'On Becoming a Consumer' is an easy-to-read theoretical discussion of the development of consumer behaviour patterns from age zero to 100 months - the time period during which people become bona fide consumers according to the author's consumer behaviour research.

Written by two scholars at the forefront of conducting research on the psychology of consumers and mentoring those new to the field, Becoming a Consumer Psychologist provides a guide to what it takes to become a consumer psychologist, and achieve success in this area. Monga and Bagchi lay out the varied experiences that lead one to be a consumer psychologist in academia, marketing, or public policy. The book discusses the academic route in detail, guiding you on how to apply to schools, including for a Ph.D., what courses to take, and what to expect during your educational experience and after. It also discusses other routes that lead to diverse non-academic career paths in which practitioners apply their knowledge about consumer psychology. The authors' guidance is backed by their own experiences as consumer psychology researchers, mentors, and journal Associate Editors; and the insights that the authors have gathered exclusively for this book from 23 other leading academics and practitioners. This book is essential reading for anyone looking to start their career in consumer psychology, and for mentors and advisors who are guiding students about career choices.

This book offers a new perspective on sociological studies of the consumer society, introducing neglected normative questions relating to the good life and human flourishing - subjects more commonly discussed in fields of moral, political, and social philosophy. With attention to a wide range of subjects, including postemotional law and responsibility, dehumanised consumption and prosumerism, fashion, embodiment, conspicuous consumption, and sustainability, this book analyzes the structural and cultural transformations that can be identified in consumer society. It also offers a critical view of whether consumption is leading to an increased isolation, individualization or commodification of human beings, suggesting an analytical framework for understanding consumer culture and human praxis.

The book demonstrates how consumer development is intertwined with cognitive and motor development; each of the three dependent on the other two. Showing consumer behavior being responsible for body and mind development is new thinking; yet, the examples are clearly presented so that any interested person can grasp them. Presenting consumer behavior in stages of development, while logical, is essentially new also. We are familiar with cognitive development, for example, being described in stages, but not CB. In fact, stages of cognitive development are sometimes used as a framework for explaining consumer behavior but not its development as such. In this sense then, the book might be considered cutting edge as compared to one that offers a slightly different approach to the existing thought on consumer behavior.

"The customer is the sole reason organizations exist," Craig Cochran points out throughout this concise and practical book, which outlines the fundamentals of building process controls around internal and external customers' true needs. Cochran walks readers through a self-assessing customer focus inventory and from there explains how an organization can shape its processes to meet its customers' demands. Learn how to develop customer surveys that produce useful data for refining production and administrative processes. Understand the importance of customer-satisfaction training. Motivate top management to instill a customer-focused orientation throughout the organization. -- From publisher's description.

Some companies gather and sell personal information to assist businesses in their marketing campaigns. It this American business at its finest, or simply a horrible invasion of our privacy? This shocking book will make readers think twice before writing their next check or going to the grocery store.