Unit VIII Organization buying process: Roles of buying centers/ Decision making units.

The buying center consists of five roles

(a) users - those members of the organization who use the purchased products and services, (b) buyers - those with formal responsibility and authority for contracting with suppliers, (c) influencers - those who influence the decision process directly or indirectly by providing information and criteria for evaluating alternative buying actions, (d) deciders - those with authority to choose among alternative buying actions, (e) gatekeepers - those who control the flow of information (and materials) into the buying center. (Webster and Wind, 1972).

Types of Business Purchase Decisions

Straight Re-Purchase: These purchase situations involve routine ordering. Modified Re-Purchase: These purchases occur when products or services previously considered a straight re-purchase are for some reason now under a reevaluation process. New Task Purchase: As the name suggests, these purchases are ones the buyer has never or rarely made before.

New Task Purchase (Steps)

1. Need Recognition 2. Search 3. Evaluate Option 4. Purchase 5. After-Purchase Evaluation

Unit IX CONSUMERISM

Consumerism

In economics, consumerism can also refer to economic policies that place an emphasis on consumption, and, in an abstract sense, the belief that the free choice of consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society.

History

Although consumerism is commonly associated with capitalism and the Western world, it is multi-cultural and non-geographical, as seen today in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Tel Aviv and Dubai, for example. Consumerism in India Consumer Rights Manufacturers deliberately set out to fleece consumers by using tactics like misleading or deceptive packaging.

Despite the government of India enforcing a law by the name of Standards of Weight and Measures Act, 1977, manufacturers blatantly flout the rules and tamper with the packaging of the products. Packaging of some products do not carry the manufacturing date; some do not have expiry date on them and some brands do not convey the warning like best before or use by. For perishable stuff, such declarations should clearly be conveyed to the consumers. They print the information in colours that merge with the plastics, emboss it so you need to run your fingers on it, or hide it under a decorative flap

The manufacturing date on a toothpaste tube has to be dug out of the crimped tail. As for the expiry date on a battery cell, the number on medium or large ones are visible under a lens, but the script on the seat of a pencil cell is beyond the power of magnifying glass. A well-known manufacturer gets 20% off printed in big bold letters and in mini print it says: On the recommended retail price. Taxes extra as applicable. Packaging sizes and container shapes for many products deceive and confuse consumers about the amount of product they contain, and some manufacturers have been increasing package size while decreasing content.

What consumer should do to control such malpractices?

If you find the product suspicious in case of anomaly weight, get it weighed at the shop itself. And write a short note in the form of complaint to the manufacturer in corporation with the shopkeeper. Bring it to the notice of weights and measures department, which is supposed to take the sample and initiate legal proceedings against the manufacturer. If manufacturer refuses to fall in line, you can approach the district-or state-level consumer court for redressal.

Consumer law takes action are on Antitrust Class action Competition policy Competition regulator Extended warranty Fairtrade labelling Food safety Mandatory labelling Product recall Predatory mortgage lending Transparency (market)