How Marketing Is Done On an International Scale - Research Paper Example

This paper illustrates that culture is the “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.” It is a phenomenon that involves the values, ideas, practices, “artifacts and other meaningful symbols” that enable people to understand each other for easier communication. Culture in itself also encompasses the goals that are shared by a community. It embraces the way of life of a group of people, which may differ from the next group.

Some of the factors that contribute to such differences are the behaviors and practices of previous generations, which are in turn passed on to the next generation by way of tradition. All of these factors, embodied by culture, influences how one treats a fellow human being, how one communicates and negotiates, how one processes information and formulates a decision. The values that are inherent in culture help mold an individual in making important decisions such as work and may be the determining factor in helping that individual achieve success.

Understanding the culture of a group of people is very important in marketing, especially in such a field as complex as international marketing. This is because everything that a consumer does, even down to the way the consumer thinks, is heavily influenced by his/her culture. This is what makes marketing quite challenging, because cultures vary from one to another, and there are always changes introduced to groups of people that would also modify their culture. Indeed, the culture in the 19th century is different from how it is currently.

In the same way, marketing strategies are also bound to change.