Internal, External and Situational Influences on Consumer Behaviour

The products that will be focused on this assessment will be meat products including poultry, new and/or used passenger cars, property (housing units) and dairy products.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Internal, External and Situational Influences on Consumer Behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These four product purchases will be assessed for internal, external and situational influences to determine the type of consumer behaviour that accompanies the consumer’s decision process when purchasing any of these products. Purchase one Purchase one is meat and poultry products which are one of the most commonly bought products in the Australia. Based on 2006 statistics, meat and poultry products were the most commonly purchased products for many Australian consumers and the country was also able to export meat and poultry products to countries such as Europe and the United States for a total of $1. 3 billion in exports (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2007). The most commonly purchased meat products include beef, red meat, veal, liver and kidney meat and sheep offal. The poultry products that are commonly sold to Australian consumers include chicken breasts, eggs, chicken wings which are available in many of the fast-food restaurants in Australia and boneless chicken products. The average consumption of meat products in Australia averages more than 224 grams a day for each individual consumer while that of poultry products amounts to 200 grams per day (Minchin 2007).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The internal, external and situational factors are those characteristics that influence or impact the purchasing behaviour of a consumer. The internal factors that affect a consumer’s purchasing behaviour include their personality traits, the ps ychological makeup of the consumer (what they think and feel when selecting products), the type of behaviour they demonstrate when buying products and how consumer motivation affects their decision strategies (East et al. 2008). The external factors that affect the purchasing decision of a consumer include influence from reference groups such as family members, friends, acquaintances and work colleagues, the quality and quantity of the product that is being purchased and the needs assessment of the product where the consumer is motivated to make a purchase decision for a product that will meet their needs (Tanner and Raymond 2010). The internal factors that affect the purchasing behaviour of meat and poultry product consumers include internal stimuli on the part of the consumer where they are compelled to buy meat because of a desire to eat meat products. The main motivation for Australian consumers to purchase meat and poultry products comes out of a desire to satisfy their hunger. Poultry products such as those sold in fast-food restaurants like MacDonald’s and KFC are mostly bought with the main purpose of meeting the immediate hunger needs of consumers. The external stimulus that affects the purchase of meat and poultry products amongst Australian consumers include recommendations from reference groups who have purchased their meat products from certain supermarkets, meat delis, meat markets or other suppliers of meat products in the country (Lamb et al. 2009). These recommendations help the buyer of the product to determine whether the type of meat products sold in the recommended place will meet their dietary needs and also whether the meat or poultry is sold in a clean and refrigerated environment.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Internal, External and Situational Influences on Consumer Behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Recommendations also allow the consumer to ascertain whether there are any alternatives to meat or poultry products such as red meat or veal available in the local market. Situational factors are the temporary conditions that affect how buyers behave during the purchase decision-making exercise (O’Dougherty 2007). Situational factors influence whether the consumer will actually buy a product or not from a retailer and what factors will affect their purchasing decision. The most common situational factors that affect the buying decisions of a consumer include physical factors such as the location of a store, general ambience and environment, social factors such as whether the product is good for the society and time factors such as how long it takes to purchase the product when the product is being purchased by the consumer (Tanner and Raymond 2010). The situational influences that affect the purchasing process of meat and poultry consumers include the physical location of the meat delis or stores as well as the gener al ambience of the store. Stores that are convenient to the buyer with regards to accessibility and are generally clean are likely to influence their purchasing decision when compared to meat delis that are difficult to locate and access and also have dirty refrigerators and unclean floors (Tanner and Raymond 2010). Purchase Two The second purchase that will be assessed to determine the type of consumer behaviour employed by buyers when making their purchases is property or housing units which is a high involvement purchase for most consumers who decide to buy a house. Australia is among top countries in the world that are experiencing a thriving real estate market as many citizens and residents desire to become homeowners. Many Australian cities like Perth, Sydney and Melbourne are experiencing a boom in real estate as well as towns in the rural parts of the country.