Tuesday, April 1, 2008
High context and Low context culture
High context and Low Context are terms first introduced by Edward Hall. He used these terms to classify societies or cultures on the basis of their style of communication.
High Context cultures use a lot more context in communication. They have less verbally explicit communication and rely on context cues like body language, implicit cultural references, time and place and relationship between the communicators. They are also more indirect and tend to avoid disharmony and conflict. They tend to group together with others who have similar experiences and expectations. Japan, Asia, Middle East, South America are examples of high context cultures.
Low context cultures are the opposite. They are more direct, value independence and tend to use a lot of written and explicit communication. It is customary to end discussions with a written agreement or contract. North America, Great Britain, German speaking countries, Scandinavian countries tend to be low context.
Polychronic Time(p-time) and Monochronic Time(m-time) are time management methods.
Typically high context cultures tend to use p-time and low context cultures tend to use m-time.
When using m-time, one gives more importance to scheduling work. One gives importance to deadlines and generally concentrates on one job at a time. Scheduling is a natural result of this behaviour as it lets us schedule different times for individual jobs. Individuals also tend to respect privacy, and private property and try not to disturb, borrow or lend to others.
When using p-time one tends to give more importance to human relationships and time is considered secondary. Multiple jobs are undertaken at the same time. They are more open to changing their plans on the fly and are more accepting to distractions.
Business Lessons:
These concepts are important in a multi-national company or when one has business relationships with companies in other countries. When communicating with people from other cultures, one has to be sensitive to their style of communication and time management methods.
Advertising to high context cultures is also different than to low context cultures. It is not enough to just translate text into different languages. Sometimes the entire advertising strategy needs to be changed to communicate the message more effectively. For e.g. using local cultural cues in advertising to establish a frame of reference will be more effective in a high context society.
High Context cultures use a lot more context in communication. They have less verbally explicit communication and rely on context cues like body language, implicit cultural references, time and place and relationship between the communicators. They are also more indirect and tend to avoid disharmony and conflict. They tend to group together with others who have similar experiences and expectations. Japan, Asia, Middle East, South America are examples of high context cultures.
Low context cultures are the opposite. They are more direct, value independence and tend to use a lot of written and explicit communication. It is customary to end discussions with a written agreement or contract. North America, Great Britain, German speaking countries, Scandinavian countries tend to be low context.
Polychronic Time(p-time) and Monochronic Time(m-time) are time management methods.
Typically high context cultures tend to use p-time and low context cultures tend to use m-time.
When using m-time, one gives more importance to scheduling work. One gives importance to deadlines and generally concentrates on one job at a time. Scheduling is a natural result of this behaviour as it lets us schedule different times for individual jobs. Individuals also tend to respect privacy, and private property and try not to disturb, borrow or lend to others.
When using p-time one tends to give more importance to human relationships and time is considered secondary. Multiple jobs are undertaken at the same time. They are more open to changing their plans on the fly and are more accepting to distractions.
Business Lessons:
These concepts are important in a multi-national company or when one has business relationships with companies in other countries. When communicating with people from other cultures, one has to be sensitive to their style of communication and time management methods.
Advertising to high context cultures is also different than to low context cultures. It is not enough to just translate text into different languages. Sometimes the entire advertising strategy needs to be changed to communicate the message more effectively. For e.g. using local cultural cues in advertising to establish a frame of reference will be more effective in a high context society.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
EU and flights to Japan
http://www.allvoices.com/newsevents/162454-raid-airline
Everything u need to know about the EU price-fixing probe ...
Everything u need to know about the EU price-fixing probe ...
GLOBALIZATION, REGIONS AND THE NEW ECONOMY
Kenichi Ohmae:
Leading business strategist. senior partner in McKinsey & Co.
Developed 3Cs model , a strategic look at factors needed for success
Corporation
Customers
Competitors
Seems to be a super capitalist, seems to have the role of government is the advancement of business and nothing else.
Leading business strategist. senior partner in McKinsey & Co.
Developed 3Cs model , a strategic look at factors needed for success
Corporation
Customers
Competitors
Seems to be a super capitalist, seems to have the role of government is the advancement of business and nothing else.
Intel in Costa Rica
| Costa Rica GDP (PPP) | 2006 estimate | |
| - | Total | $48.77 billion (84th) |
| - | Per capita | $12,000 (62nd) |
Intel:
Revenue : $ 38.3 B
Costa Rica chosen because:
Political and social stability
• Economic openness and liberalization
• Receptive investment environment
• PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE!
• Improving infrastructure
• Strategic location
• A “yes” attitude: proactive solution providers
What is expected of Government:
Provide stable, secure environment
financial system
education
healthcare
Infrastructure like power, transportation
Business friendly atmosphere, low taxation
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The iPhone Gray Market
Gray market is where branded original products are diverted from authorized distribution channels and distributed through other channels. I will examine the dynamics of the iPhone gray market and its effects on Apple.
