SOCIO - CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Society and culture primarily govern the lifestyle of an individual. An individual's eating habits, shopping behaviour, dressing priorities, physical possessions, etc., are all influenced by the society. Many times people spend a lot of money for the sake of adhering to social and cultural norms. It is only due to societal pressure that people spend so much money in marriages, celebrations, and even on funerals. In India, expenditure on festivals like Holi, Diwali, Id, Raksha Bandhan, Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja, Pongal, etc., runs into billions of rupees every year. So culture itself is a big opportunity for business. If we study Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, we will find that after fulfilling physiological, safety and security needs, it is only for social needs that a human being works. In most cases, once social aspirations are achieved, most people remain there and seldom strive for ego and self-actualisation needs. When someone buys a gift for someone else, when he purchases clothes for a party or a morning walk, when he purchases a particular model of motorcycle or automobile, when he takes admission in a particular college / school, all of these decisions are influenced by the prevailing societal and cultural environment. With all these purchases, he is satisfying his social needs because he has a subconscious desire to appear a smart and intelligent consumer and individual in the eyes of society. It has been seen that in the case of middle class and upper class, expenditure on social needs of consumers form a considerable part of their income. This ratio increases in favour of social needs as we go up the income ladder. This is the reason most organizations try to position their products around social needs. Impact of the Socio-Cultural Environment on Business To study the effect of socio-cultural environment on business we can categories the same it in the following ways: 1. Family 2. Social Class 3. Culture

The Family A consumer is born every ten seconds. (Edwin Newman, 1976) The Family is the smallest unit of society. It is also the first school of the child and of course, the school that has maximum and lasting influence on an individual. A family plays a key role in the development of a person's attitude, his understanding of the environment, his beliefs, and his preferences. Drastic differences have been seen in the attitude and preferences of individuals who have been nurtured in a joint family as against a nuclear family, or a family where both husband and wife are professionals, or those who have been brought up in hostel. A family performs four basic function for an individual: economic support, emotional support Oove, affection, intimacy, etc.), establishment of a suitable lifestyle, and socialisation of family. Socialisation is a central function of a family as it imparts basic values and modes of behaviour to the child, consistent with one's culture. These generally include moral and religious

principles, interpebrsonal skills, dress and grooming standards, socially acceptable manners and speech, and a selection of suitable educational and occupational goals. Role of family members in household decision - making: 1. Influencer: That individual in the family, whose opinion is sought regarding what should be the criteria for making a purchase and which products or brands most likely fit those evaluative criteria. 2. Gatekeeper: While the inHuencer provides information on products, the gatekeeper restricts the How of information about a product or service into family. 3. Decider: The person with financial authority or power who decides how the family's money will be spent and on which products and brands. 4. Buyer: The person who acts as the purchasing agent by visiting the store, calling suppliers, writing cheques, bringing products home, and so on. _ 5. User: The family member who makes use of the product. 6. Disposer: A family member(s) who initiates or carries out the disposal or discontinuation of a particular product or service. Family life Cycle A family goes through various stages during its entire life. Roger D. Blackwell (Consumer Behavior, Thomson South Western, Vikas Publishing House, Ninth edition) has described stages of a life cycle in the Indian context: Young Singles: Young bachelors who live alone or with their family, or with friends, have low mdividual income, don't usually have any financial burden, are less price sensitive, usually buy a two wheeler, audio system, gifts items, fashion items, movies, computers, mobile phones, etc Purchases are influenced ~y the opposite sex. Newly Married Couples: These families tend to spend a substantial amount of their income on cars, clothing, vacations, and other leisure activities. They are more susceptible to advertising. Full Nest I: At this stage, the first child arrives and roles within the family change. Purchases shift from leisure to baby products and toys. Full Nest II: At this stage, the youngest child has reached school, and family spending is children centric Money is invested in various financial instruments for the future of their children and themselves. Full Nest III: At this stage, parents enter their 40s. Family income increases and simultaneously, expenditure, as children are more demanding. A major share of their income goes for their education, and their belongings like motorbikes, computers, clothing, fashion, mobiles, etc. Empty Nest I: At this stage children have left the home and establish their own nest. Financial condition of the couple becomes better as now they have lesser responsibilities and income is at its peak. In the Indian contest, at this stage, nowadays spending is usually on health products, tonics, and gifts for their newly married children. It has been seen that in India, usually at this stage, the biggest spending is on the newly married couple and on their children. In fact, in some cases, spending on grandchildren is high. This means that in India, target customers for baby

