Business

The two fundamental roles in any business are seller and buyer. Buyer can be considered seeker in terms of looking for a product to buy, while seller is provider in providing a product or information about it. This chapter examines those roles, but also buyer as provider and seller as seeker, along with the different types of information that exist. There are many information literacy relationship and role transformations in business.

Buyer as seeker

How can the process of buying a product align with the information literacy components?

Identify: the buyer decides he or she wants a certain product. Here is where buyers often run into trouble. Phenomena such as 'impulse buying' have created global credit crises. Buyers buy first and regret later. Perhaps more attention to Identify can help to avoid mistakes.

Locate: the buyer finds possible products that match Identify.

Products are the equivalent of information in the traditional research sense, along with information about them.

Analyze: the buyer determines which of the possible products is best.

'Caveat emptor' not only applies to buying, but is a major part of the information literacy process in all sectors.

Use: the buyer decides whether to make a purchase.

Without the seller a product cannot be sold; however, the buyer's decision to buy should not be based solely on what the seller provides. A buyer decides to buy a product: does he or she need it, or are they influenced by clever marketing? A buyer should decide his or her own Use rather than the seller.

Marketing raises a question of information literacy morality, beginning with Identify. Whose responsibility is it to establish Identify, the buyer's or seller's? The answer is obvious to the responsible buyer. Therefore, it follows that marketing is wasted effort on the seller's part and possibly immoral (not all buyers take responsibility for themselves). However, does the seller not have a responsibility in the pursuit of commerce to do everything in their power to sell? Where should marketing begin and end, and to what extent?

After Identify, the buyer must Locate possible items for purchase. If there is only one model, then Locate, Analyze and Use are basically finished. If there are a variety of models, however, then Analyze continues. The buyer must decide which is best for them, and how much it is worth.

Analyze here is very much like Analyze in a research paper: a writer Locates sources then Analyzes them for relevancy and quality. In buy Analyze, selection is associated with quality, and relevance with cost: how much does the buyer truly need or want the product in relation to how much they have to spend.

Only the buyer can truly Analyze, but should the seller be more accountable? For example, should sellers grant buyers unlimited credit or adjust to financial solvency? This is not an issue with small purchases such as bubblegum, but it has become serious with expensive items. One day it might not be a question at all: the global economy might demand more restriction. As of this writing such restriction is already happening. An example is the United States housing market. It hit crisis mode in 2008 because banks loaned buyers money that was unrealistic for them to repay. As a result, housing prices inflated and lenders foreclosed.

The information-literate buyer will responsibly determine his or her credit/cost ratio; however, does the seller then have more responsibility to better determine information- illiterate buyer credit? Just because a person has money does not make them smart. Will there come a time when free trade will be regulated in terms of not only money but also information literacy? Some affected by the United States housing crisis would answer 'yes' based upon the damage that many see as seller irresponsibility.

In addition to item, customer service will sometimes factor into information literacy. If the item is a stand-alone product (again like bubblegum), then it is unimportant (unless the buyer really appreciates consideration from the cashier). However, if it is a vacation stay at an expensive resort, it can become as important as the actual location of the vacation. Even a dinner out, no matter how good the cuisine, can be ruined by poor service. The importance of information about service is relative to the particular buyer. The buyer must understand who he or she is, what he or she wants, and the importance of the product in relation to the two.

Warranties are another aspect of service, particularly for more complicated and expensive products such as exercise equipment, automobiles and computers. Most come with warranties, and it is important that the buyer understands the terms so that they are not later disappointed. An example is a vehicle warranty. The manufacturer claims unlimited bumper- to-bumper service for seven years or 100,000 kilometers.

However, what is the seller's definition of 'unlimited': is anything that happens to the car covered or must the driver be in the car? Additionally, what is their definition of 'service': can the buyer bring it to the place they bought it or must they take it to the 'regional distributor' 300 kilometers away?

Some products demand that buyers are knowledgeable about their workings and about those who sell them to ensure that service stipulations are understood. Many buyers, unfortunately, do not consider this during their pursuit, and are later disappointed. Many have had the experience of dealing first with a charismatic sales representative at the point of purchase only later to deal with various 'service' personnel, and vow never again to buy another product from that seller.

Buyer as provider

Thanks to the Web, buyers are information providers now more than ever. 'Word of mouth' has always been a popular way to provide information; however, instead of a network limited to relatives and neighbors, word of mouth now extends around the world.

Prominent online shopping websites such as Amazon offer plenty of buyer reviews. Additionally, some buyers develop their own sites and provide information about different products. This buyer/provider role offers considerable influence and responsibility. To be legitimate and useful, the buyer must be honest and fair about his or her experiences. As it is, there is little Web regulation in general, and buyer reviews in particular. If a buyer misuses a company's forum, then the site administrator can delete the post and eliminate that person's profile. However, when buyers administer their own sites, it becomes more difficult to regulate. Some buyers can be less trustworthy than the sellers when it comes to providing information.

Interview with a Nigerian buyer: Mobolaji Omotosho

Mr Omotosho is a 27-year-old student from Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria. He has lived in the United States for a few years, and has noticed key differences between buying in America and Nigeria. The major difference is that there are few set rates in Nigeria: buyers must barter with sellers. 'Except gas everything is up for discussion', he said. Although the pursuits are different, information literacy must be attained to secure a good deal in such a barter economy. 'You really need to understand the products and the people who sell them.' He says Nigerians rely on word of mouth from neighbors and family more than any other information. In fact, it is a custom for parents to take their children shopping and teach them what questions to ask during the process, and how to negotiate.

He recounted the first time his parents allowed him to observe the process for buying a car. 'It was a choice between a Japanese and a German product. They spoke to several family members, trusted mechanics and those who owned both vehicle types. They then approached the different sellers before making a final decision. This experience helped me. At 15 I was able to make my own purchases. I learned to track the rates, and the information to gather from talking to other people.'

Although word of mouth is most important, and culturally significant, Mr Omotosho also acknowledged that marketing does play a part in Nigerian buying decisions. Nigerians consume radio and television commercials, but rarely are such ads geared towards large purchases such as vehicles. 'Commercials are for small items; word of mouth is better for bigger items.'

He believes that Nigerian buyers have much more information literacy responsibility than sellers. 'Since there is no credit system, the seller has no worries.' This is because Nigerian purchases are usually finished at the point of sale. There are no monthly payment arrangements on credit or layaway programs. Mr Omotosho believes that information literacy will be more important to Nigerian buyers in the future. He thinks that fixed rates will eventually kill barter, and that the Internet will become increasingly accessible. He believes that sellers can be 'craftier' in cyberspace, and that buyers will have to improve both their Web Locate and Analyze skills to make information-literate buying decisions. Despite the technology emphasis, he believes that such change will be challenging more for cultural reasons.

Seller as...