You are speaking on the phone with Mike when he asks about w

You are speaking on the phone with Mike when he asks about what sort of cultural aspects you are considering in this plan.

You think about this and say, “There may well be some considerable cultural differences that need addressing. I remember last year when there was a language mix-up with a doll. It was just saying \'I love you\' in a different language, but it sounded like \'kill mommy.\' It’s funny now, but imagine being the marketing team in that building!” Both of you laugh as you hang up the phone, but the memory does get you thinking seriously about cultural differences. Complete the following:

What cultural considerations should you take into account for your strategy?

Will this negatively impact your current strategy?

Does this change your approach? Why or why not?

Solution

The main cultural consideration we should take into account while developing our strategy is the language differences as language is the medium for communication and wrong use of language may lead to big issues due to miscommunication. Another cultural consideration should be regarding the values those cultures are trying to protect and their buying behavior based on the culture. Some cultures provide much importance to their religious beliefs and would not accept any products that are against their beliefs. We have developed our strategy respecting the cultural values. Language difference is a main factor that may affect international business and we should be very careful while using local languages. Hence I would prefer using English as common language for our products as most of the countries use and understand English.

The cultural considerations will not affect our strategy as our strategy to use local language was developed respecting the local cultures. Since we found it is creating miscommunication for other cultures we need to change it to a common language, but we are adopting that strategy also to protect the local cultures and make sure that other cultural people do not misunderstand or make fun of their language and culture. Hence the decision to change local language to global language will not have any negative impact on our strategy.

We need to change our current approach of using local languages in our product as it may create confusion. To protect the cultural values and beliefs of different cultures at the same time I would prefer using a common language, English in all the countries to avoid chances of miscommunication. Our current approach is to use local languages in our products forgetting the different meanings in different cultures. It will be changed when we use global language instead of local language.