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PREFACE
True learning is born out of experience and
observation practical experience is one of thebest types of leanings that one can remember
throughout the life. After II semesters in
learning theoretical aspects of administration
and management, the day come to apply these
incorporate world in content of modern
industrial enterprise that has to go through its
different terminal to achieve that corporate
goals. The main object of practical training is
to develop practical knowledge and
experience and awareness about industrial
environment and business practices in the
student as a supplement to theoretical studies
of administration and management in specific
area like HRM. It increases the skill, ability
and attitude of a student to perform specific
job in industrial environment. Fortunately, I got
golden opportunity to visit and complete my
six week training at THE TIMES OF INDIA.
Here, I got chance to see the functioning HRD
departments and imbibe alot learning of thesubjects THE TIMES OF INDIA is a wide
Organization producing newspapers, the main
productsincludeTimes of India, Economic
Times, Radio Mirchi etc. It has developed in
many fields.Today guess is a legend in the
world of business and organisation at a home
and abroad.
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2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Through this acknowledgement, I express
my sincere gratitude towards all those
people who have helped me in the
preparation of this project, which has been
learning experience. I appreciate the co-
operation by the management and staff of
THETIMES OF INDIA for having given me -
the opportunity to training in their office.
I would like to thanks the Head Of the
Department Dr. A.Kumar , the faculty , the
librarian and the administrative staff of
Department of Business Administration,
Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar, for their
support.Finally, I express my sincere thanks
to Mr.Ashok Solanki and Mr.Hemant Patel
who guided me throughout the project and
gave me Valuable suggestion and
encouragement.
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3
INTRODUCTION OF THE TIMES OF INDIA
The first edition appears on November 3, 1838
known as "The Bombay Times and Journal of
Commerce. Later to be known as The Times of
India .The first edition appears on November3,
1838 known as "The Bombay Times and Journal of
Commerce". The issue is published twice a week.
Dr. J.E. Brennan the first editor also Secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce. Rs 30/- is the annual
subscription.1846 The newspaper experiences
proprietary changes and Dr. George Brit appointed
editor.1850 Shareholders decide to increase the
share capital and the paper converted into a daily
1855 Telegraph Services opens up in India shortlyafterwards, the paper signs an agreement with
Reuters for raising news coverage and lowering
subscription rates. That old tie was renewed in
2006 with the pact between TIMESNOW & Reuters
1861 Editor Robert Knight amalgamates The
Bombay Times, Bombay Standard and Bombay
Telegraph & Courier to form 'The Times of India'
and gives it a national character.1880 The Times ofIndia Weekly edition launched .The Times of India
weekly edition launched, to meet the need for a
weekend paper. This later came to be known as
the Illustrated Weekly of India in 1923.TheTimes of
India Weekly edition launched.1890 Editor Henry
Curwen buys TOI in partnership with Charles Kane.
1892 Following the death of Henry Curwen, T.
Bennett becomes the editor and enters into a
partnership with F.M. Coleman to form a joint stock
company - Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.(BCCL).
1902 The paper moves in to its current office
opposite CST. It started out at the Paris Bazar and
then moved on to Church gate where things got so
bad that editor Bennett had to complete his
editorial elsewhere after the ceiling fan collapsed
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in his room. 1907 Editor Stanley Reed
revolutionises news production by extending the
deadline to midnight. Until then any news that
came in after 5pm was held over for the next day.
TOI's first price war under editor Stanley Reed:
price cut from 4 Annas to 1 Anna; circulation rises
5 times.1923 Evening News of India launched 1929
The Times Of India Illustrated Weekly renamed The
Illustrated Weekly Of India 1930The Column "Bombay
100 Years ago" published 1930 The Column "Bombay100 Years ago" published First movie review
published 1940 First time news items appeared on
the front page 1946 For the first time the paper
transfers to Indian ownership. Seth Ramakrishna
Dalmia buys out Bennett, Coleman & Co.Ltd. For Rs. 2
crores.1948 Sahu Jain Group become the owners of
the company. Shanti Prasad Jain is the first Chairman
of the group 1950
lions to elephants
launched
rank Moraes succeeded Ivor Jehu to become the
first Indian editor (1950-57)R K Laxmans common
man cartoon starts.
1952 Filmfare- first film magazine in Englishlaunched
1959 Femina- first womens magazine in Englishlaunched
1961 The Economic Times launched 1962 Maharashtra Times launched 1965 Femina Miss India contest started.
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1987 Printing of The Times of India fromKandivili Press in Mumbai.
1988 Times of India completes 150 years.Specialstamp released by P &
1991 BBC features Times of India amongworld'ssix great newspapers
1994 Bombay Times, the sassy coloursupplement that chronicles the changing
lifestyle mores of a globalising city is launched.
1996 Times of India carry its first colourphotograph. Times of India crosses 1 million
mark in circulation.
1998 BCCL enters into music market with TimesMusic.
1999 Indiatimes.com launched 1999 BCCL enters music retailing business with
Planet M and radio broadcasting business with
Radio Mirchi 2000 TOI crosses the 2 million mark in
circulation.
2001 TOI goes all colour and storms Delhi bybeing"Number One"
2003 President APJ Abdul Kalam visits TOI toinaugurate Times Foundation
2004 Television business launched with thelaunch of a lifestyle and entertainment channel
called ZOOME Paper launched Times cape- the
Times Group Intranet launched. Launch of the
jobs portal Times Jobs
http://www.timesjobs.com. Times Jobs.
compioneered the concept of job fairs in
India,branded asBig Leap
2005 MT Largest read Marathi Newspaper inMumbaiIRSsurvey
TOIGoes daily full colour Mumbai Mirror launched TimesMatri.com -
Launched in August - re-launched as
SimplyMarry.com in December 2006. 2006 TIMES NOW TV News Channel launched
ET first newspaper available on cell phone
Mumbai Mirror Afternoon edition launched
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Offers Mumbai Mirror or Maharashtra Times as
complimentary copy with TOI at a price of Rs.4/-
TOIThe only English language daily to feature
among the top 10 with a readership of
131.4lakhs- IRS Survey by Hansa Research
Times Group MD, Mr Vineet Jain awarded the
scroll of honour for being the new age media
guru - Hero Honda Indian TV Academy Awards
Times cape the Times Group Intranet portal re-
launched - now powered by SAP Net weaver
BCCL goes live on SAP systemMagicBricks.com
launched in October 2006 targets the OnlineReal Estate Space Smart Hire launched
April2006, is witnessing stupendous growth with
its focus on providing organisations with end-to-
end recruitment solutions. Ads2Book.com The
Worlds Only Global Ad Booking Engine -
Relaunched in August 2006With intensive R&D,
the Net-2-Print classifieds booking
systemAds2Book.com was created and imbuedwith AI (artificial intelligence) that assisted
users through the entire process of Creating,
Booking & Paying for their Print Classified Ads,
all from the comfort of their desktop.