Reasons for the gray market:
1. Apple's marketing team for the iPhone, did an excellent job in promoting the iPhone prior to launch. Rather than making it available widely to the journalists to try out, they controlled its exposure prior to launch in the typical Apple secretive approach to new product announcements. Significant consumer interest was generated prior to launch of the iPhone. The iPhone sold out of most stores within 4 days.
2. The iPhone was first released in the United States on June 29th 2007. Subsequently, Apple released the iPhone in other countries in a phased manner. Apple has not yet released the iPhone worldwide.
3. The Apple iPhone was launched exclusively on AT&T Wireless networks. AT&T holds exclusive distribution rights to the iPhone for 5 years. That meant that users with existing cell phones on non AT&T networks had to switch to AT&T if they wanted to use an iPhone. In 2007, Verizon Wireless led the US wireless data market share, with 17% followed by AT&T at 16%. AT&T was not the wireless carrier of choice for many consumers who would want to use an iPhone.
In summary very high demand, limited or no availability in specific geographic regions and unnattractive bundling of the iPhone with AT&T wireless were the primary reasons for the growth of the iPhone gray market.
The iPhone gray market:
There are two areas where the iPhone gray market has thrived. One is the selling of iPhones at a premium on online auction sites and the other is the unlocking of the iPhone. The unlocking has also resulted in an explosion of demand for the iPhone globally, enabling gray markets in countries where it has not been officially launched. The unlocking of the iPhone is possible through software or hardware hacks. While the initial hacks were difficult to implement for all but the most tech savvy users, they have increasingly become simpler.
Why doesn't Apple do anything?
The primary reason is that it simply cant do much to stop the gray market forces. Apple does release software updates that render hacks useless, however the hackers soon find new ways to hack the iPhone. It also voids the warranty of the iPhone if it has been hacked, but it is trivial to reset an iPhone that has been hacked through software so that the hack is undetectable. Also, hacking the iPhone is not illegal. Hence Apple or At&t really does not have any legal recourse to go after the hackers. Another possible reason is that Apple isn't really losing out too much due to the gray market. The real loser is At&t which definitely had to pay a premium to Apple for exclusivity. While Apple does make some money whenever an iPhone user starts a new contract with At&t, it is not much compared to the profit made by Apple on selling the iPhone itself.
Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2008/tc20080211_152894_page_2.htm
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0320000140IO
Reasons for the gray market:
1. Apple's marketing team for the iPhone, did an excellent job in promoting the iPhone prior to launch. Rather than making it available widely to the journalists to try out, they controlled its exposure prior to launch in the typical Apple secretive approach to new product announcements. Significant consumer interest was generated prior to launch of the iPhone. The iPhone sold out of most stores within 4 days.
2. The iPhone was first released in the United States on June 29th 2007. Subsequently, Apple released the iPhone in other countries in a phased manner. Apple has not yet released the iPhone worldwide.
3. The Apple iPhone was launched exclusively on AT&T Wireless networks. AT&T holds exclusive distribution rights to the iPhone for 5 years. That meant that users with existing cell phones on non AT&T networks had to switch to AT&T if they wanted to use an iPhone. In 2007, Verizon Wireless led the US wireless data market share, with 17% followed by AT&T at 16%. AT&T was not the wireless carrier of choice for many consumers who would want to use an iPhone.
In summary very high demand, limited or no availability in specific geographic regions and unnattractive bundling of the iPhone with AT&T wireless were the primary reasons for the growth of the iPhone gray market.
The iPhone gray market:
There are two areas where the iPhone gray market has thrived. One is the selling of iPhones at a premium on online auction sites and the other is the unlocking of the iPhone. The unlocking has also resulted in an explosion of demand for the iPhone globally, enabling gray markets in countries where it has not been officially launched. The unlocking of the iPhone is possible through software or hardware hacks. While the initial hacks were difficult to implement for all but the most tech savvy users, they have increasingly become simpler.
Why doesn't Apple do anything?
The primary reason is that it simply cant do much to stop the gray market forces. Apple does release software updates that render hacks useless, however the hackers soon find new ways to hack the iPhone. It also voids the warranty of the iPhone if it has been hacked, but it is trivial to reset an iPhone that has been hacked through software so that the hack is undetectable. Also, hacking the iPhone is not illegal. Hence Apple or At&t really does not have any legal recourse to go after the hackers. Another possible reason is that Apple isn't really losing out too much due to the gray market. The real loser is At&t which definitely had to pay a premium to Apple for exclusivity. While Apple does make some money whenever an iPhone user starts a new contract with At&t, it is not much compared to the profit made by Apple on selling the iPhone itself.
Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2008/tc20080211_152894_page_2.htm
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0320000140IO
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