Adjusting to Cultural Change

As corporations expand their business beyond the borders of their home country, so too must employees expand their perception of the world. Working in a foreign country can be no easy task for the uninitiated and uninformed. An individual’s way of thinking and, more importantly, their comfort zone, can be put through the wringer once they begin a new job overseas. This is what is commonly known as culture shock, a term which will be explained further in the following paragraphs. While there are a few different meanings to this term, the purpose of this paper is to identify the issues one may have when working and living in a foreign country, to educate the reader and prepare them with the basics for a smoother transition into a new country and new culture.

Since people and customers to be specific come from different cultural backgrounds, considering and understanding the cultural background and practices of every market niche. In ensuring that the organizational activities do not conflict with the cultures of clients and that they suit the needs of the cultures, the following would be done by the organization;

     In business, successful communication is the key to success, and being able to relate to a customer is the best form of communication. This is why cross-cultural communication is so important as the business world continues to globalize itself. Unfortunately, “A lack of awareness about the culturally prescribed rules and norms of communication behaviors can cause public relations projects to fail, or worse, backfire.” (Zaharna, 2001, p.135).

At some point in life people experience a culture as an outsider by moving from one culture to another. In the world today there are so many different cultures and not one of them is found to be the same. Instead they all have something that makes them unique, whether its language or even the clothes they wear and their behavior as well. The differences they have is what separates them from one another and who ever joins that culture must get accustomed to their way of life. For example, today there are many people immigrating to the United States to start a new and better life. What they soon begin to realize is that it’s a whole new world out there and in order to survive they have to

People are directly affected by their cultural surroundings when making purchases. Like peer groups, employers, clients, colleagues, boyfriends, girlfriends, mothers, fathers, etc. Consciously, the purchaser has these people in mind when buying certain

For the course of International Management the following assignment has been giving with the objective to select a topic in the field of International Management. The topic for this paper is Cross-cultural Communication in Marketing/advertising.

The purpose of this report is to define cultural fit in a way that represents how it may affect business majors who are entering the workforce and ultimately give recommendations on how to deal with situations related to cultural fit in the workplace. In order to accomplish those goals, this research will dive pass the general definition of cultural fit and view the topic at multiple different angles like the hiring process, the effects on the work environment, on an individual, and other tools employers use to hire employees.

     Cultures are varying among different parts of the globe. People with different cultures have different characteristics and viewpoints on the subjects due to diverse understanding and method of learning. During the past few decades, the international trade grows in a very rapid rate due to the advantages that it provides; “increased sales, operational efficiencies, exposure to new technologies and broader consumer choices” (Heslin). Therefore, when considering the culture aspect to current business world, it is crucial for business to understand the culture aspect because of the tremendous growth of international business as well as utilize the international market to its maximum

Changes in social/cultural environment affect customer behavior, which affects sales of products. Trends in the cultural environment include individuals changing their views of themselves, others, and the world around them and movement toward self-fulfillment, immediate gratification, and secularism” (Knol, marketing strategy p 16)

In doing business so many times an organization must think globally. This might be done to increase sales and/or profits or to lower labor costs. In either case problems can occur due to ethical and cultural barriers in global expansion. In this paper I will attempt to show some of what a global organization and a cultural issue that affects their interactions outside the United States by identifying and comparing some of these cultural differences.

Whenever a company is entering a new market it has to take into consideration the cultural differences between countries. Based on the case study analysis, the difference between the two countries in terms of eating out habits and eating preferences seem not to be understood by the Denver headquarter. Denver headquarter believes that it can enforce the same business model applied in the U.S to its stores in China, regardless of local preference. In addition, Foster seems to lack knowledge about the Chinese culture because she was not familiar with the market in China, as she had no experience working internationally. There was a lack of cross-cultural communication between Chen and Foster; even though, Chen had experienced both cultures while studying abroad in the U.S.

United States of America demographics profiles illustrates a nation rich in culture and culture diversity.

The most challenging decision that a company may face in internationalization is the degree of standardization or adaptation in its operations. The question of standardization or adaptation affects all avenues of a business’ operations, such as R&D, finance, production, organizational structure, procurement, and the marketing mix. Whether a company chooses to standardize or adapt its operations depends on its attitudes toward different cultures. These attitudes are defined by three orientations toward foreign culture: ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric.

In the world of business, the importance of developing good international relationship is increasing as technology and competition arises. Today, there is no country that feels self-sufficient enough to not do negotiations with diverse countries across the world. Nevertheless, certain negotiations may experience conflicts while communicating since the agreement is being done by people from different countries. The most common issue that humans experience while communicating with people around the world is the culture since society can sometimes be close minded, meaning that “people see what they want to see(Riccardi, 2014).” As Pellegrino Riccardi expanded the problem with intercultural communication, he stated the real significance in the definition of culture, which is being in the comfort zone of familiarity and acceptance. In addition, according to Benedict Lee(2015) some of the barriers that affect intercultural communications include “anxiety, ethnocentrism, assumptions, stereotype and prejudice.” However, there are ways to conquer intercultural communications such as acquiring “good attitude, being knowledgeable of the other culture, and developing such cultures empathy skills(Lee, 2015).” Communication across cultures will be described by going in deep in the work of Geert Hofstede and examining culture of China and Australia.

Having established the direction of the essay, the next section will focus on producing a thorough explanation of culture. This will build momentum for extensive research and analysis about the role of this phenomenon in global marketing. As support, a substantial amount of literature will be reviewed to comprehend specialist opinions. Once the evaluation is finalised, the ultimate section of the attempt will produce manifestations of remarks and recommendations for future studies.