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KEY MANAGEMENT & EDITORIAL HEADS
KEY MANAGEMENT HEADS
BCCL PROMOTERS & DIRECTORS
Chairperson : Indu Jain
Vice-Chairman & MD : Samir Jain
Managing Director : Vineet Jain
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Director : Trishla Jain
Executive Director & CEO : Ravindra Dhariwal
Executive Director & COO : Shrijeet Mishra
Executive Director & President: Arunabh Das Sharma
Non-Executive Director: A.P. Parigi
Non-Executive Director: Kalpana J. Morparia
Non Executive Director: M. Damodaran
Non Executive Director: Leo Puri
Times Television Network (comprising TGBCL
and ZEN)
Group CEO (TV business): Sunil Lulla
ZEN CEO: Avinash Kaul
Times Internet Limited CEO : Satyan Gajwani
Times of Money President: Avijit Nanda
Times Business Solutions Ltd CEO : Satyan Gajwani
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Times VPL CEO : Sunil Rajshekhar
Worldwide Media CEO: Tarun Rai
Entertainment Network (India) Ltd CEO :
Prashant Panday
Alternate Brand Solutions (I) Ltd CEO :
Prashant Panday
Times Innovative Media Limited CEO :
Sunder Hemrajani
Absolute Radio CEO: Donnach O' Driscoll
Times Foundation Head: Shailendra Nautiyal
EDITORIAL HEADS
The Times of India Editorial Director: Jaideep Bose
Executive Editor : Arindam Sengupta
Economic Times
Editorial Director : Rahul Joshi
Maharashtra Times
Executive Editor : Ashok Panwalkar
Navbharat Times
Executive Editor : Ramkripal Singh
Mumbai Mirror
Executive Editor : Meenal Baghel
Speaking TreeExecutive Editor : Narayani Ganesh
Vijaya Karnataka
Executive Editor : E. Raghavan
Times Now
Executive Editor : Arnab Goswami
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ET Now
Executive Editor : R. Sridharan
ZoomExecutive Editor : Omar Qureshi
Code of Conduct for Employees
You shall not borrow or lend money within the
Company.
You shall disclose all your interests including
investments in other companies and your relatives
in politics to ensure that you are unbiased in your
work.
You or your immediate relative(s) shall refuse any gift
offered by any person(s) who has or may seek to
have dealings with the Company. The Companys
reputation and the respect of those with whom it
deals with are among its most vital assets. These
must not be jeopardized by acceptance of any
gifts. However, gifts given as prizes at exhibitions,
conferences, seminars, etc. or as part of a free
raffle or draw may be accepted but in principlethey belong to the company.
Any Hospitality/ Entertainment which is of substantial
monetary value should be refused. It would
however be too rigid to say that no hospitality
should be accepted. Some examples of hospitality /
entertainment which may be acceptable (subject
to a nominal limit of Rs. 500/-) depends on who is
providing the hospitality, why the employee isthere and the nature of the dealings between the
Company, the employee and the provider of the
hospitality: e.g. a working meal provided to allow
parties to discuss or to continue to discuss
business, invitation to attend a dinner or function
of a Society, Institute or other non-commercial
body with whom the Company has contact,
invitations to attend functions where the employee
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represents the Company (opening ceremonies,
public speaking events and conferences).
The Company shows more appreciation for those who
keep away from smoking and drinking and
discourages all forms of substance abuse.
The protocols and culture of the Company should be
respected as being different from those in other
Institutions or Organizations. The Company does
not encourage practices, designations, courtesies,
etc. followed in other Institutions or Organizations
because the same delays the process. The
Companys courtesies and protocols are meant toexpedite the transactions. The Company believes
that people who perform over-courtesies tend to
cause divisiveness in the Company.
In the course of training and development as well as
your engagement with the Company you will be
privy to or possess proprietary and confidential
information/ knowledge including trade secrets and
the Companys confidential business, marketingand publishing strategies. The same shall not be
used by you except in the interest of the Company.
You will not part with any information that would
be detrimental to the Companys interests, nor
shall you make any statement to the press/ media
on any such issues on behalf of the Company or
otherwise, unless authorized specifically by the
competent authority.
In the event of any emergency where intellectual
property created, written, given or made by you is
sought by the Government, then the same will be
delivered with due written permission of the
Company. In such a case, an application for the
same is to be made to the competent authority of
the Company by the Government Agency desiring
the same, citing appropriate reason.
Other organs of the State including Government or
Public Institutions may proposition you to do
specialized writings on the plea that only you can
do such specialized writing on laudable subjects
such as military, national integration, etc. You are
aware that when you take up such assignments it
is in deviation and conflict with your employment
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relationship with the Company. If ever you are
permitted to make such a contribution for the
nation, it will then, obviously, be the contribution
of the Company and you will be duty bound to
project and represent so that the Company gets
due acknowledgement.
As you are in employment with a high visibility leader
media Company, you may be pampered,
mollycoddled and felicitated by the Government
and other organs of State or Sections of the Civil
Society for their Public Relation (PR) reason.
Senior members of the Government includingMinisters may visit you on various occasions such
as your anniversaries, birthdays, etc. for their PR
purpose. Since you would be involved in the
processing of news and handling of events of
importance to people belonging to public or special
celebrity group, you thus occupy a position of
importance to these groups, who will obviously
make reverential gestures to you for their PR need.You will not expect the same from the Company,
as your relationship with the Company strictly is
that of employer-employee and the Company has
no need to do any PR with you.
The Company has often welcomed former employees
back, and it is a matter of record that people have
left and returned. The Company has never felt the
need to hold farewell events which have no
rationale.
In the event you resign/ separate from the Company,
you will not recruit, select or influence in any way,
any employee of our Company or anyone working
with us on contract, to join your future
employment, as an employee or partner or any
other form of work association, after the
separation of your services with us.
Oral Promises/ Commitments: The Company believes
that mere casual conversations are not
commitments. Where such conversations have led
to commitments the onus is obviously on the
employee to submit proof of such commitments if
at all made. But the reality is that in the absence of
any written commitment, no individual and no
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Company can ever get to the truth of such claims.
And therefore any side talk or commitment unless
duly recorded are unfounded and untenable. While
such claims are generally without any substance
they end up causing needless stress and wastage
of time.
Oral promises do not constitute a contract between
the individual and the Company and are by no way
binding on the Company. Such oral talks even if so
held sans contract, do not constitute any
enforceable claims. Rewards are at best
contextual, linked to obligations or performance orresponsibility. A written contract therefore states
in black and white the obligations followed by the
reward and is therefore acknowledged and
enforced by the Company as opposed to unfounded
promises.
Code of Conduct for Journalists (applicable for all
Times Group brands)
As a brand, all Times Group Brands (hereinafter
referred to as Times) draws its power and
influence from two things:
Our ability to deliver the complete story: making sure
our facts are correct, citing our sources, and
providing analysis and context
The confidence of our readers that we are unbiased
in our reporting and have no agenda to further save
that of accurate reporting.
This Code of Conduct must be observed in spirit, not
just to the letter. The purpose is to avoid any
conflict of interests, any compromise of the
Company's reputation and any bias, whether real or
perceived, on the part of the Company staff, be it
journalists, sub-editors, editors, cameramen,
photographers or senior managers etc. Adherence
to these principles is an essential part of their
responsibilities in Times and shall form part of
their contractual obligations with the Company and
hence they should at all times conduct themselves
as per this code.
This code is necessarily not comprehensive - it may
not cover each and every ethical dilemma that a
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Times journalist might face. But we hope that it
will indicate the spirit in which you should react to
such dilemmas - and as always, when in doubt,
please consult with your supervisor or your senior
editor.
All Times staffers must conduct themselves by the
following rules:
Confidentiality: The Company will regularly receive
confidential information as part of normal news
gathering. All information which is not in the public
domain is confidential. This includes information
relating to the Company, its shareholders and toany company, for example information about
advertisers' credit and financial position. We will
abide by the terms of confidentiality and shall not
breach a confidence or use confidential
information improperly or carelessly.
"Church and State." Our reporting and analysis is
entirely independent of our advertising and
investment departments (Response / Sales andBrand Capital). We do not give preferential
treatment to advertisers / treaty partners nor do
we entertain requests from the business
departments of BCCL to do so. We observe the
"Chinese wall" between editorial and business.
Quality journalism a) To provide the best reportage
and analysis to our readers and viewers, we must
ensure we are:
Accurate: We must present information that is true,
and we must verify every fact and quote what we
print. Your editors have the mandate to demand to
see proof of any information that you base a story
on, and to know the source of information that is
potentially sensitive.
