American Culture and Quality

What is Culture?
• The culture of a society comprises the shared
values, understandings, assumptions, and goals
that are learned from earlier generations,
imposed by present members of a society, and
passed on to succeeding generations.

AMERICAN BUSINESS CULTURE

DOING BUSINESS IN AMERICA:
THE AMERICAN CUSTOMER

Prof. José Luis Guerrero-Cusumano
Est., M.S., Ph.D., Dr. h.c.

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The American‐Western European Values Gap 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011, 10AM EST 

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Australia

Greece

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France
UNITED STATES

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Environmental Variables Affecting
Management Functions
National Variables
Economic system
Physical situation
Legal system
Technological
Political system
know-how

Sociocultural Variables
Religion
Education
Language

Cultural Variables
Values-Norms
Beliefs
Work
Time
Materialism

Attitudes

Individualism
Change

Individual and Group Employee Job Behavior
Motivation
Commitment
Productivity
Ethics

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Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants
(sic) ..”Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, also known as the
“McDonald's coffee case,” is a well-known product liability lawsuit
that became a flashpoint in the debate in the U.S. over tort reform
after a jury awarded $2.86 million to a woman who burned herself
with hot coffee. The trial judge reduced the total award to $640,000,
and the parties settled for a confidential amount before an appeal was
decided..”

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Background
(sic)…”On February 27, 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from
Albuquerque, New Mexico, ordered a 49¢ cup of coffee from the drive-thru of a
local McDonald's restaurant. Liebeck was in the passenger's seat of her Ford Probe,
and her grandson Chris parked the car so that Liebeck could add cream and sugar
to her coffee. She placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the far side
of the lid toward her to remove it. In the process, she spilled the entire cup of
coffee on her lap.”

SOME AMERICAN LAWSUITS

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_coffee_case

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TWO IMPORTANT AMERICAN ISSUES
1.HEALTH
2.EDUCATION

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/business/high-cost-of-medical-procedures-in-the-us/

BEFORE THE ECONOMY COLLAPSE OF 2008

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Ethnic Dimensions of the US
Market
Buy
Differently

Increasing
Median
Income

Avoid
Stereotypes

High Growth
Rate

CULTURE AND MINORITIES

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© 2005 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., McGraw-Hill/Irwin

WHITES
2006
Population

2000

300,655,404

281,421,906

1990
248,709,873

HISPANICS
BLACKS OR AFRICAN AMERICAN
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http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/datanotes/expsf1u.htm.

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F o u r D im e n s io n s o f D iv e rs ity

F o u r D im e n s io n s o f D iv e r s it y

-- O rg a n iz a tio n a l D im e n s io n s -F u n c tio n a l L e v e l/C la s s ific a tio n

Race
Ethnicity

Marital Status
Parental Status
Appearance

Management Status
Union Affiliation

Race
Ethnicity

Marital Status
Parental Status
Appearance

Union Affiliation

E d u c a tio n a l
B a c k g ro u n d

R e lig io n

S e n io rity

A d a p te d fro m : F ro m L e e G a rd e n s w a rtz a n d A n ita R o w e , D iv e rs e T e a m s a t
W o rk : Irw im P ro fe s s io n a l P u b lis h in g , 1 9 6 4 .
* In te rn a l D im e n s io n s a n d e x te rn a l d im e n s io n s a re a d a p te d fro m M a rilyn
L o d e n a n d J u d y B . R o s e n e r, W o rk fo rc e A m e ric a ! : B u s in e s s O n e Irw in ,

Division/Department Unit/Group

Habits

Recreational

W o rk E x p e rie n c e

Work Content/Field

Habits

Personal

P h ys ic a l A b ility

W o rk L o c a tio n

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Income

A d a p te d fro m : F ro m L e e G a rd e n s w a rtz a n d A n ita R o w e , D iv e rs e T e a m s a t
W o rk : Irw im P ro fe s s io n a l P u b lis h in g , 1 9 6 4 .
* In te rn a l D im e n s io n s a n d e x te rn a l d im e n s io n s a re a d a p te d fro m M a rily n
L o d e n a n d J u d y B . R o s e n e r, W o rk fo rc e A m e ric a ! : B u s in e s s O n e Irw in ,

-- P e rs o n a lity -Sexual

S e n io rity

-- In te rn a l D im e n s io n s * -Age

Orientation

R e lig io n

Division/Department Unit/Group

Habits

Recreational

W o rk L o c a tio n

E d u c a tio n a l
B a c k g ro u n d

-- E x te rn a l D im e n s io n s * -G e o g ra p h ic L o c a tio n

Gender

Habits

W o rk E x p e rie n c e

Sexual

Orientation

P h y s ic a l A b ility

Personal

-- P e rs o n a lity --

Work Content/Field

-- In te rn a l D im e n s io n s * -Age

Income

-- E x te rn a l D im e n s io n s * -G e o g ra p h ic L o c a tio n

Gender

Management Status

-- O rg a n iz a tio n a l D im e n s io n s -F u n c tio n a l L e v e l/C la s s ific a tio n

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Who is Betty Crocker?
To see the new face of the United States, go to a grocery store and look at a
box of Betty Crocker-brand food products. Betty's portrait is now in its eighth
incarnation since the first composite painting debuted in 1936 with pale skin
and blue eyes

APPENDIX
MINORITIES

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The Asian Market

1996 BETTY CROCKER
Her new look is brown-eyed
and dark-haired. She has a
duskier complexion than her
seven predecessors, with
features representing an
amalgam of white, Hispanic,
Indian, African and Asian
ancestry. A computer created
this new Betty in the mid1990s by blending photos of
75 diverse women.

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0699/ijse/stanfld.htm

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• Households are larger than average and are often
comprised of multigenerational families.
• 43.9 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
compared to 25.6 percent of total population.
• 32.7 percent of households have incomes of $75,000+
compared to 22.5 percent of total population.
• Considered to be information hungry when it comes
to product advertising.
• Research and comparison shop when considering
purchases.
• Prefer in-language advertising.
Source: http://americanmulticultural.com/multicultural_consumers/index.html
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey March 2000, Asia Link Consulting

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COMPARISON OF ASIAN-AMERICAN
ANDTOTAL U.S. POPULATION
MAGAZINE READERS

HHI household income
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The African-American Market
• More households than any other ethnic group.
• $326 billion in annual expenditures.
• Presumed disparities in education and income are
quickly declining.
• Brand names are important to African-Americans.
• 70 percent ages 16-24 indicate they will spend
more to “get the best.”
• Avid media consumers.
• Pay more attention to advertising than the general
public does.
Source: http://americanmulticultural.com/multicultural_consumers/index.html

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Prime Access
The New Reality of the African American Market, Target Market News Read All About It

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Magazine Publishers of America (MPA)

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Magazine Publishers of America (MPA)

The Hispanic Market
• Hispanic households are much more likely to
include children under 18.
• $310 billion in annual expenditures.
• Underserved by advertising - only 2 percent of all
ad dollars are targeted towards Hispanics.
• Not effectively reached by general market
advertising.
• Have a greater connection to and positive
perceptions of advertising in Spanish.
• Regularly consume Spanish-language media.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Hispanic Business, Advertising Age, Yankelovich Hispanic MONITOR

Magazine Publishers of America (MPA)

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Source: http://americanmulticultural.com/multicultural_consumers/index.html

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Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000

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