“Culture: learned and shared human patterns or models for living; patterns of day-to-day living; these patterns and models pervade every aspect of human social interaction. Damen, L. argues that “culture is the primary adaptive mechanism of mankind.” According to Lederach, J.P.,
“Culture is the shared knowledge and schemes created by a group for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them.” According to Parson, T., “Culture…consists in those patterns relative to behavior and the products of human action that may be inherited, i.e., passed on from generation to generation independently of the biological genes.” According to Kroeber, A.L., and Kluckhohn, C., “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other hand, be considered Cultural Characteristics Culture imposes rules. It specifies the kinds of conduct that are accepted by society. A consumer’s decision-making process is facilitated by the prescriptive characteristics of culture, which restrict product options to those that are socially acceptable. Culture is shared socially. Social interaction and creation must be the foundation of culture out of necessity. It cannot function on its own. It reinforces the prescriptive nature of culture by having to be shared by members of a society. Culture makes communication easier. Culture facilitates communication, which is a useful function. People usually develop similar ways of thinking and feeling as a result of culture. As a result, the culture of a given group facilitates interpersonal communication. However, a lack of common cultural values may also make it difficult for groups to communicate with one another. Culture is cultivated. Culture cannot be passed down through genes; rather, it must be learned and acquired. When a person absorbs or learns about the culture in which they were raised, this process is referred to as socialization or enculturation. The process of acculturation, on the other hand, occurs when a person learns the culture of a society other than the one in which they were raised. It is possible to absorb new cultural trends when one is able to learn about culture. Culture is personal. When it comes to the same thing, people from different cultures frequently have different ideas. What is considered acceptable in one culture might not be so in another. As a result, culture is one-of-a-kind and arbitrary. Culture lasts forever. Culture is relatively stable and somewhat permanent because it is shared and passed down from generation to generation. Even though the world is constantly changing, people tend to stick to their own traditions because they are hard to break. This explains why, despite severe overcrowding, birth control is extremely challenging in India and China. The Chinese believe that having a large family is a blessing and that children will care for their parents as they get older. Culture develops over time. The accumulated circumstances of hundreds or even thousands of years form the foundation of culture. Before passing on the culture to the next generation, each generation adds something unique. Culture is ever-changing. Culture is passed down from one generation to the next, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t change over time. Culture is not static; rather, it constantly adapts to new circumstances and sources of information. Cultural Elements Every aspect of life is a part of culture. The elements that are included in the meaning of the term show the anthropologist the scope of the term culture. They include: 1. Technology and Economics in Material Culture Technology and economics are the two parts of material culture. Technology is the technical know-how that people in a society possess. It includes the methods used to create tangible goods. For instance, while the vast majority of people living in the United States are aware of the straightforward concepts involved in reading gauges, this seemingly straightforward idea is not ingrained in the culture of many other nations, resulting in a significant technical limitation. The way people use their abilities and the benefits that come with it is the subject of economics. The production of goods and services, their distribution, consumption, means of exchange, and the income from the creation of utilities are all topics that fall under the umbrella of economics. The level of demand, the quality and variety of products demanded, their functional characteristics, as well as the means by which these goods are produced and distributed, are all influenced by material culture. The marketing implications of the material culture of a country are many. For instance, electrical appliances are popular in France and England, but few people buy them in nations where less than one percent of homes have electricity. Even with electrification, product desirability may be limited by economic characteristics like income level and distribution. Electric juicers and can openers are acceptable in the United States, but in less developed nations, not only are they impossible to obtain and likely undesirable, but they would also be a spectacular waste of money because disposable income could be better spent on better homes, clothing, or food. 2. Organizations, education, and political structures are all examples of social institutions. Education, political structures, and social organization are all examples of social institutions that are concerned with how people interact with one another, plan their activities to live in harmony with one another, model acceptable behavior for future generations, and govern themselves. Every culture has its own unique interpretations of the roles that men and women play in society, the family, social classes, group behavior, age groups, and how societies define civility and decency. It is more effective to target the family unit rather than individual family members in cultures where social organizations result in close-knit family units, for instance. Because the French are traditionally more closely bound by family ties, travel advertising in a culturally divided Canada depicts a man and wife together for the English audience and a wife alone for the French audience. One of the most important social institutions, education influences everything from economic growth to consumer behavior. A nation’s literacy rate is a powerful driver of economic growth. Numerous studies show that a country’s capacity for rapid economic growth is directly linked to its literacy rate. The World Bank says that no country has been successful economically with less than 50% literacy, but countries that invest in education have seen significant economic benefits. Marketing is profoundly influenced by literacy. When compared to a market where the marketer must rely on symbols and pictures to communicate, it is much simpler to communicate with a literate market. Because each social institution has an impact on behavior, values, and overall life patterns, marketing is affected. 3. The Universe and Humans: Belief Systems Religion (belief systems), superstitions, and the power structures that go along with them fall under this category. It is important to not underestimate the influence that religion has on a society’s value systems and marketing. People’s routines, outlook on life, purchasing decisions, and even the newspapers they read are all influenced by religion.