Unbiased: We must carry both sides of the story. If
we are doing a negative story, we HAVE to give the
subject time to respond - and carry their official
denial or statement that they declined to comment,
if that is what they choose to do. We should always
talk to an unbiased third party, which may or may
not feature prominently in the story before printing
it.
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Attributed: While we must sometimes use anonymous
sources, we should restrict them to the absolutely
essential cases. In all cases we should explain
why the source is anonymous, and we should
attempt to describe the source's relation to the
story - for example "a banker involved with the
negotiations" rather than "sources close to the
development"
Verified: We have missed stories because of our
conservative approach. We have often had stories
and not run them because of that elusive last bit of
confirmation; we have woken up the next morningor several mornings later to find the same news
with far fewer details in some other paper. In the
long run, missing a story here or there is better for
the brand and its credibility than running with a
story prematurely and being forced to retract it.
Honest:
We do not make up quotes or information to support
our story, nor do we appropriate the work of others- whether it's other media or any other written /
audio-visual work - and pass it off as our own.
Plagiarism is a firing offence at Times.
We must also be seen to be honest, which has
implications on our interactions with sources,
officials of the companies we cover, and
communications professionals or mediators in
these interactions.
We are also honest about our mistakes: if we get
something wrong, we will carry a correction, and
we must do so at the earliest available opportunity.
If we make corrections to our online copy, we will
include an update/ editor's note that states that a
correction has been made.
We will not use offensive language, obscenities and
racist / sexist / religious terms in any copy or
script, unless they are part of a direct quote and
their usage is critical to the story being reported.
We do not pay for information, nor do we promise
financial gain to our sources in exchange for
information.
We do not accept gifts or money from sources, PR
agencies or companies that we cover. A box of
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chocolates / sweets or a calendar or diary is
acceptable - anything else should be returned with
a note explaining that it is our company policy, and
reported to the Managing Editor.
An exception is sample products for review purposes:
You may use / retain the product for only as long as
it reasonably takes to review - a few days should
be the outer limit. You should restrict the usage to
what is required to write a well-researched review,
and not for personal use that does not contribute
to the review.
No Times staffer should solicit a junket,plant/corporate visits or trips abroad. If they
genuinely broaden horizons and add value to a
person's knowledge base, such a visit can be
considered, but there should not be the slightest
hint of solicitation.
At times, your sources might want to take you out to
lunch, dinner, drinks etc. Since these are times
when the source tends to relax and lower hisguard, use your judgement on when to accept. But
at all times make it clear that these are
professional interactions, not social ones.
The same applies to PRs -- we've made it a rule for
trainees that they do not have a drink/meal/coffee
with any PR for the first two years that they are
with Times. Apply the spirit of that rule to your
interactions with all PRs - you should never give
them the chance to act like you owe them
something.
If you feel you need to return a lunch or dinner
someplace a little more expensive than the Press
Club, please inform your editor, and we will see if
some reimbursement can be organized.
We do not do previews of stories or package or
shows - no source or company/person being
featured can see the story or the package before it
goes to print/air. We can, and should, however,
email quotes that will be used in stories to sources
for confirmation.
In addition, no staffer will reveal the contents of the
paper/channel to any outsider in advance of their
appearance in print/on-air. This includes the
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distribution/dissemination of advance copies/CDs
or digital files of any Times content.
Note: Times reserves the right to modify and expand
the code of conduct from time to time, as
appropriate.
Economic Times and ET Now Code of Financial
Conduct
ET/ET Now are India's most respected financial-news
brand because it stands squarely for certain
values: accuracy, reliability, fairness and integrity.
Our journalism, across media platforms, iscommitted to these values.
The changing industry and regulatory environments
require us to uphold even higher standards to
protect, defend and enhance the Company's
reputation for accurate, unbiased journalism.
Whatever it is you report on, you should ensure
that there is never a situation which could lead to
a suspicion that the Company, its publications andtelevision channels, or its editors and journalists
are biased. Hence you, whether in a managerial or
an editorial capacity, must conduct yourself in a
manner that reinforces the integrity of the
company's operations as well as perceptions of
such integrity.
No employee will take advantage of information that
is not in public domain but to which he/she has
gained access by virtue of his/her association with
ET/ET Now or its affiliates.
No employee will communicate such privileged
information to another person, either within or
outside the organization, who may be in a position
to take advantage of it.
To ensure that our integrity is not compromised,
especially in our coverage of markets, companies
and policy, all employees are required to adhere to
certain rules about financial investments made by
them or their close relations, including
spouse/companion.
You may invest in individual equities but are required
to hold each stock for a minimum of three months
in order to eliminate the possibility of short-term
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trades based on privileged access to corporate
information. Any exceptions must have prior
approval of the Executive Editor, in writing.
You will not buy or sell shares in a company that
competes with ET/ET Now or its affiliates. You are,
however, free to hold and/or sell any such shares
that you currently own by virtue of previous
employment.
. You must not engage in, or facilitate, inside dealing.
The fundamental principle of inside information is
that if you are in possession of non-public
(unpublished) information which could have animpact -- negative or positive -- on the value of a
financial investment or other investments, you
must keep it strictly confidential and not deal or
recommend to others to deal in those shares. This
restriction applies to your immediate family,
friends and associates or any family trusts or other
investment vehicle and lasts for as long as the
information is outside the public domain.Reporters, researchers and anchorpersons who cover
and comment on particular companies may not
hold stakes, in the companies they cover, to avoid
any conflict between their coverage and
investment interests. The principle behind this is
that if the story or comment that goes to print or
air is expected to have an impact in the price /
value of the asset class, it would be conflict of
interest for the ET/ET Now staffer to have a holding
in that asset class.
In general, you are encouraged not to participate in
the futures-and-options segment of the equity
market except to hedge your equity investments
against market risk through index futures and
options. You will not buy or sell single-stock
futures.
Investments in bonds issued by
companies/governments/state
agencies/municipalities are permitted as long as
these are held for a minimum of three months.
. There are no restrictions on investments in
instruments issued by banks, post offices and
small-savings institutions. Mutual fund investments
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are permitted in any asset class (equity, index,
commodity, real estate etc.).
You are required to make a disclosure of your
securities holdings as per the format prescribed by
the Company, at the end of every quarter. The
company undertakes to keep your declarations
confidential
In addition, designated managers and journalists are
required to disclose their current portfolio and
declare their specific investment transactions
during the reporting period in a format prescribed
by the company. The management is committed tokeeping this information confidential, but reserves
the right to share the records with a regulatory /
inquiry agency investigating securities fraud or
insider trading.
This Code of Conduct along with the Code of
Financial Conduct is meant to facilitate our
adherence to integrity, not to exhaust unfair ways
of information arbitrage. These are central to theCompany's mission; any failure to abide by them
could attract civil and criminal liability on yourself
and on the Company, its Directors and officers, and
therefore could be subject to review, and result in
disciplinary action, ranging from admonishment to
dismissal, depending on the gravity of the
infraction. Therefore at all times, employee
conduct should conform not only to the rules but
also to the principle of integrity.
Mission of TIMES OF INDIA:
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The Times of India Group is the aggregator of
content in any form in the infotainment Industry.
We collect & sell content to right target audience.
The Mantra YOU ARE EMPOWERED
STAGES OF GROWTH
To empower the reader to live the life of theirdreams.
To facilitate better decision. To provoke Thought
Global Experience Love for the community Adopt the Readers worldwide view. Liberate the mind Cheerfulness in the circus of life.We grow at this stage because: OUR CENTRAL
VALUE IS YOU!
