CULTURE & TRADE

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

TOPIC

CULTURE & TRADE

What are the Issues?

Getting the Culture --- what to do?

CHANGE, OPPORTUNTYAND THREATS

CHANGES IN THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT GIVE RISE TO BOTH NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

ONE COMPETES SUCCESSFULLY IN A GLOBAL MARKETPLACE AS IT BOTH EXISTS CURRENTLY AND ALSO AS IT EVOLVES

CULTURE AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS INFLUENCE BUSINESS DECISIONS

COMMUNICATIONS ARE KEY IN BRINGING NEWS AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS TO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD

MTV HAD A BIG ROLE AROUND THE WORLD, FOR EXAMPLE

MTV BROUGHT THE WORLD GERMAN HARD ROCK, AND MEXICAN HIP HOP

MTV BRINGS BREAKING NEWS AROUND THE GLOBE

MTV REACHED OVER A BILLION PEOPLE IN 18 OR MORE LANGUAGES IN 164 NATIONS

MTV IS A GLOBAL BRAND SIMILAR TO COKE WALMART AND McDonald's

BUT MTV IS CRITICIZED AS BEING A CULTURAL IMPERIALIST ORGANIZATION– DESTROYING REGIONAL VALUES AND CULTURES

BUT THE NEWS AND TEEN-TV SAVVY STYLE IS WIDESPREAD

BUT EVEN MTV HAS CATERED TO LOCAL CULTURES

MTV PLAYS CHINESE OPERA ARIAS

BRINGS ROCKGOL (SOCCOR & BRAZILIAN MUSIC BLEND) TO SAO PAULO

U.S. TV SHOWS BROUGHT INTO VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE WORLD ARE NOW GIVING WAY TO REGIONAL TV FAVORITES

CHINESE POP STAR JOLIN TSAI CAME INTO MAINLAND CHINA VIA MTV

A MULTIRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS SHOW IS THE FAVORITE IN SOUTH AFRICA --- GENERATIONS

A FRENCH POLICE SERIES IS THE KEY SOAP IN FRANCE CALLED JULIE LESCAUT

CNN OFFERS 22 VERSIONS OF ITS PROGRAMMING WORLD WIDE

ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION HAS TO MOVE WITH THE WAVE OF REGIONALISM

UNIVISION – THE SPANISH-LANGUAGE TV NETWORK AND TELENOVELAS ARE HEAVY IN THE U.S.

THESE NETWORKS COME FROM MEXICO’S TELEVISA

BBC, EVEN ARTE AND FRANCO-GERMAN CULTURE NOW COMES TO THE U.S.

CULTURE

DEALING INTERNATIONALLY INVOLVES ONE WITH CULTURE AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

CULTURE IS THE BLENDING OF LEARNING AND EXPERIENCE

CULTURE IS AN ANCHORING POINT, AN IDENTITY AND EXHIBITS CODES OF CONDUCT

THESE CONDUCT RULES AND IDENTITIES MEET UP WITH TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

COMMON WAYS OF THINKING AND BEHAVING DEVELOP AS THE CODES ARE PAST FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

CULTURE ENTERS RELIGION, GOVERNMENT CONDUCT AND SCHOOLS

SUBCULTURES DEVELOP WITHIN REGIONS OF NATIONS

THESE PRESENT DIFFERENT MARKETS FOR TRADE AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE

A BROADER DEFINITION OF CULTURE

AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF LEARNED BEHAVIOR PATTERNS THAT ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE MEMBERS OF ANY GIVEN SOCIETY

ACCULTURATION --- THE PROCESS OF ADJUSTING AND ADAPTING TO A SPECIFIC CULTURE OTHER THAN ONE’S OWN

TRADE INVOLVES DEALING WITH CULTURE

DEALING WITH CULTURE--- WHAT TO KNOW?

HIGH CONTEXT CULTURECULTURE IN WHICH BEHAVIORAL AND

ENVIRONMENTAL NUANCES ARE AN IMPORTANT MEANS OF CONVEYING INFORMATION

LOW CONTEXT CULTURECULTURE IN WHICH MOST INFORMATION

IS CONVEYED EXPLICITLY RATHER THAN THROUGH BEHAVIORAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL NUANCES

CONTEXT ORIENTATION HIGH CONTEXT

JAPANESE CHINESE ARAB GREEK SPANISH ITALIAN ENGLISH FRENCH UNITED STATES NORTHERN EUROPE GERMAN SWISS

LOW CONTEXT

--- FROM E. T. HALL AND M.R. HALL UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, INTERCULTURAL PRESS

WHAT DO YOU THINK?? IS THIS THE CASE?

ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THESE CULTURAL CONTEXTS?

