Title: International Marketing Chapter 5
1International MarketingChapter 5
- Cultural, Management Style, and Business Systems
2Degree of Adaptation
- Businesses may not have to adapt to all markets.
As an example, kids in Asia want the golden
haired Barbie just like kids in the US. - However, business must adapt in some ways to be
successful. - Business customs can be grouped into imperatives,
electives and exclusives.
3Degree of Adaptation Continued
Cultural Imperatives, Electives and Exclusives
- Cultural imperatives are the business customs and
expectations that must be met, conformed,
recognized and accommodated if relationships are
to be successful
- Cultural electives relate to areas of behavior or
to customs that cultural aliens may wish to
conform to or participate in but that are not
required
- Cultural exclusives are those customs or behavior
patterns reserved exclusively for the locals and
from which the foreigner is barred and must not
participate
4Degree of Adaptation Continued
- Imperatives Guanxi trust and human
relationships, - never lose your patience, correct someone in
public - Electives Greeting another man with a kiss, eat
foods that are disagreeable, drink alcohol,
bowing - Exclusives Taking on anothers religious
symbolisms - or important political or cultural symbols
used in inappropriate ways
5Required Adaptation
- Adaptation is a key concept in international
marketing - To successfully deal with individuals, firms, or
authorities in foreign countries, managers should
exhibit
- open tolerance,
- flexibility,
- humility,
- justice/fairness,
- ability to adjust to varying tempos,
- curiosity/interest,
- knowledge of the country,
- liking for others,
- ability to command respect, and
- ability to integrate oneself into the environment
6The Impact of American Culture
- Ways in which U.S. culture has influenced
management style include, but are not limited to,
the following
- Master of destiny viewpoint
- Independent enterprise as the instrument of
social action - Personnel selection and reward based on merit
- Decisions based on objective analysis
- Wide sharing in decision making
- Never-ending quest for improvement
- Competition yielding efficiency
7Management Styles Around the World
- Management values, and behaviors vary around the
world.
- Differences in the contact level, communications
emphasis, tempo, and formality of foreign
businesses are encountered from culture to
culture.
- Ethical standards and sales interactions and
negotiation styles differ substantially.
8Management Styles Around the World
- Cross-cultural differences influence management
styles in the following areas
- Authority and Decision Making
- Management Objectives and Aspirations
- Communication Styles
- Formality and Tempo
- P-Time versus M-Time
- Negotiations Emphasis
9Differences in Management Styles Around the World
- Three typical patterns exist
- top-level management decisions,
- decentralized decisions, and
- committee or group decisions
- Security especially of lifetime employment
- Affiliation and Social Acceptance by neighbors
and fellow workers - Power and Achievement Orientation sought by
managers - Importance of personal/family life over work and
profit
10Differences in Management Styles Around the World
- According to Edward T. Hall, the symbolic
meanings of time, space, things, friendships, and
agreements, vary across cultures - In some cultures, messages are explicit the
words carry most of the information. In other
cultures ... less information is contained in the
verbal part of the message since more is in the
context - Communication in a high-context culture depends
heavily on the contextual (who says it, when it
is said, how it is said) or nonverbal aspects of
communication - Communication in a low-context culture depends
more on explicit, verbally expressed
communications - Hall places eleven cultures along a
high-context/low-context continuum
11Low Context vs High Context Cultures
12Differences in Management Styles Around the World
- Level of formality in addressing business clients
by first name - Level of formality in addressing your boss by
first name - Tempo or speed in getting down to business
- Perception of time varies in many cultures
13Differences in Management Styles Around the World
- M-time, or monochronic time, typifies most North
Americans, Swiss, Germans, and Scandinavians - Most low-context cultures operate on M-time
concentrating on one thing at a time - P-time, or polychronic time, is more dominant in
high-context cultures - P-time is characterized by multi-tasking and by
a great involvement with people
14The Time Element in Culture
15Gender Bias in International Business
- The gender bias against women managers exists in
some countries
- Gender bias poses significant challenges in
cross-cultural negotiations
16Business Ethics
Business ethics is complex in the international
marketplace because value judgments differ widely
among culturally diverse groups
Corruption varyingly defined from culture to
culture
Existence of different levels of corruption,
bribery, and fraud
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1997
Imprisonment for bribery
Bribery creates a major conflict between ethics
and profitability
17Cultural and Corruption
18Culture and Bribery
19Bribery Variations on a Theme
- Voluntarily offered payment by someone seeking
unlawful advantage
- Payments are extracted under duress by someone in
authority from a person seeking only what they
are lawfully entitled
20Bribery Variations on a Theme
- Involves a relatively small sum of cash, a gift,
or a service given to a low-ranking official in a
country where such offerings are not prohibited
by law
- Involves giving large sums of moneyfrequently
not properly accounted fordesigned to entice an
official to commit an illegal act on behalf of
the one offering the bribe involves breaking the
law
21Ethical and Socially Responsible Decisions
- Areas of decision making where ethical issues
arise
- employment practices and policies,
- consumer protection,
- environmental protection,
- political payments and involvement in political
affairs of the country, and - basic human rights and fundamental freedoms
22Cultures Influence on Strategic Thinking
- Culture influences managers thinking about
business strategy
- The British-American individualistic view of
capitalism typifies adversarial relationships
among labor, management, and government
- The communitarian form of capitalism in Japan
and Germany are typified by cooperation among
government, management, and labor, particularly
in Japan
- The Chinese emphasis on guanxi (ones network of
personal connections) is a kind of capitalism
manifested by culture
23Information vs Relationship Orientation