Assignment:
If you were part of a focus group participating in a research project to determine the top ten core values in the American society today, what contributions would you offer (list at least three). Note that your list of three need not be yours personally.
Some contributions that I would offer include values that have been around for a long time. For example, freedom of speech, individualism, equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, justice, etc. I believe these values are some of the top core values in our society because they are commonly used as reasons to fight a court battle. People in our society believe strongly in their individual rights and won't hesitate to protect those rights against anyone who challenges them.
In your opinion, which American business firm should be included in the top ten of those most attuned with American core values?
In my opinion, I would say Google is one of the top ten businesses most attuned with American core values. I say this because Google is focused on the individual user (individualism), they provide perhaps the most used tool for allowing freedom of speech (You Tube), they certainly focus on societies pursuit of happiness by allowing people to search for and look up anything they might want or need, and they believe in equality of each user because they rely on the votes of millions of users to identify what works best for their online tools, as well as determining what information is deemed most important. Google also provides employment to a lot of people which allows them to pursue life, and anything else they may wish. In my opinion, Google represents what the American dream is. They represent capitalism, which in my opinion, is what drives our economy and our way of life.
In our text book, chapter four, figure 4.2 shows Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This can help us determine why we value the things that we do. Basically, what things are most important to us. I say this because knowing what is important to us can help us determine what things we must value in order to meet those needs. For example, if we didn't have a need for safety, self actualization, or ego, then would we really value life, liberty, or equality? I think the answer is no. That is, we value life, liberty, and equality because these values help meet our basic needs.
References
Solomon, M.R., (2011). Consumer Bahavior (9th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN-10: 0-13-611092-4
United States constitution
Declaration of Independence
If you were part of a focus group participating in a research project to determine the top ten core values in the American society today, what contributions would you offer (list at least three). Note that your list of three need not be yours personally. In your opinion, which American business firm should be included in the top ten of those most attuned with American core values? Respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.
If I were part of a focus group participating in a research project to determine the top ten core values in the American society today, the top three contributions I would offer would be; convenience, materialism, and ability to financially prosper.
The reason I chose these three are rather simple. Our society is flourishing with fast food chains, frozen convenience foods, even drive through pharmacies. We have stores where you can buy food, clothes, and a lawnmower all in the same place just for the sake of convenience. As far as materialism, the people with the most money seem to be of more value to the public than people who are actually of service to our country. For example, my news feed on all of my social networks and email websites has been bombarded with videos and stories about the musicians Jay-Z and Beyoncé's personal love life. Is this relevant to society? Is this more relevant than say a story I read about a man who is building portable houses for homeless people- certainly not. But in the American society, materialism and the people who have it are valued much more. The last value I chose is the ability to financially prosper. People in our society often make decisions based on how much money they can make, versus how much good they can do for people or the world as a whole.
In my opinion, the American business firm that is most attuned with these American core values is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart Super Stores are the epitome of convenience. There is not a more convenient place to shop and the company markets themselves in this way. Wal-Mart represents materialism because the stores are filled with "materials" that society does not need but are heavily marketed anyways; which leads us to the ability to prosper. Wal-Mart prospers financially selling products that not only do people not need, but are often times bad for us, primarily there food. Despite the alarming amount of hazardous and toxic ingredients in the food at Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart still markets and sells them for the sake of financial prosperity.
References
Solomon, M.R. (2011). Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Discussion 2
VALS placed me as an Experiencer and an Innovator. One thing that the two have in common which I definitely agree with is that both of these categories put a high emphasis on fashion. While I am not necessarily the most fashionable person I always like to make sure that I look well put together before leaving the house as I think that the way you present yourself says a lot about your character especially when it comes to first impressions.
According to VALS. experiencers are "motivated by self-expression" (The VALS survey) which I think is very important. I also saw that VALS described experiencers as "Experiencers are avid consumers and spend a comparatively high proportion of their income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing," (The VALS survey) which certainly describes me accurately. I spend a large amount of my disposable income on being able to have fun with friends or travel.
I also relate to the innovators category as I love rewarding experiences and personal challenges. I recently changed jobs paths from a manager of a call center to an executive assistant as I wanted to do something more challenging that would keep me on my toes. I also love authentic products. I am always trying to shop locally at small retailers and by as many "homemade" or locally grown products as possible.
The VALS survey Retrieved from: https://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml
your text discusses the Values and Lifestyles System (VALS2TM) and how it is used as a segmentation strategy by some firms. Take The VALSTM Survey, which is free, and only takes a few minutes. Critique your VALS orientation.
What group does VALS put you in?
The VALS put me as: Experiencer/Striver
Do you agree with that group?
I would say yes, I think my dominant approach to life is to experience as much as possible, and regarding my emphasis (striver), I believe I always strive to do the best that I can at everything I do. However, I think parts of me are in other groups as well.
Do you think you should be in a different group?
I like to think part of me is an achiever because I won't quite until I am done with what I accomplished (like my degree). I also think a lot about things, which means part of my is in the thinkers group, and I think part of me is an innovator because I am always trying to come up with new things, or ways to do them. For example, I have two inventions that I came up with and believe they would really sell in our markets. I won't say what they are because I have not patented them yet, but hopefully one day I will.
I would say the test is mostly accurate in saying that Experiencer/Striver is my most dominant group, but I think each person has at least a little part of them that fits into all of the groups that are listed on the VALS test.
Our text talks about the different personality traits and how they help determine what groups we are a part of. It mentions how people interested in new and exciting experiences fit into the market segment that the travel industry is after. "This desire translates into big business for the "adventure travel" industry, which provides white-knuckle experiences" (Solomon, 2011, p. 214). Basically, looking at our approach to life can help determine whether or not we should be included in a business's target market segment.
Before this discussion I knew that target marketing should be directed a specific categories of people, but I never really thought of how we should determine what categories consumers should fit into. I guess you could say I was going off of the approach that they already existed (the categories of people). Basically, I am saying that the ability to determine what motivates consumers to take action is valuable information to have as a marketing professional.
References
Solomon, M.R., (2011). Consumer Bahavior (9th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN-10: 0-13-611092-4
https://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml