Cultural and Consumer Variables in China
Instructions:-
This assignment is to develop a broad understanding of cultural diversity in terms of cultural value, consumer behavior, and market environment. Each student is required to investigate information regarding the selected country's cultural and consumer variables. A 5-pages written paper should be submitted by March 10, Friday, midnight through Country Analysis Project Assignment tool under Group Page (Only group leader is required to submit a country analysis project on the behalf of group members). Written Paper (100 points): Submit a 5-pages written paper excluding cover and references pages. The written paper format should be 1-inch margin on all sides, use double space, Times New Roman or Arial, and 12 font size. The paper should cover the following components: 1.Introduction: Describe research purpose and address the reasons why the selected country is important in global markets. 2.Cultural Variables: Identify characteristics of culture of the country in terms of: (a) language; (b) geographic condition; (c) religions; (d) cultural value, and (e) lifestyle. 3.Consumer Variables: Recognize specific consumer characteristics in the aspects of (a) consumer needs, (b) preferences of products or services in the retail setting, (c) consumption trends in the country. 4.Comparative Analysis: Analyze similarities and differences in cultural and consumer variables between the U.S. and the selected country. 5.References: List 10 references at least by APA style; recent references published in 2000-present. Click the following link for APA style reference tutorial: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm Peer Evaluation (10pts): Due by March 26. -Peer Evaluation Assessment will be available to take March 13th through the 26th. The assessment will be located under Assessment menu. -Evaluate each group member for their participations and contributions for the group project. -Group project score will be graded based on your peer evaluation pts. For an example, if your group receives 90 pts and your peer evaluation score is 9 pts, your final group project score will be 85.5 pts (90 X 0.95=85.5)
Solution
Cultural and Consumer Variables in China
Introduction
Cultural diversity is when there are different human societies or cultures in a particular region. The research tries to come up with a comprehensive understanding of the cultural diversity regarding the value of the culture, behavior of the consumer, and the market environment. The aim of the research is to investigate the cultural and consumer variables of Canada and their effect on the market environment. Canada is one of the fastest and most dynamic growing economies, which makes it an important global market. The country accounts for nine percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.
Cultural Variables
It reveals the specific cultural characteristics in Canada and explains their impact on the market environment.
Language
Canada is a multilingual nation, with French and English as the two official languages. An estimate of about 60% of the people in the urban places in Canada uses English as the primary communication language. The French language is spoken by around twenty-four percent of the people in the country. The other languages widely spoken in the country include Chinese spoken around 2.6 percent of the people, Punjabi (0.8%), Italian (0.6%), and Spanish (0.7%). There is usually a small problem of miscommunication within the country which is brought about by the numerous dialects found in various parts of the country. A good example is the English language spoken in Northern Canada, while the French language is spoken in the southern parts of the country. The differences make it difficult to make a universal branding strategy for the purpose of marketing in the country. A lot of care and precautions ought to be taken when the brand name of the product is being transliterated so as to have a strong positive appeal to the potential customers.
Geographic Needs
The variations in geographical location have cultural effects. Where the largest portion of the people live in the central Carolinian area, which is a good agricultural land and the main manufacturing land due to the presence of Great Lakes. The savanna region is sparsely populated, which is dominated by cattle and livestock production, grain farming, and recently natural gas and oil extraction. The effect of the geographical location and the concentration is that the central has been a region where there is the concentration of political power and overtime development of disparities and rivalries (Porter, 2000). Furthermore, it has led to a varied cultural mix in the central region of the nation, while the other regions have been stabilized both culturally and ethnically. The different geographies have led to the advancement of rhetoric cultures such as Maritime, Prairie, Central and West Coast. The rural residents are characterized to be hard working, committed to the cooperation of the community and are more honest. On the other hand, the urban residents are believed to be self-interested, arrogant, greedy and dishonest.
Religion
There are too many religious differences in Canada, Churches being the most common worshipping place for the majority. The churches are the sites for provision of the services of the community and community activism. The religious practitioners and institutions play huge roles in the nonspiritual aspects of the life of the community. A large number of the Canadians believe in the Christian dimension of the afterlife, which entails going to heaven or hell. The burial services depend on the religious groups. It is an important aspect that business entrepreneurs will look at before making the decision to invest (Beyer, 2000).
Cultural Values
They mainly influence the national identity and psychology. According to Phinney, Ong & Madden (2000), the traditional cultural values that have an impact on the people of Canada include righteousness, loyalty, honesty, wisdom, courtesy, benevolence and filial piety. The values have led to mutual respect within the citizens of the country, also with the people in other nations hence resulting in the expansion in its markets (Phinney, Ong & Madden, 2000)
Lifestyle
Marriage is between two partners, restricted to a union between a man and a woman, although the courts are currently reviewing the Act in the country. The most common domestic units are referred to as nuclear families. All the property and deceased personal debts are usually inherited by the member of the nuclear family. Kinship ties are lowly regarded in the country, although the kin networks are used many times to get access to a particular employment.
