Consumer Decision Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consumer Decision Process - Essay Example Consumer decision process is complex and is affected by several factors. In this paper the factors affecting consumer decision process are examined with the help of an actual purchase situation of a vacation and well supplanted with theoretical support. Grounding Theory There is a five step process in the consumer buying process: need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision, and post purchase evaluation. Consumers can go through three types of decision-making. The first is routine decision-making which is used when the purchase is simple, inexpensive, and familiar. Another is called limited decision-making. The consumer uses this type when decision-making involves a moderate search and purchasing effort. The final decision-making process is referred to as extensive and is used when the product is unfamiliar or very significant to consumers. Consumers may search for brand and outlets in combinations (Hawkins et.al, 1983). Most consumers are influenced by various groups in the decision-making buying process. Consumer choices are nested and interlocked across the assorted contexts of daily life (e.g., First and Dholakia 1982; Huffman, Ratneshwar, and Mick 2000).We examine these contexts in following paragraphs. Demographic Influences Demographic and economic descriptors of a market are often helpful but insufficient to explain what is purchased by consumers. They provide us with directional indicators of the total quantity purchased by variously categorized consumers but they are unable to pinpoint the specific choices of the consumers and what factors determined such choices. These factors can reveal little about the individual assortment of products purchased, brand choice, brand switching etc. Typical examples of such factors are agewise, income wise, region wise, brand wise sales or purchase data. Such data can provide broad leads for future marketing efforts. The marketing efforts however can only be truly guided by deeper analysis of other factors as discussed below. Motivation In consumer motivation there are essentially two views. First view holds the Freudian position that forces shaping people's behavior are largely unconscious. People may be unwilling, or unable to reveal or identify what is motivating them. In such cases identification of motivating factors becomes arduous. They have to be conjectured with the help of patterns of consumer behavior to given stimuli-often in controlled conditions. It has to be supplanted by additional efforts in indirect structured searching. Second view is attributed to the development of Maslow's need hierarchy. This view states that consumers are driven to satisfy certain needs at particular times and these needs can be arranged in a hierarchical pattern. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, there are five categories of needs viz. (1) physiological, (2) safety, (3) social, (4) esteem, and (5) self-actualization. They form a pyramid structure with the lowest and broadest

Best Practices in Corrections Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Best Practices in Corrections - Research Paper Example This system is a sub-system of the wider system of criminal justice. The latter includes police, courts of law, and prosecution. Arguably, the most common and best-known correctional institution is the prison. This paper, however, focuses on reentry programs as a part of the correctional system. The aim of the paper is to undertake an exploration of best practices in reentry programs from existing academic literature. This goal will be achieved by first providing a description of the programs. Next, key success elements or factors of the programs will be discussed. Thereafter, empirical support or evidence of the effectiveness of the programs will be analyzed. Finally, the role of the programs in complementing other correctional services will be discussed. Every year over 650,000 offenders are released from America’s correctional facilities alone (Office of Justice Programs, 2012). Research reveals that two-thirds of those released are likely to relapse into crime and offenses. For this reason, offenders who are released constitute a significant threat to public safety. This is where reentry programs come in. The term ‘offender reentry’ refers to the return of offenders from correctional institutions into the communities they come from. Reentry programs are initiatives or partnerships forged by authorities to ensure a smooth transition when a prisoner or another offender completes their sentence and returns to the community. Reentry programs emanate from the knowledge that offenders who go back home after serving their jail terms encounter many challenges. These challenges include lack of social acceptance, education, job skills, housing, and counseling. In addition, some returnees resort to substance and drug abus e. Reentry programs can also be seen from the point of view of law enforcement(Office of Justice Programs, 2012). In this view, the return of offenders from facilities of correction is a matter of the safety of the officer and the