FOR HIGH CONTEXT CULTURES, THE CONTEXT OF A COMMUNICATION IS AT LEAST AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT IS ACTUALLY SAID IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

IN LOW CONTEXT CULTURES, MOST OF THE COMMUNICATION IS CONTAINED EXPLICITLY IN THE WORDS THAT ARE COMMUNICATED

THE JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN PRESENTS A BUSINESS CARD WITH BOTH HANDS

ETIQUETTE THEN REQUIRES THAT FOREIGNERS STUDY THE CARD WHEN IT IS HANDED TO THEM

MAKING NOTES ON THE CARD IS CONSIDERED TO BE OFFENSIVE

BRANDS OR PRODUCTS SOMETIMES SERVE AS CHANGE AGENTS IN CERTAIN CULTURES

THE BRAND BECOMES GLOBAL --- THEN CHANGES TIME HONORED CULTURAL DISTINCTIONS

McDONALD’S HAS ALTERED SOME AGE-OLD EATING HABITS OF YOUNGER GENERATIONS AT THE SAME TIME THAT CULTURAL DISTINCTION PERVADES OTHER GENERATIONS

THE EXPANSION OF MULTIPLEX CINEMAS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE CHANGED MOVIE GOER HABITS GLOBALLY TOWARD U.S. FILMS

TELECOMMUNICATION VIA CELL PHONES IS PUSHING INTO ALL KINDS OF CULTURES

THE ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

LANGUAGE --- THE MIRROR OF CULTURE• OFTEN MASTERY OF THE LANGUAGE IS A

REQUIREMENT FOR RELATIONSHIPS AND HENCE TRADE TO EXIST

• IN HONG KONG THE GOVERNMENT IS PROMOTING CANTONESE RATHER THAN ENGLISH AS THE LANGUAGE OF COMMERCE -- BUT SHANGHAI IS BECOMING THE FINANCE AND PORT CITY

• Translation of advertising from one culture to another involves a good deal more than just finding the right words --- messages in advertising are fundamentally linked to culture

Some language examples

The KFC case: for Kentucky fried chicken, KFC advertises the chicken as “finger licking good” --- some translations would have this as “ KFC is “ so good it makes you want to eat your fingers” --- needs to be a little more accurate back translation here

MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign --- adaptation for the Hispanic family oriented culture --- a grandmother and her granddaughter go shopping for a meal in a pictorial – in the “intangible moments that transcend price-tags” theme --- the grandmother selects onions and the announcer in Spanish lists the price, “Cebollas, 4 dolares”

--- then follows by, “El tiempo que toma en cocinarse: no tiene precio (the time it takes to simmer: priceless) --- then ends with a translation of MasterCard’s theme, “there are some things that money can’t buy; for everything else there is MasterCard. Accepted everywhere, even at small shops” --- Someone with Spanish needs to state this last theme --- did we get the first part right??

Then there is the Electrolux add of a few years ago (Electrolux is a carpet vacuum machine) --- “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux” --- well, where is that going to take you in certain crowds?? -- a couple of different meanings here?

How about nonverbal language?4 keys here --- time, space, body

language, and friendship patterns ---- targeting high contextual culture vs low contextual culture

Time may be flexible in some cultures --- 1:00 p.m. appointment shows up at 1:45 p.m. in Mexico --- being indignant toward such behavior would get you nowhere in Arab, Latin American, or some Asian cultures

After a deal is made by a U.S. manager in France, the manager may give a “finger-and thumb”, “OK” sign --- which in southern France would signify that the deal is worthless!

infrastructure

There is social infrastructure -- housing, health, etc.

There is economic infrastructure – energy, transportation etc.

There is financial infrastructure --- banking, capital markets

Sometimes one has to be a partner in the provision of these infrastructures before you can make a deal

Education

Education levels sometimes determine the creation of new products or the resistance to new products

Education sometimes determines the success in recruiting local sales forces

In Japan, a talented prospect may be taking a risk to go with a non-Japanese firm --- shunned by the culture --- when the job ends, the prospect cannot find a job with a Japanese firm

Social institutions

Social institutions affect the ways people relate to one another

The family unit of parents and children in western culture may extend to grandparents and other relatives in other cultures

Social stratification matters --- in northern Europe, most people are in the middle class --- other cultures concentrate buying power in more restricted classes

Religious structure

Christianity claims some 2 billion people in a rather diverse spread of nations around the world --- holidays and purchases are tied to religious beliefs

Islam – Islam structure is seen from West Africa and across the sea to the Philippines, then around the globe to Tanzania, central Asia, western China, India and other areas --- over 1.2 billion

Hinduism has more than 860 million followers in India, Nepal, Malaysia, Guyana and other nations --- family is an important element in Hinduism

Buddhism has influence throughout Asia with a guess of around 360 million followers or more

Confucianism follows with around 150 million followers

There are cultural differences

The “I” consciousness relative to the “we” consciousness

The “power distance” influence, that is the level of equality in society

The “uncertainty avoidance” preference, or the need for formal rules and regulations

The “masculinity” attitude toward achievement, roles of women and men

Japan would be high on uncertainty avoidance and also in the power distance group ---- receptive to risk-reducing programs and return privileges, warranties, etc.

Some individualism is preferred in the U.S. – so promotion should emphasize “empowerment”

The U.S., Netherlands, and U.K. would be high on individualism and in the masculinity group

Cultural shock – everyone experiences it --- you just have to get over it and follow the cultural structure to some degree to make the deal