spent in the retail establishment
- Outline general areas of strength and weakness of the retail establishment
- Report
- Not be organized, contain spelling and grammatical errors, not well formatted, difficult to follow, hard to understand, etc.
A “D” paper will:
- Show a lack of understanding of concepts from the course material and fails to adequately apply those to an appropriate retail establishment
- Demonstrate a lack of understanding of ether the CB textbook or the Why We Buy Book
- Contain a lessons learned section is unconvincing and fails to demonstrate engagement in the course and a basic understanding of the course material
- Retail establishment
- Not justify why the retail establishment was chosen and fails to show how it exemplifies the concepts from the CB textbook and the Why We buy book
- Report
- Not meet the criteria of a C paper
An “F” paper will:
- Not meet the criteria for even a “D” paper