cultural environment

2. The integrated sum total of learned behavioral
traits that are manifest and shared by members
of society"
Culture, therefore, according to this definition, is
not transmitted genealogically. It is not, also
innate, but learned. Facets of culture are
interrelated and it is shared by members of a
group who define the boundaries.
Culture, alongside economic factors, is probably
one of the most important environmental
variables to consider in global marketing.
Culture is very often hidden from view and can
be easily overlooked.

3.  Anthropological approach
Culture can be deep seated and, to the
untrained can appear bizarre. The Moslem
culture of covering the female form may be
alien, to those cultures which openly flaunt
the female form. The anthropologist, though
a time consuming process, considers behavior
in the light of experiencing it at first hand.

4.  Maslow approach
In searching for culture universals,
Maslow's (1964) hierarchy of needs gives a
useful analytical framework. Maslow
hypothesized that people's desires can be
arranged into a hierarchy of needs of relative
potency. As soon as the "lower" needs are
filled, other and higher needs emerge
immediately to dominate the individual.
When these higher needs are fulfilled, other
new and still higher needs emerge.

6.  Perception of market needs can be blocked by
one's own cultural experience. Lee
(1965)4 suggested a way, whereby one could
systematically reduce this perception. He
suggested a four point approach.
 Define the problem or goal in terms of home
country traits, habits and norms.
 Define the problem or goal in terms of the
foreign culture traits, habits and norms.
 Isolate the SRC influence in the problem and
examine it carefully to see how it complicates
the pattern.
 Redefine the problem without the SRC influence
and solve for the foreign market situation.

7.  Many studies have been made since the
1930's to assess how new innovations are
diffused in a society. One of the most prolific
writers was Everett Rogers. In his book,
"Diffusion of Innovations" (1962) he suggested
that adoption was a social phenomenon,
characterized by a normal distribution.

9.  Material culture
Material culture refers to tools, artifacts and
technology. Before marketing in a foreign
culture it is important to assess the material
culture like transportation, power,
communications and so on. Input-output tables
may be useful in assessing this
 Language
Language reflects the nature and values of society.
There may be many sub-cultural languages like
dialects which may have to be accounted for.
Some countries have two or three languages.

10.  Aesthetics
Aesthetics refer to the ideas in a culture
concerning beauty and good taste as expressed
in the arts -music, art, drama and dancing and
the particular appreciation of colour and form.
African music is different in form to Western
music.
 Education
Education refers to the transmission of skills, ideas
and attitudes as well as training in particular
disciplines. Education can transmit cultural ideas
or be used for change, for example the local
university can build up an economy's
performance.

11.  Religion
Religion provides the best insight into a
society's behaviour and helps answer the
question why people behave rather than how
they behave.
A survey in the early 1980s revealed the
following religious groupings

12.  Attitudes and values
Values often have a religious foundation, and
attitudes relate to economic activities. It is
essential to ascertain attitudes towards
marketing activities which lead to wealth or
material gain, for example, in Buddhist
society these may not be relevant.

13.  · "Power distance" - Society's endorsement of
inequality, and its inverse as the expectation of
relative equality in organizations and institutions
 · "Individualism" - The tendency of individuals
primarily to look after themselves and their
immediate families and its inverse is the
integration of people into cohesive groups
 · "Masculinity" - An assertive or competitive
orientation, as well as sex role distribution and
its inverse is a more modest and caring attitude
towards others

14.  · "Uncertainty Avoidance" - Taps a feeling of
discomfort in unstructured or unusual
circumstances whilst the inverse show tolerance
of new or ambiguous circumstances
 · "Confucian Dynamism" - Is an acceptance of the
legitimacy of hierarchy and the valuing of
perseverance and thrift, all without undue
emphasis on tradition and social obligations
which could impede business initiative.
 · "Integration" - Degree of tolerance, harmony
and friendship a society endorses, at the
expense of competitiveness: it has a "broadly
integrative, socially stabilizing emphasis"

15. In conclusion, therefore, "better" economic growth
can be explained more by culture than structural
or material changes. Economic power, from this
study, comes from "dynamism" - the acceptance
of the legitimacy of hierarchy and the valuing of
perseverance and thrift, all without undue
emphasis on tradition and social obligations
which could impede business initiative;
"individualism" - the tendency of individuals
primarily to look after themselves and their
immediate families (its inverse is the integration
of people into cohesive groups) and finally a
tendency towards competitiveness at the
expense of friendship and harmony.