What is culture? What are the six determinants or factors that influence culture?

What is culture? What are the six determinants or factors that influence culture?
A culture is a set value of norms among a certain group of people, and takes them together to constitute the way these people live. In different countries of the world, culture is usually different. However, there are various known determinants of culture, and social structure is one of them. The meaning of this is how the society associates among themselves as well as the way the people are organized. A society may embrace either individual or group organization; in an individual organization, individual attributes are much more emphasized, while in a group organization, the mostly held attributes are for the group. It is therefore the responsibility of the organization to ensure observance of the organization as it pushes its agenda of expansion in the given society. Religion is the other determinant of culture in the society. Religion is the shared beliefs that a particular society observes. It is therefore of importance that the organization learns the religion in a given region so that it does not produce products that are not embraced in that society. Education is another determinant of culture in a society, as having a society that has embraced formal education may give an organization a competitive edge through provision of the needed labor. Language is also another determinant of culture necessary as knowledge of it eases communication breakdown. Finally, the last but not the least determinants of culture are economic and political philosophies. Knowledge of these philosophies helps to ensuring the tactics it is going to use to encompass the market.
Why was Wal-Mart able to achieve success in Mexico?
Achievement of success in Mexico was achieved by the fact that Wal-Mart was able to learn the culture of Mexicans and transform to it. Through such moves as transforming the shopping habits, establishing fresh products and selling products in small quantities Wal-Mart was able to control market in Mexico. In addition, the fact the Wal-Mart hired local managers to control their stalls who influenced the people to incorporate American merchandising culture made them increase their competitive edge in Mexican soil.
What cultural differences did Wal-Mart encounter in trying to expand into other areas of the global marketplace, specifically in South Korea and Germany? What impact did these cultural differences have on the effectiveness of the entry strategy and performance of Wal-Mart in these countries?
When Wal-Mart decide to increase their influence to both Germany and Korea, they faced so much competition on these countries as there was established culture where the consumers preferred high quality merchandise and were not attracted by the discounted strategy of Wal-Mart. The strategy by Wal-Mart was therefore rendered obsolete by the culture background of these customers, which in turn led to Wal-Mart enduring high loses which made them pull out of the market, as competition was too high.
What type of actions did Wal-Mart take in order to succeed in China?
Establishment of a branch in China was a new strategy all together, Wal-Mart decide to adapt to the culture of merchandising practiced in China. They also adopted the culture of providing freshly harvested food and when it came to animals like fish, they killed them in front of the customer, as it was the desire of Chinese people to have their products fresh.
Does culture change? To what extent is it possible for a company like Wal-Mart to change the culture of the country in which it is doing business?
It is evident that culture of a certain country can be changed when it comes to business. Mexico is an example of a country that has changed its shopping habits due to the influence that Wal-Mart had on them. Though they used to shop in small quantities with time, they endorsed the American merchandised culture and today they account to be the most successful venture abroad for Wal-Mart.
Is it always necessary to companies to localize their products to suit the cultural characteristics of a country or does it depend on product and/or the country?
Localizing the products is usually necessary among any organization. The reasoning behind this is for an organization to be competitive it has to transform to the culture of a certain country and if not it might be through out of business due the high competition that might be there. An example of this is portrayed in Germany and Korea where Wal-Mart faced so much competition until it had to pull out of the market due to not conforming to the new countries culture. However, success is seen to be achieved the countries they transformed their countries to fit this cultures.
What is ethnocentric behavior? Did Wal-Mart display ethnocentric behavior in its involvement in international markets? What is neededto overcome ethnocentric behavior?
Ethnocentric behavior is the belief that one’s culture is more important and those other groups. Wal-Mart can be said to portray this behavior in its approach in investing in Korea and Germany as it aimed at these country to conform to American culture of merchandising. Of importance in fighting this behavior is having respect for other people’s culture. Having respected embraces diversity, which is an important tool, is achievement of success in business. Therefore, it is also necessary to accept the culture of the societies that an organization wishes to engage business and if necessary have culture reconciliation.