Commerce and Law : Consumer Behaviour
Section A: Application Questions: 40 Marks
Study the scenario and complete the questions that follow:
The Graham Family’s Buying Decision
Cindy and David got married 10 years ago after both lost their previous partners. They live in Braamfontein in Gauteng. Cindy and David were both born in 1985 and are considered to form part of Generation X. Cindy is the mother of two children, Mandy (15) and Jeremy (14) and the stepmother of Adam (7), David’s son. They have been renting the same three-bedroom apartment for the last 10 years and with the family growing, Cindy thinks it is time for them to buy their own house instead of renting. She is tired of paying so much money on rent and the apartment they are renting is still not theirs. She is looking forward to having her own place which they can decorate as they please and their children can play outside in a big yard.
David just got a promotion and a performance bonus and has been saving to buy a new car. Currently they have only been using public transportation. He thinks they will save a lot of money if they buy the car compared to using public transportation. When buying this car, they will be able to commute back and forth from work, take the children to their after-school activities and go on family holidays without worrying about transportation. David also perceives one of the benefits of owning a car that he will be able to provide transportation for some of his colleagues to and from work and then the transportation cost can be split among all the commuters.
David looked at property prices and he thinks they should wait until the house market’s prices are more appealing and until they have a large enough deposit. David has already got his eye on a new Polo Volkswagen and is dreaming of owning a Volkswagen and showing it off to his close group of friends. All of David’s friends have luxury vehicles and David doesn’t want them to think of him as the one friend member who cannot afford a luxury vehicle.
Due to limited resources the Graham family cannot afford to purchase a house and a car and recently there has been some tension among the Graham family members because of Cindy and David disagreeing on what should be bought.
At the end of the day, Adam resolved the conflict with various methods and the family decided to buy a new Volkswagen Polo.
Please note that ALL answers should be practical, and no marks will be awarded for theory.
Question 1
Classify each of the following groups that David is a member of, by looking at the frequency of contact and degree of formality. Provide a reason for each of your classifications.
- 1.1 David’s family (3 Marks)
- 1.2 David and his colleagues (3 Marks)
Question 2
- Provide examples of the different reference groups that have an influence on David’s consumer behaviour. (3 Marks)
Question 3
- Provide examples of any three (3) sub-cultures Cindy belongs to by quoting from the text. (6 Marks)
Question 4
- Identify and explain the type of family the Graham family can be best described as. (2 Marks)
Question 5
- Identify and explain the cause of conflict in the Graham family. (2 Marks)
Question 6
- Discuss the five (5) different methods David possibly used to resolve the conflict in their household. (5 Marks)
Question 7
- Explain the six (6) perceived risks the Graham family might have faced when deciding to buy the new Volkswagen Polo. (6 Marks)
Question 8
- Discuss the four (4) broad types of situations (4 marks) and provide examples of how each of these situations will influence the Graham family’s consumer behaviour (4 marks) when purchasing a Volkswagen Polo. (8 Marks)
Question 9
- Explain how any two (2) of the social environment elements could have influenced David to NOT buy the Volkswagen Polo when he did. (2 Marks)