products are not only their parents but also grand parents. Empty Nest II: This stage sees a reduction of income for individuals. In India, in case of business !amilies and private jobs, they get dependent on their children and spending is on their grandchildren and health. Solitary Survivor: Spending habits of solitary survivor remain the same as that of empty nest II. The family life cycle influences the product mix and marketing mix of almost every company. Changing Role of Women Marketers are always interested in lifestyle changes occurring among women because they are customers .ll1d consumers of most products, especially products related to women and of most of the baby and men's products. Lifestyle of Indian woman have changed over the last century, drastically so in last three decades. From a business point of view; the importance of women has increased in every aspect. They are now decision -makers for most products purchased and are influence almost every purchase. The following aspects have played a role in changing the role of the woman in society: Education: Education is the single biggest reason for revolutionising the role of woman in society. Since independence the literacy level of women in India has gone up. Not only this, nowadays women are going for professional studies, constitute 30% of the total strength of management colleges, and their numbers are rising in technical courses. They are getting the same level of education as boys and this has increased their role in decision making. Being better educated today, women are not only customers of traditionally male products, but are also playing the role of the influencer and purchaser after marriage. They are even decision makers when it comes to big purchases such as automobiles, air conditioners, television, audio systems or other major household items. That is the reason most companies today target women in their communication media. Employment: Today, more and more women are choosing a career. Not only in metros, but even in towns they are employed and are earning. In India though, in most cases women leave their jobs after marriage. Employed women can thus be categorised into pre-and post- married phases. She may have a casual approach before marriage, with more extravagant spending and a negligible saving rate Women who are serious about their career continue the job after marriage and contribute to the income of the family and spend according to the priorities of family. But being employed, they are more aware and playa key role in every purchase of the family. These families are good customers of readymade food, if convinced that the food is as nutririous as cooked food. Multiple Role: Women play multiple roles in a family. They make purchases for their children as well as the men in the family. Woman are housekeeper and therefore decide all the routine purchases and influence all nonroutine or big ticket purchases. In case they are employed, they are sometimes the sale decision maker. In the Indian context they are also sisters, sisters-in-law, daughters, daughters-in-law

and in every role they influence purchases; and their role as a customer is significantly rising. They are now more aware and are always looking for products which can make their life more comfortable. They are also quite up-to-date of fashion, new technology etc. The Social Class and its Affects on Tastes and Lifestyles The term social class is now used more generally to describe the ranks of people in a society. Social class is defined by Roger D. Blackwell as relatively permanent and homogenous divisions in a society into which individuals or families sharing similar values, lifestyles, interests, wealth, status, education, economic position, and behaviour can be categorised (Consumer Behavioutj Thomson South Western, ninth edition). People who are grouped within the same social class are approximately equal in terms of their social standing in the community. They work in roughly similar occupations, and they tend to have similar lifestyles by virtue of their income levels and common tastes. These people tend to socialise with one another and share many ideas and values regarding the way of life that should be lived. Status group reflects a community's expectations regarding style of life among each class, as well as the positive or negative social estimation of honour given to each class.