The Times of India (English)
Operated by Bennett Coleman and Company Limited
With a lineage stretching back to more than 170years, Time of India sells more than 3.5 million
copies each day across 41 locations in India
making it not only the largest English daily in India,
but also the world. TOI, which was voted as the
among the worlds six greatest newspapers way
back in 1988 by BBC, has now moved ahead of
international stalwarts like The Sun, The Daily
Mail, USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street
Journal, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post
amongst others. Today TOI is Indias national
newspaper with editions spread across most
states, which is complemented by its robust
presence in on-line domain too through its e-paper
and dynamic online site timesofindia.com
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Apart from meeting the information and
entertainment needs of readers cutting across
communities, cultures and geographic locations,
The Times of India also uncovers many a India left
untouched. And in this exercise, brand extensions
of our existing English titles into regional
languages plays a pivotal role in transiting readers
to the English mainstream.
It would not be wrong to say that most English-
speaking Indians across all prominent metros and
state capitals, begin their day by reading a copy ofTOI. So be it the civil society or the ruling class,
businessman or student, executive or manager,
professional or amateur, clergy or judgethe day
is not complete without reading The Times of
India.
The Times of India has a pan-India presence in 41centres with 15 main editions, namely:
Ahmedabad
Bangalore
Chennai
Goa
Hyderabad
Jaipur
Kanpur
Kolkata
Lucknow
Mangalore
Mumbai
Mysore
Nagpur
New Delhi
Pune
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The Times of India Supplements:
Times of India Metro Supplements (TIMS)
In 1994 The Times of India took a bold step at
experimenting with not just news, but something
which was more. The resultant was a supplement
Bombay Timeswhich broke the mould when it
came to capturing the latest about whats
happening in and around the city in a package
captured the essence of the cityits people,
culture, fashion, art, theatre, sports, films andprivate and public social gatherings.
Times Pluses
Times Pluses are supplements with local news and
advertising which is customized for various
readers through geographic zones within aparticular market. The Pluses are a tool for readers
to address their civic and other local and topical
issues which are specific to their location. The
immense success of Pluses has sparked of various
Pluses across the length and breadth of India.
Needless to say, they have also bred me-too clones
published by our competitorsbut not with that
great degree of success as ours.
Times Ascent
A weekly supplement that has the best job postings
and career related news and views from doyens of
corporate world and academicians.
Education Times
The weekly supplement that has the best of content
related to education and career optionsright
from primary level to doctorate.
Whats Hot
A weekly tabloid on entertainment and lifestyle
published ahead of each weekend with the specific
focus on informing readers about the events and
activities that one can participate over the
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weekend like movies, TV shows, theatre, eating
out, shopping etc.
Life
Aimed at initiating a dialogue and provoking thought
and debate among its readers, Life is the glossy
lifestyle supplement published every Sunday with
The Sunday Times of India. Often the topics
touched upon are the ones which normal run-of-the
mill newspapers would like to avoid in fear of
generating extreme opinions. Life lays every
aspect of life bare for the reader to think anddecide.
Times Property
This is a weekly supplement that contains the best of
news, analysis and announcements on real estate
that is read by investors and buyers/sellers of real
estate.
The Times of India New Media:
The Times of India Online
The Times of India Online is Indias most popular
news site. With 13 million unique visitors and more
than 300 million page views per month, it
consistently ranks among the worlds Top 10
English-language newspaper sites. It offers
complete, in-depth and up-to-date coveragein
text and video formatsof national, international,
city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business,
health, science and technology topics.
The Times of India epaper
The Times of India is among the first newspaper in
Asia to launch the online replica version of the
physical edition.
The Times of India mobilepaper
The Times of India was also among the first
newspapers in India to launch the replica of the
physical edition exclusively for mobile users.
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DIGITAL
The Times of India Online
The Times of India Online is Indias most popular
news site. With 13 million unique visitors and more
than 300 million page views per month, it
consistently ranks among the worlds Top 10
English-language newspaper sites. It offers
complete, in-depth and up-to-date coverageintext and video formatsof national, international,
city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business,
health, science and technology topics.
The site is the first choice of NRIs for news about
Indiawith nearly 55% of visitors logging in from
outside Indiamainly USA. One of the unrivalled
features of the site is its exhaustive local coverage
of more than 30 Indian cities. Another uniquefeature that was unveiled few months back is
Speed Newsa first-of-its-kind service in the
world that provides real-time news updates by
more than 500 Times of India reporters from across
the country.
Today, toi.com is the only Indian newspaper site to
have apps for five major mobile platformsiPad,
iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Nokiawith the
site being already popular on social media with
more than one million fans on Facebook alone
The Economic Times Online
The number one financial and business news website
in India, economictimes .com gets over 4 millionunique visitors every month. Having synergies in
key operational areas with The Economic Times
daily, the site is the prime mover in the business
news segmenthaving started operations way
back in 1999. Presently, about a third of ET's traffic
comes from outside India - both from the Indian
Diaspora and the international business community
keen on investing in India. The numerous features,
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analysis and stories relevant to the NRI and PIO
community not only do the job of keeping them
informed about various opportunities, but also help
them in reaching out to their potential partners and
customers.
Today et.com is probably the only Indian business
news site that provides 24X7 business news
coverage, cutting-edge stock market information
and real time data from leading Indian stock
exchanges like BSE, NSE and MCX in both the cash
and derivative segmentswhich is made possible
due to a dedicated team of over 50 onlineprofessionals who file 700-800 business and
market reports every day.
The spirit of innovation also drives the site forward.
Not only is it the first business news site in India to
have a mobile version, the subsequent launch of
business news channel ET Now and the resultant
integration has once again made the site the first
in India to offer live streaming of content from ETNow round the clock. Presently, the site is in the
process of launching specific mobile applications
for Blackberry, Iphone, Symbian, Android and other
popular mobile/tablet platformswhich will bring
many more users into the ET family.
Maharashtra Times Online
The online edition of the popular Marathi daily
Maharashtra Times, the news portal is very popular
with Marathis in India and abroad
Nav Bharat Times Online
The web-edition of the popular Hindi daily - The Nav
Bharat Times, the news portal is very popular with
Hindi-knowing business community
Mumbai Mirror Online
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The online edition of Indias largest city-centric
tabloidMumbai Mirror.
TIMES NOW TV Online
The online portal of TIMES NOW gives synergy to the
popular news channel by providing breaking news
and showcasing them through streaming videos
E-PAPER
The Times of India epaper
The Times of India is among the first newspaper in
Asia to launch the online replica version of the
physical edition.
The Economic Times epaper
The online replica of The Economic Times is also
available to internet users.
Ahmedabad Mirror epaper
Ahmedabad Mirror epaper: The online replica of
Ahmedabad Mirror
Bodhi Vruksha epaper
Bodhi Vruksha is among the first Kannada spiritual
newspaper in Asia to launch the online replica
version of the physical edition.
Pune Mirror epaper
Pune Mirror epaper: The digital replica of Pune Mirror.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
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The Management of PROCTER & GAMBLE once
stated : Our business is based on understanding
the consumer and providing the kind of products
that the consumer wants. We place enormous
emphasis on our product development area and our
marketing area, and on our people knowing the
consumer. The human mind is the most complex
entity in the whole universe as it is very
unpredictable how a person would behave in or
react in a particular situation.
A persons behavior changes from place to place and
situation to situation or, say it is very inconsistent.The person when has a need, is willing and able to
satisfy the need is called a CONSUMER. The
consumer would go different ways to satisfy its
needs depending on his social, cultural, family,
economic and educational background. Consumer
is the principle a priori of business. The efficiency
with which a free market system of enterprise
operates, depends upon the extent of consumerunderstanding possessed by the business
community. A business community that is ignorant
of consumer preferences cannot possibly fulfill its
obligations in a meaningful and responsive manner.