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An increasing number of people, both Australian citizens and people living abroad have become increasingly involved in owning their property because homeownership in Australia is a goal for most of these people. Currently, over 70 percent of the population in Australia owns residential property while the rest are tenants pointing to the fact that real estate ownership is an important objective for most Australian citizens and residents. According to the Real Estate Perth Guide (2011), the increase in property acquisition and real estate investment in Australia has been attributed to two factors the first one of which is the growing Australian population seeking to purchase real estate property in many of the urban cities in Australia. These property buyers have begun to realise the importance of investing in the housing market as it is seen as a long term investment. The second factor that has led to an increase in property acquisition in the country is that a notable number of peop le have begun putting their money into real estate property that is related to tourism. Tourism is one of the major economic drivers in Australia and such investments are deemed to yield considerable returns to people who decide to invest in the sector (Real Estate Perth Guide 2011). The internal factors that influence the purchase decision of property buyers include consumer motivation to purchase housing units. As mentioned earlier on in the discussion homeownership is an important goal for most Australian citizens where individuals are motivated to buy their own homes. There is therefore increased consumer motivation to acquire housing units with the single-family residences being the most commonly sought after housing units in the country. Australian residents and citizens are also motivated to purchase their own housing units because of the investment opportunity these purchases present to them. Investing in the housing sector that is involved in tourism guarantees some signifi cant returns to these individuals (Real Estate Perth Guide 2011). The external factors that influence the purchasing decision of real estate property buyers in Australia include family and cultural influences where individuals who have families are influenced to purchase single-family residences so that they can be able to meet the housing needs of their families. The demand for such housing units has continued to increase as more Australians with families seeking to own their own residential houses. Family and cultural backgrounds have, therefore played a major role in home acquisition in the country. Another external factor that affects the consumer’s behaviour when buying property includes the quality of the product that is being purchased. Housing units are of a high quality and they present a significant return on investment to consumers, especially those who have decided to invest in the real estate sector related to tourism. The quality of the product, therefore, plays an important role in influencing the purchase behaviour of the consumer (Lantos 2011). The situational factors that will affect the purchasing decision of housing consumers is the physical factors which according to Tanner and Raymond (2010) affect what type of product the consumer will buy, when they will buy it and how much of it they will buy. Physical factors include the location of the property, the price or cost of purchasing the property and the type of housing that is on sale. Such physical factors will influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers who might, for example, want to buy housing units in the rural or urban areas of Australia or might want to buy apartments instead of single housing units (Hoyer and Macinnis 2010). Purchase Three The third purchase that will be assessed will be new and used cars which are high involvement purchases bought by consumers and buyers. Just like any other country in the world, Australia has a high car purchase rate that has seen man y buyers as young as sixteen years old owning their own cars. The last statistics to be conducted in 1995 on the number of people who owned cars in Australia were able to reveal the number of passenger vehicles registered per 1,000 people which had increased from 250 from the previous year to 465. This increase was mostly attributed to the convenience and flexibility personally owned cars provided to their owners which made buying a car much easier. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the increase in passenger vehicle buyers was also attributed to the ease of accessing employment, education and health services where people who had their own cars were able to engage in these and other activities (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006). Owning a car in Australia is seen to be a necessity rather than a luxury based on the increasing number of people in the country who own cars. People who have their own modes of transportation find it relatively easier to conduct their var ious business and/or personal functions without any form of hassles. This increasing need to have their own personal modes of transportation has contributed greatly to the purchase decision that car buyers go through when deciding to buy a car. Because cars are high involvement purchases, consumers have to evaluate the internal, external and situational factors that will come in to play when deciding to go through with their purchases (Tanner and Raymond 2010). The internal factors that will influence the purchase of either new or used cars will be the type of motivation that a consumer has to buy a new or used car. As highlighted in the previous paragraph car buyers in Australia buy cars for purposes of convenience and flexibility, meaning that the car offers them with an opportunity to accomplish various activities. The motivation of the car buyer to purchase a car will, therefore, depend on either of these factors. Another internal factor will relate to the individual tastes of t he consumer where the consumer will consider which car model and make suits their own personal tastes. The external factors that will affect the consumer decision to buy a car will be the type of lifestyle that exists in Australia which allows for every individual of the family to own a car as long as they are 18 years and over. Holden, which is the main car manufacturer in Australia, has been able to develop various car brands that are meant to suit the various lifestyles and culture of the Australians. Some of the cars produced by Holden Australia include Commodore, Camden, Astra, Holden Monaro Coupe and Chevrolet. The situational factor that will affect the buyer decision to purchase a car will be physical factors where the location of car auto-marts will influence whether a consumer wants to buy a car. The ease with which a potential car buyer locates a Holden store in their vicinity will play a major role in influencing their purchase decisions (Tanner and Raymond 2010). Purcha se Four The fourth purchase to be assessed in the study will be dairy products which, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004) is the most intensive sector in the country. According to 2001 and 2002 statistics, consumers in the country drank approximately 18 percent of whole milk which was mostly produced in the state of Victoria. 