ARAB OPEN UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Business Studies

BE201 – Consumer Behavior

Tutor Marked Assessment
Spring 2020

Read carefully the following instructions and both cases study, and then answer each question
in an essay format. To support your analysis use relevant material from BE201 covered so far
and other resources such as AOU e-library articles.

INSCTRUCTIONS:

 Cut-off date: Submit this assignment no later than the cut-off date. All late submissions
require approval from the branch course coordinator and will be subject to grade
deductions.
 Word count: you should discuss the questions in no more or less than the number of words
mentioned for each question (plus or minus 10%).
 Referencing: You must acknowledge all your sources of information using full Harvard Style
Referencing (in-text referencing plus list of references at the end). Use E-library: to get
journal articles on the topic (Emerald, EBSCO…). Use at least 2 articles.
 Plagiarism: Remember that you should work the information from references into your own
original thoughts and INTO YOUR OWN WORDS. Plagiarism will lead to a significant loss of
marks. Extensive plagiarism could mean that you failed your TMA. (Refer to AOU definitions
of cheating and plagiarism at the end of this document)
 Essay guidance: Your response to each question should take the form of a full essay format.
Avoid using subheadings and bullet points. Use BE201 textbook, slides, case study and E-
Library. Plan what you will write, and have a well-organized outline.
 Using PT3 form: When you have completed your TMA, you must fill in the assignment form
(PT3) posted on your moodle account, taking care to fill all information correctly.
 Turnit-in upload: soft copy of your TMA and PT3 form should be uploaded to Turnit-in via
the link posted on your moodle account, within the cut-off date.
 This TMA is 20% of BE201 Grade.
 BE201 – Tutor Marked Assessment – Spring 2020

Case Study:

Technology and Its Impact on Consumer Behavior

Often a company leadership faces unending challenges especially when it comes to the rapid
technological changes. Since the emergence of information technology, company
communication with its customers took a turn to an unknown destination.

Just think back ten years ago or even 5 years, how were businesses reaching their customers?
How were customers reaching them? Compare that to how communication is passing between
the two parties now and who is driving it. Technology has placed the power in the customers’
hands literally with the internet enabled smart phone and tablets. Note, that these devices are
always being improved such that the newest version offers more to the consumers, making the
previous one obsolete in as little as six months’ time.

How and why has technology changed the way consumers behave? Here are a few things that
you need to keep in mind as you reinvent your strategies to keep up with the consumers.

Customers are connected

Almost everybody is living two lives, a vibrant online life and a somewhat boring offline one. We
are all connected in one platform or another through our network of friends. We also own more
than one device that keeps us updated. This means that we thrive on being active and informed
online. Information technology advancements fuel the connectivity that brings together the
world as one big community, from the smart phones to super-fast data. This trend is not about
to change because now kids as young as 5 years know how to operate a smart phone, LinkedIn
even lowered its age limit to 13years to capitalize on the technology adoption rate.

Companies need to meet the consumers where they are and satisfy their sophisticated needs. If
your target market spends more time on Instagram or Twitter, be present and respond to them
on the same platform. Are you doing enough to leverage technology and handle the informed
consumer?

Consumer expectations have changed

In the past, as a company you set the times that you were open for business, and customers had
to put up with it or stay without that particular product. Technology has totally changed that,
with the introduction of e-commerce and mobile phones, customers can access products at
anytime. They have raised expectations on what is acceptable customer service and what is not.
As a business, you have to keep up with the changed consumer behavior or be out of business.

For example, if a customer wants to purchase something online at night and has a query, they
expect to get instant answers. If they do not they choose another supplier from the myriad
available online who can meet their immediate need.

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 BE201 – Tutor Marked Assessment – Spring 2020

Consumers now understand the power they have and will use it when not satisfied with a
service; a simple expression of their dissatisfaction on your social media that is not responded to
immediately will disturb other customers who were OK with your products and service.

New communication channels

In the past, a company provided customer service through emails –that did not get prompt
responses – and phone calls. These two communication tools had their own challenges and
favored the company more; it was at their discretion what information to give out.

This age however, is very refreshed. Social media platforms and live chat place you right in front
of your customer; you cannot sacrifice your customer to maintain your brand position. Actually,
when you do not respond to a query, you damage your brand reputation because that
information is accessible to millions of people.

The upside of these new tools is that you have a wider data collection pool; you can fast track
your research and development by utilizing the big data.

In conclusion, we have seen the growth of technology and its impact on consumer behavior. We
have looked at three ways that consumer behavior has changed, from connected consumers to
changed expectations and new communication tools use. I believe the statement “Customer is
King” has never been experienced by companies like in this information technology era.

Customers now know they are powerful, what are you doing to quench their instant information
thirst?

This article was written by Jim Iyoob, Executive Vice President of Global Development for Etech
Global Services. 

Answer the following questions:

Question 1: (60 Marks)

a- Based on the case study and external sources of information, explain how consumer
behavior has changed due to technology advancement. You need to elaborate while
focusing on consumer connectivity and changed expectations (30 Marks)
b- What are the advantages and disadvantages of today’s technology advancements first
from a consumer perspective and second from businesses point of view? Explain based
on your personal experience, external sources and while referring to the case study
above (30 Marks)

Word count: 500 words

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 BE201 – Tutor Marked Assessment – Spring 2020

Question 2: (20 Marks)

Consumers have both innate and acquired needs. Give examples of each kind of need and show
how the same product you purchased online can serve to fulfill either or both kinds of needs.

Word count: 250 words

Question3: (20 Marks)

Referring to BE201 lectures, external sources, and the case study explain what does medium of
communication mean and show how it has changed with the emergence of technology.

Word count: 250 words

Grades deduction for:

TMA Presentation: (up to 5 marks)

Up to 5 marks should be deducted for poor presentation or poor organization of the TMA
outline and discussion or TMA presented without PT3.

Proper referencing: (up to 5 marks)

Referencing should be both in-text referencing, plus a list of references at the end using Harvard
style. Up to 5 marks should be deducted for poor referencing.

Use of E-Library: (up to 5 marks)

A minimum use of 2 articles from AOU e-library is required to support the discussions. Up to 5
marks should be deducted for no use or poor use of e-library.

Word count: (up to 5 marks)

The answers should be within the specified word count. A deviation of 10% is acceptable; if
more, a deduction up to 5 marks will be applied.

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