McDonald’s and Feng Shui

The growth of Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese practice of arranging numbers and objects to promote health, harmony, and prosperity, has caught the attention of McDonald’s.

The hamburger chain is reaching out to the large local Asian population at their restaurant in Hacienda Heights, California, by remodeling both interior and exterior.

With an earth tone color scheme, leather seats, water fountains, and bamboo plants, diners will experience a more peaceful experience than at traditional McDonald’s.

McDonald’s has shown their desire to reach out to local cultures in the past. In heavily Muslim Dearborn, Michigan, for example, their outlet serves halal hamburgers aligning with the Islamic culture.

The subtleties of the design promote a connection to the Asian culture without a negative impression by other cultures, something important when a company reaches out to a culture. This was not the case when bi-lingual labeling was introduced in Canada. Many in the French speaking areas rebelled against retailers that had English labels facing out and some English speaking locales protested retailers showing the French label on the outside.

A cultural history of “Leap Day”

Tomorrow, February 29, is known throughout the world as “Leap Day”. In modern times the main significance of Leap Day is that people born on that day you to celebrate the birthday on their actual birthday. Yet over the course of history cultures have looked upon the day with some unique customs.

• Roman culture: From 46 BC through 10 BC it was found that priests had mistakenly adding an extra day to the calendar every third year. Leap years were suspended until 8 AD.


• England and Wales: In 1256 a decree was issued making February 28 a 48 hour day for legal purposes during leap years. Oddly, this did not change until the European Union recognized February 29 as a unique day in the year 2000.


• Scotland, France, and Switzerland: In 1288 the Scottish Parliament determined that women could lawfully propose marriage on February 29. France and Switzerland had similar regulations.


• Roman culture: Although there was an early recognition of the need to have an extra day every fourth year, Roman religion added the hours for the calendar by making February 23 a 48 hour day every fourth year are off Terminus, the god who protected boundary makers.


• Christopher Columbus: The explorer knew a lunar eclipse will occur on the night of February 29, 1504. He used his knowledge to trick Americans to provide him with much needed supplies.

South Africa walks cultural tightrope

South Africa is dealing with a gigantic problem. Knowing that any solution is sure to create conflict with other cultures, the country has cautiously announced the first elephant hunt since 1994.

The government cites a growing population of the large mammals. The outdoor recreation culture is excited about the opportunity to legally hunt elephants. At the same time the animal-rights culture is protesting. However once an announcement is made any change is sure to exaggerate the culture clash.

The country will certainly face boycotts from cultures opposed to their actions in what they say is “management of growing populations.” It will also experience counter boycotts as groups supportive of this move seek to offset punitive buying habits.

Celebrating cultural success

If you want to connect to the emerging cultures in your neighborhood or across the globe, one proven method is to celebrate their successes. Take a look at the commercial below.

This 1960s ad campaign was used by the Philip Morris Company to grab market share in their highly competitive product line. It was a huge success as women wanted to be associated with the product. Why this one over the others on store shelves? Because they created an image that their product was not only a celebration of the advances in their culture, but it was the first of the product line to meet their specific needs.



What can you celebrate about the cultures with whom you want to connect?

Construction workers stumbled upon 2,200 year-old culture

A massive complex of pyramids has been discovered by construction workers in Piura, Peru. Buried out of sight was an area measuring 2 miles long and 1 mile wide containing at least 10 completed or partially completed pyramids. Many cultures from Egypt to Mexico and Peru used pyramids for the burial of nobility.

The Vicús people are believed to have settled the area from 200 BC until 300 AD and are best known at creating complex paintings on pottery and ceramics.

Although the area was buried for many years, looters did find it at some time during the last 1,900 years. Ancient vandalism has managed to deprive us of the full treasures of these people which might have helped us understand how ethnic cultures can disappear.

TV cockroach bugs President – fires 30

Thirty people lost their jobs on Turkmenistan's state run television channel after a cockroach crossed the news desk during a live broadcast. Soon after taking office President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered the central Asian broadcaster to transform its culture from the soviet era image. The cockroach was apparently a vivid reminder of the older style so the president ordered the firings.

If your company is trying to break with a past culture, how far will you go?

