Introduction
There is no official definition of "Culture" settled on all over the world, and the definitions be inclined to rely deeply on who is doing the defining and for what function. Various definitions focus on culture tactics to identify the term, while others focus on the actor.
Probably, it's hard to settle on a perfect definition to which we can all agree, but it is practical to think of culture of its characteristics. The subsequent characteristics of cultural behavior are be tending- they depend on each other, although they vary from each other in significant ways.
According to the Documentary series of "our diverse world". I came out with this characteristics. [1]
1. Culture is shared. Culture creates the behaviors of individuals intelligible to other people in the group. Making payments for difference from culture to culture, one shared constituent found in all cultures is an sympathetic in consider to sex role, that is the role a specific culture allocates to man and woman. [2]
2. Culture is learned. Culture is not medicinal innate. The procedure that culture is went through generation to the next and this is called "enculturation". kids start understand their culture the moment they are born. Parents and extended family educate kids what is predictable of them in terms of family responsibility and aid to the household.
3. Culture is based on symbols. Much of human being manners is arbitrated by symbols. For example, the religious symbols found in most Christian homes symbolize a specific faith system and are used to be reminiscent people of their confidence and their ethical code. The most significant symbolic feature of culture is "language". Language stand for the most enveloping use of symbols in a culture for the reason that it use secret language to symbolize objects and ideas. [3]
4. Culture is integrated. The base of culture comprises three elements that work as one to remain the culture powerful: An communications provide the essential supplies of life, a communal decide how people interrelate with one and provide a faith system that help people recognize themselves, their civilization, and the globe around them.
5. Culture is dynamic. Once one element in the scheme shift, the whole scheme shifts to house. They and their family must adapt to new conditions with no losing their cultural identities. [4]
Is culture important in International business? It is absolutely for the reason that it provides people a unique individuality. The culture of a society offers its populace a nature of their own. Culture forms the character of a society. The language that a society verbalizes, the art shapes it hosts, its affix food, its mores, customs and revels include the society's culture. The significance of culture cannot be worried enough as it is an essential part of living.
Culture internationally, there are some counties are multicultural [5] (i.e.: China, India). While many are mono-cultural (i.e.: United Kingdom, France). The aim of business is same everywhere, but the way to do it varies across countries. Global managers must be able to handle culture shock. Culture defines a set of acceptable & unacceptable behaviors which forms bases of "way of doing business". Managers learn how to do business. This process is called "encululizatrion and socialization" - how consumer behave - how to manage people, suppler & subordinates - what guides the consumer behavior. Acceptable behavior in business is usually acceptable behavior in society. Successful managers tend to be good at acceptable behaviors and avoid unacceptable behaviors.
Difference from people to people.
First establish trust. Skilled negotiators identify genuine behavior of their counterparts and work towards establishing trust.
Know their "silent language': - body behavior - cultural signaling - culturally sensitive subjects.
Know what to say and when to say.
Culture influences managerial styles and management decisions
Global managers must be knowledgeable of both cultures. (local & home)
A new global business vulture is emerging
Sensitivity to local issues is necessary for success
Global coordination is a must for global companies
Advantages and disadvantages of different cultures.
The diversity at workplace is increasing very rapidly. In fact because of the boom of multinational companies and extension of businesses across the national boundaries, it has become a very common practice to see cross culture diversity at workplace. There are both the benefits and the demerits of cross culture at the workplace.
The benefits includes that it increases the interpersonal skills of the employees. As people belonging to various cultures work together therefore, they understand the views of different people. It increases the teamwork skills in the people. Employees belonging to various cultures also increase the skills available to the company. People can better interact with each other and they develop the patience and competencies to compete with each other.
On the other hand the demerits of cross cultures in work place increases the conflict of interest. It can create biased and favoritism in the office environment because may be minority feel suppressed by the majority of the people. Moreover, cultural conflicts can also arise like language problems, dress code etc. But still I think cross cultural diversity at work place is really encouraging for the employees.
Today, in a completely linked globe, it is impossible to have a successful company with no conscious of cultural differences. Marketers ought to distinguish and recognize the elements of culture. These are the seven elements of culture: Material Life, Aesthetics, Social organization, Attitudes & values, Religion, Language and Education. More details are provided below.
Material life
Infrastructure is a good indicator of potential product demand, and the extent of the "material culture" has an impact on business decisions
Economic infrastructure - consists of transportation, energy and communication systems
Social infrastructure - housing, health and educational systems
Financial/marketing infrastructure - provides the facilitating agencies for international operations (banks, research firms)
Aesthetics
Cultures have guidelines for good taste, expressed symbolism of colors, form, music. For instance, Sex it is a selling point in many countries, the Europeans uses naked models, while they will need to wear a bathing suit in U.S. ads. In addition, In Japan, foreign models are used to convey the message
Social organization
Families affect the ways people relate to each other. For instance, the western families consists of parents & children [6] . On the other hand, the Asian families often includes grandparents & other relatives [7] . Through the family children learn how they are expected to act and what to believe
In addition, Social classes are different from country to another. Dividing the population into classes (lower, middle, upper) depending on what is important to the culture whether it is money, job, education or even ancestry. Marketers need to recognize the different social classes in each culture. For instance, U.S. have strong middle classes [8] , while many Asian countries have a big divide between upper and lower classes
Reference groups, "an actual or imaginary individual or group conceived of have significant relevance upon an individual's evaluations, aspirations, or behavior." [9]
Primary reference groups (i.e.: family, friends)
Secondary reference groups (i.e.: trade organizations)
Attitudes and values
Values: communal attitude or group norm that have been internalized by people.