So here comes the need to prepare project report
onCONSUMER BEHAVIOUR. Consumer Behavior is
broadly defined as the behavior the consumer
displays in searching for, purchasing, using and
evaluating products, services, and ideas which
they expect will satisfy their needs. Consumer
Behavior is not only the study of what people
consume, but is also the study of who the
consumers are, why they consume, how often they
consume, and under what conditions they
consume.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR refers to the buying
behavior of ultimate consumers, those persons
who purchase products for personal or household
use, not for business purpose.
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There are Psychological Theories that help us to
understand and predict the effect of all external
and internal factors on a consumer. External
factors include Culture, Society, Reference group
and family etc. Internal factors comprise in a
consumer mind and how consumers learning,
memory, attitude, personality, lifestyle and
motivation levels effect consumer behavior. What
would initiate a buying process and how a buying
decision would end is all covered under the study
of consumer behavior. This all further helps relate
product / service, price and promotion etc. withconsumer behaviour. Thus organisation can place
marketing mix so as to propogate their
product/services.
The present study on SHAMPOO is also trying to find
Consumer Perception about different features of
Shampoos and how Price, Environment, Packaging,
Quantity, Easy Availability and Variety areaffecting the sale of Shampoos.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC
In psychographic segmentation buyers are divided
into different groups on the basis of lifestyle and \
or personality. People within the same
demographic group can exhibit very different
psychographic profiles. These psychographic
bases are often difficult to measure, but they offer
potential rewards in terms of providing
management with a more relevant basis for
differentiating between segments of a market.
LIFESTYLE
People exhibit many more lifestyles than are
suggested by the seven social classes. Peoples
product interests are influenced by their lifestyles.
In fact the goods they consume express their
lifestyles. Marketers are increasingly segmenting
their markets by consumer lifestyles. Companies
making cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, and
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furniture are always seeking opportunities in
lifestyle segmentation.
PERSONALITY
Personality affects the consumption of many goods,
particularly those consumed publicly. An
aggressive personality for example, may be
reflected in the choice of ostentatious clothing,
furniture, and automobiles. Preferences are
frequently so different that it is impossible to serve
all personality types with the same product orbrand. A recognition of important personality types
can help management position its towards a
profitable segment or segments.
Marketers have used personality variables to
segment markets. They endow their products with
brand personalities that correspond to consumer
personalities.
Objectives
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
Name the elements in the stimulusresponse model
of consumer behaviour.
Outline the major characteristics affecting consumer
behaviour, and list some of the specific
psychological, personal, cultural and social factors
that influence consumers.
Explain the buyer decision process and discuss need
recognition, information search, evaluation of
alternatives, the purchase decision and post-
purchase behaviour.
Identify and define the consumer buying roles of
initiator, influencer, decider, buyer and user.
Illustrate different types of buying decision
behaviour, including complex, dissonance-
reducing, habitual, and variety-seeking buying
behaviour.
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Express the basics of the buyer decision process for
new products and identify stages in the adoption
process, individual differences in the adoption of
innovation, and the influence of product
characteristics on the rate of diffusion of
innovation.
Consumer Behaviour: a Literature ReviewIn order to develop a framework for the study
consumer behaviour it is helpful
to begin by considering the evolution of the field of
consumer research and
the different paradigms of thought that have
influenced the discipline. As
described in this article, a set of dimensions can be
identified in the literature,
which can be used to characterize and differentiate,
the various perspectives
on consumer research. It is argued that consumer
behaviour itself emerged
as a distinct field of study during the 1960s; and is
characterized by two
broad paradigms, the positivist and the non-positivist.
The positivist
paradigm encompasses the economic, behavioural,
cognitive,
motivational/trait/attitudinal, and situational
perspectives; these perspectives
are referred to as the traditional perspectives as they
pre-date the
development of the non-positivist paradigm. Thepositivist paradigm, which
is still the dominant paradigm, emphasizes the
supremacy of human reason
and that there is a single, objective truth that can be
discovered by science.
This paradigm regards the world as a rational and
ordered place with a
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clearly defined past, present, and future. The
assumption of rationalism is
therefore fundamental to the traditional perspective.
The opposing, non-positivist paradigm, envelops the
interpretive and
postmodern perspectives, which have emerged more
recently during the
period post-1980 to date. The proponents of this
emerging perspective
argue that positivism overemphasizes the rational
view and the ideology of a
homogenous social culture and thereby denies thecomplex social and
cultural world in which consumers live. This
paradigm instead stresses, the
importance of symbolic and subjective experience
and the idea that
consumers construct meanings based on unique and
shared cultural
experiences, and thus there can be no single unifiedworld view.
Unsurprisingly, the two paradigms differ in their
views on the benefits derived
from consumption and the objectives that underscore
consumer research.
The traditional, positivist perspective takes a very
utilitarian approach to the
benefits from consumption. While the non-positivist
perspectives place much
greater emphasis on the symbolic dimensions of
choice. The objective of
non-positivist research endeavour is to achieve a
better understanding of
consumer behaviour with no specific intent to
influence consumer processes.
Conversely, outcomes of positivist research are
directed toward advancing
the goals of marketing practice. By identifying the
paradigmatic shifts within
the field, this article aims to identify different
streams of thought that could
guide future consumer research.
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Research that studies consumer behaviour as a
subdiscipline of marketing
with the aim to identify how consumer research can
be put to use in
marketing practice, regards the field of consumer
behaviour as an applied
social science. Accordingly, the value of the
knowledge generated should
be evaluated in terms of its ability to improve the
effectiveness of marketing
practice. According to this perspective, marketing
management inevitablyrests upon some conception of how consumers
behave and of the
consequences their reactions to product, price,
promotion, and distribution
strategies are likely to have for the attainment of
corporate goals. In affluent,
competitive economies, successful marketing
depends above all on matchingthe marketing mix, which results from the integration
of these strategies with
the willingness of consumers to buy and in doing so
more effectively than
ones rivals. The consumer-oriented management
which results from such
matching, is a response to the enormous discretion
exercised by purchasers
in these economies. Moreover, the choices made by
consumers have
consequences not merely for competing companies
within a given,
traditionally-defined industry; because of the high
levels at which
discretionary income is running, companies are
increasingly forced to
compete across the conventional boundaries of
markets and industries
(Foxall 1987).
Recently, though, some researchers have argued that
consumer
behaviour should not have a strategic focus at all. It
should instead focus onthe understanding of
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consumption for its own sake, rather than because
the
knowledge generated can be applied by marketers
(Holbrook 1985). While
this view has emerged relatively recently, it has
encouraged many to expand
the scope of their work beyond the fields traditional
focus, on the applied
benefits of undertaking consumer studies. This more
critical view of
consumer research has also led to the recognition
that not all consumerbehaviour and/or marketing activity is necessarily
beneficial to individuals or
society. As a result, current consumer research is
likely to include attention
to the dark side of consumer behaviour, such as
addiction, prostitution,
homelessness, shoplifting, or environmental waste
(OGuinn and Faber 1989;Barron 1989). This activity builds upon the earlier
work of researchers who
have studied consumer issues related to public
policy, ethics, and
consumerism. There is a growing movement in the
field to develop
knowledge about social marketing, which involves
the promotion of causes
and ideas, such as responsible drinking, energy
conservation, and population
control.
This article presents a review of the literature, in the
field of consumer
behaviour. The first section, describes the dominant,
positivistic consumer
perspectives. The second section, presents a
methodological and analytical
overview of the traditional perspectives, already
discussed in section one.
