Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets Chapter 4

Culture “The human-made part of human environment- the sum total of knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society.”

Cultural Impact Birth rates Consumption levels of products China European & Japanese consumption Babies born in a specific year are lucky, so birthrates increase during that year; others are bad luck, so they decline.

Cultural Origins Geography History Political economy Technology The “direction” of innovation History Political economy WWII Cold War War on Terror Technology Spreads faster from east-to-west, than North to South (think Wild West v. pre-Civil War attitudes).

Cultural Origins Social Institutions Family Religion School Media Government Corporations Si- Affect how people interact with one another. Who are influential? Find out who they are and then target them. Family- US, don’t have as much influence on families and where people live. Individualism is taught Religion- Protestantism v. Catholicism Protestant- Take petitions directly to God= more individual power (like Pilgrims and Puritans, who set up the gov’t in US). School- Literacy levels Media- Less family time Gov’t-Promotes certain ideas and attitudes

Elements of Culture Cultural Values Individualism/Collectivism Index Power Distance Index Uncertainty Avoidance Index Masculinity/Femininity Index Fundamental cultural differences which exist between countries. I/C- Work in groups (low) or strive for personal achievement (high) Power Distance Avoidance-High-hierarchiay, a great power difference between employee and boss. Low- work together with superiors Uncertainty Avoidance- High: Intolerant, like to have the task spelled out for them directly. Rules= Less risk. Low: Can work within a lose framework. Will take risk and deviate from the course Masc/Femin- Task-oriented; or people-oriented

Elements of Culture Rituals Symbols Beliefs Thought processes Language Linguistic distances Aesthetics Arts, music, dance, folklore Beliefs Thought processes Rituals- Patterns of behavior learned over time. Pomp& circumstance at graduations. Santa Claus at Christmas Language- Important because it’s how they communicate, also some are sensitive about it. Beware of slang! SA- 11-12 languages, but English is the medium. Linguistic distances- Grouping the languages on a “family tree”. Thus we can see how far they are away from English Beliefs- Superstitions, like number 13 being unlucky TP- Asian- big picture; Western- Focused

Cultural Knowledge Factual knowledge Interpretive knowledge Can be learned Interpretive knowledge “Ability to understand cultural traits and patterns” Cultural sensitivity CS- No culture is entirely correct, or entirely wrong

Cultural Change Cultural Borrowing Just because things look the same does not mean that they are! Resistance CB- Problems in culture, so seek answers outside. Similarities- US and UK aren’t the same. Neither are regions of countries. Innovation works best with high individualism, lower power distance and lower uncertainty avoidance

Planned v. Unplanned Change Do any current factors conflict with innovation? Should we change those factors? Cultural congruence Planned change Unplanned change Consequences CC- Introduce something similar to what has already been accepted UC- Introduce it and hope for the best Consequences- If accepted, there are consequences.