Language and Communication - Essay Example

The same is true for India? McDonalds required some localization, taking into account various cultural components, to be successful. What adaptation and localization were inevitable for a successful launch of McDonalds in India? Various cultural components help in developing and determining the cultural identity of the person and the nation at large. The cultural identity of a person is basically one’s own perception of self which in turn is depicted in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, traditions and ways of life.

Thesis Statement Although various cultural factors had their role to play in the adaptation policy of McDonalds, only three major and relevant components of cultural identity i.e. Class, Geography and Philosophy, will be discussed here. How McDonalds has successfully managed the localization strategy yet retaining its brand image and global value chain. Class is a vital factor of cultural components and is determined by economic, social and educational class (Jameson, 2007). India has a huge population almost four times greater than United States (US), and hence the middle class population is the astounding figure of around 300 million.

India is the fourth largest economy of the world with the eating out sector, growing at the rate of 6 percent, and urban fast food sector growing at the rate of 20 percent (Rangnekar, 2000). . McDonalds was not a substitute to the local Indian food and it was not advertised as such. To cater to the concept of family meals, McDonalds introduced home delivery service or McDelivery and various family deals. In addition to this India’s working class is growing, in order to cater to the needs of the busy young executives, McDonalds opened kiosks at store entrances for customers in a hurry.

Another aspect is the high literacy rate in the target market of McDonalds. For them, McDonalds not only introduced a range of low fat products and premium salads but also launched educational campaign about the active and healthy life style. Such efforts included a variety of wholesome and premium menus to increase repeat customers. So what McDonalds did in an attempt to adapt to this cultural component of class is to produce a bundle of product and service variations along with the marketing strategy to sell its products.

Geography is another important cultural component which defines the attitudes, behavior and values of a large group of people and determine their cultural activities. Cultural activities cannot be restricted to the dance, music, sports and politics only; it also has a very strong impact on the eating habits and lifestyle of the people (Anderson, 2010). Geographic distinctions such as urban and rural population, density, small and big town actually transcend all boundaries and define the attitude and behavior of the people.

So the values about privacy, property, time and space and other factors will be more or less the same for a particular cultural group (Jameson, 2007). The target market for McDonalds was the big cities mostly inhabited by upper and middle class educated people.