Download BIS: Mass Communication, Psychology, Management Starting out in

BIS: Mass Communication, Psychology, Management
Starting out in college I had no idea what I wanted to do, like most first year students. Since I
still had no direction going into my second year, I thought why not study abroad? I decided to improve
my Spanish skills and study in Sevilla, Spain on an International Business and Culture Program. From
the minute I got there, I knew it would change me. The whole experience opened my eyes to the
possibilities in this world. I was given the chance to talk to so many interesting people, hear their stories,
and learn so much about myself.
Specifically, I was most excited about a course called Managing Cultural Diversity. This course
discussed and compared the differences between American and Spanish cultures by concentrating on
managerial differences and organizational differences between cultures. For example, because of
cultural differences there are different ways in cultures that management interacts with their employees.
Learning the different aspects of business operations in Spain and in other cultures intrigued me. I
continued to analyze how the people in Spain interacted differently, lived differently, and even how they
shopped differently than Americans. How, when, and what people shopped for at grocery stores or
shopping centers fascinated me. I asked myself, “Why are they buying these items? In America these
items would not sell.” I was excited to learn about how people act and why, specifically in relation to
their buying decisions.
Buying decisions can be related to the culture a person lives in, the advertisements on the
television, their budget, how they perceive the quality of a product, and many more reasons. I want to
understand why people buy a particular product so I can create an advertisement, make the product
better, or try to open the target market for this product. All aspects of how to sell a product are
fascinating to me. I feel that studying Mass Communication, Psychology, and Management is the best
combination of courses to execute what I want to learn in my college career.
Mass Communication
Advertising is closely related to marketing, and the reason I choose this area is because while
marketing deals more with strategy and the company, advertising is concentrated on the creative aspects
of the business. Advertising, to me, is the “how” while marketing is the “what.” Marketing for example,
researches consumers’ attitudes towards a product to create a strategy or what to do for a new product,
while advertising is how to create a campaign or an advertisement that will sell the product. Advertising
is commercial persuasive communication in mass media.
Jour 3004W Information for Mass Communication focuses on informational resources for
professional work in mass communication. Locating and verifying information from research
institutions, public records, and libraries is necessary for observing/ analyzing any market. I will be
using many different sources for information and learn how this information is beneficial in creating an
advertising approach. This course will give me knowledge of the best ways to conduct research. Jour
3201 Principles of Strategic Communications: Advertising is designed to provide a foundation of
advertising. We will examine the history and economics of advertising, legal perspectives, and the
introduction to advertising theory.
Jour 4261 Advertising: Media Strategy focuses on strategic elements of media planning and
media consumption patterns and trends within marketing/advertising. I will focus specifically on the
different approaches to take to appeal to the consumers of the media by studying how consumers react to
certain ads and ones are more effective. While marketing research focuses on which packaging was most
effective, media strategy focuses on which advertisements were most effective and why.
In Jour 4263 Strategic Communication Campaigns I will develop a campaign strategy for an
existing company with my classmates. This course will help develop my decision-making skills in
markets and improve my strategic thinking skills. Jour 3005 Mass Media Effects examines how
consumers are affected by mass media and will study why an ad is successful or not. This course will
also concentrate on the effects of political campaigns on voting, video game playing, drug ads on
teenagers, and advertisements on body image. This course will help me understand how advertisements
effect people leading to me creating more effective ads. In Jour 5251 Psychology of Advertising, I will
learn about psychological mechanisms that make advertisements effective. Understanding psychological
principles is essential to creating a successful ad and understanding what makes a successful ad. These
tools will aid me in making better decisions related to ad campaigns and helping understand how the
people view the ads I make.
Psychology
I find Psychology exciting within the context of understanding consumers. I hope to use
psychology to make better and more informed decisions in my career. Understanding people is a great
skill in any field. Specifically in marketing it will give me an even better insight into consumer behavior,
and in advertising psychology will help me understand the processes of the human mind to create ad
campaigns that will appeal to viewers.
Psy 3001W Introduction to Research Methods is an introduction to basic concepts and
procedures to evaluate research in psychology. Research in psychology is important because
advertising/marketing uses psychology research to determine the effectiveness of their ads. Psy 3201
Introduction to Social Psychology is concerned with how people’s thoughts and behaviors are
impacted by their social environment. There are many factors that affect how a person acts or behaves in
a situation. People act differently depending on their social roles such as being in host opposed to being
a guest. Other factors include a group setting, being alone, in public, at home, with friends, or with
strangers. Social psychology can explain human behavior, which is crucial to understanding consumer
habits
Psy 3301 Introduction to Cultural Psychology is a course that explains the impacts of culture
on our society and in social interactions. Along with social environment being influential to a person’s
actions so is culture. Our cultural background or ethnicity is influential to someone’s behavior or
perception of mass media. Psy 3101 Introduction to Personality concentrates on people’s ways of
behaving, thinking, and feeling. Everyone has different personalities that influence what he or she does
and how he or she does it. Personality traits help determine target audiences for an advertising campaign
and target markets in marketing because understanding personalities means understanding
characteristics of a target audience.
