Monday 26 November 2012

Changes In Indian Culture

Source:-(googlecom.pk)
Changes In Indian Culture Biography
Everybody in this world is a consumer. Everyday of our life we are buying and consuming anincredible variety of goods and services. However, we all have different tastes, likes and dislikesand adopt different behaviour patterns while making purchase decisions. Many factors affecthow we, as individuals and as societies, live, buy, and consume. External influences such asculture, ethnicity, and social class influence how individual consumers buy and use products, andhelp explain how groups of consumers behave. The study of culture encompasses all aspects of asociety such as its religion, knowledge, language, laws, customs, traditions, music, art,technology, work patterns, products, etc. Culture is an extremely critical and all pervasiveinfluence in our life.Objectives
Define culture
Identify the various influences on culture
Describe sub-cultures and its influences
CULTURE - Meaning
For the purpose of studying consumer behaviour, culture can be defined as the sum total of learned beliefs, values and customs that serve to guide and direct the consumer behaviour of allmembers of that society. Howard and Sheth have defined culture as “A selective, manmade wayof responding to experience, a set of behavioral pattern”. Thus, culture consists of traditionalideas and in particular the values, which are attached to these ideas. It includes knowledge, belief, art, morale, law, customs and all other habits acquired by man as a member of society. Anaccepted concept about culture is that includes a set of learned beliefs, values, attitudes, habitsand forms of behaviour that are shared by a society and are transmitted from generation togeneration within that society.
Culture is learned through the following three ways:
1. Formal learning: parents and elders teach children the proper way to behave. For instance, youhave been taught that you need to study to be successful and happy in life. This learning mayinfluence your response both as a student and individual towards education.2. Informal learning: we learn by imitating the behaviour of our parents, friends, or by watchingTV and film actors in action3. Technical learning: instructions are given about the specific method by which certain things todone such as painting, dancing, singing etc.
Culture also determines what is acceptable with product advertising. Culture determines what people wear, eat, reside and travel. Cultural values in India are good health, education, respectfor age and seniority. But in our culture today, time scarcity is a growing problem, which impliesa change in meals. Some changes in our culture:1.
Convenience
: as more and more women are joining the work force there is an increasingdemand for products that help lighten and relieve the daily household chores, and make life moreconvenient. This is reflected in the soaring sale of Washing machines, microwaves, Pressurecookers, Mixer grinders, food processors, frozen food etc.2.
Education
: People in our society today wish to acquire relevant education and skills thatwould help improve their career prospects. This is evident from the fact that so many professional, career oriented educational centers are coming up, and still they cannot seem tomeet the demand. As a specific instance count the number of institutions offering courses andtraining in computers that has opened in your city.3.
Physical appearance
: Today, physical fitness, good health and smart appearance are on premium today. Slimming centers and beauty parlours are mushrooming in all major cities of thecountry. Cosmetics for both women and men are being sold in increasing numbers. Evenexclusive shops are retailing designer clothes.4.
Materialism
: There is a very definite shift in the people’s cultural value from spiritualismtowards materialism. We are spending more money than ever before on acquiring products suchas air-conditioners, cars CD players etc, which adds to our physical comfort as well as status.
Hofstede’s five Dimensions of Culture
Culture has a profound impact on the way consumers perceive themselves, products they buyand use, purchasing processes, and the organizations from which they purchase. Marketers,however, are giving more attention, to understanding macro cultures and how they affectconsumer behavior. Hofstede found five dimensions of culture that are common among 66countries. These dimensions serve as a foundation for characterizing, comparing and contrastingspecific national cultures, and they are helpful in identifying environmentally sensitive segmentsof the market.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES
Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs andany other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society.Culture influences the pattern of living, of consumption, of decision- making by individuals.Culture is acquired. It can be acquired from the family, from the region or from all that has beenaround us while we were growing up and learning the ways of the world. Culture forms a boundary within which an individual thinks and acts. When one thinks and acts beyond these boundaries, he is adopting a cross-cultural behaviour and there are cross-cultural influences aswell.The nature of cultural influences is such that we are seldom aware of them. One feels, behaves,and thinks like the other members of the same culture. It is all pervasive and is presenteverywhere. Material culture influences technology and how it brings cultural changes like useof telephones, mobile phones, clothing styles and fashions, gives the marketers a chance toimprove the product, packing, etc. to meet the needs of the customers. Norms are the boundariesthat culture sets on the behaviour. Norms are derived from cultural values, which are widely told beliefs that specify what is desirableand what is not. Most individuals obey norms because it is natural to obey them. Culture outlinesmany business norms, family norms, behaviour norms, etc. How we greet people, how close oneshould stand to others while conducting business, the dress we wear and any other patterns of  behaviour. Culture keeps changing slowly over time; and is not static. Changes take place due torapid technologies. In case of emergency, war, or natural calamities, marketers and managersmust understand the existing culture as well as the changing culture and culture of the countrywhere the goods are to be marketed. Major companies have adapted themselves to internationalculture and are accepted globally. Coca Cola is sold allover the world. Procter & Gamble andother companies give cross-cultural training to their employees. By making cross-culturalmistakes, many companies have difficulty in pushing their products for example,(i) Coca Cola had to withdraw its 2 litres bottle from Spain, because it did not fit in the localrefrigerator; (ii) Many countries are very traditional and do not like women displayed on the products. This acts as a detriment to business in those countries.
SUBCULTURES AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Culture can be divided into subcultures. A subculture is an identifiable distinct, cultural group,which, while following the dominant cultural values of the overall society also has its own belief,values and customs that set them apart from other members of the same society.
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
Changes In Indian Culture
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