Ain't China Special If senior executives of American companies were to relocate to a high-growth market, most would choose China.

According to a survey by Association of Executive Search Consultants, 54 percent of surveyed executives would select China, 28 percent India, and the remaining 18 percent would pick Russia.

For those of you in other countries take heart that these are the only three countries the executive could choose from.

Labels: Business, Regional, Survey

  ¶ 10/22/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  British stereotypes are false! What you have heard about the refined prudish Brits is false! Prior to the start of e-harmony.com’s British invasion the company took the time to learn the real British culture. What they found is that of the British are much more unified in dealing with in-laws and have a deeper intimate relationship than Australians and Americans.

The same study showed that although American couples are more likely to laugh together, they argue and threaten divorce more than Brits or Aussies.

Aussie couples tend to work together on projects better and have happier marriages than Brits or Americans.

Labels: Regional, Survey

  ¶ 10/15/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Liberal or Conservative: Your home/office may tell Political views are something some people may seek to conceal but they may be revealing more than they want to without realizing it.
Political conservatives typically keep a tidy, organized office while liberals prefer colorful, stylish offices which tend to be cluttered.

Labels: Politics, Survey

  ¶ 9/28/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Blackberry a workplace necessity Do you have a Blackberry? If you do it is likely you check it the last thing at night and first thing in the morning.

This is according to a survey issued by Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. They found 84 percent of poll takers admitted to checking the devices directly before going to sleep and immediately upon waking.

Unfortunately the devices have had an impact on personal time as 85 percent said they feel they should work during every waking moment. If that is not enough of a personal invasion, 35 percent admitted they would choose their PDAs over their spouses if forced to make a choice.

It should be noted the survey only took responses from those earning 50K or more.

Labels: Economic, Gen-X, Gen-Y, Survey

  ¶ 9/26/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Cell phones - a right of passage?

The survey unveiled that 80 percent of US teenagers now carry a cell phone regularly. This is doubled from 4 years ago and reflective of a global trend.

In a separate study, pollster Nielsen learned that the average child in the US receives their first cell phone between the ages of 10 and 12. In fact, almost half of the 8 to 12 year olds polled already had a cell phone.

From a marketing standpoint, teens have little reluctance to providing personal information over their phone in order to receive targeted marketing and special offers.

What’s the trend they are looking for? If someone can provide an affordable yet cool shock or water resistant cell phone, they would have difficulty keeping up with the demand.

Editor's note: Sales are made possible when you have a viable marketing plan. Robert Middleton, "The Info Guru", is offering a Marketing Start-Up Kit completely without cost or obligation. Click on the following ad to learn more.

Labels: Millennial, Survey

  ¶ 9/24/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Quality/Value trumps price When it comes to organics and natural groceries quality overrides pricing according to a survey released by Whole Foods, a Texas, USA, based retailer. The health conscious culture is willing to pay extra in order to eat chemical-free foods, however they do want value pricing. In other words, 70 percent of health centric shoppers is willing to pay more as long as there is something that is a value-add.

The survey also found that organic and natural foods are preferred by 67 percent of consumers, making the food sector a potential exponential for future growth.

The survey also confirmed other surveys by finding that 40 percent of shoppers are using more coupons, 43 percent are cooking at home more often, and 37 percent will pass by one store to go to another that has lower cost value items.

Labels: Economic, Health, Survey

  ¶ 9/09/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Survey shows gender bias in leadership A survey released by Pew Research Center shows a gender bias when it comes to leaders. Although 69 percent of respondents felt both men and women are equally good leaders, six percent felt women make better leaders while more than 20 percent felt men were better leaders.

Women held the greatest positive opinion in the area of integrity. Fifty percent feel women have more integrity while only 20 percent felt men had more integrity.

It should be noted that despite the overwhelming opinion of equality, only 2 percent of board members for Fortune 500 companies are held by women.

Labels: gender, Leadership, Survey

  ¶ 9/05/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Generational results on texting behind the wheel As more states, provinces, and regions try to eliminate text messaging while driving through legislation (instead of education) the use of texting continues to increase. A recent survey in the US shows the use of texting differs by generation:

• Generation Y 48 percent
• Generation X 27 percent
• Baby Boomers 4 percent
• Traditionalists 1 percent

• STAD (stop texting and drive)
• STAD YAATReAT (stop driving and duck, you are about to hit the rear end of a truck)
• IBNKU (its been nice knowing you)
• CUN6WTCE (see you in 6 months when the coma ends
• LOLS (life on life support)

Labels: Generation, Survey

  ¶ 8/25/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Swimming in America is for whites only? The third most feared death is drowning. Yet a recent survey by USA Swimming found that America’s minorities are at a greater risk of drowning than members of the white majority.

Investigating the potential of being at-risk for drowning, the survey found 31 percent of white children are at-risk. Comparatively, 56 percent of Hispanic and 58 percent of African-American children are at risk.