Further discussion on the paradigm shifts within
consumer research, is
supported by a diagrammatic representation of the
evolution of the field of
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consumer behaviour. The remainder of this section is
devoted to presenting
the highlightsof the debate between the recent non-positivist perspectives
and the traditional positivist-based approaches. This
discussion surrounds
the issues of fundamental assumptions and
techniques of analysis of various
alternative modes of enquiry. And finally, the last
section presents an
overview of the developments within the field of
consumer research.The Traditional Perspectives on Consumer Research
This first section outlines the perspectives that
emerged during the
traditional-positivist era in consumer research. Thus,
a brief discussion on
the early models of buyer behaviour, proposed by
economists is presented,followed by a discussionon each of the traditional perspectives inconsumer
research that emerged thereafter. These are the
behavioural, cognitive, trait,
motivational, attitudinal, and situational viewpoints.
Overall, the objective of
this section is to outline the features and the central
arguments of each of
these perspectives. While a detailed analytical
review of the paradigms is
presented in section two, at this stage it is worth
noting, that the traditional
perspectives while diverse with respect to the many
aspects of consumer
behaviour they investigate, are fundamentally similar
in terms of their
philosophical and methodological bases for
undertaking the examination of
consumer issues. That is, they are built on the
common foundations of
rationalism and share allegiance to the principles
of a single traditional,
positivist-based approach to consumer research.
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The Rational Perspective
The economists were the first to dominate model
building, in the area of
buying behaviour. The early economic view
considered consumer behaviour
in terms of a single act of purchase itself, and post-
purchase reactions.
Economic theory holds that purchasing decisions are
the result of largely
rational and conscious economic calculations.
Thus, the individual buyer
seeks to spend his income on those goods that willdeliver the most utility
(satisfaction) according to his tastes and relative
prices. The antecedents of
this view can be traced back to Adam Smith (1776).
Alfred Marshall (1890)
consolidated the classical and neoclassical
traditions in economics, into a
refined theoretical framework which came to beknown as the theory of
marginal utility. His theoretical work aimed to
simplify assumptions and
thereby examine the effects of changes in single
variables (e.g., price)
holding all other variables constant.
While economic models such as the Marshallian
theory of marginal-utility
are useful to the extent that they provide behavioural
hypotheses (e.g., the
lower the price of a product the higher the sales), the
validity of these
hypotheses does not rest on whether all individuals
act as calculating
machines in making their purchasing decisions. For
example, Eva Muller
(1954) reported a study where only one-fourth of the
consumers in her
sample bought with any substantial degree of
deliberation. The Marshallian
model ignores the fundamental question of how
product and brand
preferences are formed.
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While pure economics alone cannot explain all
variations in sales
(Westing and Albaum 1975), several sub-perspectives
within the discipline
set-out to provide rational explanations for
behavioural, psychological,
preferential, and aggregate demand variations in
behaviour, to name just a few3. For example, the
experimental treatment of economic choice
variables
has been useful in providing rational explanations for
changes in behaviour.Several studies have identified the impacts of price
differentials on
consumers brand preferences; changes in product
cues on demand
variations; changes in price on demand sensitivity;
and scarcity on consumer
choice behaviour amongst many others (Lewis et al.
1995). Moreover, whilea number of perspectives on consumer research such
as the learning
theories, as discussed below, emphasize the external
rather than internal
factors that influence behaviour, it is important to
note that it is the very basis
of rationalism, the fundamental justification of the
economic argument, on
which these traditional views rest.
The Behavioural Perspective
As mentioned above, in contrast to the economic
view which underscores
the importance of internal mental processes in
consumer decision making,
the behavioural perspective emphasizes the role of
external environmental
factors in the process of learning, which it is argued
causes behaviour. Thus,the behaviouristsapproach the consumer, as a black box and
thereby
assume that consumer behaviour is a conditioned
response to external
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events. The behavioural perspective therefore
focuses on external
environmental cues (such as advertising) that
stimulate consumer response
through learning. The strategic emphasis, of the
behavioural modification
theories, for example, are to devise a set of
expanded behaviour modification
techniques (e.g., respondent conditioning; operant
conditioning; vicarious
learning etc.) that can be used to influence, modify,
and control consumerbehaviour (Peter and Nord 1982). While a number of
researchers have
proposed models to study learning principles e.g.,
Thorndike (1911); Watson
and Rayner (1920), this view is represented by two
major approaches to
learning: classical conditioning and instrumental
learning.Classical conditioning occurs when a stimulus that
elicits a response is
paired with another stimulus that initially does not
elicit a response on its
own. Over time, this second stimulus causes a
similar response because it is
associated with the first stimulus. The theory of
classical conditioning is
rooted in Pavlovs research on digestion in animals.
Pavlov induced
classically conditioned learning by pairing a neutral
stimulus (a bell) with a
stimulus known to cause a salivation response in
dogs (dried meat powder).
The powder was an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
because it was naturally
capable of causing the response. Over time, the bell
became a conditioned
stimulus (CS) resulting in a conditioned response
(CR). Thus, conditioned
effects are more likely to occur after the conditioned
and unconditioned
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stimuli have been paired a number of times. The
basic form of classical
conditioning demonstratedby Pavlov primarilyapplies to responses
controlled by the autonomic (e.g., salivation) and
nervous (e.g., eyeblink)
systems. That is, it focuses on visual and olfactory
cues that induce hunger
or thirst. When these cues are consistently paired
with conditioned stimuli,
such as brand names, consumers may learn to be
hungry or thirsty, whenlater exposed to brand cues. Classical conditioning
can have similar effects
for more complex reactions. Even a credit card
becomes a conditioned cue
that triggers greater spending, especially since it is a
stimulus that is
presented only in situations where consumers are
spending money. Peoplelearn that they can make larger purchases when
using credit cards, and they
also have been found to leave larger tips than they do
when using cash
(Feinberg 1986). While responses in classical
conditioning are involuntary
and fairly simple those in instrumental conditioning
are made deliberately to
obtain a goal and may be more complex.
The Cognitive Perspective
In contrast to behavioural theories of learning, the
cognitive perspective
stresses the role of information processing in
consumer decision making.
This perspective views people as problem solvers
who actively use
information from the world around them to master
their environment.
However, much debate surrounds the issue of
whether or when people are
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actually aware of these learning processes. On the
one hand, there is some
evidence for the existence of unconscious procedural
knowledge. That is,
people apparently do process at least some
information in an automatic,
passive way, which is a condition that has been
termed mindlessness
(Langer 1983). Nonetheless, many modern theorists
are beginning to regard
some instances of conditioning as cognitive
processes, especially whereexpectations are formed about the linkages between
stimuli and responses.
Studies using masking effects, wherein it is difficult
for subjects to learn
CS/UCS associations, show substantial reductions in
conditioning (Allen and
Madden 1985).
The information processing theory (or cognitivetheory) is central to the
variety of hierarchy of effect models which, as Barry
and Howard (1990, 121)
explain, posit that consumers go through a variety of
stages, namely
cognitive, affective, and conative, in responding to
advertising, and other
marketing messages. Accordingly, the dominant
pattern of relationship
between the three stages is that cognition (thought)
precedes both affect
(feeling) and conation (behaviour) (Marsden and
Littler 1998, 7). The most
widely accepted position that opposes behaviourism
is that thought and
feeling can produce change in action directly. This is
cognitivism; in its
strongest form it suggests that attitudes control
behaviour, and reinforcementonly acts by changingattitudes. Overall, the implication for marketing
strategy is that - Consumers must be exposed to
information [e.g.,
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advertising] if it is to influence their behaviourKiser1951; Barwise and Ehrenberg 1985; and Marxist
ideology - a
sociological equivalent for the primacy of behaviour
over attitude); as well as
for the cognitive perspective (e.g., Kahle and Berman
1979), evidence
suggests that precedence in the attitude-behaviour
relationship, when it can
be detected, varies depending upon the person,
action, and context (East
1990). In addition, the cognitive theories have beencriticized for assuming
that individuals are complex information processing
entities. Nevertheless,
the problem solving perspective has tended to
dominate the field of
consumer research. And as discussed next, decision
making models that
have governed consumer theory, are in fact based onthe fundamentals of
the cognitive principle.
