Personal Reflection Model on Cultural Dimension
As a student with a rudimentary knowledge of International Marketing, the concept initially appeared to be limited to the activities coordinated by marketers across multiple markets in different countries. During this semester I have developed a deeper insight into the theories and perception of the marketing and communication and found that the primary aspects of international marketing are culture and communication. In this report I reflect on my learnings of the unit and analyse how cultural dimensions influence the understanding of key concepts. The focus of the report is the change in my understanding after having learnt the wider definition and theories of International Marketing.
The most crucial and interesting issues I have learnt from my studies is that when marketing communications are conducted on the international level, a company needs to include all methods for communicating with and providing information to existing customers (also to the potential ones) and stakeholders. Several factors affect the process of international communication that can be complicated a cross-cultural and cross-country setting. Some aspects, like economic differences, linguistic differences, differences relating to society and culture, competitive, legal and regulatory differences, might strongly affect communications in the international market.
Report
Analyzing the global competitive market, it has been identified that due to various cultural dimensions in different countries, the international business is being influenced. It cannot be denied that for introducing thee adversity in international market, culture plays a significant role. Hence, in order to survive in the competitive business environment, building strong culture has become necessary. I have learned the importance of cross cultural communication for analyzing the cultural dimensions in an organization. As per my understanding, culture is something that helps to determine the intuitional qualities and values. On the other hand, cultural dimensions are also very important for measuring the cultural differences in the workplace. I believe, behavioral characteristics of the employees, can drive the cultural impact in an organization. In case of entering in the international market, cultural diversification can bring changes in internal culture of the company. Not only the behavioral characteristics, but also operation, human resource management and customer relationship management related practices are being influenced depending on the cultural dimension. As per my understanding, in order to develop strong relationship with the global customers, every organization needs to focus on understanding individuals’ cultural values. Equality in the cultural distribution can help to increase the observation capability for reaching institutional variables those leads success.
Relate
I have learned, due to intuitional differences in all over the world, the diversified culture can be reflected through the business environment. Depending on the process of tolerance, it becomes easier to predict the institutional qualities. It cannot be denied that depending on the geographic location of the institution, cultural characteristics can be changed. While working as an intern in Starbucks, I was appointed in Australian coffee store of Starbucks. During my training period some cultural characteristics of Australian people have been analyzed by me that Australian coffee culture is totally different from other countries. People in Australia are not too much interactive and they prefer to their historical values in coffee culture. As its result, they mostly prefer the coffee environment that glorify their history. On that case, the foreign organizations do not get much priority by the Australian people. I have noticed that strong cultural values among the Australian people have also made them unique in the global market. Due to lack of understanding of the cultural elements, Starbucks has faced huge loss in the market.
While working as an employee in Marks and spencer, it has tried to identify the cultural differences so that the impact on the business environment can be reduced. During my learning session, the cultural dimension theory of Hofstede has been introduced to me. I have understood that the concept of cultural dimension can help me to formulate effective solutions, which are being faced by me during my job. Working in a totally new environment, communication was the major barrier for me to cope up with my colleagues. While presenting my ideas, I have faced several challenges as the needs of others were not clear to me. I believe, Hofstede’s theory has played an influential role in case of motivating me to understand the cross cultural dimensions in an organization, which indirectly influence the international business environment. I have learned about cultural values and its impact on society. After the worldwide survey, Hofstede’s has introduced different cultural dimensions such as individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, power distance and uncertainty avoidance (Al-Abdullah et al. 2018). Different cross cultural traditions have been examined by me while learning the theory. I can relate the Hofstede theory with the experiences faced by me. In the dimension of Individualism vs. collectivism, group integration process been discussed. As I have already mentioned that I have been appointed in Germany, there I faced many problem while communicating with the others employees because most of them were from Germany. In that case, I use to search for the Australian employees, as I am from the same cultural group. It cannot be denied that we made our separate group within few moments as we got the cultural comfort on that group. In the dimension called Uncertainty avoidance, the tolerance of society for ambiguity is being indicted. Here the behavior, guidelines as laws and these impact on absolute truth have been discussed. On the other hand, in Masculinity vs. femininity dimension, masculinity has been defined as the society achievement and material reword for the ultimate success. In the feminist society, I have learned about the caring and modest characteristics of femininity.
Reason
Analyzing the influence of Hofstede theory, I can relate this with the experience, which I have gathered during my job. As per my understanding the Hofstede theory can be beneficial in terms of understanding different cultural values of people. It is also for analyzing the cultural perspective of people that can help to drive the organizational environment. It cannot be denied that depending on the current cultural perspectives, the behavioral characteristics of the employees can be influenced. Therefore, it can be said that thee Hofstede theory of cultural dimension can help to understand the cultural perspective of people in the international market. I also believe, Three Dimensional model can be the alternative cultural dimension model that can help to examine cultural impact on the international market. I believe, in order to understand the national culture, this model can help to highlight the decision making process and collaborate it with the cultural dimensions. The significant part of this theory is it has mentioned about Monochromic and Polychromic Cultures. By relating it with the situation I have faced while working, I believe these dimensions are very important.