Labels: Race, Survey

  ¶ 7/30/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Eighty percent in 30 industrial nations use cell phones Pollster TNS has completed a survey of 30 industrialized countries to find that cell phones are in the hands of 80 percent of adults aged 16 to 60.

Mexico, Vietnam, and Canada were the three countries with the lowest percentage of cell phone users, perhaps due to less competition in those countries, which results in less innovation. Only two-thirds of Canadians use the little communication gadgets, far below the world’s leading user – the United Kingdom. In the UK an overwhelming 97 percent in the age group use mobile communication.

Canadians also hold onto their phones for a longer period, 42 months, than their southern neighbors who exchange their phones every two and a half years.

Labels: Regional, Survey

  ¶ 7/29/2008 1 Comments Links to this post

  Better dead than disabled? Just over half of Americans surveyed by Disaboom would rather be dead than disabled. The national survey revealed 52percent said a severe disability would be worse than death.

The survey focused on getting the opinions of people that had been touched by disability through a friend or relative.

• Economic cultures: Affluent respondents chose death over disability 59 percent of the time while 55 percent of those earning less than $25,000 chose to live with the disability.


• Regional cultures: Those in the western states chose death 61 percent of the time while those in the southern states chose living with disability 55 percent of the time.


• Academic cultures: College grads chose death 57 percent of the time while 70 percent of those that had not completed high school chose to live with a disability.

Labels: Special_People, Survey

  ¶ 7/26/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Japanese make best tourists A survey by Expedia has ranked foreign travelers based on tidiness, generosity, nosiness, and fashion sense. The conclusion: Japanese tourists, because they tend to be neat and quiet, are the best in the world.

Americans are challenging tourists, ranking in 11th place. Although Americans are generous and tip well, they ranked very low in tidiness, fashion sense, and noise.

Here are the top 5 national cultures when traveling:

• Japanese
• Germans
• British
• Canadians
• Swiss

Labels: Regional, Survey, Tourism

  ¶ 6/18/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Iceland is best place in world to live? Combine Europe’s highest birth rate, the world’s highest divorce rate, and the highest percentage of women working outside the home and you have the happiest country in which to live. Iceland garnered that title in Human Development Index rankings, a study conducted by the United Nations.

Although we are sure the United Nations had its heart in the right spot, any attempt to use global factors in determining happiness based on lifestyle cannot be successful. Happiness is relative to cultures with each culture defining happiness in a specific way.

Labels: Regional, Survey

  ¶ 5/24/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  “Take my wallet - but don't touch my cell phone!” Given the choice by a robber of his money or his life, Jack Benny took a few moments to answer. When the robber repeated the question, miserly comic Jack replied, “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”

According to a survey by IDC research, a victim of the same robbery attempt would now choose to give up their wallet rather than hand-over their cell phone.

They survey specifically asked, “if you had to leave your house for 24 hours and could take only one item, would you take your cell phone, digital music player, keys, laptop, or wallet.”

Of almost 2,400 respondents, 38% chose cell phone only 30% chose their wallet.

Perhaps they planned on texting a friend to bring cash.

Labels: Survey

  ¶ 5/19/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Green Culture builds momentum Thinking and acting green have been important to environmentalist culture for decades. Several other cultures are gaining strong green elements, including the Gen X and Millennial generations, the outdoor recreational culture, and the health conscious culture.

GlobeScan has just released their findings of a 14 country survey. In order from greenest to brownest are: Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Hungary, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Spain, Japan, France, Canada, and USA.

The survey offset country size by randomly selecting 1,000 respondents from each. The survey considered only residents and looked at transportation, housing, and food purchasing habits.

Brazil and India gained high ratings because of small home size leading critics to claim that population crowding, a leading cause of housing size per capita, gave an unfair advantage instead of counting urban congestion against a country.

Labels: Baby-Boomer, Gen-X, Green, Recreational, Survey

  ¶ 5/14/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Word of Mouth advertising flourishes on Internet Word-of-mouth advertising is flourishing in a new home - cyberspace. According to a study by the Society for New Communications Research 74% of respondents make purchasing decisions based on customer service comments placed by customers.

Business ratings are available in many cyber locations, including ebay, You Tube, Facebook, and Twitter.

The survey is heavily swayed toward frequent Internet users, favoring techno-savvy Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennial shoppers. If this is your target demographic, you need to understand how they work and have a strategy to steer satisfied customers to the sites.

Request our complimentary article about the need for culturally-based customer service by clicking here.

Labels: Business, Generation, Survey

  ¶ 5/14/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Millennial Generation choking itself The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that 7% of Ontario, Canada, students have purposely choked themselves.

The Millennial Generation plays “The Choking Game” to get a euphoric high as they cut off the blood to their brain.