Social Stratification
Social stratification can be described as the processes in a social system by which scarce and valuable resources are distributed unequally to status positions that become more or less permanently ranked in terms of the share of valuable resources each receives. It can also be described as perceived hierarchies in which consumers rate others as higher or lower in social status. Those who earn a higher status due to work or study have 'achieved' status, whereas those who are lucky to be born wealthy or beautiful achieve 'ascribed' status. Social class can be classified into six distinct segments as defined by W lloyd Warner in 1941: Upper Upper: World of inherited wealth. Lower Upper: Inherited wealth and newer social elites drawn from current high-achiever professions. Upper Middle: Professionals, Small business persons Lower Middle: Average pay, white collar workers. Upper Lower: Underpaid white collar workers and blue collar workers Lower Lower: Living hand to mouth. Components of Social class Factors like occupation, income, possessions, associations, education and level of influence are the subjective measures or components of a social class .. Occupation: What a person does for living is one of the most telling indicators of social class. The occupation dictates other signs of class membership such as income, personal associations,

and status. Not only this, it also decides availability and use of leisure of time, allocation of family resources, political orientation, stress on the type of education to children, and many other things. Some times occupation is also seen as a synonym of class. For instance, we think CAs, doctors, businessmen, etc., belong to the upper class, while teachers, engineers, etc., belong to the middle class etc. Income: Income is the most critical determinant of social class as it directly influences the buying power and market potential. People performing the same occupation can have different levels of income. Consumption pattern's are determined by the level of income. It is also possible that people having the same level of income may spend it in different ways because of different occupations or different level of education or because of other social reasons. In all societies, distribution of income is in a pyramid shape and follows the rule of 80/20. Meaning, 20% of the people command 80% of the wealth. This is more true in case oft developing countries. Possessions: Possessions are symbols of class membership. Conspicuous consumption and people's desire to provide visible evidence of their ability to afford luxury goods help explain why different people buy different products. For example, possessions of luxury cars and membership of a particular club are clearly indicative of a higher class, while possession of small cars or two wheelers are clearly indicative of another class. Through analysis of personal possessions, sometimes called 'artifacts', marketers can gain a picture of not only the class to which individuals belong, but the strength of their identification with that class. For people who are striving to become associated with higher classes, the purchase of brands may be partially based on the desire for such affiliation or identification. Associations: The consumption of people is directly related to the social network of people they interact with. People spend their leisure time with others who share their tastes and recreational activities, and they imbibe new tastes, lifestyles, dressing sense, etc., from those with whom they are associated. Selection of and interaction with friends, relatives and even the one's life partner varies according to class membership.

Level of Influence: Class, rank and influence go hand in hand. Members of higher classes usually command higher level of influence. Even marketers use them as a opinion leaders to influence the lower classes. Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles Across Social Classes Social class in a major sense determines the values, attitudes and lifestyle of a particular individual. As a person moves from one social level to another, his values too change. Values And Attitude People of one set of class or of a social category share the same values and attitudes. Values

towards sex, education, profession and possessions differ with the level of social class. Attitude towards education also differs at different levels in the society. The middle class stresses on professional education because it is a source of livelihood for them, ,vhik lower classes emphasise on learning some skills. Attitudes towards possessions also changes with social class. The middle class usually does not possess ovens and food processors even if they can afford it. They would probably buy a mixer or juicer. On the other hand, the upper class usua1ly possesses all these things. Lifestyle The lifestyle of a person depends on the number of hours spent in the house or outside, how one spends his evenings, how many hours does spend watching TV, how families spend their holidays and how much time they spend in leisure activities. Lifestyle also depends on the social class of a person.

Social Class and Market Place Behaviour

Influence on Shopping and Choice Behaviour Social classes make differences in people's media habits and how they transmit and receive communication. A lower class segment doesn't relate much to print media, while the middle class usually uses the print media for news and TV for entertainment. Women of middle classes usually tune in orily to the electronic media. Even the programmes watched on the TV differ with the social class. Upper class men usually prefer to watch news channels, specially business news. Even the selection of magazines such as India Today, Stardust, Fortune, Economist, HBR, ete., depends upon the social class. Influence on Shopping and Choice Behaviour Shopping behaviour is also influenced by one's social class. Lower class people exhibit unorganized shopping behaviour as they purchase as and when their requirement occurs. While middle class women are always in search of the best bargain, the upper classes are usually more loyal to their stores as they associate the store with their status. Preferences regarding store, credit card, etc., are as follows: i. Outlet Choice: The social strata of a person determines where he or she shops. Consumers these days shop at stores that seem more appropriate to their social standing. Lower classes usually shop from nearby small stores, who also give them a credit. The middle class usually shops from retail outlets in the market and they are usually loyal to places where they pick their grocery. But they switch stores for purchases like fashion items. In case of the upper classes, they prefer to get grocery from big departmental stores and are usually loyal to their stores in the matter of to other purchases as fashion, shoes, electronics ete. Of course, the store may attract people from different classes. A big departmental store may attract the middle class through off-season discounts, and small specialty stores may attract the upper segment for gift items.

