IMR300 – Lecture 2

The cultural environment of Global markets

Agenda

History and Geography–The Foundations of Culture

Cultural dynamics in assessing global markets

Cultural environment

Understanding the geography and history of a country can help a marketer have a better appreciation for many of the characteristics of its culture.

History

It helps define nation’s “mission” how it perceives its neighbors how it sees its place in the world how it sees itself

History

The United States and Mexico

The USA: Geography has made us neighbors, tradition has made us friends

Mexico: Geography has made us closer, tradition has made us friends

Microsoft’s Encarta

Electric light bulb: US- Thomas Alva Edison, UK- Joseph Swan

Microsoft’s Encarta

Kurdistan

No hate, No violence. Races? Only one human race. United we stand, Divided we fall.

Know your enemy!No time to waste. Act now!Tomorrow it will be too late.

History

History says the ways we are in.

But today the world is dividing into commercial blocks, and we are handcuffed to each other better or worse

Importance of history

In understanding many aspects of a culture.

how businesspeople negotiate, how they conduct business, their attitudes toward foreign investment, the legal system, and other aspects of the market/business system

Importance of history

for many of the cultural differences that often cause misunderstandings and in many cases, mistakes.

historical perspective of why they react as they do, you can gain insights that can possibly make it easier to adapt your strategies for a successful outcome.

Importance of history

Attitudes about the role of government and business

Relations between Managers and Subordinates

Sources of Management Authority Attitudes toward Foreign Corporations

History and Contemporary Behavior

To understand, explain, and appreciate a people’s image of itself and

the attitudes and unconscious fears that reflected in its view of foreign cultures,

it is necessary to study the culture as it is now as well as to understand the culture as it was—that is, a country’s history

Understanding of history: - Helps an international marketer

people’s image of itself and the fundamental attitudes and unconscious fears

role of government and business, the relations between managers and the managed, the sources of management authority, and attitudes toward foreign MNC’s.

nation’s “mission,” how it perceives its neighbors, and how it sees its place in the world.

look beyond the surface or current events to the inner refinement of the country’s entire past for clues.

Geography

Geography

Strictly speaking, the physical elements are not forces, because except for natural disasters they are passive.

However, there are similarities between them and the uncontrollable forces:

Geography and International Marketing

The interaction of the physical characteristics is one of the principal determinants of a country’s customs, products, industries, needs, and methods of satisfying those needs

Geography

Important role in the economy of a country and its marketing system

Affects a culture’s evolution including its marketing and distribution systems. its topography climate physical position

LOCATION

Location is important, because it is a factor in explaining a number of a nation’s political and trade relationships, many of which directly affect a company’s operations

TOPOGRAPHY

Surface features such as mountains, plains, deserts, and bodies of water contribute to differences in economies, cultures, politics, and social structures both among nations and among regions of a single country.

TOPOGRAPHY

Mountain Desert

Climate and topography

the broader and more important elements of geography Altitude, Humidity Temperature extremes

Affect the uses and functions of products and equipments