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Global Cultural Exchange (GCE)
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What is the GCE? | Topics
The GCE is designed for students using Cateora/Graham: International Marketing who are searching for information about other countries. The goal of the GCE is to create a dialogue among students from various countries in order to learn about other cultures. Every two or three weeks a new set of cultural issues, relevant to international marketing, will be posted. This discussion of cultural issues creates an opportunity to share information with students from other areas in the United States and other countries. Much of the information one can find on the Internet is best described as factual knowledge, i.e., Mexico is 98 per cent Catholic (see International Marketing, 10th edition, p.96 for reference to this idea). This is a "fact," however, as a student of international marketing, it is important to interpret factual information to gain an understanding of what it means to "be a Catholic" in Mexico. The GCE is designed to go beyond mere "facts" through a forum of exchange. Students will gain insight or "interpretative knowledge" of other cultures. The GCE will be advertised throughout the world (i.e., the McGraw-Hill/Irwin world) enabling students to communicate and share knowledge. Like all bulletin boards, they only work if all parties participate and contribute. You need to be prepared to do some research on the Internet as issues are posted. The issues will parallel the text, that is, as a semester unfolds, cultural issues that are posted will follow the text outline. Topics: Text reference Chapters 1-4 How has the globalization of U.S. business affected U.S. markets, consumers, employment, and economy? Some aspects of protectionism and/or trade barriers exist in all countries, explore the extent of protectionism for consumer products versus industrial products in the United States and one other country. Discuss the impact of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on trade between the United States and another country or geographical region. The dominant religious beliefs found in a country tend to affect people's attitudes toward a variety of behavior patterns. Explore the effects of religious beliefs on market behavior in predominately Catholic countries versus, Islamic, or etc. One criticism of global marketing is that countries export cultural values along with products. This criticism has often been leveled at the United States. Discuss the issue of cultural transfer and France, Russia, etc. Are the effects good, bad, or indifferent? |