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Use of Coupons: Coupons attract much of the middle class. Because of discounts, they often purchase things not necessarily in their list. Also, the middle and lower classes do have a craving for branded goods and they never miss discount opportunities where they can buy these goods. Woodlands usually sells its remaining stocks to the middle class through sale/ discount. Purchasing Hard Goods: The class of a person is also reflected in what he/she purchases, especially hard goods like automobiles and appliances. The middle class purchases hard goods for their utility. This class would go in for a Tata Indica because of the space and mileage it offers. But for the upper class, an automobile is a status symbol. Similarly, while a camera is a useful instrument to store memories for the middle class, it is a status symbol for the upper class. The Pursuit of Leisure: Social-class membership is also closely related to the choice of recreational and leisure activities. While there is segment that goes to multiplexes, another segment visits a departmental store for leisure. Family outing once in a week, or once in fifteen days or once in month or only on particular occasions also depends on one's social class. While recreation tours abroad are a status symbol for one class, excursion to a nearby hill station is a luxury or status symbol for another. Even the kind of recreation at evenings, weekends, ete., depends upon the social class of an individual. Clothing and Fashion: Membership of a social class defines what a person considers fashionable or in good taste. When it comes to something like denims, it is the class of a person that decides what brand he/ she is going to pick. Saving, Spending and Credit: Savings, spending and credit-card usage, all seem to be related to social standing. Upper-class consumers are more future-oriented and confident of their financial acumen and are therefore they are willing to invest in insurance, stocks and real estate. Upper-classes consume their earnings in three ways, i.e., investment, savings and expenditure. loe middle class saves in insurance and banks, while retaining its tendency to spend. While the biggest share of earnings of the upper class goes to investment and savings, for the middle class, these savings form a small part. In case of the lower class, either no amount at all or a very small amount goes towards savings. The upper class usually purchases outrightly because for them credit card is only a tool of payment. But the middle classes usually use credit cards to purchase on instalments. They use credit cards to buy now and pay later.

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Culture and Its Influence

There are three ideas and concepts about culture.

Dutch management professor Geert Hofstede refers to culture as the "software of mind" and says that it provides humans with a guide on how to think and behave. j Leon G. Schiffman and L.L.Kanuk describe culture as the sum total of learned beliefs, values and customs that serve to direct the consumer behaviour of members of a particular society. Roger D. Backwell says, "Culture can be referred as a set of values, ideas, artifacts and other meaningful symbols that help individuals communicate, interpret and evaluate as members of society". Culture is learned and imbibed. We are not born with specific values or behaviour. These are passed on to us. Members of the society pass on their cultural norms to new members of the society. This can be in three ways. In formal learning, adults and other siblings teach young family members how to behave, In informal learning a child learns primarily by imitating the behaviour of selected others such as family, friends, or TV heroes; and in technical learning, it is teachers in school and college who instruct the child in an educational environment about what should be done, how it should be done, and why it should be done.

Elements of Culture
Following are the elements which influence culture the most: Technology, Family, Education, Political Structure, The Media, Belief System, Art, Music, Drama, Dance and Language. The four social institutions that most strongly influence values and behaviour are schools, religion, families and most recently, the media. Family: The family is a learning centre for an endless stream of attitudes, behaviours and skills that tlle child carries through life. Family experience also serves as a window to of the world. They learn how to behave in society. In India boys are taught to work and focus on their career, while women are taught to be good housewives. It is thus the family iliat instils basic beliefs, values and ideas in an individual. Religion: When there was no law; religion was the only law; Religion came into existence as a social law; Earlier, civilisations had no explanation f0r the happenings in the society and so religion came into force. Till today, religion controls human behaviour all over world. The kind of religious training or lack of it that we receive during socialisation affects people's behaviour as consumers. Religious practice may dictate the use of some goods and

