Details:
Mobile phones have become an integral part of our daily life. However, choosing a mobile phone and plan can be a really complicated decision, subject to many competing influences. Would you use an Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone? Would you select a prepaid or postpaid plan? Would you prefer Telstra, Optus, or Vodafone? Is it a 3G or 4G phone? How large is the screen? What colour is the phone? How big is the internal storage? Does the plan cover free talk time, texts, or data? How much are the monthly plan costs? Are there any handset repayments? How long is the contract?…… What is it that affects this decision and makes it different for everyone? This assignment requires you to look at the mobile phone and plan choices of three (3) people you can include yourself in this analysis if you wish.
Firstly, develop a list of 6 different mobile phone and plan options. Try to include some that aren't options YOU would like to take but that you know appeal to other people. You might want to refer to websites of different mobile carriers and electronics stores while developing this list. Be specific buying a white Samsung Galaxy S III 16GB for $777 and joining the Optus $2 days prepaid plan (rather than just saying buying a Samsung phone). You may wish to include specifications and details of the mobile phone and plan options.
Develop a second list of at least 8 evaluative criteria (Chp 5 of your text) that people might consider when making decisions for mobile phones and plans for example, operating system, colour, screen, camera, storage size, phone and plan total costs, contract duration, value and data included in the plan, etc. There are many possible reasons underlying mobile phone and plan decisions.
Place these two lists in a decision matrix (example in textbook).
Show this decision matrix to 3 people (one can be yourself if you need).
Ask them to rank the evaluative criteria – how important is each criterion in determining THEIR choice of mobile phones and plans? (For example you might allocate 100 points in total to the evaluative criteria depending on the relative importance of each criterion). Ask them to rate each mobile phone and plan option on your list against each of the criteria (for example, using a scale of 1 to 5, option one might score well on criterion one and get a 5 while it is poor on criterion two and gets a 1. The numbering you use is up to you.)
Using the compensatory decision rule calculate which mobile phone and plan option your respondent is most likely to choose based on the matrix. Is this the one they would have actually chosen? If there is a difference, please provide a brief explanation – for example, the matrix might suggest Adam is most likely to choose Telstra's $80/month 24- month plan to get a free iPhone 5 16GB, but in reality he chooses Vodafone's $30/month 12-month plan for an HTC One X that requires $36/month handset repayments. Why would thisdifference occur?
Secondly, conduct an analysis of Personal Characteristics leading to mobile phone and plan choices.
Analyse the choices made by your respondents. Why are their rankings of evaluative criteria different? Why are their choices different?
Using the theoretical areas below, analyse and explain the behaviour of your respondents. Try to explain their choices AND the differences between them using theory from:
Demographics (age, gender, family situation, income, ethnicity etc) Personality (choose a couple of traits that are apparent to you from knowing this person, you do not have to subject them to a personality test!)
You MUST use theory to support your analysis. This section of your report requires support from a minimum of 10 journal article references.
Note: For example, if you are suggesting that gender has a role to play in the decision, you need a journal article reference that indicates different genders have different preferences, same for age. If personality is an issue suggest the personality trait at work and support that with a reference perhaps extroverts, as compared to introverts, are more likely to choose a plan that provides unlimited social media access.
Your report should follow the subsequent structure:
- title page;
- executive summary;
- table of contents;
- introduction;
- creation of decision matrix;
- application of compensatory decision rule;
- analysis of choices;
- conclusion;
- reference list.