Topics Discussed in Class - My Participation in Class Assignment - 2

Topics Discussed in Class - My Participation in Class - Assignment Example I had no idea that understanding the change in trends, economic environment, political and legal environment is significantly important for marketing. In economies where the culture varies, the marketers have to come up with new and innovative strategies to increase demand. The marketing strategies are built on the basis of understanding the economic environment of a society which comprise of factors like demographics, culture, political & legal environment and the technological advancements to which the people have adapted to. Globalization has increased competition and the barriers have been removed. This in turn has brought changes in the institutional environment and has brought a significant effect on the marketers and their strategies (Griffith, 2010). In this globalizing world the marketer must make an attempt to understand the laws and regulation of the economies they are engaging in business with. They must respect the culture of the people so that effective marketing can be done. Understanding the people must be the primary objective of the marketer. The political condition and stability of an economy may be subject to change. This may change a few laws and regulations of the economy. The stability of the company may be tested under these varying conditions. I studied that the management and the marketers design their strategies in accordance to the political stability/instability in an economy. Sovereignty, political risk, taxes etc. are major concerns for the investors and hence are also of significant importance to the marketers while forming strategies (Shenkar, 2004). The political risk in the economy, the hikes in taxes expected if any and the jurisdiction are part of the economic environments. A socio economic society is dominated by the social norms and cultures which have been developed by the residents of the society (Shenkar, 2004). This gave me knowledge of interrelation of the entire factor and their growing significant importance as the world is becoming a global village. Hofstede proposed various theories to signify the importance of culture. He also identified certain traits of the individuals of the society. He argued that it is very important that the varying culture of the economies must be studied. Hofstede’s dimension of cultural relationship is based on five factors which are power distance, individualist, masculine & feminine cultures, uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation. The study of this model gives a clear understanding and classification of culture. The understanding that was developed by the marketers was that culture is the biggest factor which determines the success or failure of the product. This model is related to nature and time and the significant impact of globalizing has increased its use (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2002). While studying this concept I developed an understanding that Market segmentation is the process of grouping various customers into segments which have similar needs. The responses of the individuals are also similar in this segment. The responses of the segments vary with the changing situation. The segmentation can be carried out on the basis of Demographics, Psychographics, Geographical location etc. similarly targeting is dividing the market into various groups and classes. Positioning is the process of developing an image of the product for the customer (Viswanathan & Dickson,