Role of Research in
understanding consumerbehaviour
Consumer research paradigms
Here in this topic of consumer research they are
trying to identify reasons for purchasing a product,
usually customers hesitates to reveal their reasonsor motivational factor which made them to
purchase a product or service at that time the
consumer researchers use the two different types
of research methodology to study consumer
behavior: quantitative research and qualitative
research.
Quantitative research:
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It is descriptive in nature and this method is used to
predict the consumer behavior. This method
always consists of experiments, surveys
techniques, and observations. The findings are
empirical and if collected randomly this can be
generalized to large populations and the data are
quantitative, they lend to sophisticated statistical
analysis
Qualitative research:.
This includes depth interviews, focus groups,
metaphor analysis, and projective techniques. Here
sample sizes are necessarily small so we cannot
generalized to larger population they are used to
obtain new ideas for promotional campaigns.
Combining qualitative and quantitative research
findings:
By combining both research finding marketers can
design more effective marketing strategies and
always they use qualitative research findings to
discover new ideas and quantitative to predict
consumer reactions to various promotional inputs.
The consumer research process:
The important steps in the consumer research
process are
1. defining the objectives of the research
2. collecting and evaluating secondary data
3. designing a primary research study
4. collecting primary data
5. analyzing the data
6. preparing the report on findings
Developing the research objectives:
It is first and the most difficult step in research
process hare the questions like is it to segment the
market for plasma television sets? To find out
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consumer attitude about the experience with
online shopping?. And it is always important for the
marketing manager to agree at the out set on the
purposes and the objectives of the study to ensure
that
Collecting secondary data
Secondary data includes both internal and external
data it is collected or generated for some purpuss
other than the present research objectives
Internal secondary data such information
as data generated in house for earlier studies for
earlier studies as well as analisis of customer files,
such as past customer transactions etc.
Designing primary research:
IT IS basically designed on the basis of the purposesof the study. If the descriptive study is needed then
the quantitative study is likely to be under taken. If
the purpose is of the new ideas then we can go for
the qualitative research.
Quantitative research design
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A quantitative research study consists of research
design, the data collection methods and
instruments to be used, and the sample design.
Three basic designs are used in quantitative
research are : observation, experimentation, or
survey.
Observational research
Here in this method the people or customers
are observed when they are purchasing the
product or using the product
Mechanical observationuses a mechanical or electronic device to
record customer behavior or responses to a
particular marketing stimulus.
Experimentation
it is possible to test the relative sales appeal of many
types of variables, such as package designs, prices
promotional offers, or copy themes through
experiments designed to identify cause and effect.Surveys
There are various survey methods are there they are,
personal interview survey
telephone survey
mail surveys
online surveys
Quantitative research data collection instruments
The data collection instruments are developed to as
part of a studys total research design
systematizing the collection of data and to ensure
that all respondents are asked the same questions
in the same order.
Questionnaire
For quantitative research the primary data collection
instrument is questionnaire
Attitude scales
the instruments most frequently used to capture this
evaluative data is called attitude scales the most
frequently attitude scales are likert scales,
semantic differential scale, behavior intension
scale, and rank order scale.
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Qualitative research design and data collection
methods
the important methods of data collection in this
research design are depth interview, focus group,
discussion guides, projective techniques and
metaphor analysis. These techniques are regularly
used the early stages of attitude research to
pinpoint relevant product related beliefs and todevelop an initial picture of consumer attitude.
Depth interview:
This is a lengthy non structured interview between a
respondent and highly trained interviewer, who
minimizes his own participation in the discussion
after establishing the general subject to be
discussed
Focus group:
this consist of 8 to 8 to10 respondents who meet
with a moderator analyst for a group discussion
focused on a particular product or product
category.
Projective techniques:
This is designed to tap the underlying motives of
individuals despite their unconscious
rationalizations or efforts at conscious
concealment.
Metaphor analysis: in the 1990, a stream of consumer
research emerged suggesting the most
communication is non verbal and that people do
not think in words but in images.
Data analysis and reporting research findings
In qualitative research, the moderator usually
analyses the responses received. In quantitative
research, the research supervises the analysis
open ended questions are first coded and
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classified then all of the responses are tabulated
and analyzed. using sophisticated analytical
programs that correlate the data by selecting
variables and cluster the data by selected
demographic characteristics.
BCCL PUBLICATION
The Times Group is Indias largest media
conglomerate with its flagship Bennett, Coleman
and Company Limited (BCCL) being the largest
publishing company in India and South-Asia.
Starting off with The Times of Indiawhich is now
the largest English publication in the world, BCCL
and its subsidiaries (called The Times of India
Group), are present in every existing media
platformNewspapers, Magazines, Books, TV,
Radio, Internet, Event Management, Outdoor
Display, Music, Movies and more.With a turnover
exceeding a billion dollars, the group has the
support of over 25,000 advertisers, 11,000
employees and an audience spanning across all
continents.
Key Businesses:
Publishing
Largest publishing co in India: 13 newspapers, 18
magazines, 11 publishing centers, 26 printing
centers
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Largest English newspaper in India by circulation
(and the world)
Largest Business newspaper in India by circulation
(2nd largest English Business daily in the world,
behind WSJ)
Largest NonEnglish newspapers in Mumbai, Delhi,
Bangalore by circulation (Indias three largest
cities)
Television
Largest English News TV Channel, No. 2 English
Business News TV Channel
Largest Bollywood News and Lifestyle TV Channel,No. 2 English Movies TV Channel
Digital
Largest Indian network based on traffic and revenue
(behind Google, Facebook, Yahoo)
Operates 30+ digital businesses, most of which are
Top 3 in their competitive segment
Most popular B2C mobile shortcode in India, across
SMS, voice, WAP, and USSD RadioLargest radio network in India by revenue and
listenership, with 32 stations
Operates the largest rock radio station in the UK
Out-of-home
Largest Outofhome advertising business in India
with presence in all major metros
Owns advertising contracts in most major airports in
India.
Other Activities
Music
Movies
Syndication
Education
Financial Services
Event Management
Specialised publications - including books and
multimedia
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inShare
22
Hypothesis Testing and Consumer Behavior
We are all familiar with instances ofconsumer learning: learning about microwave
ovens by reading Consumer Reports; learning to
make a hazelnut torte from Paul Bocuse; learning
never to go shopping on the days immediately
following Thanksgiving and Christmas for fear of
suffocation; learning that Miracle Whip is not the
same as real mayonnaise. We know learning when
we see it, but a precise definition is moreproblematic (Hilgard & Bower 1966). With the
emergence of the information processing metaphor
in cognitive psychology, discussion of learning has
almost reached extinction (e.g., Lachman,
Lachman and Butterfield 1979) in favor of memory
processes and structure. However, everyone still
implicitly agrees that we do learn.
The Consumer is Given a Rule
How do people learn rules about consuming? The
most common and efficient way we learn is by
listening to and remembering what other people
tell us. Mothers, fathers, teachers, books, friends,
and TV provide us with most of our hypotheses.
From this perspective much of learning can best be
represented as the remembering of previously
derived (and tested) rules. One of the most
important rules we learn is that in most instances
a tried and true rule already exists even if we can't
remember it; and it is much easier to ask someone
else than to derive or rediscover the rule
ourselves. Young children very quickly learn this
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rule about learning. While the young infant has a
learning repertoire limited to exploratory trial and
error and possibly some limited imitation skills,
consider the two most common utterances of the
ever curious two year old: "me, me, me," and
slightly later, "why, Mommy, why?-- On the surface
this type of learning seems inherently less
interesting than cases requiring the consumer to
be a more active participant in the rule discovery
process. However, it is interesting to consider why
some rules are remembered and others forgotten,
some believed and others discarded.
