...We are living in a world where business is evolving the advancement in technology has seen companies expand there client base to a global level. This paper will discuss the standardized marketing strategy of IKEA and evaluate the issues surrounding standardized marketing on a global scale by relating it to multinational corporations alike. Using Hofstede’s Culture theory, it will also discuss whether our cultures of the world are becoming similar, or are we seeing a direct reflection of clever marketing. What standardization (and adaption) could be considered to be: the offering of identical product lines at identical prices through identical distribution systems supported by identical promotional programs in several different countries. (Buzzell, 1968 p 103) Although IKEA practice a standardized marketing strategy in some aspects of the marketing mix such as product, price and place they are certainly not entirely standardized when it comes to their promotion strategy, this is evident when looking at the move into China where they were forced to adapt to Chinese cultural differences. IKEA’s target market has always been ‘everyone’ in other countries however the target market was extremely different in China, the main target is women as they are considered the decision makers and were born in the ‘one child policy’ generation. This group was identified as being impulsive, easy to influence and committed to leading foreign consumer brands (Johannson 2009 p. 44). Due to the...
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...The Not-So-Wonderful World of EuroDisney: a cultural lesson by Emilio González Introduction This paper introduces some thoughts about the Disney strategy choosing the place for its European park and about the beginnings of its operations; in some way related to cultural factors. It constitutes a personal answer to a case study placed in the book "International Marketing" 13/e by Philip C. Cateora and John Graham, McGraw-Hill 2007. Factors that contributed to Euro Disney's poor performance during its first year of operation. There are several different in nature factors that joined together and contributed to a disastrous beginning of operations. Most of them were management mistakes and others, although external factors, if considered, could have result in different management decisions leading to a better start. In my view these are the most important ones: The timing. EuroDisney opened in 1992, just when two other international events had place: the Olympics games in Barcelona and the World's Fair in Seville; both in Europe and relatively close to Paris. It's obvious that been unrepeatable events, available only for a certain limited amount of time they were a strong competition. A huge amount of people choose attend to these events instead visiting EuroDisney. Suffice it to say that more than 40 million people visited the Seville Expo during the 6 months it was open (versus 9 million EuroDisney visitors accounted for 1992 all year around). To add insult to injury...
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...American Intercontinental University Unit 3 - Cultural Syncretism Alisha Kinchen February 26th, 2012 Abstract This paper contains information regarding Cultural Syncretism. It is my contribution to the Unit Three Group Project. The information is provided for the group in order to explain the impact Syncretism has on individuals along with its aftermath. Cultural Syncretism When asked the question of what cultural factors caused the differences in outcomes regarding the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India there had to be research conducted explaining what the factors were with definitions suffice to examining each component along with correlating with the countries of topic found throughout the paper, so without further delay the source of this information is from the following: The University of Calgary (2000)Old World Contacts. Cultural Conversion Theory Page. Cultural Factors are listed as follows: * Conversion by Voluntary Association - Co-operation & Co-existence * Conversion by Pressure - Conflict, Conquest & Coercion * Conversion by Pressure - Migratory Pressures * Conversion by Assimilation - Adoption & Adaptation * Combinations of Modes of Conversion * Syncretism & * Cultural Resistance Having reviewed the list above let us look further into how each component caused differences in out comes to occur. According...
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...WHO NEEDS CULTURAL RESEARCH? The massive lack of public understanding of what contemporary humanities scholarship entails becomes painfully clear to me when I am asked by, say, the hairdresser, what I do. As part of my ongoing fieldwork, I generally decide to tell the truth. “I am a university teacher,” I say. “Oh,” would be the answer, “what do you teach?” I take a deep breath and say: “Cultural Studies.” What follows is usually a big silence. Conversation closed. And the hairdresser is not the only one who is embarrassed. She (or he) probably feels very ignorant because she doesn’t know what I’m talking about, while I feel bad about making her feel that way and feel hopelessly cut off from what she stands for: the general public. Part of the silence is related to a general unawareness of the complex meanings of the term “culture” itself. For most people, “culture” is extraordinary, set apart from daily life. It is either synonymous to art, something elevated and lofty, or refers to “other people” such as migrants or Aborigines. In other words, culture is either aesthetics or anthropology, and has nothing to do with their own lives. In the academic world, what is now called “cultural studies” has revolutionised the study of culture in contemporary society, by doing away with the separation between aesthetics and anthropology. “Culture” in cultural studies relates to the production and negotiation of meaning and value, and this is an ongoing, plural, often conflictive process...