Psy 5204 Attitudes and Social Behavior will consider an individual’s attitudes and the situation
they are put in to understand human nature/ behavior. This course is designed to review and examine
critically both traditional and current theory on the psychology of attitudes and persuasion. Theories of
persuasion such as message learning and consistency theories will give me the ability to understand the
conditions under which people are either resistant or susceptible to persuasion. Analyzing and trying to
understand people is what first got me interested in advertising/marketing. I find psychology very
exciting and I feel it plays an important role in my overall degree.
Management
Marketing is the fundamental resource for any business to succeed. Marketing helps businesses
create and choose how to sell their product effectively. Mktg 3001 Principles of Marketing will
examine pricing, promotion, factors that affect the product, and distribution decisions. There is a
relationship between consumer behavior and the tactics of professionals in marketing. Marketing
requires systematic critical thinking and the application of several general underlying principles. In the
introductory course I will be fully learning and understanding all of the basic principles and be actively
using these principles in creating a real-life marketing strategy.
Mktg 3010 Marketing Research focuses less on a marketing strategy and more on the research
behind the strategy. The course focuses on how to get data and assess the quality of data for my research
question to make good decisions. This course is vital for the success of my future courses. For example,
I may know how to market to certain audiences, but not which audience to target. Gathering information
or research regarding a problem will allow me to make better decisions within marketing strategies. For
example, focus groups and surveys are two methods marketing research uses to gather information.
Mktg 4080 Marketing Strategy focuses on how a firm manages its resources and capabilities to
maximize customer value and firm profit. This is a course about creating a strategy for a company. The
course examines the details of a new product. Decisions need to be made about the product such as
where will it be sold, for how much, what the packaging looks like, to whom it will be targeted. Every
aspect of a product is not just chance there is a reason for everything. Researching why a consumer buys
a product, choosing which type of consumer I am marketing, and then designing a product that is perfect
for him/her is all part of the marketing strategy. The whole process is fascinating to me!
Mktg 4090 Marketing Topics: Brands and Brand Promotions concentrates on studying brand
campaigns and touching on global brand images and cross-cultural consumer behavior. When a
company creates a brand they are creating a universal image of the company and not just a product
image. Brands are very crucial to success and we will be focusing on the creation and upholding of
brand images. Another topic covered in this course is cross-cultural consumer behavior. While abroad I
noticed a lot of differences in marketing techniques from companies such as Starbucks, McDonalds, and
Pepsi. For example, McDonalds has a different menu in Europe to appeal to their target audience. This is
just another example of how knowing the audience is crucial in marketing.
My goal is to study people in advertising/marketing setting. I want to create an advertisement or
a strategy for a new product launch that is successful because I not only understand the business world
but I understand the people that will be receiving the messages. I want to study the products consumers
buy, the products they need, and how to successfully inform them of these products. By studying mass
communications, psychology, and management I am receiving the best well-rounded education for me.
Name:
ID#:
BIS/IDIM Program Course Worksheet
Total number of credits in proposed program:
Total number 3/4/5xxx level credits in proposed program:
Total credits in program left to complete:
Title:
Dept.
Course
Code
JOUR 3004W
JOUR 3201
JOUR 4261
JOUR 4263
JOUR 5251
JOUR 3005
TOTALS:
Title:
Dept.
Course
Code
PSY
3001W
PSY
3201
PSY
3301
PSY
3101
PSY
5204
TOTALS:
Title:
Dept.
Course
Code
MKTG 3001
MKTG 3010
MKTG 4080
MKTG 4090
TOTALS:
50
50
Mass Communication
Course Title
Complete:
Not Complete:
Credits (Grade) Credits (Term)
Information for Mass Communication
3
Principles of Strategic Communication: Advertising
3
Advertising: Media Strategy
3
Strategic Communication Campaigns
4
Psychology of Advertising
3
Mass Media Effects
3
3/4/5xxx level credits in area:
19
Total credits in area (IDIM only):
Psychology
Course Title
Complete:
Not Complete:
Credits (Grade) Credits (Term)
Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics
3
Introduction to Social Psychology
4
Introduction to Cultural Psychology
3
Introduction to Personality
3
Attitudes and Social Behavior
3
3/4/5xxx level credits in area:
16
Total credits in area (IDIM only):
Management
Course Title
Complete:
Not Complete:
Credits (Grade) Credits (Term)
Principles of Marketing
3
Marketing Research
4
Marketing Strategy
4
Marketing Topics
4
3/4/5xxx level credits in area:
15
Total credits in area (IDIM only):