50 percent of the country’s annual milk production was exported to other foreign countries such as the United States, Asia and Europe while the remaining percentage was sold to manufacturers of butter, cheese, cheddar and other dairy products. 2005-2006 statistics showed that the production of whole milk amounted to 10,092 millimetres while the consumption of whole milk and other dairy products such as cheese, skim milk powder, butter and casein amounted to 527 kt (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2007). Victoria is the dominant producer and supplier of milk as it accounts for 61 percent of milk production in the coun try. The states of New South Wales and Queensland both account for 22 percent of the milk supply in the country while Tasmania accounts for 7 percent of milk production and dairy products. The high production of milk and milk products in the country has made dairy products to be easily available to many Australian consumers in the local market regardless of their income levels within the country. Milk and dairy products are, therefore, common purchases for many average consumers in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004). The internal factors that will affect the consumer buying decision will be the motives of the individual dairy consumer that will be borne out of the desire to purchase dairy products which have been identified as a staple food source in the Western diet. Milk and other dairy products provide consumers with Calcium and other vital nutrients that support bone formation. Consumers might decide to buy dairy products because of this reason as well as the stapl e source of food that these products provide to consumers. The personal tastes of the individual might also determine dairy product purchases where consumers who want to buy high-quality cheese and cheddar are influenced because of their desire for quality products. Consumers who do not have high-quality preferences might decide to purchase the lower value dairy products because they do not attach a particular preference to their purchases (Tanner and Raymond 2010). The external factors that will influence the buyer’s decision to buy milk will be socio-cultural factors whereas mentioned earlier on dairy products are the staple source of food for many westernised countries. The household budget will also affect the consumer’s decision to buy dairy products such as cheese and butter as some brands of these products are manufactured for high-end buyers. The situational factors that will influence the purchase of milk and dairy products will be time factors where the time of day will determine whether a consumer will buy milk. Most dairy products are usually consumed in the morning for breakfast which means that the buyer’s decision to buy milk will be high if they make their purchase decision in the morning. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004).  The Australian dairy industry. Web. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006).  Australian social trends. Web. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2007). Australian food statistics  2006. Canberra, Sydney: Food and Agriculture Division. East, R., Wright, M., and Vanhuele, M., (2008).  Consumer behaviour: applications in  marketing. London: Sage Publications. Hoyer, W. D., and Macinnis, D.J., (2010).  Consumer behaviour. Mason, Ohio: South Western Cengage Learning. Lamb, C. W., Hair, J.F., and McDaniel, C., (2009).  Essentials of marketing. Mason, Ohio: South Western Cengage. Lantos, G. P., (2011).  Consumer behaviour in action: real-life applications for marke ting  managers. New York: M.E. Sharpe Incorporated. Minchin, L., (2007).  Limit meat eating to tackle climate change: study. Web. O’Dougherty, D., (2007).  Consumer behaviour. Cape Town, South Africa: Pearson Education South Africa. Real Estate Perth Guide (2011).  Australian property: guide to buying property in  Australia. Web. Tanner, J., and Raymond, M. A., (2010).  Principles of marketing. New York: Flat World Knowledge. This assessment on Internal, External and Situational Influences on Consumer Behaviour was written and submitted by user Hadley Hendricks to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Definitions of Defamation, Libel, and Slander

Definitions of Defamation, Libel, and Slander   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Defamation of character† is a legal term referring to any false statement- called a â€Å"defamatory† statement- that harms another person’s reputation or causes them other demonstrable damages such as financial loss or emotional distress. Rather than a criminal offense, defamation is a civil wrong or â€Å"tort.† Victims of defamation can sue the person who made the defamatory statement for damages in civil court. Statements of personal opinion are usually not considered to be defamatory unless they are phrased as being factual. For example, the statement, â€Å"I think Senator Smith takes bribes,† would probably be considered opinion, rather than defamation. However, the statement, â€Å"Senator Smith has taken many bribes,† if proven untrue, could be considered legally defamatory. Libel vs. Slander Civil law recognizes two types of defamation: â€Å"libel† and â€Å"slander.† Libel is defined as a defamatory statement that appears in written form. Slander is defined as a spoken or oral defamatory statement. Many libelous statements appear as articles or comments on websites and blogs, or as comments in publicly-accessible chat rooms and forums. Libelous statements appear less often in letters to the editor sections of printed newspapers and magazines because their editors typically screen out such comments. As spoken statements, slander can happen anywhere. However, to amount to slander, the statement must be made to a third party- someone other than the person being defamed. For example, if Joe tells Bill something false about Mary, Mary could sue Joe for defamation if she could prove that she had suffered actual damages as a result of Joe’s slanderous statement. Because written defamatory statements remain publicly visible longer than spoken statements, most courts, juries, and attorneys consider libel to be more potentially harmful to the victim than slander. As a result, monetary awards and settlements in libel cases tend to be larger than those in slander cases. While the line between opinion and defamation