International Marketing Midterm

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This manifests itself in other manners as well in that historically the United States was formed by the taking and removal of land from someone else that previously inhabited and felt ownership of at land. Living in California it’s very difficult to think of many cities in the state that do not have a Mexican name associated with it. From a California historian perspective the variation is that brave trailblazers discovered the state of California and developed it into the great state that it is today. The likely occurrence however is that Mexican and Aztecs who originally inhabited the land were either forced out through fear, violence, death, or one sided trade.

- Sum up the current view on environmental management.

Environmental management is now seen as the responsibilities of both companies and citizens alike. Pollution and vanishing natural resources have now become a global issue as isolated nations cannot be seen any longer as a singular nation’s responsibility. Each country plays a part in the environment that we all share. Economic growth with environmental protection has become much more commonplace as the world begins to realize that for future generations, conservation and waste must be managed so that there is access to these resources for the next generation.

- What is the role of education on culture and economic development of a country?

According to the text, one of the most important social institutions that contribute to the development of consumer behavior is education. This stands to reason as much of the marketing that is seen is in print. Without literacy it makes it difficult for a marketer to reach a consumer by images alone. Further studies support as well that the most economically successful countries have at a minimum 50% literacy rate.

Those who are educated have a much greater exposure to multiple influences as well as the desire to strive for higher standards. It’s difficult to be considered educated without a desire to have a better lifestyle. With that there are much more opportunity to have the influence of marketers who may reach those who are open to these types of influences.

- List Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural values and the focus of each dimension.

Hofstede presented research in how different people from different cultures and countries interact based on six different categories of cultural dimensions. The categories follow:

Power Distance: The Power Distance dimension is an expression of the degree to which those which hold less power in society are willing to accept and have expectations that power will be distributed without equality.

Individualism vs. Collectivism: The Individualism vs. Collectivism dimension questions whether there is a preference of a close knit network or if people have a preference to work towards and for them and to fend for their own resources.

Masculinity vs. Femininity: The Masculinity vs. Femininity dimension is a representation of a personification of male and female attributes within society. The Masculinity dimension is a representation of a society that has a preference for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material reward for success. In contrast the Femininity dimension symbolizes a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life.

Uncertainty Avoidance: The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension is an expression to by which degree members of society feel discomfort with the ambiguous and uncertain.

Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation: The Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation dimension deals with a different type of societal concern. Long-term orientation dimension societies are those with an interpretation of how society looks to deal and search for virtue within itself. Societies with short-term orientation tendencies will have a propensity of having a concern for the establishment of truth in its most absolute form.

- Discuss the illusion of similarities facing the international marketer.

The illusion of similarities exists when the assumption is made by inexperienced marketers that similar heritages and races will be identical in all elements of culture. Similarities may however not exist as there are many cultures and subcultures between nations and regions. Messages that marketers may have in one culture may in fact not translate the same way even though the group may share the same language.

As an example even within the United States there are regional customs and cultures within states and cities. What might resonate as effective marketing in California with its liberal attitudes and temperate weather may not resonate for a person in Minnesota.

From a global perspective the differences between England and the United States are extremely vast. Even though the United States was a country built upon English settlers the cultural differences are plentiful. As an international marketer it would be wise to stray away from generalizations based on language and proximity in order to remain successful.

- Discuss the threats posed by cyberterrorism or cyberattacks with an example.

As we have become more dependent upon digital exchange of information and communication the threat of cyber terror and cyber-attack has become a new reality. The calamity of an attack on information through digital form can take many different shapes. As an example when banks which primarily function as a completely digital entity have security breaches in which data is compromised it could mean that the world’s economy could be subject to the hacker’s attack.

Markets as well could also be a victim of cyber terrorist acts as the world trades through digital methods. The world’s reliance upon the sharing and dissemination of digital information especially within the United States could have grave effects with international marketing in that the sharing of information to different countries relies heavily upon digital exchange. If a company is attacked through a sharing of personally identifiable information or credit card numbers, it could mean the demise of trust of the consumers the marketer has worked so hard to develop. Once the trust has been compromised often it is difficult to regain the consumer trust again.

As an example “Target stores had their credit and debit card numbers stolen by hackers that invaded the company’s payment card readers; another 70 million Target customers also had their personal contact information – names, addresses and telephones numbers – compromised.” (Petru,

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