• Western Governors University

• FVC 1   Global Business

C5 THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
DEFINING CULTURE AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
Culture - Learned behavior; a way of life for one group of people
living in a single, related, and independent community.
Four characteristics:
1. Not inherited, it is learned.
2. Cannot change an entire country’s culture.
3. It is the responsibility of the global firm to ascertain the level
of importance of various aspects of culture in the foreign
markets it serves, and recognize these aspects when doing
business overseas.
4. Companies’ operations, chiefly marketing and management,
need to recognize and adjust to the cultural environment
existing in the countries the global company serves. The
ability to do so often means success in international markets.
Acculturation is the term used to describe the ability of a
firm to adjust to a culture different from its own.
ELEMENTS OF CULTURES
 Language – Verbal and non-verbal
 Religion
 Values and attitudes – Values = basic beliefs or
philosophies pervasive in a society// attitudes = feelings or
opinions
 Manners and customs