MKT 337- Exam 1 Optional Take-Home Questions

 

The following small projects may be done at home- or not- prior to the exam.  If you choose to do one or both projects, you should bring the written ÒdeliverableÓ to the exam and submit it/them with the exam.  If you choose to do one or both questions at home, then the amount of points done on the in-class exam is reduced by the amount of points of the optional take-home project.  For example, if you do project one, which is worth 10 points, then you only would do 90 points worth of questions on the in-class exam.  Do project 2, do 80 points on the in-class exam; do both project 1 and 2, then do 70 points on the in-class exam.  Remember, these are optional projects, so you can do 0, 1, or both.

 

 

 

1.  Mystery Shopper

 

For this project there are three sections, each of which should not exceed one typewritten page.  For this project, you should:

 

a) investigate what is a mystery shopper.  What is the purpose of a mystery shopper?  Who uses them, and how commonly are they used?  Are they effective?  You should provide citations for the research you use to answer these and other questions, and this section should be no more than one page.

 

b)  construct a checklist of areas that a mystery shopper should investigate, including rating scales.  You should also provide justification for you checklist, and citations if appropriate.  Again, this section should not be more than one page.

 

c)  finally, you should visit a retailer of your choice as if you were a mystery shopper.  Utilizing your checklist, you should construct a brief report of your findings.

 

 

2   Ethics and Retailing

 

The objectives of this project are:

 

1) to investigate an area of ethical concern within the marketing discipline,

2) to investigate an area of ethical philosophy

3) to accomplish a useful interdisciplinary conceptual transfer by creatively and critically applying ethical concepts to marketing practice

 

This project entails an appoximately 3 page typewritten paper which should:

 

1) identify and elaborate an area of ethical concern within the marketing area,

2) investigate an ethical philosophy or philosopher of interest to you,

3) provide a guide, based on that ethical philosophy, as to how marketers should act in regards to the ethical area of concern

 

In identifying an area of ethical concern, you may find the following site helpful:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_ethics

 

Whether you select an area from this site or another ethical area, you should elaborate why this is an ethical concern, providing evidence for your assertions. What is the problem? Why is this an ethical question? Importantly, what evidence supports the notion that this is a problem area? What are the pro and con arguments? Remember to cite thoughts that are not your own. This section should probably be a page or so, preferably less.

 

In investigating an ethical philosophy or philosopher of interest, you can choose pretty much anyone or anything you want if they are Òmainstream.Ó For the others, you might want to check with me first.   For example, you may  find a generic discussion of ethical philosophies at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555614_1/Ethics.html and various other sources. Even an ethics textbook may give you ideas, or maybe you know of a philosopher about whom youÕd like to learn more. The key is to investigate an ethical philosophy, one that provides guidance on what is good/bad, right/wrong. You should probably not rely solely on encyclopedic sources, as they do not provide sufficient detail. Be diligent in investigating multiple and more rigorous sources (e.g., http://www.erraticimpact.com/~topics/html/ethics.htm - thatÕs an example; you should find your own sources), and be able to provide a cogent description and analysis of the philosophy. What are the premises of this ethical philosophy? What is right/wrong good/bad? How is right/wrong good/bad determined? Based on what? Etc. Avoid biographical descriptions and other tangential topics. Try to develop a single thesis (many philosophers had many things to say), as narrow and deep is better than wide and shallow. Again, remember to properly cite thoughts that are not your own. This section should be about a page long.

 

Finally, the third section puts it together in applying the ethical philosophy to the ethical concern in retailing. Based on the propositions in the philosophy, you should describe how retailers should act in this area of ethical concern. Develop a guide to action in the retailing ethical area of concern based on the philosophy you investigated. Remember that the guide to action should flow from the philosophy. DO NOT RESEARCH AND REPORT AN ETHICAL GUIDE/CODE OF ETHICS FOR RETAILING/MARKETING/BUSINESS DEVELOPED BY SOMEONE ELSE!!! This application is the heart of the assignment and should reflect original thinking. After describing your code of conduct for retailers based on the ethical philosophy you investigated, you should explain why these actions are implied by and consistent with the philosophy. That is, why would such actions be good/right? Lastly, what is your opinion as to whether retailing practioners should adhere to the code of conduct you have developed based on the ethical philosophy investigated? Is such conduct desirable and realistic? What would be the outcome in real life, do you think? Etc. This third section requires no citations, as it should be all original thought and based on information from the first two sections. The third section should probably be a page or more in length.