about b culturalenvironment lt l i t

IntroductionofCULTURE
CULTURE is the distinct way of life of a group of people and their p g g complete design for living. Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society. Culture influences the pattern of living, of decisionmaking by individuals. individuals It has certain characteristics and is transmitted from one g generation to another. It is a comprehensive concept and includes all those things that influence an individual in his thinking and behavior. EXAMPLE: People in the western world have different cultural than those in the eastern. Their behavior, living style and decision making is different from those in the eastern countries countries.

CharacteristicsofCulture:
Cultureisinventedby3interdependentsystem A. IdeologicalSystem Mentalsystemconsistingofidea,beliefs, valuesandwaysofreasoning(GoodorBad). B. B TechnologicalSystemconsistsofskills,techniquestoproduce. TechnologicalSystemconsistsofskills techniquestoproduce C. Organizationalsystem(Familyandsocialclass)coordinates behavior.

Cultureislearned. Cultureissociallysharedbyhumanbeingslivinginsocieties. Cultureissociallysharedbyhumanbeingslivinginsocieties Cultureissimilaryetdifferent. Cultureisintegratedandorganized. g g Cultureisacquired. Cultureformsaboundarywithinwhichanindividualthinksandacts. Thenatureofculturalinfluenceissuchthatweareseldomawareofthem.

ComponentsOfCulture:
Culture

InternalmentalcultureExternalmaterialculture (Ideas,knowledge,concepts)(Thingsthatcanbeseen,touchedand (Id k l d )(Thi h b h d d usedinourdaytodayliving,e.g.,Art, g g Music,Theatre,Clothing,Housing, Books,Movies,Sportsetc.)

CognitiveComponentsbeliefNormativecomponents Ofafterlife,etc.ideas,knowledge,Values,conduct,norms,that god,supernaturalpower,etc.Regulatebehavior.

FunctionsofCulture:
It provides a framework with in which individuals and households build their pattern of living or exhibit their lifestyles. Normsaretheboundariesthatculturesetsonthebehavior. Normsarederivedfromculturalvalues,whicharewidelytoldbeliefs thatspecifywhatisdesirableandwhatisnot. h f h d bl d h Mostindividualsobeynormsbecauseitisnaturaltoobeythem. Cultureoutletsareofmanylikebusinessnorms,familynorms, C lt tl t f lik b i f il behaviornorms,etc. Culturekeepschangingslowlyovertime;anditisnotstatic. Culturekeepschangingslowlyovertime;anditisnotstatic Changestakeplaceduetorapidtechnologies. Marketersandmanagementunderstandtheexistingcultureaswellas g g thechangingcultureandcultureofthecountrywherethegoodsareto bemarketedincaseofemergency,war,ornaturalcalamities.

U C UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE O C POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALITY/COLLECTIVITY MASCULINITY/FEMININITY

The extent to which the members of a society are b f i t uncomfortable with unclear unclear, ambiguous, or unstructured g , situations.

HIGH Denmark Sweden Ireland I l d United Kingdom g United States Canada Australia

LOW Greece Portugal Japan J g Argentina Belgium Italy South Korea

Technology Social Rules Religion and Ri R li i d Rituals l

The extent to which the less powerful members of a f l b f society accept--even societ accept e en expect--that expect that power be distributed unequally unequally.

LOW Austria Denmark Ireland I l d Norway y Sweden U.K. UK U.S.A.

HIGH Malaysia Philippines Venezuela V l Mexico Indonesia India Brazil

The extent to which people prefer to act as individuals f i di id l rather than group gro p members. members

HIGH U.S.A. Australia U.K. UK Canada Netherlands Belgium France

LOW Venezuela Singapore South K S th Korea Taiwan Mexico Brazil Japan

The extent to which people prefer to have male values f t h l l such as success, assertiveness, success assertiveness and achievement, as opposed , pp to female values like solidarity, nurture, and quality f life. of lif

HIGH Japan Austria Germany G y Italy Mexico Switzerland Ireland

LOW Sweden Norway Netherlands N th l d Denmark Finland Chile Thailand

OtherOrientedValuesofCulture:
This shows the relationship between individuals and the society. practices. society The relationship influences marketing practices Individual / Collective Romantic Orientations Adult / Child Theme Masculine / Feminine Competitive / Cooperation Youth / Age

CulturalVariationsin NonVerbalCommunications
In a culture we have many variations in non verbal communications. Each culture assigns a meaning to non verbal signs utilized by it. There are some variables in non verbal communication. These are:
Time Symbols Space

NonVerbal Communication Agreements Friendship p

Variables of Nonverbal Communication Source: Adopted from Hawkins, Best, Coney.

Etiquette

SubcultureinIndia:
Within a culture there exists more homogeneous subgroups, these groups have their own values, customs, traditions and other ways of behavior that are particular group within a culture. i l i hi l In India we have cultures of different states, different religions etc. , g On the religions front, we have different traditions, values and pattern of living in different parts of India. These subculture can be Hindus Muslims Christian and we have the Sikh Hindus, Muslims, Culture which combination of Hindu and Muslim. The Hindus of the South side and North side have different lifestyles among their language clothing food habits values modernization and their language, clothing, habits, values, consumption are all different etc. Amongst the Muslims of North and the Muslims of the South, East, West, the pattern of living traditions ceremonies values language also differ living, traditions, ceremonies, values, differ. The Subcultures give a better idea to marketers to sell their products and make better strategy.

MarketingImplicationsofcultureandRoleofmarketer: g p
Culturalvaluesarenotfixedorstaticbutkeepchangingaredynamic, C l l l f d b k h d theycomeslowlybutsurely. Theurgeofsavingtimeleadstothefastmovingandsafermoving vehicleetc. Themarketertorethinkhisstrategiesofproductsmix(4Ps)dueto g p (4 ) culturalchangesleads. Theytrytooffermorethanwhatthecustomerexcepts,guarantees buildingstrangerrelationships. b ildi l i hi Themarketistobesegmentedintermsofculturalvalues. Thepromotionscanhaveanewapproachandstressmoreonrealistic aspectsandacknowledgethewomensroleinoursociety. Advertisingfocusedonthedesiredsegmentandmoreaccurate dve t s g ocused o t e des ed seg e t a d o e accu ate informationdeliveredtothecustomer.

Conclusion:
Understanding the culture of a particular country and respecting its customs and traditions plays an important role in international business. There are various elements of culture, lik customs and traditions, mannerisms, values like Th i l f l d di i i l and attitude, religion etc. that are of importance to international business. All these elements have to be thoroughly understood before entering new markets. The culture of the country influences the culture at the workplace. Culture has a major influence on the consumption patterns. Marketers have to study clearly the acceptability of the product and its advertisements in a particular culture. The various dimensions under which culture can be classified. They are power distance, individualism vs collectivism masculinity vs femininity uncertainty avoidance collectivism, femininity, avoidance, individual vs collectivism and finally, long term orientation. Advertisers can achieve positive consumer responses by developing advertisements with culturally congruent appeal appeal. Culture also has an influence on the thinking process. Culture shock can be avoided by striving to be more flexible and forming effective intercultural relationships. i l l l i hi