Although 7% may sound like a low number, it equates to 79,000 students. In Atlanta, the US Centers for Disease Control attributes 82 deaths in the last 12 years to the game, with the number of deaths increasing annually.

Labels: Millennial, Survey

  ¶ 5/09/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Are men or women better drivers?
There has long been a gender culture question about who are the best drivers: men or women. We now have the answer thanks to a survey by Private Fleet. Rather than using accident or ticketed violation data, their approach was to confidentially survey drivers to find out “admitted” driving habits.

Women excelled at not driving while drunk, talking on cell phones only when using a hands-free device, and not speeding. In fact there was only one category where men practice safer driving habits – they are less likely to drive while text-messaging.

Some additional interesting outcomes: BMW are the most likely to drive intoxicated while Hyundai drivers are less likely to speed or trying to intimidate other drivers.

It is important to note that negative driving habits were admitted by 32% or less in every category, meaning that the majority or drivers by gender or car-brand are obeying the law.

Labels: gender, Survey

  ¶ 4/25/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  University likely to lead to marriage for women Going to university is likely to lead to marriage according to a study from Australia’s Monash University.

Contradicting the myth that highly educated women are more financially independent, the study found that 61% of degreed women between 30 and 34 were married compared to 53% of those without college or university experience.

This marks a change from the same study performed a decade earlier than found no difference in marriage rates between the two groups.

The study, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), made no mention that institutes of higher learning also facilitate a great environment for meeting life partners.

Labels: Academic, Marital, Survey

  ¶ 4/11/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Bedroom TV has effect on children A study from the University of Minnesota found that 62% of the Millennial Generation has a television in their bedroom.

The survey found the net effect has been harmful as children with a bedroom television spend less time reading or doing homework. In fact, these adolescents spend about double the time watching tv than those without a set in their bedroom.

Surprisingly, the study found no connection between the television and obesity even though studies of elementary and pre-school children have made such a link.

Labels: Millennial, Survey

  ¶ 4/10/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  How spin works: Nike settles strike Spin doctors can use almost any statistic to paint a picture and public impression. Take for example the settlement of a two-day strike at the Nike factory in Ching Luh, Vietnam.

• Pro-Nike Spin: the 10% raise is a large windfall for the workers given that globally raises are typically a third of that.
• Anti-Nike Spin: the raise equates a total pay of only $65US per month.
• More Anti-Nike spin: the 10% is minimal against the 18% inflation rate.
• More Pro-Nike spin: the factory workers are earning almost 12,000,000VND, double the average annual wages of the nation.

As you read each of these statements, did you form a mental picture? When it comes to cultures, statistics are used the same way.

Life Lesson: Get all the facts before locking in on your opinion.

Labels: News, Regional, Survey

  ¶ 4/05/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Most minority children see themselves as leaders A survey released this week by the Girl Scouts of the USA found that 75% of minority children see themselves as leaders while only 50% of white children view themselves as leaders. The survey defined minority as African-American or Hispanic.

According to the Washington Post, experts feel the difference is due to the leadership roles children take when both parents have full-time jobs. Children in two-income homes are given more responsibility and thereby see themselves as demonstrating the leaders qualities they value, such as teamwork, values, and improving the world.

Labels: African-American, Hispanic, Millennial, Survey

  ¶ 4/02/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Survey challenges Western beliefs of Islam It took six years for Gallup to complete what is potentially the largest survey of the world's Muslims ever attempted. The results of the survey drastically contradict perceptions held by many Westerners about the Westerners about the Islamic faith.

Gallup used phone interviews of more than 50,000 Muslims in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Not surprising as the importance of the religion in their daily lives. The strongest response was from Indonesia for 99% of those interviewed said religion was a very important part of their lives.

Despite strong western feelings that most Muslims supported the attack on New York’s World Trade Center, the survey revealed this is opposite of a belief of most Muslims. In fact, only 7% of respondents supported the attack -- and most of them, according to Gallup, did so based on political reasons rather than religious reasons. The 93% condemning the attacks used religious reasons, most often from the Koran, to validate their position in the phone interviews.

The majority of survey participants, including those identifying themselves as radicals, said they admire the Western world for its democracy, freedom, and technical bulletins.

Though respondents admire American democracy, they do not want a democracy forced on them. Instead, like the pilgrims of the 1600s, they seek democracy based on religious values.
This is just another example of how one cannot properly base their concept of individuals on public opinion. Get to know the individuals of a culture personally instead of painting cultures with broad strokes.

Labels: Religion, Survey

  ¶ 3/05/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  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.

Labels: Business, Economic, Gen-Y, Generation, Survey

  ¶ 2/18/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  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.

Labels: Health, Survey

  ¶ 2/17/2008 0 Comments Links to this post

  Canadian poll discovers different cultures by Guillermo

Labels: Regional, Survey

  ¶ 2/16/2008 0 Comments Links to this post