First Paper
Cultural Analysis
NOTE: For those of you who took Global Business (IBM300), you need to choose a DIFFERENT COUNTRY for this assignment. And, the focus of this is on the impact on buying behavior and purchasing decisions.
Brief History of the Culture/Country
Geography
Location
Climate
Social Institutions
Family: nuclear, extended, parental roles, marriage and courtship, female/male roles
Education: primary, secondary, higher, literacy rate
Political system: structure, parties, stability, tax rates, local government
Legal system: judiciary, code or common, intellectual property
Social organizations: groups, social classes, clubs, races, ethnicity, subcultures
Business customs and practices
Religion and Aesthetics
Religion: doctrine and structures, degree to which accepted by people, prominent religions.
Aesthetics: visual arts, music, drama, ballet, performing arts, folklore and symbols
Living Conditions
Diet and nutrition: meat vs. vegetables, typical meals, malnutrition rates, foods available
Clothing: national dress, work clothing
Recreation, sports, leisure: types available and in demand, % of income spent on
Health care
Language
Official language
Dialects
Impact on Buying Behavior
How does Culture impact buying decisions?
Required Papers
4 to 5 page papers (plus charts and graphs) are required for this course.
The papers must be typed or word processed, one-and-one-half- or double-spaced with one-inch margins, minimum 10-point type.
(Using Times or Times New Roman font, 10-point type, you can easily put 2,000 words in a 4-5 page - ‘spaced' paper.
Endnotes do not count in the 4-5 pages nor do any charts/graph.)
Your assignment is to choose a country, then research and write one paper that address the cultural issues discussed in the textbook and in class. Ideally, the country you choose to research should be located on a different continent than the one you consider to be your "cultural home." (I'm open to argument otherwise.) The United States is off limits to all students.
Your papers should have the following headings and should include information for each subheading. In such short papers as these, it is important to maintain correct proportions for each section.
For example, "Brief History" is just that: brief. "Social Institutions" and "Living Conditions," however, should be your two longest sections in the Cultural Analysis. Generally, it is better to have one sentence per subsection (or sub-subsection) than nothing at all.
Numerical data may be displayed in exhibits attached at the end of the papers (but not photocopied pages from almanacs or abstracts-the data should be typed or otherwise put into easy-to-read presentation format).