The Consumer Induces a Rule
A second way we learn is by inducing a rule based
upon what we observe happening around us.
Scholars in virtually every field have speculated on
how people generate hypotheses, but there is little
actual research on the underlying psychologicalprocesses (Gettys & Fisher 1979). Clearly trial and
error is one frequent behavior. Though we typically
frown upon random responding in favor of
techniques based upon more systematic variation,
Campbell (1966) has argued that blind variation
coupled with selective retention is the basis for
creative thought. In a developmental sense, this
seems quite plausible--an infant will try a multitude
of small actions but retain only those actions that
work (aka the law of effect).
Why do people experience such difficulty in
generating hypotheses? At least part of the
problem seems to occur as a product of searching
memory for relevant information. Consider the
following task. You observe a particular pattern of
data and then are asked to generate multiple
hypotheses (or rules) the might account for the
data. In many cases, there will be many,
sometimes an infinite number of plausible
hypotheses, but most people will be hard pressed
to generate even a handful of alternatives. In
previous research on predictive judgement (Hoch
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1983), I found that the problems in hypothesis
generation are of ten due to retrieval interference
during the search of associative memory. I found
that the more hypotheses subjects had previously
generated, the harder it was to come up with new
hypotheses. The assumption is that subjects use
the "to be explained" data as a retrieval or
generation cue. As they think harder and harder
about how to ex?lain the data, what do they
naturally think about first? The hypotheses that
they have al ready generated.
These problems in hypothesis generation can be
accounted for by a model of retrieval in associative
memory proposed by Shiffrin (1970) and Rundus
(1973). As applied to the hypothesis generation
task, the model makes three assumptions: ( 1)
generation is probabilistic, based upon the
strength of the associations between the retrieval
cue and potential alternative hypotheses; ()) thegeneration process is analogous to sampling with
replacement, where previously generated
hypotheses can be retrieved again; and (3) the very
act of generation serves to strengthen the
association between the gene rated hypothesis
and the retrieval cue. Therefore the probability of
retrieving a previously generated hypothesis is
increased which in turn reduces the probability of
generating new hypotheses. It is easy to see how
such retrieval processes in associative memory
could lead to what we commonly refer to as
"thinking blocks." People spontaneously rehearse
the things they already know over and over again,
precluding the generation of new ideas. From this
perspective, the "Eureka" phenomenon and the
practice of putting aside the problem until another
day are more understandable--the strength of the
associations between previously generated
hypotheses and the retrieval stimulus decay in the
interim.
The Consumer Changes Previously Learned Rules
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The third way we learn is by adapting or changing
previously learned rules to be in accord with
existing information. While the initial generation of
hypotheses is a fascinating area, it probably
accounts For only a small fraction of adult
learning. Learning is a dynamic process. And
because adults typically have developed a large
repertoire of rules that would be applicable to most
frequently encountered situations, most of the
research has been concerned with the processes
underlying the maintenance and revision of these
rules over time.
Piaget (1954) addressed this issue in his work on the
development of perceptual and intellectual skills.
In the early stages of cognitive development,
infants accommodate stimulus objects and adjust
their mental representations to be consistent with
the incoming data. An appropriate metaphor is that
of the child as a sponge, absorbing all theinformation that the environment offers. As the
child continues to mature, however, incoming
information is increasingly assimilated to existing
cognitive schemes-(Bartlett's schemata). With
assimilation the child deals -with environmental
events in terms of current structures. Piaget
viewed adaption as the interplay between
accommodation and assimilation. Bobrow and
Norman (1975) discussed memory schemata in a
similar way by distinguishing between data-driven
(accommodation) and concept-driven (assimilation)
processing. .Adult learning is dominated by the
assimilation process because we are rarely at a
loss for a ready-made rule for most situations. The
advantages and liabilities associated with various
forms of schematic processing have been well
documented in recent years, especially in the
social cognition literature (see reviews by Hastie
1981; Taylor and Crocker 1981). Therefore I will
only discuss a few studies more directly relevant
to learning and hypothesis testing behavior before
moving to the question of the persistence of
erroneous rules.
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Research on multiple cue probability learning has
demonstrated that people have a very difficult time
learning probabilistic relationships between two or
more variables (see Castellan 1977 for a review).
Under certain conditions, however, people are able
to learn complex rules and relationships when the
variables are given realistic labels, such as price
and quality (Adelman 1981; Miller 1971; Muchinksy
and Dudycha 1975). The necessary condition is
that the observed data is congruent with a priori
theories that subjects have about how the worldworks. For example, in detecting a negative
correlation between x1 and x2, Learning would be
greatly facilitated if the variables were labeled
price and demand. Here the cue-criterion
relationship matches the pre-existing world
Knowledge of the subjects. Here we see the
adaptive advantages of assimilation --a priori
theories guiding the perception and understandingof a complex stimulus by providing a ready-mate
mental structure. Alternatively, if the relationship
between the labeled variables violates world
knowledge (e.g., price and quality in the case of a
negative correlation), learning becomes virtually
impossible (Camerer 1981).
It appears that existing hypotheses can be a mixed
blessing; they can both promote and hinder
perception and cognitive learning. When the
observable data are congruent with world
knowledge, then existing rules speed the
perception process by allowing people to
assimilate a large amount of data and interpret it
within the framework of -well-developed
knowledge structures. [A priori theories are similar
to the illuminating, often magical character of the
analogies and metaphors found in discussions of
memory in cognitive psychology (Roediger 1980).
We know that memory is not really a wax tablet,
cow's stomach, or digital computer, but somehow
these concrete prototypes make the abstract
theories much more understandable to experts and
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laymen alike.] However, when the data are
incongruent with a person's conception of how the
world works, the predominant finding is that
people have quite a difficult time accommodating
the environment by adjusting their rules
accordingly.
In terms of hypothesis testing, there are several lines
of research indicating that people search for
information that is congruent with their a priori
theories. Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin (1956)
found that subjects had a "thirst for confirmingredundancy" in concept identification tasks. One of
the most cited examples of the socalled
"verification or confirmation bias" is Wason's
(1960) 2-4-6 rule discovery task. Subjects were
shown the sequence of numbers 2-4-6 and told that
it obeyed a rule that the experimenter had in mind.
Subjects generated additional sequences and
received feedback as to whether their sequencesobeyed the rule. Using this feedback, their task
was to specify the correct rule. Wason found that
subjects continued to offer sequences that obeyed
the rule and confirmed their hypotheses, rather
than pursuing a logically superior falsification
strategy. Mynatt, Doherty, and Tweeney (1977)
also found a confirmation bias in a simulated
research environment. Snyder and Swann (1978)
and Darley and Gross (1983) extended these
findings to hypothesis testing in social interaction
and labeling. The concern is that if people have a
predisposition to always search for information
that only confirms their hypotheses and rules, how
can consumers possibly learn when their rules are
actually not right (Brehmer 1980)?
WHY DO RULES PERSIST?
There seem to be three general reasons why people
would maintain their rules about consuming. First,
the rules could be right. Now this is not a
particularly interesting possibility from a
researcher's point of view, but a majority of our
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rules are probably at least "mostly" right. As Toda
(1962) said, "Man and rat are both incredibly stupid
in an experimental room. On the other hand . . .
man drives a car, plays complicated games and
organizes society, and rat is troublesomely cunning
in the kitchen." (p. 165) The other two possibilities
concern rules that are wrong, either normatively or
pragmatically. In one case, the rule is wrong bu