services or prohibit the consumption of others. Sometimes religious rules are more binding than the law of the land. In strict religious cultures such as the Islamic culture of Iran, religion governs all aspects of life, from family to education to the workplace to the government. On the other hand in a secular state like India, there are many religions. All over the world, companies have to change. their product portfolio, packaging and communication strategy according to the local religion. For Hindus saffron colour is sacred while for Muslims it is green. KFC doesn't include beef and pork in its portfolio in India only because of religion. Religion can often lead to extremism in many cases. It is the religion which decides many social ideas like marriage, polygamy, monogamy, number of children L.'1. family, festivals, rituals ete. These festivals decide the purchasing pattern of different religions. Hindus do most of their purchasing around Diwali, Christians shop during Christmas and Muslims during Eid. Accordingly, companies launch their campaigns to attract the right kind of buyers. Education: Education and educational institutions are a major influence on the lives, culture and society of its people. Socialising through educational institutions influences consumption in several ways. Interaction with teachers, for exanlple, may lead to more informed choices in the marketplace. A teacher's guidance regarding appropriate food choices, basic, medical and dental care, reproductive health, concern for the environment and the problems associated with drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products all encourage a certain kind of marketplace behaviour. It is the level of education on which the success of many products depends. In India it is because of the poor level of education that campaigns like Pulse Polio couldn't meet with much success. AIDS, once considered to be a problem of the West is now the biggest social problem of the Middle -East and Africa. This is because of the level of education. Now the West knows how to check AIDS but in a country like India or a continent like Africa, where the level of education is very low, it is very difficult to communicate the right message to everybody. Mass Media: The mass media are modes of communication that re~.ch out. to a large population on a regular basis. The critical question these days: is does the mass media mirror culture or does it shape culture? Television, newspapers, magazines, radio, Internet and cinema halls are some examples of mass media. Modern culture and society has been revolutionised by mass media. Today's fashion products, beauty aids, cars, soft drinks, and foods are all promoted in a way so as to make them seem socially 'right' for the target customer. They also make society open up to new ideas. For instance, certain things (like revealig fashion and expression of love) that were considered taboo some years back are now perfectly acceptable, thanks to the mass media. Language and Symbols: To acquire a common culture, the members of a society must he able to communicate with each other through ;: common language. It is the language through which people communicate with each other and it is distinct with every nation and culture. In India itself, there are more than 25 languages and more than 800 dialects spoken. Every organization must have a deep understanding of the language of people with whom they want to do business. Every culture and nation loves its language and feels proud about it. Technology: Every culture has its own level of technology. The level of technology is manifest

in many ways. Countries like United States, Japan and Germany have a high level of technology. The general population has a broad level of technical understanding that allows them to adapt and learn new technology. In countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the level of technology is low and that is why they resist any technological change. One instance of ignorance of technology is the opening of the Bhakra NagaI Dam. Farmers of surrounding areas believed that the water of the canal is useless for irrigation because the power of water has been extracted while producing electricity. Similarly, initially many organizations resisted computers. Depending on the level of technology people look for scientific answers for every happening. Aesthetcs: Aesthetics i.e. arts, folklore, music, drama and dance have affect on people and are part and parcel of culture. Aesthetics are of particular interest to the marketer because of their role in interpreting the symbolic meanings of various methods of artistic expression, colour, and standard of beauty in each culture. Customers everywhere respond to images, myths and metaphors that help them define their personal and national identities and relationship within a context of culture and product profJle. Rituals: Culture includes various ritualised experiences and behaviour. A ritual is a type of symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps occurring in a fixed sequence and repeated over time. In practice, these rituals are extended over a period from birth to death. These rituals can be public, elaborate, religious, or civil ceremonies. From the standpoint of business, with every ritua~ certain products are associated. The sale of sweets and crackers in India is at an all-time high during Diwali. In north India, many butchers and barbers keep their shops closed on Tuesdays because many people don't eat meat and shun a haircut on that day of the week.

