International Marketing Issues. Проблемы международного маркетинга, страница 16

5)  In such societies, when both parents have full-time jobs, even meals at home may be restricted to …

6)  The traditional areas of important family influence are in…

7)  In some African countries, however, schools are more often limited to…

8)  Whatever form the educational system takes,…

9)  Formal education through schools has a strong relationship to…

10) The international marketer should keep in mind that well-educated persons tend to want more sophisticated information about …

2. Explain in what meanings the word peer can be used depending on the context. Give possible Russian equivalents.

3. Consider the difference between the role of peers and peer groups in more and less sophisticated societies.

4. Explain why the marketer should be particularly interested in the amount of influence women exert over economic factors in various cultures and how it can be taken into account n his marketing strategy.

5. Consider the differences in social patterns of behavior of the business persons from Japan, Arab countries, etc. which the international marketer has to be aware of if he wants to compete successfully in the local market.

6. Look through the text again, make a brief outline of it in writing, and make a short summary according to your plan.

Text 4.  Patterns of Cultural Influence

1. Before you read think about the following:

Do you believe that your knowledge of cultural patterns of a particular society will help you understand and eventually predict the actions of consumers in a specific situation? How?

2. Make sure you know the Russian equivalents for the following words and word combinations.

evidence – свидетельство

from scratch – “с нуля”

diffusion of innovations – распространение нововведений

pervasive – распространяющийся

temper – умерять, сдерживать, смягчать

to stand out – выделяться

caveat – предостережение

proximity – направленность

transcend national boundaries – выходить за пределы национальных границ

4.  Read the text and take notes of its contents:

Sociologists and anthropologists have developed a rich body of knowledge which helps to explain how culture affects members of a society. Studies among primitive and sophisticated societies have identified patterns of behavior that make it possible to predict the actions of individuals in a specified situation. However, this information is based mostly on intracultural analysis; there is very little cross-cultural behavioral theory. We may be able to predict how individuals will react to certain situations in Samoa, how individuals will react to other situations in Japan, or how individuals will react to still different situations in Spain, but we have little evidence to help us predict how individuals will react to the same situation in all three cultures.

The lack of cross-cultural behavioral theory makes it necessary for the marketer to analyze each cultural situation in which he or she wishes to sell products almost from scratch. The first step in such an analysis should be to evaluate the general sociological climate toward business, foreigners, and new products. Measures of such a climate are national ideology, views toward foreigners, the nature and extent of nationalism, and attitudes toward and the process of diffusion of innovations.

Cultural Analysis: Interpreting the Impact of Culture. The task of interpreting culture's impact on a group can be overwhelming. Cultural influence is both pervasive and subtle. Furthermore, our own culture always gets in the way of our understanding of another culture because we must understand the other culture in terms of how it is similar to or different from our own. This is called the self-reference criterion.⁸ So, where is the international marketer to begin?