If you want to change your image how serious about it are you?

No one can doubt the seriousness of President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

It’s not the economy – it’s the culture

This has been a tough week for retailers. Sharper Image and Lillian Vernon file for bankruptcy. Wilsons Leather announced the closing of 160 stores while JCPenney saw an almost 10% profit drop. Profit woes also affected Whole Foods Market, Old Navy, and Zale.

On the other end of the spectrum, Wal-Mart saw continued profit growth as TJX, operator of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, realized a 47% profit gain and Office Max profits were up 23%.

Some will immediately detect the companies in the first paragraph are at the upper end of the price scale while the second paragraph list stores that are at the lower end of the price scale. Although a correct observation, it would be a misled assumption as we have not given you one more piece of information that destroys theory.

Abercrombie & Fitch, which stores under the Abercrombie, Hollister, and Abercrombie & Fitch manners, saw a 9% increase in profits from their stores in North America and Great Britain.

With this added information and careful analysis you find that Abercrombie & Fitch, while matching the target demographics in the first paragraph, has produced results putting it with the winners in the second paragraph.

The difference is that Abercrombie is fully in tune with the culture of its demographic – Gen Y. They focus singularly on this group in developing a store ambiance, merchandise mix, and personnel selection. As the economy tightens, Gen Y will spend less at the fringe retailers, those that only present Gen Y fashions as an add-on to a broader assortment and devote their dollars to the retailers that reach out specifically to them.

Even if your demographic is not Gen Y, there is a lesson here that can make you stronger and economy-proof.

Libraries try to reach a new generation

The good news for libraries is that Generation Y and Millennials are frequenting libraries in every increasing numbers. The bad news – they aren’t going for the books.

Progressive libraries understand their youngest visitors are more interested in the computers and social capabilities that a library presents. They know that if they keep the young people coming, they will be building on tomorrow like McDonald’s did when they introduced Happy Meals.

To capitalize on and increase the frequency of youthful visits, many libraries are turning to video games. It is becoming common-place for libraries to have competitions for Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. An individual event may attract more than 100 students to the library for an evening of fun and socializing.

The reason these competitions are so successful is cultural:

• Socializing: Gen Y and Millennials both are extremely social generations. This can be credited to rearranging elementary schoolrooms to a study group or pod design, which promotes teamwork.


• Parental Comfort: Generation X, which parents Gen Y, and parents in Gen Y that parented Millennials, both are easy to sell when their children ask to spend an evening at the library. In many cases, permission is given only if the child agrees to check out a book.


• Literary: Okay, the literary culture has to deal with breaking the tradition of “quiet” at a library, however they are smart enough to know that libraries cannot survive if they cannot get people through the front door. Taxpayers must have a reason to vote “yes” when library funding is on the ballot and having activity of any type seems to decrease any voter hesitancy at passing dollars into library coffers.

Toronto girl reveals the personality of autism

In the autistic world it is not uncommon for a person to be able to use a keyboard. However Carly Fleishmann’s one-finger-at-a-time messages are truly astounding. Carly’s typing is teaching us about the inner-most thoughts of a person that otherwise cannot communicate.

Within this autistic 13-year-old is an “articulate, intelligent, emotive person that we had never met,” her father told CTV News recently.

"It is hard to be autistic because no one understands me," Carly writes. "People look at me and assume I am dumb because I can't talk, or I act differently than them... I think people get scared with things that look or seem different than them. It feels hard. It feels like being in a room with the stereo on full blast." (Click here to read more of Carly’s incredible writing).

The next time you see someone that does not communicate at your level, think for a moment about Carly.

Generation Y eyes buying homes

The sharp realtor, mortgage broker, moving company, or other professional dealing with the real estate market have a prime target audience – Generation Y. These are people in their late teens and twenties.

Genworth Financial has released data from a study on the borrowing habits of Gen Y. Their study revealed that loans for the generation are up 28% in value – a remarkable growth rate as the generation only accounts for 20% of total loans.

The members of this group see the current depressed real estate economy as an opportunity to begin building a realty portfolio. Although 81% of loans are for homes they will occupy, 19% is for investment property.

There is no projected ending for this trend.