Cultural Values
Individualism Vs. collectivism Individualism is a culture where members of the society put their personal advancement and welfare above all. They have loose connections with others and place their own interests and goals above those of other individuals and the groups to which they belong. Collectivism as its opposite, pertains to societies in which people right from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive groups that continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. In collectivism, people put the good of others, the groups they belong to and the society as a whole, above their own. Japan and India for instance, have a much more collectivist culture than the Unites States. Masculine vs. feminine cultures Culture may also be judged on how the roles of men and women are differentiated and how publicly or privately segregated the two genders are one from another. Societies are

classified as 'masculine' if male roles are considered superior to those of the female and 'feminine' if the reverse is true. Some cultures are strictly masculine leading to strict gender segregation and very restrictive behaviour norms, especially for females. The value of a male child may be greater than female.

High Vs. Low Power Distance Power within a culture is tied to the level of social responsibility that exists and how willing members or its society are to accept authority at all levels. 1bis includes accepting authority at the family level in social settings at work, from government agencies and the like. High power distance is a characteristics of those cultures where the difference in power between the most and least powerful individual is great. In high power distance societies there is strict social caste system. Even at the workplace distance is maintained with the boss and senior and subordinate relations are strictly maintained. In low power distance cultures, relationships are more informal across social levels, more equality is found among all people, and authority is more shared. Countries with high power distance are India, Japan, Malaysia, etc., and with low power distance are Germany, Sweden, USA, etc. Acceptance of Uncertainty This tells us to what extent a culture accepts uncertainty and ambiguity. High uncertainty avoidance is found in cultures where people have low tolerance for new ideas or new ways to do things. They believe a in routine behaviour pattern. They want to live in a very predictable and certain environment. Low uncertainty avoidance means that a culture is ready to welcome new ideas and people are ready to face uncertainties in life. India to a certain extent has high uncertainty avoidance. But in India itself, we find that communities such as Marwaris, Gujratis, Parsis, Punjabis, who have low uncertainty avoidance, are successful in business. Abstract Vs. Associative Culture A culture in which members believe in the principle of cause and effect is classified as an abstract thinking culture. Here, science and technical know-how are given importance and the level of education is high. People make decisions logically. Associative thinking cultures are closely interlinked with God, supernatural or mystic beings, events or places. In these societies the importance of things is associated with people, celebrities and events. India is considered an associative culture because here more importance is given to God. But this is not true. Basically India has a scientific culture. As Adiguru Shankracharya said, "Chahe Lakh ved kahe aag dhandi hai mat mano Igonkiyeh dhamJa ka nahi vgyan ka vishqya hi" (even if Vedas says a million times that fire is cool don't believe it bec2use ic is not the subject of religion, but of science). in a sense he declared that if one has to choose from religion and

science he must choose science. Materialism and leisure Societies are also classified according to the importance they give to materialism. Societies that give more importance to materialism are likely to be more interested in business and personal achievement. In these cultures, products that are sought to be marketed are usually associated with achievement. On the other hand, in a culture that gives less importance to materialism, products are associated with family and enjoyment. India is thought of as a less materialist society with a philosophy of detachment. But traditionally India has had a materialistic culture, perhaps the only country where the Goddess of Wealth is worshipped. The Mahabharata war was fought for material purposes. Trust In countries where trust is high the cost of business is low and where trust is low, cost of business will be high. As in the USA, people believe less in other people and therefore rely on written documents. Litigation is a major cost in business there. While in countries like Japan and India, cost of litigation is less because the word of bigger organizations also counts and they try their best to keep their word. In these countries business worth millions is done without any legal formalities.