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...------------------------------------------------- WORKPLACE DIVERSITY ------------------------------------------------- (CULTURAL DIVERSITY) SAZIA KHAN SANJA GM410: FOUNDATION OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION. INSTRUCTION: ROBERT WOODS Keller Graduate School of Management Introduction: The social composition of the world is changing. And the increasing of the globalization demands more interaction with people from diverse cultures religion and background ever before. As a result of that the demography of the world is changing. The word becomes a single market place. Anyone with a cell phone or access to the internet is a potential customer. In today’s global economy traditional barrier are disappear. So being increasing the opportunity as well as competition if the company wants to compete effectively and globally, Todays Companies need to realize that they longer have choice.it is now essential to be knowledgeable about and be able to communicate with people of different nationalities cultures and religions. Corporation realizes that they must embrace that diversity in the workplace brings. What is Work place Diversity Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. That means diversity encompasses race, gender, culture, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others...
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...University of Phoenix MMPBL 560 Managing in a Cross-Cultural Environment November 9, 2009 Managing across cultures is no easy task for any organization regardless of its economies of scale or long standing reputation in the market; the challenges are many, including coping with the flux of change, managing diverse groups of employees, communicating, and negotiating agreements with host countries. This paper illustrates how Johnson and Johnson, Allstate, Starbucks, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Shell, Whataburger, and Sony USA address their cultural diversity. Thus, the authors of this paper analyze, evaluate, and assess the various successful best practices of these organizations to help Riordan Manufacturing’s situation. Riordan Manufacturing’s decision to open a new production facility in China has created some challenges involving the scarcity of Chinese skilled employees. Whereas leadership attempts alternative solutions to synergize the company’s strategies to address the situation, Riordan recognizes that the integration of a diverse workforce has the potential to alter the company’s performance (University of Phoenix, 2009). Accordingly, in analyzing cultural synergy strategies to help mitigate undesirable outcomes takes extra consideration, yet it is a necessary task (Hodgetts, Luthans, Doh, 2005). When reviewing Johnson and Johnson, it is evident that the company struggled with managing diversity and cultural differences. However, Johnson and Johnson stepped...
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...The Global Consumer Since the Second World War the technological advancements in transportation and communication have brought about a revolution in people’s daily lives. While the origins of globalisation are often disputed, there is no denying that through the years our day to day activities increasingly link us to other people and activities throughout the rest of the world (Surman, 2009). There has been much debate on the effects of globalisation and what businesses and consumers facing them should do. This essay will outline and discuss elements of the paradigm shift of the last thirty years starting with the call for global standardisation and lowest cost orientation for the benefit of the consumer, as expressed by Levitt (1983) in his legendary article “The Globalisation of Markets”. We will then jump forward to the twenty-first century with global brands and glocalisation supported with the following articles: Holt et al (2004) “How Global Brands Compete”, Askegaard and Kjeldgaard’s (2006) “The Glocalisation of Youth Culture” and Surman’s (2009) “The Global Consumer”. Discourse around what companies operating on the global level should and shouldn’t do always ends up being centered on the consumer. What the consumer wants/needs, what they will buy and why they buy it, what implications does buying the product have for them. Levitt (1983) states that consumers are driven by the lowest price, though accounting for the importance of quality. Products are bought in the...