Obese less likely to use seatbelts

A telephone survey conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed obese people are less likely to protect themselves with seatbelts while driving. According to the results, 70% of extremely obese buckle up as compared to 83% of average-weight people.

Seat belt standards, set over 40 years ago, require a belt to fit people weighing up to 215 pounds with a hip circumference of 47 inches when seated. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 38 million Americans exceed this measurement.

The 3 largest American manufacturers, along with Honda, make larger seatbelts or seat belt extenders available as an option for larger customers. Although this sounds like a viable alternative, it is exceedingly difficult for a salesperson to risk closing a deal by asking a customer if they would like this option as it is equal to calling the customer “fat”.

With more than 50% of traffic deaths coming from the 20% of people not wearing seat belts, it would be humanitarian to consider ways to make larger belts available without the stigma of having to provide your weight when you buy a new car. Perhaps the used car market or automotive aftermarket could solve the problem easier than the original manufacturers.

Canadian poll discovers different cultures

by Guillermo

A poll conducted by Leger Marketing for Canadian Studies and the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada came up with what MBC Global feels are very obvious results: Canadians recognize they have a different culture than the United States.

The poll, published in the Montreal Gazette on February 12, 2008, found that 65% of Canadian respondents disagreed that “Canadian and U.S. culture are basically the same”.

However, the poll goes on to report that 59% of those surveyed agreed that “all North Americans share certain values that are different from those of the rest of the world”.

Duh!

Canadians love hockey over basketball, and most Americans have no idea what “curling” is, much less watch it on television. And how successful has the US been in introducing the dollar coin? Canadians made the leap from paper to coin dollar years ago. They did the same with $2, something that is in very small US circulation.

I wonder how many of these one and two dollar coins were wasted to discover the obvious.

Poor offer business opportunity

Those of you that think only the middle and upper income cultures are viable for building business need to listen to this interview of Julio Moura, CEO of GrupoNueva, a holding company for businesses through the South, Central, and North America. Moura sees the poor as an economic culture representing part of the solution to building business in the 21st century.

The end of a cultural icon: Polaroid Film

Polaroid has struck a tear with Builders and Baby Boomers when they announced the stoppage of film production. Unless another company buys the rights to make the film, it will cease to exist after next year.

Myth Debunked: The camera did not get it's popular name from its early days, Polaroid "Land" Camera, because the reflection of water prevented developing the film. It's monacker was due to the fact that inventor Edwin Land developed the process to polarize light on film.

In the early 1960s Eastman Kodak discovered the advantages to marketing specifically to the growing baby boomer generation. The Brownie Starmite camera was an affordable way for the builder generation to introduce their children to photography. Polaroid answered in the following decade with “The Swinger”. Bikini-clad Ali MacGraw showed how much fun it was to have a fully developed picture in only seconds. Best of all it sold for only $19.95, making it one the most affordable cameras Polaroid had ever made.

In the 1990s Polaroid survived, much to the surprise of many analysts, serious financial problems and the advent of the digital camera age. However even the instantaneous nature of Polaroid film and cameras cannot compete with even more instantaneous digital photography.

Time marches on and a generation that already said goodbye to revolutionary technology like the Sony Betamax, Vegomatic, Seal-a-Meal, 8-Track tapes, and Commadore 64 will say goodbye once again.

Play the Swinger commercial.

More cultures revolt against power failures

Continual electrical service is being demanded in more areas of the world as public outcry against power failures is rising.

South Africa’s Chamber of Mines has entered into negotiations with Eskom, government-controlled utility to ensure power for ventilation in their underground shafts. In a nation with 25.5% unemployment it is critical to maintain safety for the mining industry, one of the nation's largest employers.

In the New York metropolitan area, the culture does not accept power outages. With a huge number of high-rises and an electrically powered public transportation system even a small outage has a huge impact. Residents and government officials vehemently protest and investigate every outage. The result has been decades of virtually continuous electrical supply. Although New York lost power in the Great Blackout of 2002, they were also the first area to have power restored and led the charge to find out what it happened.

Not every area is concerned about consistent power. In Detroit residents are confronted with power outages several times a year due to storms and outdated equipment. Yet residents accept these interruptions as a normal result of weather conditions.

