CONSUMERISM: One Meaning

1
CONSUMERISM One Meaning

• A movement to improve the rights and powers of
  consumers in relation to the sellers of products
  and services. It is also a protest movement of
  consumers against what they or their advocates
  see as unfair, discriminatory and arbitrary
  treatment. There is nothing new about the idea
  of consumerism. It is as old as business.

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CONSUMERISM The Other Meaning

• The belief that goods give meaning to
  individuals and their roles in society
  Americans define themselves and their
  relationships with others through the exchange
  and use of goodsConsumerism is a more powerful
  worldview than political ideologies, religions,
  or class and ethnic distinctions.
• Gary Cross

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PEOPLE IDEAS(identified with the current
consumer movement)

• PETER F. DRUCKER
• Professor of management in the New York
  University system who, in The Practice of
  Management, said
• There is only one valid definition of business
  purpose to create a customer It is the customer
  who determines what a business is The customer
  is the foundation of a business and keeps it in
  existence.

4
PEOPLE IDEAS(identified with the current
consumer movement

• RALPH NADER
• Sometimes referred to as the father of the
  consumer movement
• Identified dangerous design and production flaws
  of the Chevrolet Corvair in his book Unsafe at
  any Speed
• Continued over the next 40 years advocating on
  behalf of consumers.

5
PEOPLE IDEAS(identified with the current
consumer movement)

• JOHN F. KENNEDY
• As President of the United States, in 1962
  addressed Congress and defined the basic rights
  of consumers
• The right to safety
• The right to be informed
• The right to choose
• The right to be heard
• This speech is often referred to as the
  Consumers Magna Carta.

6
The Consumers Protective Shield

• A massive statutory shield protects consumers
  from abuses, real and imagined, in the operation
  of the free competitive market
• well over 50 federal agencies are directly active
  in consumer affairs
• many, many State and local agencies are also in
  place with similar, often duplicate, functions
• the legal system is highly organized to provide a
  means to seek damages against manufacturers,
  retailers and other providers of goods and
  services

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The Most Important Federal Agencies

• Federal Trade Commission
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food Safety and Inspection Service of the
  Department of Agriculture
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Department of Energy

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LIABILITY LAWFour Fundamental Theories

• Negligence
• Breach of Warranty
• Strict Liability
• Joint-and-Several Liability

9
LIABILITY LAWThe Impact on Business

• Attention to design
• Improving quality
• Instructions and warning labels
• Product recalls

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FEDERAL AGENCIESResponsible for Advertising

• Federal Trade Commission
• Food And Drug Administration
• U.S. Department Of Agriculture
• Department Of Labor

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The FTC Privacy Problems in the Information Age

• Risks to physical security
• Risks of economic injury Identity Theft
• Uninvited intrusions into privacy
• Telephone solicitors
• E-mail solicitations