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...2013 Cultural Imperialism and Globalization in Pepsi Marketing by Justin Grandinetti The increased speed and flow of information brought about by technology has influenced a massive global culture shift. Two consequences of this increased information exchange are cultural imperialism and globalization. Cultural imperialism is a heavily debated concept that “refers to how an ideology, a politics, or a way of life is exported into other territories through the export of cultural products” (Struken and Cartwright 397). The related concept of globalization “describes the progression of forces that have accelerated the interdependence of peoples to the point at which we can speak of a true world community” (Struken and Cartwright 405). A driving force of both cultural imperialism and globalization are major corporations, many of which are based in the United States. Brands like Pepsi are now known worldwide and not simply confined to one particular country or the western sphere. These global brands can be viewed “as homogenizing forces, selling the same tastes and styles throughout diverse cultures” (Stuken and Cartwright 402). Conversely, viewers in other countries are free to “appropriate what they see to make new meanings, meanings that may be not just different from but even oppositional to the ideologies” of these global advertising campaigns. By analyzing three recent aspects of Pepsi’s “Live for Now” global campaign, I will examine their relationship to cultural imperialism...
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...Ever since middle school, I had an interest in social studies, especially in the cultural topics. I loved to learn about the different cultural and customs that are in the world. Cultural anthropology is a field that I am very intrigued in. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook anthropologists and archeologists “study the origin, development, and behavior of humans”. The Cultural Anthropology program of the national park service said that cultural anthropology “specialize in the study of culture and peoples’ beliefs, practices, and the cognitive and social organization of human groups”. In the occupational outlook handbook explain the job descriptions for anthropology. They plan cultural research, and collect information from observations,...
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...(Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism) As a Sociologist, should we practice Cultural Ethnocentrism or Cultural Relativism? We must first understand the two distinct theories regarding perception of outside cultures: Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism. Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.[1] The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion - these ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity’s unique cultural identity.[2] The logical alternative to ethnocentrism is Cultural relativism, the practice of judging a culture by its own standards. Cultural relativism can be difficult for certain individuals to adopt: it requires not only openness to unfamiliar values and norms but also the ability to put aside cultural standards we have known all our lives.[3] No one ethnic group has the right to say that their particular system of beliefs and values are in any way superior to anyone else’s system of beliefs and values. What is right for one culture might be wrong for another. There is no absolute standard of right and wrong by which to compare and contrast morally contradictory cultural values. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are mutually exclusive. The social sciences are limited to what can be observed, measured and verified. The question of what...
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...Multiculturalism is a public policy approach for managing cultural diversity in a multi ethnic society, officially stressing mutual respect and tolerance for cultural differences within a country's borders. As a policy, multiculturalism emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures, especially as they relate to one another in receiving nations. The word was first used in 1957 to describe Switzerland, but came into common currency in Canada in the late 1960s. It quickly spread to other English-speaking countries. Looking at the term broadly, it is often used to describe societies, especially nations which have many distinct cultural groups, usually as a result of immigration. Citrin,J., Sears,D., Muste,C and Wong,C. (2001 p.249) describe multiculturalism as “the presence of people of diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds within a single polity.” This paper will look at the impact that multiculturalism has had on western societies and the different changes that have occurred in societies as a result of multiculturalism. It is very important to think about what we mean by ‘culture’ because it is the main part of ‘multiculturalism’. So, multiculturalism means that there are many different kinds of cultures in one society. This can lead to anxiety about the stability of national identity, yet it can also lead to cultural exchanges that benefit the cultural groups. Such exchanges range from major accomplishments in literature, art and philosophy to relatively token...
