One can come to the conclusion that “although different cultures may share many characteristics, each culture possesses unique traits that set it apart and allow it to be identified as a separate culture. The essence of any culture can be seen in a number of important factors that interact to determine cultural patterns. They include language, religion, cultural institutions, class structure, aesthetics, and social patterns.”
Dealing with culture. Culture is a problematic issue for many marketers since it is inherently nebulous and often difficult to understand. One may violate the cultural norms of another country without being informed of this, and people from different cultures may feel uncomfortable in each other’s presence without knowing exactly why (for example, two speakers may unconsciously continue to attempt to adjust to reach an incompatible preferred interpersonal distance).
Warning about stereotyping. When observing a culture, one must be careful not to over-generalize about traits that one sees. Research in social psychology has suggested a strong tendency for people to perceive an “outgroup” as more homogenous than an “ingroup,” even when they knew what members had been assigned to each group purely by chance. When there is often a “grain of truth” to some of the perceived differences, the temptation to over-generalize is often strong. Note that there are often significant individual differences within cultures.
Religion and Culture. Religion establishes moral codes and taboos for the behavior of its adherents, and consumption behavior is one such aspect. Particular religions may frown upon some kinds of business practices or certain types of consumption. For example, Moslems are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages or eating pork; Jews are prohibited from eating pork or shellfish; and Brahmin Hindus are prohibited from eating meat. Other activities affected by particular religions include social behavior, manner of dress, ways of doing business, and relations between people. The major religions of the world vary considerably between, and even within, cultures, and their impact on each culture may vary accordingly. There are many variations within the Moslem religion, the Hindu religion, the Jewish religion, and the Christian religion. Even within denominations, the variations can be great. The Roman Catholic church in Latin America, in French Quebec, and in Italy varies significantly in the kinds of influence it exerts over its members. The marketer must keep these differences in mind when planning a marketing strategy that may affect or be affected by the church in any of these markets.
Not only does religion establish taboos and moral standards within a culture, it also reflects the principal values of a people. Social mobility and the achievement ethic in the West are supported by the Christian values of self-determination and the importance of work. The Hindu religion emphasizes reaching Nirvana through a combination of inherited status and a contemplative life. It is no surprise then that many Indians continue to recognize family as a source of status and do not emphasize personal achievement in "worldly" activities. Furthermore, religion can be expressed through institutions, such as the church, or through secular and non-institutionalized value systems. The moral values of a culture derive from a combination of these sources, and they may be in conflict or in concert. The difference between two cultures (the U.S. today and the U.S. of 1900) may lie in the relative dominance of one or more of the sources of principal values, institutional or secular.
Vocabulary Practice
1. Make sure you know the Russian equivalents for the following words and word combinations.
innocuous безвредный, безобидный
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