This is pertains to whether the country's people live for the present or for the future. In countries where people's future orientation is high, they try to secure their future. In India for instance, people give more importance to government jobs because the future is secure in such jobs. Similarly, Japan is also futureoriented and organizations provide social and future security not only to the person employed but also to his or her next generation. On the other hand, in the USA, more importance is given to the present. Future orientation North Americans are more time bound than Indian or Latin Americans. M-time or monochromic time cultures tend to concentrate on one thing at a time. They divide time into small units and are concerne( 'iITirh promptness. M-time is used in a linear way and it is experienced as being almost tangible in that ORe sawes rime, wastes rime, bides time, spend times and loses time. Most low context cultures operate onM-time. prime or polychronic time is more dominant in high context cultures, where the completion of a human transaction is emphasised more than holding to schedules. P-time is characterised by the simultaneous occurrences of many things and by "great involvement with people". P-time allows for relationships to build and context to be absorbed as parts of high context cultures. High context and low context

High context culture is one which gives importance to intangible aspects also and low context cultures are specific about things. Low context cultures concentrate on logical aspect of things. America, Germany and France, for instance, are low context cultures and the marketer has to concentrate more on cognitive aspects of the product-talking in figures and facts. In high context cultures like the Japanese, they prefer to establish relations before talking about business. So the marketer has to concentrate on aesthetics and emotions associated with the product . Ambitious or complacent An ambitious individual is highly motivated, is wealth acquisitive, has a strong urge to excel, and is prepared to change the organization and even take risks. The economy becomes vibrant if a large part of the population comprises of ambitious people. People in Japan and Britain are more ambitious and achievement oriented so their economy is flourishing. On the other hand, economies like India give more importance to ascetic life and renunciation. We give importance to contentment which results in a complacent attitude. But in fact, India is the country where great importance has been given to achievement. Our whole ancient literature is filled with war between Aryas and Anaryas. They explored wealth in the sea. Our Vedas contain many verses for wealth and riches. There is no reason to say that we don't believe in ambition. It is only in the medieval ages that complacency became a part of our culture. Marriage Marriage is one of the basic elements of culture and people's attitude towards marriage influences culture 1 lot. There are cultures where marriage is a personal matter and is confined to two persons. In other cultures, marriage is a social event that concerns the whole society and becomes a family affair. In India '].-here marriages are a family affair the marriage season is a big opportunity for business. In India, most of the jewellery, white goods and kitchenware are purchased in the marriage season. In western cultures, on the other hand, the most associated product with marriage is a honeymoon package.

Marriage is a social and cultural way to control the sexual behaviour of human beings and to make :hem more responsible towards the next generation. In Eastern cultures, marriage is seen as mandatory once during one's life. On the other hand, there are cultures where marriage is losing its importance and people are avoiding it: They have invented the live-in concept, a more convenient substitute for marriage. This tradition is increasing is day-by-day, not only in Western cultures, but also in Eastern cultures like Japan and Korea. This has a wider impact on business because demands of bachelors and the married are quite different. The marketer has to accordingly change the product as well as the communication strategy.

Sex While this is something less talked about, it is a universal truth that most of the activities of human beings are directly or indirectly governed by either money or sex. Every culture has its own beliefs, values and tolerance level regarding sex in society. Every culture has its own definition of appropriate sexual behaviour, obscenity and openness. There are cultures like Iran and Saudi Arabia where the woman doesn't have any freedom regarding sex, and a man enjoys full freedom and practices polygamy. There are the other cultures like most of Western Europe and theUS where the man and woman have equal sexual freedom. In India, on one extreme is the metro culture where a woman enjoys limited liberty regarding sex. Freedom to choose the way they want to dress, friendship with the opposite sex, and even premarital affairs and physical relationship are acceptable to a limited extent and people can choose their own life partner. On other extreme are the villages where a woman doesn't have the right to choose her life partner. A business person should have a deep understanding of this. Almost all across the world, marketers use sensuousness as an effective tool in communication strategy. But it is a double edged sword. It may sometimes create wide awareness but sale may not take materialise as it happened with TUFF shoes. It was advertisement print campaign with Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman where both models were nude and only wore shoes on their feet, their bodies covered with a python. This ad campaign got wide publicity but people didn't accept it. They associated the product with vulgarity and awareness and not with positive behaviour. In countries like India it is difficult to communicate products associated sex like condoms, and even welfare messages like AIDS because people are not ready to talk about them.