So here we have examples of three electrical cultures:

• A culture that will not tolerate outages (New York).


• A culture that recognizes electricity as a key to economic growth (South Africa).


• A culture that doesn't seem to care. (Detroit)

Diversity still lags in staffing management

A survey of staffing firms released by the Association of Executive Search Consultants shows 76% of global senior executives reported their company has none or only one minority represented among their top executives. As for women, only 44% of the respondents had at least one woman in top management.

Diversity policies are also lacking among today's global staffing firms. Only 54% of responding organizations have a current diversity policy. This is down from 59% just two years previous.

One must wonder how long it will take to achieve diversity at all levels of the corporate world if those involved in hiring do not personally practice diversity.

Don’t mess with my Whopper

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its popular Whopper hamburger, Burger King launched the most successful ad campaign since “Have it your way” in the 1970s. They starting serving Wendy’s “Singles” or McDonald’s “Big Macs” to customers that ordered “Whoppers” in selected restaurants with hidden cameras. In some cases they just refused to sell the burger, saying it had been discontinued. The result is priceless footage of customers bitterly and vehemently complaining about the sandwiches demise.

The ad campaign struck a cultural nerve among baby boomers that grew up enjoying Whoppers and Whopper Juniors. The sentimental former Burger King patrons returned to reconnect to the taste of the Whopper, creating a double digit increase in sales for the comparable fourth quarter of 2007, despite the fact that the ad campaign only ran for 20 days during the quarter.

Burger King has learned that connecting to customers culturally will drive profit into the cash register. Here are just some of the cultures with which the ad campaign resonated.

• Baby Boomers. Touched a nostalgic nerve.


• Gen Y. This generation enjoys humorous advertising, particularly when pranks are involved. The ad was viewed over one-third million times on You Tube.
  
• Recreational/outdoor. A subtle link to an earlier, albeit less successful campaign, exploiting the broiled versus fried taste preference of the outdoor recreational culture.

Obesity is not always avoidable

by Guillermo

The bill restricting restaurants from serving obese patrons, introduced by state representative John Read of Mississippi, failed to consider the cultural aspect of obesity.

Read was reacting to a 2007 study by the Trust for America's Health that revealed more than 30% of adults in Mississippi fit the criteria for obesity.

It is very easy to stereotype the obese population as people with poor dietary habits. As with any stereotype, sometimes it is correct but frequently it is wrong.

It is true obesity can be a result of over eating, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, or other changeable human habits. However not all obesity is a result of lifestyle.

Millions of diabetics wrestle with their blood sugar levels, which has a direct impact on their waistline. Certainly diabetics should not be prohibited from an evening dinner and movie.

Bodybuilders and those who have “buffed up” also fit the legal definition of obesity. Prohibiting them from partaking from the health food selections at the corner eating spot would be a message to become more sedentary -- the opposite of the desired effect of the bill.

Several medications used to treat autism, depression, hyperactivity, another health conditions cause one's metabolism to slow down or block the digestion of certain foods. Do we want these individuals to stop taking their medication?

Whether governmental body or personal decision, before one reacts to an aspect of life one must consider all aspects of cultures.

Euros now accepted in New York City

With the weakening US dollar, Europeans are traveling to New York City in record numbers. As a cultural bridge to their overseas guests many businesses are posting signs “Euros Accepted”.

This is a new phenomena for the Big Apple where despite a consistently high level of tourism acceptance of any foreign currency has been considered unpatriotic.

The signs are popular for the tourists and businesses are finding that by accepting the Euro their sales are increasing significantly. Many are also considering accepting the British Pound and Canadian Dollar, both of which are performing well against the US Dollar on currency markets.

One difference in New York versus other areas where foreign currency are accepted the same as the dollar, such as stores along the Canadian and Mexican borders, the merchants in New York have not worked out exchange deals with a local bank. Instead many are holding onto the Euros as an investment, betting on their continued increase in value.

Generations cope with writers strike

As with many other aspects of life, each generation is hoping with the writers strike in their own way:

• Builders/Traditionalists (born 1925-1944): watching network reruns.


• Baby Boomers (1943-1964): discovering cable alternatives.


