WHAT IS CULTURE ?

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of

a particular group of people, defined by
everything from language, religion, cuisine,
social habits, music and arts.
OR
Culture is the collective programming of the
mind which distinguishes the members of one
human group from another
 STUDYING A CULTURE CAN HELP IN:

• The globalization of business.

• The growing diversity in the domestic
workforce.
• Easy entry in market
• Managerial behavior is driven by cultural
knowledge
• Better public relations
KINDS OF CULTURE AFFECTING BUSINESS:

Material culture stems from the philosophy of

materialism, which teaches that the universe is made
up of only physical matter, and only physical matter
exists and influences society and its values.
For example, those examining the world through the
perspective of material culture could examine various
artifacts like stone tools and examine how the society
that created stone tools used them, how tools have
evolved over time.
Nonmaterial culture is the exact opposite of
both materialism and material culture. When
we understand the world through nonmaterial
culture, we see the world as being shaped
by "language, norms, symbols, and values," not
by material possessions or matter.
Since an ideal world exists, we are constantly
being shaped by spiritual influences and our
own intellect, not just by the material.
 ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

• Material culture
• Language
• Aesthetics
• Education
• Religion
• Attitudes & Values
• Social Organisation
 IMPACT OF CULTURE ON BUSINESS FROM
DIFFERENT ASPECTS
• Consumer behavior
• Buying decisions
• Management decisions
• Brand image
• Public relations
• Advertising strategies
• Marketing strategies
 HOW CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AFFECT
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION ?
• Customs
• Language barriers
• Target audience
• Technology
• Politics
• Language differences
• Dress up
CULTURAL DILEMMAS FACED BY MANAGERS

• Modernization versus westernization

• Individualism Vs Collectivism in decision
making
• Specific Vs General
• Attitudes towards Time
• Attitudes towards Environment
 RELATION OF CULTURE WITH OTHER
ASPECTS

• Culture and business

• Culture and managerial skills
• Culture and negotiations
• Culture and management
CULTURE AND CULTURAL ADAPTATION

“Cultural adaptation is the evolutionary process

by which an individual modifies his personal
habits and customs to fit into a particular
culture. It can also refer to gradual changes
within a culture or society that occur as
people from different backgrounds
participating in the culture and sharing their
perspectives and practices.”
McDonald’s and KFC’s Cultural Adaptation Measures

• KFC has devoted itself to working on establishing a “Chinese” brand and

adjust to Chinese life ever since the middle of the 90s . In order to
guarantee the execution of this working guidance, in 2000, KFC invited 40
Chinese state-level nutritionists to establish “KFC-China healthy food
advisory committee”
• By contrast, on KFC’s menu for Greater China region nearly half of the
products are specially designed with Chinese feature among over 50 new
products at present . Some of these products are particularly popular for
featuring the 8 schools of Chinese cuisine.
• For example: Egg & Vegetable Soup, Dragon Twister (Chicken roll of Old
Beijing), and Grass Jelly Milk Tea, etc (KFC website, 2012). These products
are improved by adding special seasonings or Chinese ingredients to cater
to Chinese tastes.
 CONTD…
• In the summer of 2004, KFC launched Wong Lo Kat herbal tea only in
Guangdong province; this is the first completely localized product of KFC . It is
reported that KFC kept launching 20 new products each year, providing
abundant choices for customers.

• At the very beginning of entry, McDonald’s claimed that they would not change
the menu in China, and always stick to their American style. “We’ll do what we
are skilled at,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, CEO of McDonald’s China. From October,
20th 2004, fried egg and Chinese pancake appeared on the breakfast menu

• In the winter of 2007, McDonald’s launched a new hot drink with honey and
ginger, for it’s widely believed in China that ginger decoction can help keep
coldness away. However, basically these changes are only for McDonald’s to
survive rather than to improve.
CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING CULTURE

• Consumers lose faith and confidence in your

product and company.
• Customer backlash
• Negative public relations
• Loss of revenue, sales opportunities and
customers.
• Possible punishment in the form of retaliatory
legislation or lawsuits.
Some slogan and marketing fails based on ignorance of culture

• A company used an owl as part of its

promotional strategy in India. Though the owl
is seen as a symbol of wisdom in some cultures,
in India it is believed to be a symbol of bad luck.
• In thailand, where most of the population is
Buddhist, the distribution of a film poster that
depicted a man sitting on the head of a statue
of Buddha was not acceptable. Many Buddhists
demanded the poster to be changed