Depending on my learning, I believe, I can apply my knowledge in case of developing my own organization. As per my understanding, the cultural dimensional knowledge is equally important for the national market. In case of improving the organizational culture, I can use the Three Dimensional model. On the other hand, I have experienced that the communication becomes the major barrier in case of dealing with the people with diversified culture. In that case, I believe, using the Hofstede’s theory it will become easier for me to deal with the challenging situations.
It takes expertise to conduct communications in international markets. A company must consider cultural issues and the influences on the choice of media while promoting its products. Some of the consideration factors for effective communication include the ethics of customers and workers that the media is targeting, literacy levels and education availability for the national population, the similarity or diversity of religion, values, morality, values and beliefs among the target audience in the nation (Samaha et al 2014). I did not consider the pros and cons of personal selling until now. While personal selling is highly profitable in nations that have low wages since the cost of staffing will be low, some cultural aspects and administrative concerns must be considered. For instance, in countries that use different languages for communication, a company needs personnel trained in relevant languages and cultures for conveying specific messages. In addition, support must be provided to the sales forces to ensure effective communication with potential customers. Sales enquiries, sending out samples and product literature are tasks the administrative staff must take care of (Akakka et al 2013). Recruiting, training, organizing and motivating require an adequate investment in effort and time. There is also a dilemma in the decision of placing expatriate employees in the international market or whether to recruit from local communities. If possible, I feel local communities are the best source for recruitment since they know the target audience and the culture of the place better. Since the business etiquettes of each culture are different, sales staff must be trained in what they can expect from certain areas and what they cannot, recruiting a salesman from the local community is ideal under this circumstance (Okazaki and Taylor 2013).
Reconstruct
The mode of advertisement and how different nations perceive them is another point of consideration. In case of press advertising, the company must consider the literacy levels in the target country. Visual campaigns are suitable for countries that have low levels of literacy. The language in which the advert/message is written can also help in expanding product knowledge which can help to determine the profitability of the business. Often the target market is split between national or regional print media. Television channels also differ from region to region, therefore the company should identify if this is digital, cable, HDD, satellite, cable or analogue. For areas with paramount visual communication, posters in suitable locations are an effective strategy for promotion. Target behaviour can be assessed in terms of the kind of entertainment a section encourages. For instance, the Indian population is usually influenced by cinema and commercials featuring popular movie stars and this typically has a tendency of drawing a huge customer base. Media choices for international marketing are multiple and diverse. A domestic site could be used for web-based marketing and the availability of per click or affiliate advertising is beneficial; something I learnt about during one of the market survey sessions. The international marketer can also use other marketing communications like sponsorships (sport events, for example), trade missions, public relations (oil companies) and international tradeshows.
The availability as well as the choice of media is influenced by several factors. The decision depends on the level and nature of competition with rival companies in the target market. The kind of media available in the target market is also an influential factor; this is directly linked with the economic condition in the target area. For instance, some locations in Africa still do not have access to electricity hence it is almost impossible to create awareness of global products electronically, even if they are available at prices the potential customers could afford. In case of campaigns, the company must check if local resources are available to assist them in the enterprise. Local news can play a major role in this matter by allowing specific advertisement on news channels or by disallowing them because of cultural differences. For example, some orthodox Muslim countries ban several international commercials on local television on the grounds of indiscreet exposure and other inappropriateness. Moreover, all international campaigns must be clear with their objectives for successfully conducting their marketing communications.
I have identified language as one of the primary challenges in international marketing communication. It is not possible to use one single language for international campaigns; since this might not be understood by every member of the target audience, it is unlikely to have the desired outcomes.
Branding choice and language choice are inextricably related, language choice could also affect the names of services and products. It can be particularly challenging to convey humour and other hidden messages. An example is Vauxhall Corsa, dubbed the Nova of the United Kingdom. The term NO VA would not be acceptable to the people in Spain because the name means ‘doesn’t go’ in Spanish .
I would like to go beyond what was taught to me in the unit and state that symbol, design and aesthetics may sometimes fail to transcend the boundaries of nations. Japanese aesthetics, for example, is focused on beauty and taste while the Russia preference revolves around colours and appeal . Sales people must also consider cultural preferences like dress codes and greeting etiquettes. Ideally, salespeople who are conducting business overseas should stop strictly adhering to corporate uniforms like collared shirts and suits. The increase in global competition has triggered the interest in the ways culture can affect marketing strategies. The practices and theories in management can be transferred across different cultures. Globalization, along with technological changes according to some, has been the root cause of standardization, while others are of the opinion products and services getting standardized, be it for globalization or any other cause. Some core strong cultures are impervious to changes, the differences in culture are unwavering over time and the management practices have to be different in different cultures.
Conclusion
The mixed findings in the research have made it challenging for me to clearly define a conclusion on the topic of the impact and importance of cultural dimensions with respect to international marketing and communication. My readings and limited experience with research tells me that culture is still important and highly valid in the age of rapid globalization. As it appears, several organizations still function with the belief in cultural convergences which makes transferability of the practices in management a feasible strategy. Viewed this way, cultural impacts on the management strategies of marketing is a central issue in the understanding of international marketing and communications.
References
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