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Khaled Mahmud Sujon The main vehicles of culture are the family and the religious institutions where the individualis taught much of the ideas, beliefs etc., that from the culture. This teaching is reinforced asmoderated by two other vehicles namely the educational institution and the mass media. Characteristics of Culture: Culture is invented: It cannot be viewed as something that just exists and waitingto be discovered. People are responsible for inventing their culture and this inventionconsists of three interdependent components: 1. Ideological component refers to ideas, beliefs, values, and approaches to definingwhat is right and wrong, or desirable and undesirable. 2. Technological component is concerned with the skill, arts, and crafts that provide h u m a n w i t h t h e m e a n s t o p r o d u c e g o o d s b y u s i n g w h a t i s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e m i n their environment. 3. Consumer component enables humans to live in the family systems and market it possible to coordinate their behavior effectively with others actions. Culture is lea ned: I t i s n o t l i k e b i o l o g i c a l f e a t u r e s o r i n s t i n c t i v e . T h e p r o c e s s o f learning cultural blues begins early in life largely through social interactions amongfamilies, friends, in settings in such as educational and religious institutions; growingchildren are firmly indoctrinated with ways of behaving, thinking and feeling. Someof the core cultural values that have been passed down through generations in India a r e b e l i e f i n g o d , r e s p e c t i n g e l d e r s , h u s b a n d d o m i n a t i o n , b e i n g p o l i t e t o l a d i e s , accepting arranged marriage, viewing marriage as a union between two families andliving in joint families etc. Culture is Shared b y a f i r m l y l a r g e g r o u p o f h u m a n b e i n g s l i v i n g i n o r g a n i z e d societies and works as a linking force. Generally, common religion and language a rethe critical elements that the American pop culture is being shared by a large number o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s t h r o u g h t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f s e v e r a l p r o d u c t s s u c h a s c o c a c o l a , McDonalds burgers, Levis jeans, movies and music etc. Culture satisfies needs: I t s c o m p o n e n t s a r e p a s s e d d o w n t h r o u g h g e n e r a t i o n s because they are gratifying. Culture offers order, direction and guides societies in all p h a s e s o f l i f e b y p r o v i d i n g t r i e d a n d t r u s t e d w a y s o f m e e t i n g t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l , personal and social needs and due to t hese

reasons people feel comfortable in doingthings in the customary way. Cultural values and customs etc. are follo wed as long asthey keep on offering satisfaction, even when we are exposed to other culture.Though advertising is considered an important agent in bringing about social change,from the marketers point of view an important mission of advertising is to reinforce established cultural t and aiding in the development of new tasted, habits and customs. Culture is not static: s o m e c u l t u r e s a r e r e l a t i v e l y m o r e r e s i s t a n t t o c h a n g e t h a n others but they do change gradually and continuously. These changes, however, may be very slow in some cultures while others may be more dynamic and receptive to changes. S i n c e c u l t u r e s a r e n o t s t a t i c a n d c h a n g e r a p i d l y o r s l o w l y i n d i f f e r e n t societi es, this becomes quit an important consideration from the marketers point of view. For example, traditionally the role of women in India was confined within the household. As a rule, they were married at an early age, looked after household dutiesa n d b o r e c h i l d r e n . I n u r b a n I n d i a , a t l e a s t , t h e r o l e o f w o m e n i s g r a d u a l l y g e t t i n g redefined. More and more women are acquiring higher and technical education and entering several professions, which earlier were the sole domain of men. As a result of t h i s , d u a l i n c o m e h o u s e h o l d s a r e e m e r g i n g , w i t h s m a l l e r f a m i l i e s a n d i n c r e a s e d buying power. This has thrown up several, and important, opportunities to marketers.Such cultural changes in Ind ia can be directly attributed to the influence of western cultures and media influence, which emphasize freedom and equality to women. Culture can divided into two distinct components.Influence of Culture on consumer behavior While there are a large number of areas where the individual is conditioned by his culture, for our study we will focus on certain areas where his consumer behavior comes influence. Thereare: Consumption of food, clothing and housing Perception on messages and media, and Receptivity to new ideas and change Internal mental culture(Ideas, knowledge, concepts)External material culture( T h i n g s t h a t c a n b e s e e n t o u c h e d a n d u s e d i n o u r d a y t o d a y l i v i n g , e.g. art, music, theatre, clothing, etc.Cognitive components belief of after life, etc.Ideas, knowledge, god,supernatural power, etc. Normative componentsvalues, conduct, normsthat regulate behaviour

