1. The Cultural Environment
Chapter 4
The Cultural Environment

2. Culture Defined
Culture - An integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are distinguishing characteristics of the members of any given society.
It encompasses a wide variety of elements, from materialistic to the spiritual.
Acculturation - Adjusting and adapting to a specific culture other than one’s own.
It is one of the keys to success in international operations.

3. Culture Defined
It is important to understand the difference between the context cultures to avoid misunderstanding of messages and intentions.
High-context culture - The social context in which what is said strongly affects the meaning of the message.
Low-context culture - The meaning of the message is explicitly expressed by the words and is less affected by the social context.

4. Culture Defined
The international manager must identify cross-cultural and intracultural differences and isolate potential opportunities and problems.
The international business entity acts as a change agent by introducing new products, ideas, or practices which may lead to change in consumption.
The international marketer may be accused of “cultural imperialism,” especially if the changes brought about are dramatic or if culture-specific adaptations are not made in the marketing approach.

5. Elements of Culture
Cultural universals - Manifestations of the total way of life of a group of people.
This includes elements such as body adornments, courtship, etiquette, family gestures, joking, mealtimes, music, personal names, status differentiation, and trade.

6. Exhibit 3.1 - Elements of Culture

7. Elements of Culture Language
Language
Is described as the mirror of culture and is multidimensional by nature.
Include both verbal and nonverbal communication.
Aids information gathering and evaluation efforts.
Provides access to local society.
Is important for company communication.
Allows for interpretation of context.

8. Elements of Culture
Dealing with language problem invariably requires the use of local assistance.
When translation is required, one of the simplest methods of control is back-translation.
Back-translation - The translating of a foreign language version back to the original language by a different person from the one who made the first translation.

9. Elements of Culture
Managers must analyze and become familiar with the hidden language of foreign cultures.
The five key topics being time, space, material possessions, friendship patterns, and business agreements.

10. Elements of Culture
Religion provides the basis for transcultural similarities under shared beliefs and behavior.
The major religions include:
Christianity - Lays stress on frugality and accumulation of wealth from hard work; consists of two significant groups Catholicism and Protestantism.
Islam - Plays a pervasive role in the life of its followers; it supports entrepreneurship and discourages exploitation.

11. Elements of Culture The major religions
The major religions
Hinduism - Family is an important element in Hindu society; the extended family structure has an impact on the purchasing power and consumption of Hindu families.
Buddhism - Views life as an existence of suffering; emphasizes on spiritual achievement rather than worldly goods.
Confucianism - Is characterized by a code of conduct; stresses on loyalty and relationships.

12. Elements of Culture Values and attitudes
Values and attitudes
Values are shared beliefs or group norms that have been internalized by individuals.
Attitudes are evaluations of alternatives based on values.
Attitudes towards change is positive in industrialized countries, while in tradition bound societies change is viewed with suspicion.

13. Elements of Culture Manners and customs
Manners and customs
Understanding manners and customs is especially important in negotiations.
Potential problem areas for marketers arise from insufficient:
Understanding of different ways of thinking.
Attention to the necessity of saving face.
Knowledge and understanding of the host country.
Recognition of the decision-making process and the role of personal relations.
Allocation of time for negotiations.

14. Exhibit 4.2 - When and What to Give as Gifts

15. Elements of Culture Manners and customs
Manners and customs
Managers must be concerned with differences in the ways products are used.
Package sizes and labels must be adapted in many countries to suit the needs of the particular culture.
Concept tests determine the potential acceptance of a proposed new product.

16. Elements of Culture Manners and customs
Manners and customs
Focus groups, consisting of eight to twelve consumers representative of the proposed target market audience, can be interviewed to check for disasters and fine-tune research findings.
In depth studies are also used to study of consumer needs across markets.

17. Elements of Culture
Material culture results from technology and is manifested in the availability and adequacy of the following basic infrastructures.
Economic - Consists of transportation, energy, and communications systems.
Social - Refers to housing, health, and educational systems.
Financial and marketing - Provide the facilitating agencies for the international firm’s operation in a given market; for example, banks and research firms.
Technological advancement also brings about cultural convergence.

18. Elements of Culture Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Each culture makes a clear statement concerning good taste, as expressed in the arts and in the particular symbolism of colors, form and music.
Color is often used as a mechanism for brand identification, feature reinforcement, and differentiation.

19. Elements of Culture Education
Education
Formal and informal education play a major role in the passing on and sharing of culture.
Educational levels of a culture can be assessed by using literacy rates and enrollment in higher education.

20. Elements of Culture Social institutions
Social institutions
Affect the ways in which people relate to each other.
Kinship or blood relationships - Family relations and a strong obligation to family are important factors to be considered.
Social stratification - Division of a particular population into classes, in which the higher strata control most of the buying power and decision-making positions.

21. Elements of Culture Social institutions
Social institutions
Reference groups - Provide the values and attitudes that become influential in shaping behavior; can be primary or secondary.
Social organization also determines the roles of managers and subordinates and the way they relate to one another.

22. Elements of Culture Sources of cultural knowledge
Sources of cultural knowledge
The concept of cultural knowledge is broad and multifaceted and can be defined by the way it is acquired.
Factual information - Acquired through communication, research, and education.
Experiential knowledge - Acquired by being involved in a culture other than one’s own.
Interpretive knowledge - Acquired by understanding the nuances of different cultural traits and patterns; achieved through experience over a sufficient length of time.

23. Exhibit 4.6 - A Model of Cross-Cultural Behavior

24. Cultural Analysis Dimension of culture Individualism Power distance
Dimension of culture
Individualism
Power distance
Uncertainty avoidance
Masculinity
Long-term versus short-term orientation

25. Exhibit 4.8 – Culture-Based Segmentation

26. Cultural Analysis
Self-reference criterion – The unconscious reference to one’s own cultural values.
Recommendations to reduce the influence of one’s own cultural values:
Define the problem in terms of domestic and foreign cultural traits, habits, or norms.
Isolate the self-reference criterion influence in the problem and examine it to see how it complicates the problem.
Redefine the problem without the self-reference criterion influence and solve for the optimal situation.

27. Cultural Analysis
Ethnocentricism - The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others.
It can be controlled only by acknowledging it and properly adjusting to its possible effects in managerial decision making.

28. The Training Challenge
The objective of training programs is to foster preparedness, sensitivity, patience, and flexibility in managers and other personnel.
Internal educational programs used to foster culture sensitivity and acceptance of new ways of doing things include:
Culture specific information
Culture general information
Self-specific information

29. The Training Challenge
Area studies - Provide factual preparation for a manager to operate in, or work with people from, a particular country.
Cultural assimilator - A program in which trainees must respond to scenarios of specific situations in a particular country.
Sensitivity training - Focuses on enhancing a manager’s flexibility in situations that are quite different from those at home.
Field experience - Exposes a manager to a different cultural environment for a limited amount of time.

30. Exhibit 4.9 - Cross-Cultural Training Methods

31. Making Culture Work for Marketing Success
Embrace local culture.
Build relationships.
Employ locals to gain cultural knowledge.
Help employees understand you.
Adapt products and processes to local markets.
Coordinate by region.