Culture In International Marketing And Buyer Hehavior Essays

Culture In International Marketing And Buyer Hehavior Index Introduction Characteristics of culture International Marketing and buyer behavior Examples of Cultural Blunders Made by International Marketers The Culture Sensitivity of Markets The Development of Global Culture Cultural Analysis of Global Markets Cross- cultural analysis Conclusion References Introduction Culture is the learned ways of group living and the groups responses to various stimuli. It is also the total way of life and thinking patterns that are passed from generation to generation. It encompasses norms, values, customs, art, and beliefs. Culture is the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share. Culture distinguishes one human group from others. A people's culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems. Anthropologists commonly use the term culture to refer to a society or group in which many or all people live and think in the same ways. Likewise, any group of people who share a common cultureand in particular, common rules of behavior and a basic form of social organizationconstitutes a society. Thus, the terms culture and society are somewhat interchangeable. Characteristics of culture: Culture is prescriptive. It prescribes that kinds of behavior considered acceptable in the society. The prescriptive characteristic of culture simplifies a consumers decision-making process by limiting product choices to those, which are socially acceptable. These same characteristics create problems for those products not in tune with the consumers cultural beliefs. Culture is socially shared. Culture cannot exist by itself. Members of a society must share it. Thus acting to reinforce cultures perspective nature. Culture is learned. Culture is not inherited genetically; it must be learned and acquired. Socialization or enculturation occurs when a person absorbs or learns the culture in which he or she is raised. Culture facilitates communication. One useful function provided by culture is to facilitate communication. Culture usually imposes common habits of though and feeling among people. Thus, within a given group culture makes it easier for people to communicate with one another. But culture may also impede communication across groups because of a lack of shared common culture values. This one reason why a standardized advertisement may have difficulty communicating with consumers in foreign countries. How marketing efforts interact with a culture determines the success or failure of a product. Advertising and promotion require special attention because the play a key role in communicating product concepts and benefits to the target segment. Culture is subjective people in different cultures often have different ideas about the same object. What is acceptable in one culture may not necessarily be so in another. In this regard, culture is both unique and arbitrary. Culture is enduring, because culture is shared and passed along from generation to generation, it is relatively stable and somewhat permanent. Old habits are hard to break, and people and people tend to maintain its own heritage in spite of continuously changing world. Culture is cumulative. Culture is based on hundreds or even thousands of years of accumulated circumstances. Each generation adds something of its own of culture before passing the heritage on to the next generation. Therefore culture tends to be broader based over time, because new ideas are incorporated and become a part of the culture. Culture is dynamic. Culture is passed along from generation to generation, but one should not assume that culture is static and immune to change. Culture is constantly changing it adapts itself to new situations and new sources of knowledge. International Marketing and buyer behavior: An understanding of buyer behavior is central to successful marketing. To develop effective marketing programs, the marketing manager must have knowledge of the needs and wants of potential buyers, how they arise, and how and where they are likely to be satisfied. Buyer behavior is affected by many factors. Class, education, age, and psychosocial traits are just four of the many factors useful in distinguishing different buyer groups. Researching the relationships that exist between the marketing-mix variables and buyer needs and response. From this effort have evolved many buyer behavior models, concepts, and techniques. * International Marketings Four Buyer Behavior Tasks Apparent similarities such as language can hide subtle but important differences between markets. International marketers have often shown a higher propensity to misinterpret a marketing situation

Values In The Phaeacian Societ essays

Values In The Phaeacian Societ essays The Importance of Values In The Phaeacian Society The Phaeacian societys values are what the basis of what their civilized community is built on. In Robert Fagles translation of The Odyssey by Homer, there are numerous references made to what kind of values are held by the Phaeacian society. In book VI, as well as the rest of the books, there are examples of how the societies values provide structure, regulation, and rules for the culture to live by. It is evident in the writing, not only directly, but also indirectly, such as peoples responses and reactions to certain activities or words. One of the most important and easily recognizable values of the Phaeacian society is hospitality. Throughout the book, there are numerous examples of the importance of hospitality to the culture. The encounter between Odysseus and Nausicaa is a perfect display of what great extents one is expected to go to provide a guest, especially a stranger, with superb hospitality. Nausicaa is well trained in her manners, and very well she should be, the daughter of a king. She is representing her family, and reflects this when she tells her maidens, heres an unlucky wanderer strayed our way and we must tend him well.... So, quick, my girls, give our newfound friend some food and drink and bathe the him in the river(VI. 226-231). This is an unusual act in todays culture; to feed and bathe a complete stranger met on a waterfront. Nausicaa further extends her hospitality by inviting Odysseus to come to her residence later in the evening to meet her mother and father. The fact that a famil y of great importance, or even royalty, doesnt scrutinize a stranger, but makes sure his every need is taken care of before anything else, illustrates just how important the value of hospitality is to the Phaeacian society. It represents their level of civility and refinement in their culture. This level is something that...

MGMT Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGMT - Article Example Unions make the running of a business hard and constant rising within a union is troublesome ordeal. Ruth A. Binger has written an article on how to reduce the chances of a union being created in a business and provides ten ways on how she believes unions can be avoided. First she discusses the question of wages and benefits which is essential to every business and a sure way to keep employees happy is to give then wages worth their market value and provide some benefits to adjust to opportunities they lose. She also stresses on communication with those who work in a company while ensuring that those who are hired are of a specific educational level and made clear what unions will do to their situation in the company (Ruth A. Binger, 2009). She also provides an insight as to which particular brands of workers are at the core of unions being started and maintains that the best way to stop the problem is to make sure that those employees who don’t show any promise in the company are dealt with sooner rather than later. Ms. Binger is also prudent enough to detail outlines as to what the management can do if a union does arise in the midst of a company. Outlining proper training of those who are in unions and even the education the management of the company itself is, as she believes, required for ensuring a smooth working environment. The article provides a good base for companies and how to minimize unions. Her idea of promoting teamwork is not an original one but emphasis on it is a sure way to handle any uprising. Promoting teamwork will let the employees feel like they belong to a family and can help gain their trust while the idea of reaching out and resolving complaints and other problems as soon as possible is another sure way to reduce any grudges felt. However she should also mention that unions usually have strikes on their agenda which does not always help the