Food: Food perhaps is the area where preferences are any way very individual and verymarked. Additionally, culture introduces cer tain preferences. The examples of preference induced by cultures are Kosher foods for persons of Jewish subculture Avoidance of beef by Hindus and Sikhs Avoidance of pork by Muslims Vegetarian food large subcultures in India Sea foods for subcultures in the Far East Clothing By sheer logic, clothing preference should depend on climate and weather. However, one can observe many peculiar preferences exhibited by consumers who can beidentified as belonging to a subculture. The preferences in these cases appear to be culturallyinherited. Otherwise there is no other explanation why Italian gentry in Toronto or Indianl a d i e s i n S a n F r a n c i s c o a r e s h o p p i n g f o r s i l k s a n d w h y c u s t o m d i c t a t e d elaborate dressesunsuitable for the local and prevailing climate are purchased all the y e a r r o u n d , b y e t h n i c groups. Housing people of a certain class brought up in the western culture may view the house as acaste to protect their privacy whereas persons in the same class brought up in Eastern culturewant to tre at the house as a sho wpiece as well as a place for interacting with kith and kin.Such cultural influences affect the choice of location, material, construction and dcor of thehouses the consumer buys and this has to be kept in mind by the marketers.M a r k e t e r s a l s o h o l d v a r y i n g c o n c e p t i o n o f c u l t u r e . A t r a d i t i o n a l m a r k e t i n g v i e w i n t h i s perspective, culture is viewed as a relatively unchanging background for behavior, consisting primarily of values and norms. Values

are enduring beliefs about desirable ou tcomes thatt r a n s c e n d s p e c i f i c s i t u a t i o n s a n d s h a p e ones behavior. If asked, people can usually stateimportant values: honesty, d e p e n d a b i l i t y , a n d s o f o r t h , f o r e x a m p l e . C u l t u r e s v a r y i n t h e strength of members beliefs in a limited number of universal valu es. Norms are informal,usually unspoken rules that govern behavior. Two views of Culture and Consumer BehaviorTraditional Marketing View ConsumptionPatternAntecedentsto cultureCulture(Collective ) PerceptualCategorizationPerceptualInferenceInformationProcessingStrategiesMotivesSelf-concept

Emerging Marketing View:Material goodsCultural templatesAction (blueprint)Consumption patternsCultural templatesFor interpretation (lens)Cultural fields (scapes)V a l u e s a n d n o r m s h e l p t o d e t e r m i n e p e r c e p t u a l a n d c o g n i t i v e p r i n c i p l e s t h a t , i n t u r n , influence peoples attitudes to marketing offerings and consumption practice. In perspective,the key questions for marketers are to what extent should they adapt market offerings to other culture context, and how should they do it.Some anthropologists (scientists who study human culture), we define a societys culture asframeworks for action and understanding that enable one to operate in a manner acceptable too t h e r m e m b e r s . T h e f r a m e w o r k s v a r y b e t w e e n c u l t u r e s , b u t t h e y a l w a y s i n c o r p o r a t e language, norms, values, and objects, as well as the myths, symbols, and r i t u a l s t h a t w e discuss later in the chapter. Both individuals and firms that wish to operate successfully in ac u l t u r e r e q u i r e t h e s e k i n d s o f k n o w l e d g e . I n t h i s v i e w , v a l u e s , n o r m s , a n d o t h e r c u l t u r a l elements differ in kind, not merely in strength, between different cultures.T o c o m p l i c a t e m a t t e r s , c u l t u r e c a n n o t b e r e d u c e d t o a l i s t o f l a n g u a g e , t h i n g s , p e o p l e , behavior, or values, although all of these are important in a culture. Our list of facts about theDanes did not lead us to correctly predict the popularity of baby joggers, for example. Theabove figure indicates culture can be through of as a set of dynamic models. Members of a

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