Attitudes: estimation of alternative depends on values
How cultural values can affect the international business:
Preparation is performed, decision are prepared, plan is applied, people are assessed
For instance in China, the marketer have to understand that creation of deals is more about collaboration than competition.
The Chinese accept as true that building relationships initial, tracked by business dealings. Unlike Egypt, they want to gain profit as soon as they launch their product and doesn't matter if there is a relationship or not.
Religion
Religion affects the way people behave and supports values that groups of people feel are important. The influence of religion is often quite strong. [10] So marketers with little or no understanding of a religion may readily offend deeply. One's own religion is often not a reliable guide to another beliefs. Most people do not understand religions other than their own, and what is "known" about other religion is often incorrect. The Islamic religion is a good example of the need for a basic understanding of all major religions.
Religions affect consumption behaviours and the purchase pattern of the individual. For instance, Islam in the North does not allow beer parlours and imbibement of alcohol, whereas in the South beer are sold everywhere. Because of religion some married women cannot move publicly as they like. All these affect the MNC marketing performance. They must adapt their product and promotion to suit their area of operation.
Language
There are 6,000 language all over the world. English is the most important language since 20% of the world speaks English [11] . Language is the foundation of culture, all cultures have a spoken language. nations who verbalize the identical language frequently share the same culture.
Language is significant in the business environment for the reason that language helps marketers to gather and evaluate Information, access to local society, company communications - need for interpreter, extends beyond communication mechanics to the interpretation of contexts.
There are more than one mistake made by large companies under the lack of cultural knowledge:
Gerber (2004), for instance, the well-known baby food, in French word means "vomiting". It turned out to be limiting when you go internationally. Therefore, Gerber isn't in France, and even though in the Gerber in the French Canadian web page, it says "Les aliments pour bebes Gerber ne sont Jispnbiles pour l'instant qu'aux Etats-Unis" (translated in english: The baby food isn't here, seek the United States) [12]
Furthermore in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" translated as "eat your fingers off" [13]
Volkswagen Jetta. though, the "J" doesn't exist in the Italy, so Jetta is said "Letta" that term misfortune. [14]
Non-verbal Language:
Time: comfortable or strict? (i.e.: Cairo: transportation difficulties require more flexibility)
Space: how much space do people want around them?
Material possessions - what is the importance?
Friendship patterns - establishing personal rapport is a requisite to conducting business in some countries
Business agreements - lengthy negotiations or a simple hand shake?
Body language - use of hands, etc. when talking. Be careful of using hand signals!
These languages effects consumer behavior. To make consumer accept a product, language is used to promote the product. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity cannot be effectively used without language. The MNC needs to understand this in going into any nations for any type of business.
Education
Education affects all aspects of the culture, from economic development to consumer behavior. Educational levels can be assessed using literacy rates, enrollment in secondary education and higher education. To communicate with a literate market is much easier than communicating to one in which the marketer depends on symbols and pictures.
How marketers are affected by culture? How culture is affected by marketers.
The home country of the international venture is frequently the foundation of growth and primary expansion of the company. The host country is where multinationals have their supplementary.
The characteristics of international companies are that they effort to treat the diverse markets as one, to the degree that the host country regime allow. International business also react with the chances around the world and attempt to drag together different elements of the enterprises to take greatest benefit. economics purposes, product separation, widespread advertising. [15]
When a corporation chooses to be involved in global preparations, marketers have to settle on which operational configuration will be in use to apply this international business..
The selection of a given composition is a purpose of both interior and exterior variables. The interior variables consists of: monetary capability, business policies, size and experience in foreign operation. The exterior variables consists of: financial and market information, lawful restrictions, non-tariff difficulties and political, social and cultural factors. [16]
If a culture is different doesn't denote that they are mistaken. Marketers have to recognize how their cultures affect their suppositions on another culture. The more foreign the circumstances, the more sensitive, liberal and elastic one needs to be. it will lessen disagreement and develop infrastructure and thus raise achievement in two-way relationships.
in addition understanding of the origin and elements of culture, the marketer as well be supposed to have approval of how cultures vary and accept or reject new thoughts. for the reason that marketer frequently is trying to launch something absolutely new, or to develop what is previously in use, how cultures change and the way in which confrontation to change happens should be thoroughly understood.
Marketer have to understand every country carefully in terms of the planned goods or services and not to rely on an regularly used maxim that if it vends in one country, it definitely sell in other country. As international mass communications and improved financial and community interdependence of countries produce similarities between countries will raise and ordinary market behaviors, wants and needs will carry on to expand.
The extent of culture is board. It wraps every feature of actions of members in a civilization. The job of marketers is to regulate marketing strategies and tactics to the desires of the culture that they preparation to function. Whether modernisms expand inside throughout innovation, testing or by mistake or launched from exterior.
Conclusion
No hesitation that the international business procedure will faces a big set of variables as it occur over diverse nations and act in diverse surroundings. One of the most determinant environment to the achievement of the global business procedure is Culture, that hold the cause for many individual perform and manners. accomplishment to that point marketer ought to learn intensely culture agreements of a country the corporation is planning to perform in. with the intention that particular alterations in the association generally plans and actions is complete to act in agreement with the new variables.
In my opinion, marketer need to build a good relationship with culture (like China), before start selling a product or/and service. Marketer must be aware of other culture and traditions that might affect the success of a corporation. Successful managers do a perfect research about the foreign countries not only about their economical, political and financial factors but also attitudes and behavior that might seems inappropriate to other culture. Egypt, for instance, is example of a country that majority of their corporation wants to make only a profit and not seeking for building a good relationships. Thus, china nowadays are more smarter, successful and knowledgeable than other countries.