Consumer Variables
Consumer variables explain the particular user characteristics that are found in various aspects and reveals their impact on the market environment.
Consumer/ CustomerNeeds
Almost 63% of the Canadians consumers normally have their own shortlist of preferred brands when it comes to making a plan of purchasing a product. It is worth to note that the people of Canada typically prefer the domestic brand. It is an essential guide that has enabled foreign companies to merge with the local businesses so as to attract the consumers (Solomon, Russell-Bennett & Previte, 2012). The people of Canada value the face; they tend to spend a lot of money in buying products that help to improve their face. The people typically buy items in an attempt to fulfill their social needs, example drinking when visited by a guest. The Canadians usually spend two years before changing a phone; this has been observed in various cities of the country (Brzozowski, Gervais, Klein & others, 2010).
Preference of Products and Services in Retail Setting
The preferences of the shopping habits of the Canadian consumer has been changing dramatically, and this is because of the increase in incomes and the introduction of new products in the retail setting (Shields, 2003). The preferences of the services and products depend on various categories of people such as the migrant workers, the new generation, frugal retired, wealthy retired, frugal forties, wealthy forties and the rich. The preference of the products and service in this setting mainly depends on the type of service that the business enterprises offer (Menapace, Colson, Grebitus & others, 2011).
Consumption Trends in Canada
The consumption trends in the country are driven by the increase in government transfers and a stronger buying power of lower-to-mid income households. It will be important for companies to take advantage of the situation especially towards the aspirational needs of the people in the middle class. The consumption of households has grown rapidly in the last two decades (Wang, Siu & Hui, 2004). The report found out that the growth has risen from 9% a year to 13% a year. The Canadians real annual household consumption is higher than that of other emerging economies. Despite the observed strong growth, the required share of consumption of the households has declined. The trends have been relatively gradual, with the consumption ratio of the household falling from 52% of GDP to 46% between 1980 and 1990. The pace of the decline continued in the 2000s, with the consumption ratio of the household falling further by 11 points, to record 35% of GDP in 2008.
Comparative Analysis
It analyses the similarities and differences in consumer and cultural variables between Canada and the USA (Brake, 2013).
Similarities
• Both the Canadians and the people of USA are sensitive to brands before making the purchasing decisions.
• Both the USA people and the Canadians prefer domestic brands.
• In both countries, the preferences of shopping habits in retail setting depends on the income level of an individual.
• In both countries, the preference of products and services in the retail setting depend on the quality and service offered by the business.
• Both countries value their cultures which have made it easier for researchers and investors gather information concerning the cultures.
• The cultural values of both countries are welcoming, which has attracted many investors to their countries.
Differences
• Canada uses English and French as the two official languages whereas, in the United States, there is no official language in the country. However, English is taken to be the de facto language. The written English differs since the Canadians use the British spelling of all their words.
• The majority of the people in the United States are identified as Protestant Christians while in Canada, the majority are Roman Catholics. The massive Christian inclination has been influencing the political and cultural aspect, whereas there are no such dominant forces in religion (Uslaner, 2002).
•
Canadians have a more community-minded
perspective whereas the Americans are
libertarian individuals who have a belief that
people ought to be allowed to do what they feel is good unless it is something that is not liked
by the majority.
References
Beyer, P. (2000). Modern forms of the religious life: Denomination, church, and invisible religion in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Rethinking church, state, and Modernity: Canada between Europe and America, 189-210.
Brake, M. (2013). Comparative youth culture: The sociology of youth cultures and youth subcultures in America, Britain, and Canada. Routledge.
Brzozowski, M., Gervais, M., Klein, P., & Suzuki, M. (2010). Consumption, income, and wealth inequality in Canada. Review of economic dynamics, 13(1), 52-75.
Menapace, L., Colson, G., Grebitus, C., & Facendola, M. (2011). Consumers’ preferences for geographical origin labels: evidence from the Canadian olive oil market. European Review of Agricultural Economics, jbq051.
Phinney, J. S., Ong, A., & Madden, T. (2000). Cultural values and intergenerational value discrepancies in immigrant and non‐immigrant families. Child development, 71(2), 528-539.
Porter, M. E. (2000). Location, competition, and economic development: Local clusters in a global economy. Economic development quarterly, 14(1), 15-34.
Shields, R. (Ed.). (2003). Lifestyle shopping: the subject of consumption. Routledge.
Solomon, M., Russell-Bennett, R., & Previte, J. (2012). Consumer behavior. Pearson Higher Education AU.
Uslaner, E. M. (2002). Religion and civic engagement in Canada and the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41(2), 239-254.
Wang, C. L., Siu, N. Y., & Hui, A. S. (2004). Consumer decision-making styles on domestic and imported brand clothing. European Journal of Marketing, 38(1/2), 239-252.
