consumer services academic library

INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER SERVICES ONLINE

In this introductory Consumer Services course, students will analyze various career paths in terms of employment opportunities. Educational requirements, including applicable hard and soft skills, certifications, and licensures for different pathways, will be discussed. Developing research, analytical, and presentations skills will be key components. This course is designed as an overview to prepare students for a consumer services–related career and to introduce them to specialty areas. Emphasis is placed on the human services aspect (vs. corporate concerns) of consumer services, as well as Biblical principles and standards.

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER SERVICES

UNIT 2: CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CONSUMER ADVOCACY

Course Overview
What Are Consumer Services?
Customer Service and Consumer Advocacy
Project: Personal Skills Evaluation (Self-awareness is the ability to effectively and objectively evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses. It is the art and discipline of knowing your own triggers or hot buttons. It is knowing and understanding what motivates and inspires you. Self-awareness helps you to evaluate your abilities and skills realistically. Additionally, effective self-awareness helps you more deeply evaluate your relationship with God and His leading for your life. You will write an essay titled "My Core Competencies." In it, you will address your God-given abilities and skills that make you a competent individual and different from anyone else. What are your strengths and your weaknesses? What unique characteristics did God give you to allow you to positively affect your world?)
Presenting the Professional Identity
Project: Building a Portfolio (Assume that you are involved in a job search. You are ready to construct an outstanding résumé to put before employers. You have carefully reviewed and documented your list of God-given abilities, hard and soft skills, education, credentials, and past work experience (including volunteer). You have also considered your personality traits and job preferences. However, you have not narrowed your search to just one type of consumer services job, and you have seen several that interest you. Select two job listings using one source or multiple sources (newspaper, trade or association publication, online job board, networking site, etc.). They must have substantially different job descriptions, preferably in different fields. For example, you might choose bookkeeping in a hospital and a customer service position in a retail setting. Using your own actual information, construct a general purpose résumé suitable for handing out in person. You may choose any format that is appropriate to your situation. Using the same information, build two more résumés, one each targeting the two different job descriptions and formatted to submit online)
Quiz 1: Introduction and Basic Competencies
Organizational Structure
Safety Within the Organization
External Influences on Consumer Services
Quiz 2: Organizational Structure
Test
Glossary and Credits

What is Customer Service?
Conflict-resolution Strategies
Project: Constructing a Customer Service Encounter Log (You are a customer service representative for a regional hospital. You do not handle medical issues, only those related to patient satisfaction and facilities. It is the middle of July and there has been an air conditioning, or HVAC, equipment failure, affecting the entire wing housing maternity and delivery. There are forty-two women currently admitted. Your phone is ringing off the hook, and a very nervous new father is standing outside your door. You've been informed that delivery of the necessary parts and the subsequent repair will take at least thirty-six hours.)
Working With Databases
Quiz 1: The Customer Service Representative
What is Consumer Advocacy?
Consumer Advocacy at Various Levels
Project: Consumer Protection
The Role of Policymakers
Project: A Plan for Advocacy (By now you should be able to identify at least one consumer issue that is very important to you. Choose an issue for which you already are or could become passionate about. Maybe God has revealed a particular purpose or issue that you feel compelled to champion. Perhaps you or a family member has been scammed, has had your identity stolen, has purchased defective or harmful products, has purchased a product as a result of false advertising, or has been a victim of abusive credit collection practices or financial fraud. For the issue you have chosen, you will first research the issue. Then you will write a paper, consisting of an introduction and a strategic plan. For the introduction, in 200 words or less, describe the specific issue and explain your personal stand on the issue. Include scripture that shows which Biblical truths and principles align with the issue. Then, follow with your strategic plan for making your voice heard, applying the concepts learned in this chapter. Be specific regarding the people, groups, or organizations that you plan to engage and the methods you intend to use.)
Quiz 2: Consumer Advocacy
Test
Glossary and Credits

UNIT 3: COUNSELING, ADVISEMENT, AND EDUCATION

UNIT 4: CREATIVITY

Financial Counseling
Developing a Financial Plan
Project: Building a Financial Plan (The Smith family, whom you have met in this lesson, is a hard-working and happy family. But they just cannot seem to get ahead and pretty much live paycheck to paycheck. Mrs. Smith works part-time at a local college in the food services department. She learned that the college has a financial counselor on staff to assist students and college staff with personal financial matters. You are that counselor. The Smiths have come to you for help. Using the Smith family financial information presented in the lesson, you will prepare a basic financial plan for them.)
Spending Patterns and Budgeting
Quiz 1: Financial Counseling Roles
Credit Counseling and Risk Management
Applying for Credit and Credit Scoring
Project: Evaluating Credit Offers (You will compare and contrast the features and benefits of a currently held credit card against a new credit card for which you are considering applying. While it is best to avoid debt in any form, it is also wise to know the difference between good versus bad debt and how to use credit responsibly. As you complete the project, consider what credit is. Do you think credit and debt are the same thing? If not, how do they differ? What Biblical standards apply to each?)
Risk Management in Financial Planning
Project: Building an Estate Plan - (Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are in their mid-50s and have been married for twenty-three years. They currently do not have any estate plans or documents, and have decided it is finally time to do some estate planning. They have a son who is getting ready to graduate from high school and plans to attend college. They have a 22-year old daughter who is married and has a special-needs two-year-old child, their only grandchild so far. The Johnsons own their home, which has nine years left on a 30-year mortgage. They have $150,000 put away in retirement accounts, have very little debt other than their mortgage, and keep an emergency fund on hand of $15,000. Mr. Johnson makes $58,000 per year and has group health insurance for the family. He also contributes to a pension fund at work, which will pay him approximately $1,000 per month when he retires, in addition to social security. Mrs. Johnson is a homemaker and has not worked outside the home. Assume you are a financial counselor and the Johnsons have come to you for help with constructing an estate plan. You will make recommendations to them for an estate plan to protect and prepare themselves and their family in the event of their passing. Your recommendations will take the form of a two-page report, listing areas of concern and action items.)
Quiz 2: Credit Counseling and Risk Management
Test
Glossary and Credits

Creative Consumer Services – Design
Fashion and Costume Design
Project: Design Influences (Everything old is new again—so goes the song and the wisdom behind fashion design. For this project, you will analyze a current trend to uncover past influences. Choose a current fashion trend that you like. It could be one that you personally follow, or one that you admire and would like to try. Using online resources and fashion publications, research this trend. You will want to learn about the designer(s) who showed it first and the inspiration behind the trend. Determine which past trends are represented in the new trend. Were past versions of the trend more modest or less modest? How has the current trend changed from its historical roots? Research prior or historic fashion styles to find elements and influences in your current example. Using the information found in your research, write a report comparing and contrasting the current trend with its past influences.)
Trademarks, Patents, and Copyrights
Project: Protecting Your Original Work
Quiz 1: The Designer
Writing and Editing
Translation and Interpretation
Project: Hiring a Language Services Professional [For this project, you will assume the role of the director at a nonprofit, faith-based community center that provides resources and referral services for people experiencing economic difficulty. Your target clients are lower income, working poor, or those suffering temporary setbacks caused by job loss or medical issues. Your organization is funded by grants and donations. It is located in a metropolitan area with a high concentration of Korean residents. You are in charge of completing a community needs assessment for your organization. Using the information presented in this lesson, write a section about hiring a translator, an interpreter, or both. Be specific as to what services the organization needs and why. Evaluate how the community center can meet the spiritual needs of the clients. For the position(s), include a job description, hours, salary ranges as dictated by your budget, and minimum acceptable credentials. Describe the process you intend to take to find the qualified candidate(s).]
Reading Strategies
Quiz 2: Writing and Interpretation
Test
Glossary and Credits

UNIT 5: MANAGEMENT, SALES, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

UNIT 6: COURSE REVIEW AND EXAM

Management Careers
Strategic Analysis
Working With Employees
Project: Developing a Training Presentation (You are a manager of a department of twenty employees. You have been asked to coordinate with the Human Resources director and develop a 60-minute training presentation on workplace safety. The training presentation will be used throughout the organization. Outline your training presentation. Using what you've learned in this lesson, describe in detail how you will deliver the training. Keep in mind what you have learned about servant leadership. How can you incorporate these concepts into the training?)
Quiz 1: Management
Sales, Marketing, and Public Relations
The Importance of Public Image
Project: Writing a Media Release
Marketing and Selling a Product
Project: Writing a Marketing Plan (You are the development officer (sales manager) for a community bank in a semi-rural area of Michigan about one hundred miles from Detroit. A large part of the population is underserved from a banking perspective. The other two banks in town are branches of large regional and national operations. Your senior management has determined that they will offer a new checking and savings account product with the intent of capturing 20 percent of the underserved (lower income) consumers in the county and capturing an additional 5 percent of the existing market from the competition. You have been instructed to produce a marketing plan for this new product, with the support and cooperation of the bank's marketing manager and PR director. Using the concepts learned in this and prior lessons, construct an abbreviated version of a marketing plan for the new banking product. You may fictionalize all data, as long as the data supports your plan. Be as brief as possible in addressing each element of the plan. For example, describe the proposed product in two or three sentences. Limit strategies (or tactics) to two per topic.)
Quiz 2: Sales and Public Relations
Test
Glossary and Credits

Review
Exam