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...It is important to consider all objective facts when debating moral topics. Cultural Relativism and Subjectivism make it seem like people have different ideas of what is morally right and wrong. The idea that morals vary throughout the world stems from the observations of different cultural practices and personal circumstance. All these differences that have been observed has created a theory that seems to miss some of the larger picture facts of cultures and personal circumstance. Missing these facts makes it difficult to imagine a universal set of standards, but when all the objective points in a situation are taken into account, it is easier to envision an underlying theme of moral standards. Though the perceptions of the world differ, I will show how there seem to be a consistent root of moral truths underlying the individual cultures and circumstances. Cultural Relativism views morality in an interesting manner. Cultural Relativists have observed that different cultures view many topics differently (Rachels, p17). The Cultural Differences Argument has taken this observation and used it to argue that there are no moral truths (Rachels, p19). Cultural Relativism allows for each culture around the world to practice a multitude of traditions without judgement. Good to recognize, right? In most cases, yes. What about when cultural belief, worried about a girl losing her virginity sinfully, urges parents to marry off their daughter? How about when the only solution to poverty...
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...political, economic and cultural process and technology is one of the drivers which has accelerated this process of globalization. As a result the impact of globalization is more pervasive and research has examined this impact of globalization process on cultures and cultural identity. This review examines and evaluates the research made by two groups, cultural imperialism group and anti cultural imperialism group. These groups have opposing views regarding the consequences of globalization on cultures. According to the cultural imperialist group, globalization can have a homogenizing effect on culture, whereas the anti imperialist group sees it as a hybridized effect. Recent studies (Morris, 2002; Arnett, 2002; The UN, 2003) have analyzed the process of homogenization and hybridization from different prospectives; therefore, there are some different views about this process. Morris (2002) who belongs to the anti cultural imperialist group makes a valid argument that no culture is pure because all cultures interact with each other and she is of the view that exchange of cultural elements is multidirectional. Morris explains the process of hybridization by claiming that cultures are resilient. This is because they absorb and adapt foreign cultural elements to suit local circumstances. Therefore, she argues that some cultural elements which were once considered foreign, now become part of the deep structure and they are considered as traditional cultural elements. Morris (2002)...
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...(Esty, et al., 1995). 2.0 Cultural diversity in workplace As the world becomes more global, it is more likely that the next person sitting close to you “belongs not to just to a different faith, but to the other part of the world as well”( Loveleena Rajeev, 2011 Buzzle.com). In our world today, where businesses or markets transcend all boundaries, cultural diversity in workplace needs to be properly understood to ensure a successful organization. In order to understand cultural diversity in workplace, it’s important to know that diversity refers to people who are culturally, racially and ethnically different from other. In this sense, people that belong to different demographic make ups and the life associated with that difference. It is also a term that not limited to physical appearances, but the ways we communicate, manage and think. There are some challenges in cultural diversity in workplace, like the rightness in conflict, judging others based of their upbringing, circumstances and religious beliefs. And also their varying ways of interpreting key words and valuing things in different ways. But there are many solutions to those problems, such as creating a common understanding among your peers by showing who you are, why you guys are together and how relevant your tasks or jobs are to the community, organization and individual involve. And no matter what the outcomes might be, the benefits are very rewarding. 3.0 Benefits of cultural diversity Business houses now...
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...Cross-Cultural Perspectives 1 Week 5 Cross-Cultural Perspectives ETH/316: Ethics and Social Responsibility University of Phoenix Cross-Cultural Perspectives Cross-Cultural Perspectives 2 McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain restaurant in the world. Ray Kroc founded the franchise in 1955 in California. McDonald’s server millions of customers daily. The company pride itself on their tasty hamburgers and delicious french-fries. McDonald’s is also known for its quick service and its drive through. The company went from one restaurant location, to locations in different states, to a global corporation. McDonald’s continue to thrive on providing meals at a low cost to customers. McDonald’s have more than 30,000 restaurant locations in more than 100 countries around the world. McDonald’s makes billions of dollars each year but they still issues in the global sector (McDonald’s, 2011). McDonald’s established their first restaurant in Japan in 1971 (McDonald’s, 2011). This establishment brought about some issues because of the cultural differences. Some of the issues are food preparation, food organization, and food delivery. Even though McDonald’s way of doing business contradicted with the Japanese ethics, and traditions, through compromise, and social responsibility they have managed to minimized there differences. Besides McDonald’s other businesses have expanded globally such as auto companies like Ford Motor Company. However, their approach was different in comparison...
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