• Gen X (1961-1980): still enjoying first run shows on cable.


• Gen Y (1977-2000): with MTV, MTV2, and VH1 they haven’t even noticed the strike.


• Millennials (1998-2012): Hannah Montana and other Disney and Nickelodeon hits are filmed a year in advance and You Tube doesn’t have reruns—therefore not effected.

How to go Global - a podcast

Rick Weaver, MBC Global President, was recently interviewed by Beverly Cornell for Global Business Perspectives. Beverly and Rick discussed the impact of cultures on business, how businesses can reach up to global customers, and how to reach new cultures right in your own backyard.

If you are frustrated by your business results you will find some excellent ideas that will help you grow your business.

Here is your link for the: podcast.

Be sure to visit Global Business Perspectives to gain great insights on the global business world.

Goodbye Gordo

Gus Arriola died last week. Although many people do not know the name, Gus was one of the world’s greatest cultural bridge builders.

In 1941 Gus began drawing “Gordo”, a comic about a Mexican bean farmer in the spirit of the hillbilly strip “Lil’ Abner”. Several readers complained the strip did a disservice by showing Gordo in a negative, lazy light. Arriola took their concerns to heart by transforming the bean farmer into a tour guide. In this new role, Gordo became an ambassador to the Mexican culture, debunking many myths Americans had about the Mexican people.

Gordo became popular, eventually appearing in 240 newspapers. After 44 years, Arriola, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, would retire.

Although Gus did not seek the role of a cultural bridge builder, he was certainly uniquely prepared for the role. He learned English reading comic strips and fell in love with animation. His talent would land him at the MGM studios drawing Mexican characters for their cartoons. He credits his readers for transforming him and Gordo into the positive educational comic strip that taught so many about the beauty and wonder of the southern most North American culture.

Goodbye Gus!

Looking at customers that want cheap

As the eyes of the world are tuned to America’s Super Bowl, we thought we would share a lighthearted video with you. It shows the negotiation skills of the frugal culture.

This economic culture is always looking for a bargain. They are will to undergo almost any level of pain in order to save money. Long lines, extended driving distances, eating early, getting up in the middle of the night, are all within this culture’s willingness for a good deal.

The video shows what we mean.

Tragedy of not accepting your child's culture

by Guillermo, MBC Global staff

Dear Margo, an Internet advice columnist well known in pop culture, recently published a letter from a lady that married a man with a son. The lady rightfully accepted the son as her own. On the other hand the lady's mother refuses to accept her stepson.

What is wrong with this grandma? Her daughter met a man with whom she fell in love. Sure he already had a child -- therefore the boy is not a blood relative. But he is still her daughter’s son by a form of adoption that accompanies any marriage were already-born children are involved.

This is a horrible kind of prejudice -- an indifference or outright hatred that does not take into account the beauty of the individual. Instead of getting to know her daughter’s stepson she has chosen to exclude him from her life. Likewise many people exclude coworkers, neighbors, and strangers on the street from their lives on the basis of a cultural difference.

The only positive aspect of this granny's narrow-minded bigotry is that the boy will learn firsthand what it is like to be cast off for no apparent reason. Although this lesson can strengthen him and help him to be a better humanitarian later in life, it is unfortunate she must learn a lesson through someone that should be a loving family member.

Black History month

Today begins Black History month, a worldwide observance of the contributions and culture of Africans, African-Americans, and African-Caribbeans.

As people attend the events and celebrations each will feel different impact. Few, though, will understand a subliminal lesson most visible in the black community.

During the 17th, 18th, 19th, and even early 20th centuries this culture was largely driven into slavery. Their “owners” attempted to remove the African or Caribbean culture from their lifestyles. After slavery was abolished worldwide in the 19th and 20th centuries, local populations attempted to get blacks to conform to the local culture. Terminology such as “melting pot” conveyed the message that we must all act the same regardless of ethnicity. “When in Rome do as the Romans do” is also used in an attempt to erase ethnic culture.

Through this tremendous pressure and attempted social sterilization the culture survived. This shows the resilience of a people to preserve their heritage at all costs.

Hopefully every person in the world will attend at least one Black History month event. When you do pay particular attention to the enduring culture and be grateful it has survived.