Chapter 04 – Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets
Discussion Questions
1. Define:
Cultural sensitivity
Culture
Cultural values
2. Which role does the marketer play as a change agent?
3. “Culture is pervasive in all marketing activities.” Discuss.
4. What is the importance of “cultural empathy” to the foreign marketer? How does he or she acquire
“cultural empathy?”
5. Why should a foreign marketer be concerned with the study of culture?
6. What is the popular definition of culture? What is the viewpoint of cultural anthropologists? What is
the importance of the difference?
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forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 04 – Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets
7. It is stated that members of a society borrow from other cultures to solve problems that they face in
common. What does this mean? What is the significance to marketing?
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 04 – Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets
8. “For the inexperienced marketer, the “similar but different” feature of culture creates an illusion of
similarity which usually does not always exist.” Discuss and give examples.
9. Outline the elements of culture as seen by an anthropologist. How can a marketer use this “cultural
scheme?”
10. Social institutions affect marketing in a variety of ways. Discuss, give examples.
11. “Markets are the result of the triune interaction of a marketer’s efforts, economic conditions, and all
other elements of the culture.” Comment.
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 04 – Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets
12. What are some particularly troublesome problems caused by language in foreign marketing? Discuss.
13. Suppose you were requested to prepare a cultural analysis for a potential market, what would you do?
Outline the steps and comment briefly on each.
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 04 – Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets
14. Cultures are dynamic. How do they change? Are there cases where change is not resisted but actually
preferred? Explain. What is the relevance to marketing?
15. How can resistance to cultural change influence product introduction. Are there any similarities in
domestic marketing? Explain, giving examples.
16. Innovations are described as being either functional or dysfunctional. Explain and give examples of
each.
17. Defend the proposition that a MNC has no responsibility for the consequences of an innovation
beyond the direct effects of the innovations such as the product’s safety, performance, and so forth.
18. Find a product whose introduction into a foreign culture may cause dysfunctional consequences and
describe how the consequences might be eliminated and the product still profitably introduced.
Library project.
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© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.