is fine and potentially dangerous, the courts are generally hesitant to punish every off-hand insult or slur made in the heat of an argument. Many such statements, while derogatory, are not necessarily defamatory. Under the law, the elements of defamation must be proven. How Is Defamation Proven? While the laws of defamation vary from state to state, there are commonly applied rules. To be found legally defamatory in court, a statement must be proven to have been all of the following: Published (made public): The statement must have been seen or heard by at least one other person than the person who wrote or said it.False: Unless a statement is false, it cannot be considered harmful. Thus, most statements of personal opinion do not constitute defamation unless they can objectively be proven false. For example, â€Å"This is the worst car I have ever driven,† cannot be proven to be false.Unprivileged: The courts have held that in some circumstances, false statements- even if injurious- are protected or â€Å"privileged,† meaning they cannot be considered legally defamatory. For example, witnesses who lie in court, while they can be prosecuted for the criminal offense of perjury, cannot be sued in civil court for defamation.Damaging or Injurious:   The statement must have resulted in some demonstrable harm to the plaintiff. For example, the statement caused them to be fired, denied a loan, shunned by family or friends, or harassed by the media. Lawyers generally consider showing actual harm to be the hardest part of proving defamation. Merely having the â€Å"potential† to cause harm is not enough. It must be proven that the false statement has ruined the victim’s reputation. Business owners, for example, must prove that the statement has caused them a substantial loss of revenue. Not only can actual damages be hard to prove, victims must wait until the statement has caused them problems before they can seek legal recourse. Merely feeling embarrassed by a false statement is rarely held to prove defamation.  Ã‚   However, the courts will sometimes automatically presume some types of especially devastating false statements to be defamatory. In general, any statement falsely accusing another person of committing a serious crime, if it was made maliciously or recklessly, may be presumed to constitute defamation. Defamation and Freedom of the Press In discussing defamation of character, it is important to remember that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects both freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Since in America  the governed are assured the right to criticize the people who govern them, public officials are given the least protection from defamation. In the 1964 case of New York Times v. Sullivan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that certain statements, while defamatory, are specifically protected by the First Amendment. The case concerned a full-page, paid advertisement published in The New York Times claiming that the arrest of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Montgomery City, Alabama, police on charges of perjury had been part of a campaign by city leaders to destroy Rev. Kings efforts to integrate public facilities and increase the black vote. Montgomery city commissioner L. B. Sullivan sued The Times for libel, claiming that the allegations in the ad against the Montgomery police had defamed him personally. Under Alabama state law, Sullivan was not required to prove he had been harmed, and since it was proven that the ad contained factual errors, Sullivan won a $500,000 judgment in state court. The Times appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming that it had been unaware of the errors in the ad and that the judgment had infring ed on its First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press. In its landmark decision better defining the scope of â€Å"freedom of the press,† the Supreme Court ruled that the publication of certain defamatory statements about the actions of public officials were protected by the First Amendment. The unanimous Court stressed the importance of â€Å"a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open.† The Court further acknowledged that in public discussion about public figures like politicians, mistakes- if â€Å"honestly made†- should be protected from defamation claims. Under the Court’s ruling, public officials can sue for defamation only if the false statements about them were made with â€Å"actual intent.† Actual intent means that the person who spoke or published the damaging statement either knew it was false or did not care whether it was true or not. For example, when a newspaper editor doubts the truth of a statement but publishes it without checking the facts. American writers and publishers are also protected from libel judgments issued against them in foreign courts by the SPEECH Act signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. Officially titled the Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act, the SPEECH act makes foreign libel judgments unenforceable in U.S. courts unless the laws of the foreign government provide at least as much protection of the freedom of speech as the U.S. First Amendment. In other words, unless the defendant would have been found guilty of libel  even if the case had been tried in the United States, under U.S. law, the foreign court’s judgment would not be enforced in U.S. courts. Finally, the â€Å"Fair Comment and Criticism† doctrine protects reporters and publishers from charges of defamation arising from articles such as movie and book reviews, and opinion-editorial columns. Key Takeaways: Defamation of Character Defamation refers to any false statement that harms another person’s reputation or causes them other damages such as financial loss or emotional distress.Defamation is a civil wrong, rather than a criminal offense. Victims of defamation can sue for damages in civil court.There are two forms of defamation: â€Å"libel,† a damaging written false statement, and â€Å"slander,† a damaging spoken or oral false statement.   Sources â€Å"Defamation FAQs.† Media Law Resource Center.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Opinion and Fair Comment Privileges.† Digital Media Law Project.â€Å"SPEECH Act.† U.S. Government Printing OfficeFranklin, Mark A. (1963). â€Å"The Origins and Constitutionality of Limitations on Truth as a Defense in Tort Law.† Stanford Law Reviewâ€Å"Defamation.† Digital Media Law Project