The
Feel-Good Society
How the
"Customer" Metaphor
Is
Undermining American Education,
Religion,
Media and Healthcare
by
James G.
Hutton, PhD
A
new book (2005) from
Pentagram
Publishing.
Available now
on Amazon.com
or directly
from the publisher:
Pentagram Publishing
12 Pascale Place
West Paterson, NJ 07424
USA
Voice and fax: 201-692-7241
E-mail: pentagrampublishing@earthlink.net
Click here to
e-mail us.
Retail price: $24.95
Multiple copies are available at a
discounted price, directly from
the publisher, according to the following scale:
1 copy (10% discount): $22.46
plus shipping
2 copies (20% discount): $19.96 each, plus shipping
3 copies (30% discount): $17.47 each, plus shipping
4 copies (40% discount): $14.97 each, plus shipping
5 or more copies (50% discount): $12.48 each, plus shipping
About the Book
Students as
customers? Patients as customers? Religious believers as customers?
In the
past 30 years, the “customer” metaphor has infiltrated virtually every
corner
of American life. Proponents suggest that schools, doctors, hospitals,
governments
and churches become more accountable when they treat their
constituencies as
customers. But has that really happened? And what might be the dangers
of that
strategy?
The Feel-Good Society
examines the immediate and long-term implications of the customer
metaphor,
concluding that it has fundamentally changed the attitudes and
behaviors of Americans,
and the nature of American social institutions.
The Feel-Good Society
poses the question of whether the customer metaphor is
undermining—perhaps even
diametrically opposed to—the fundamental purposes of institutions like
churches
and schools. It concludes that new approaches to marketing and new
approaches
to leadership are needed to insure that America’s social
institutions
return or remain true to their missions.
Click here for
extensive quotes from the book.
About the Author
James G. Hutton, PhD, is a marketing and
communications professor and consultant at Fairleigh
Dickinson
University in northern New Jersey, just outside of New York. Previously, he taught at
the University of Hawaii,
the University of St. Thomas
(Minneapolis/St.
Paul), and the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Prior to his
academic and consulting career, he was a manager of corporate and
financial
communications for three major multinational corporations, including
the U.S. subsidiary
of Hong Kong’s largest corporation.
Hutton’s PhD in
marketing is from the University
of Texas at Austin,
where he was a University Fellow and Dean’s Doctoral Fellow in
Business. Dr.
Hutton is the author of three books and numerous academic and
professional
articles and book chapters, and a frequent speaker at national and
international conferences.
Details
Reviews and sample
comments from readers:
(to come)
Catalog information:
Hutton, James G.
The feel-good society : how the
"customer" metaphor
is undermining American education,
religion, media and
healthcare / James G. Hutton.
p. cm.
Includes
bibliographical references.
LCCN 2004094567
ISBN 0-9709103-1-2
1. Marketing--Social
aspects--United States.
2. Consumer behavior--Social
aspects--United
States.
3. Consumption (Economics)--Social
aspects--United
States.
4. United
States--Social
conditions--1980- I. Title.
HF5415.1.H88 2004
381.3'0973
QBI04-200352
Policy for review copies:
Professors or others who may wish to adopt the book for a class, a
book club or similar purposes may obtain a
review
copy by sending a $15 check (plus international shipping costs, if
applicable)
to the author:
Dr. James G. Hutton
Dept. of Marketing
Silberman College of Business
Fairleigh Dickinson University
1000 River Road – H-DH2-06
Teaneck, NJ 07666
USA
Voice and fax: 201-692-7241
E-mail: jghutton@earthlink.net or hutton@fdu.edu
Personal web page: http://alpha.fdu.edu/~hutton
The $15 is refundable upon adoption
or
return of the book.
Further information for professors:
The book is a provocative look at how consumerism -- and the
"customer" metaphor, in particular -- are affecting America's social
institutions. It is an ideal text or supplement to courses or
seminars in subjects such as Marketing, Consumer Behavior, American
Studies or Cultural Studies.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
A Nation Turned Upside Down?
1
Chapter 2
The Pervasive
Influence of Marketing
5
Chapter 3
The Feel-Good
Society:
Citizens
vs. Consumers
19
Chapter 4
Feel-Good
Education:
Students
as Customers
25
Chapter 5
Feel-Good
Religion:
Believers
as Customers
67
Chapter 6
Feel-Good
Healthcare:
Patients
as Customers
87
Chapter 7
Feel-Good Journalism:
Readers,
Viewers and Listeners as Customers
105
Chapter 8
Feel-Good Politics, Government and Law:
Citizens
as Customers
121
Chapter 9
Feel-Good Art
and Science:
Patrons
as Customers
135
Chapter 10
Conclusions
and Solutions
145
Bibliography
169
References
175