Cross-cultural Personal Relationships

Admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:30:40 +0000

Marrying even within your own culture can be a challenging experience. Once you get past the wedding day and the romance you are left with the everyday task of loving somebody who is not like you. Differences can be a source of inspiration or conflict.

But what are the challenges of marry into another culture?

A desire to understand another’s culture will not prevent conflict. You have your own cultural beliefs that you bring to a relationship and you will in the first instance use that framework to judge a person or situation. However it is important to gather as much information about your partner’s culture as you can. For example their rituals, their religious beliefs, the role of extended family in your partner’s life and how much autonomy does your partner have in making decisions for their life. People in the West have a great deal of independence from their extended families. Those in the East value close family relationships. This will impact on your relationship.

Do not assume your partner is going to change with gentle persuasion from you. This is probably a mistake people make generally in relationships. People need to be accepted for themselves and if you need to change somebody to ensure you can have a relationship with them, it begs the question why choose the person in the first place. That’s not to say that change will not occur as you spend more time getting to know someone and what they want in the relationship. Trying to change someone’s cultural tendencies will create more unnecessary conflict.

There are many situations that arise in life that call for us to draw on ‘common-sense’ ways to deal with them. That common-sense is made up of our past experience, our habits, our value systems and our taken for granted ways of how to react to things that happen in our life even small things. Remember you and your partner do not possess the same common-sense view of the world. In some situations like how to eat food correctly or what to do in a temple, choosing the ‘when in Rome’ approach can save a lot of unnecessary conflict. But there are some things that are not so easy to solve by using this approach especially if they call into question fundamental values and beliefs. Again just because you choose to live in your partner’s country does not mean you have to compromise who you are.

The answer to all of the above conundrums and potential areas of conflict is to communicate. Be prepared to talk about issues in your relationship particularly in the ‘getting to know you stage’. Then make a commitment to communicate throughout your relationship. Never make assumptions, particularly in a cross-cultural relationship.

Discuss issues like how much free time is normal in a relationship. Discuss your finances and whether both of you are going to work. How will you raise children? Where are you going to live and will there be the enough job opportunities for whoever is going to work. Communication is the secret to avoiding unnecessary conflict and to resolving conflict should it arise. Some cultures are more adept at direct communication than others. Nevertheless without some degree of commitment to discussing issues being made, your chances of a successful relationship become less and less.

One practical way a couple can find out if they want to enter into a cross-cultural marriage is for either partner to seek a fiancée visa. A period of time in your partner’s country will allow you the space to really get to know your partner and their culture and will provide sufficient information for you to choose whether you want to marry your partner. Bringing your partner from the Philippines on a fiancée visa to the USA? Check out the relevant websites for information on the completion of the K1 visa application form.

By: Duane Beadle

CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:36:33 +0000

CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Cross cultural marketing: Objectives and Policies

Cross-cultural marketing is defined as “the effort to determine to what extent the consumers of two or more nations are similar or different. This will facilitate marketers to understand the psychological, social and cultural aspects of foreign consumers they wish to target, so as to design effective marketing strategies for each of the specific national markets involved.”

A company can enter a foreign market as a

??Domestic exporter

??Foreign importer

??Foreign government-solicit the firm to sell abroad

The firm’s objectives could be:

??To determine how consumers in two or more societies are Similar / different and devise suitable, appropriate strategies

??Devise individualized marketing strategy if cultural beliefs, values and customs of a specific country are different

Characteristic features of a firm going global:

1. High market share in the domestic market

2. Advantageous economies of scale

3. Access to marketing/manufacturing bases across global borders

4. Availability of resources and capability to absorb huge losses

5. Product/technology clout

6. Cost and differentiation advantages

Problems in Cross Cultural marketing

1. Problems related to product selection: The marketer going for cross cultural marketing has to select the customers/ market not on the basis of the superficial similarities of age or income, but by using the real motivating factors that prompt them to accept or reject products.

2. Problems related to promotion/marketing communication: e.g. Ariel in the middle east and also Pepsi

3. Problems related to pricing: the marketer has to adjust his pricing policies according to the local economic conditions and customs.

4. Problems related to selection of distribution channels: in Japan, P & G

used this to sell soap

Cross-Cultural Consumer Analysis

To determine whether and how to enter a foreign market, we need to conduct some form of cross-cultural consumer analysis. Cross-cultural consumer analysis can be defined as the effort to determine to what extent the consumers of two or more nations are similar or different. Such analysis can provide marketers with an understanding of the psychological, social, and cultural characteristics of the foreign consumers they wish to target, so that they can design effective marketing strategies for the specific national

markets involved.

Similarities and differences among people

A major objective of cross-cultural consumer analysis is to determine how consumers in two or more societies are similar and how they are different.

Fight for one’s

beliefs/positions

Individualistic Clear-cut Specific Display emotions in public Result oriented Make a short story long Verbal communication important Interested in what is spoken

By: R.Yuvarani

Cultural Communication & Education » Cultural Beliefs

Cross-cultural Personal Relationships

CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR