Cross cultural management assignment: Online Marketing of Alizee

Question

Task: Write a cross culture management assignment analyzing the major similarities, differences and provide insights into what could have been done to enhance online behaviors of consumers and non-consumers of the Alizee airlines company from Brazil, Malaysia and USA in the cultural perspective.

Answer

Introduction
The concept of cross-cultural management explored in the section of cross cultural management assignment is crucial for companiesin order to understand the attributes, values and behaviour of people in different countries. It applies in the identification of the consumer behaviour (Yuen, Yeow& Lim, 2015). The present study identifies the similarities and dissimilarities in the cultural aspects of three chosen countries that are USA,Malaysia and Brazil. Thiscross cultural management assignment is dependent on the result of GLOBE’s study on cultural dimension. The comparison between the cultures of the three countries can assistthe Airline organization Alizeeto make improvements in its online marketing strategies by understanding the behaviour of the consumers as well as the non-consumers.

What are the cultural similarities and dissimilarities between Brazil, Malaysia and USA discussed in the cross cultural management assignment?
Consumers and non-consumers ofAlizeewere asked questions for gaining knowledge about their cultural viewpoints associated with their online behaviour. There are nine different cultural dimensional elements as explainedinthe study of GLOBE (Valaei et al., 2016). Among them Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Institutional collectivism, Future orientation and Performance orientationare discussed in this particular case. The differences found for each of the dimensions for the three countries are explained below within this cross cultural management assignment:

Power distance:
In Brazil, according the view of most of the Alizee consumers, there is no particulartarget of the company and it targets everyone. However, few consumers believethat mainlypeople from young generation use social media platforms the most.Thus, it can be said in this cross cultural management assignmentthat they are the main target of the online marketing strategies taken up by the company. According to the non-Alizeecustomers, the efforts of the company are targeted mainly on the young, elite and business personalities who utilize the apps and social media.

In Malaysia, most of the interviewednon-consumersand consumers had agreed that this variable isirrelevant; however, few of them have agreed that thecompany have taken up online marketing strategies to targetbusiness personalitiesandfrequent travellers.
Most of the non-consumers and consumers felt that efforts were given to targeteveryone as stated by the consumers of the company in Brazil.

As per the research on cross cultural management assignment, alike Malaysia, in USA,both the non-consumers and consumers did not refer to this variable, but they have clearlystated that the company targeted either everyone or the business people. Maximum people believe that online marketing efforts are made for those people who travel frequently, use the company’s Apps, and follow social media pages.

Uncertainty avoidance:
In Brazil, both the service usersand non-servicerely on the online method of ticket booking because of safety and security concern. Self-protection, risk avoidance and avoidingunexpected situations are the main concern ofthe Alizee consumers.Fewnon-consumersmentioned that before the ticket booking, they searched the backgrounds of the travel agents but did not booktickets from there to avoid additional fees and involvement of the intermediary.

Like Brazil, Malaysian consumers also agreed that the reason behind the online booking is the ease of the booking process and the will to avoid unexpected results. Consumers generallyrely on the price of the ticket duringselecting a particular booking process between the online bookingand booking byinvolving thetravel agents.

According to the investigation carried on this cross cultural management assignment, consumers and non-consumers of USA resort toonline platforms for bookingtickets and admitted that they preferred choosingtickets from other airlines. Some non-consumers think that the unexpected situations are less in online booking at Alizee and it can influence them to buy ticket from there.

Institutional collectivism:
Herein cross cultural management assignment, it is mentioned that all the airline service users and other people of Brazil are influenced by the online source for information regarding airline services. Brazilians are used to external sources such as blogs, forums, websites associated with travel and they use to recommendtheir friends and close ones who are planning tours and may use airline service. According to them, the online sources provide both positive and negative information regarding airline services. The video campaigns of the company remind people about their friendship and thus the effect of the video campaign is extensive on the consumers.

Malaysian consumers of airline services make decision for travelling by their own but they depend on their family members, co-workers and friends for collecting suggestions.Decision-making, friendship, loyalty and dependence on the organization are the aspects that are pertinent for managing the cross-cultural management issues. In the USA, institutional collectivism had seemed to be irrelevant for all the service users and others. Theyconsider theopinion of friends and their family totake decisions just like the other two countries. However, the readings considered in this cross cultural management assignment signify that individualistic approach is also famous among the non-consumers and consumers of the USA. The impression of the online video campaigns of Alizeewasmostly positive and diverse among them.

Future orientation:
Airline customers of Brazil generally depend on the costof the tickets during planning for their tours. However the service users alsomakespontaneous decisions, based on the destination and seasons of the visit. Most of the consumers of Alizee admitted that they plan for their tours in advance, and some non-consumers also agreed to this.

Just like Brazil, in Malaysia, airline service users and non-consumers consider cost of tickets as a major factor while planning for tours. The next destination of the travellers is another factor for both non-consumers and consumers and this is found to be similar with the views of Brazilians. They also depend on prior planning for tours through airlines like Brazilians.

According to the airline service users of the USA considered in this cross cultural management assignment, management of wealth and long-termthinking influences the tourplanning. Like the Brazilian consumers, the non-consumers of the USA depend on price of the tickets during decision-making process and majority of them use to plan for travel in advance like other two countries.

Performance orientation:
Most of the Brazilian Airline service-userschoose the online method while buying airline services because of the price. It is observed that user-friendly innovation and strong flight connections mostly influence in the decision-making. However, some of the non-consumers also compare the innovations of Alizee with their needs.

The consumers of Malaysia usually choose a platform for booking of the tickets which is very easy to use; however, some of them depend on reliability and reputation of organizations. In Malaysia airline customersrely on the price of the service while buying tickets; this trend is similar to the trend followed by the Brazilians.

Safety and reliability are the factors that are considered by consumers in the USA while making online transactions. However, their view was not positive toward innovative and creative ideas of the company. Unlike the other two countries, people of the USA are more dependent on the performance and excellence.

The second group of variables and their relevance with the countries among non-consumers and consumers was analyzed with the metrics of data collection in the Facebook Fan pages of Alizee. Many Brazilian consumers believe that they are happy with the initiative of campaigning using the email platform and the personalized gadgets provided by the company arealso attractive to them. It is seen in this cross cultural management assignment that majority of the service users thinks thatthe mails and advertisements contain clear message; however,another portion of the interviewed peoplethought that there is a need for making improvements. A website is preferred more over the mobile applications by consumers as well as the non-consumers of Brazil. People are more attracted by banners that are simple and well decorated.

Malaysian consumers rely on booking tickets through the official website of Alizeeby means of PCs because of security concerns; this consumer behaviour is just like the customers of Brazil. However, people also prefertelephone calls, iPad, tablet, smart phones and travel agents for ticket booking. The initiative of campaigning using email platform is not popular. Customers mainly prefer warmer pictures in the banners, mails and other advertisement and do not like the mails sent to them by the company.This fact stated in this section of cross cultural management assignment is contrasting with the result found in Brazil.

Consumers of USA prefer to book tickets through the online methods but using the websites and not the mobile applications as there are chances for security breach in case of mobile apps. Unlike the service users of Malaysia, USA customers possess good and positive point of view for the online marketing campaign of the companyusing emails.

Critical analysis of the impact of cultural similarities and dissimilarities on combined results for consumers and non-consumers in Brazil, Malaysia and USA

The cross cultural management assignment utilizes the readings of Bird & Mendenhall, (2016) thatculture plays a great role in the decision making of consumers. Cultural dimensions greatly influence the online behaviour of the customers. As per the researches of Lee, (2016), GLOBE’s cultural dimension instrument is efficient in interpreting the psychological, social and personal viewpoint of the individual consumers. Culturalconstruct of a country contributes to the decision making process of customers. According to the findings of the case, there is a prominent difference in the relevance of variables in each of the countries. Regarding the target of the company, there is a varying opinion as experienced in the case of the three countries. People are confused to identify the actual target market of Alizee. In the three chosen country, it has been identified that most of the people believe that business personalities are Alizee’s direct target.On the other hand,few people think it is the young people that are targeted by the online marketing processes. There are also dissimilarities and similarities amongthecustomersin the three countries regarding their security.

As per the studies of Carter & Yeo, (2016) considered in the cross cultural management assignment, in Malaysia, it is found that people prefer mobile phones, tablets and iPad for ticket bookingas these methods are easy and hassle-free.On the other hand, in other countries these gadgets are avoided during transactions because of security concerns. In Malaysia,the online marketing campaign using emailis greatly criticized and found to be not up to the mark as the pictures, designs and messages do to meet the standard of the people and do not satisfy them. There are some similarities in the culture in Brazil, Malaysia and the USA as experienced from theirbehaviour. Most of the people plan for thetours, in advance, and are dependent on the cost of theticketsand the place that is to be visited by them. However, some non-consumers in Brazil also prefer seasonal and spontaneous decision.

One of the major factors noted in this cross cultural management assignmentthat promote the consumers in making decisions is innovations of the services as observed in the service users and non-consumers of USA and Brazil. However,reliability and safety of the online services are also important factorsfor the Malaysian consumers.

Suggestions for Alizee to increase the online behaviour of the consumers and non-consumers

From the study of the cultural differences among the airline service users in Brazil, Malaysia and the USA, it is evident in the cross cultural management assignment that Alizee, has implemented a single approach ofonline marketingthus the organization must make notable changes in the strategies for retaining customers and attracting more customers.The messages and contents used for online advertisements have to be specific so that people can understand to whom they are directed. In case of ticket booking, people of Brazil and Malaysiamostly depend on price of the tickets(Tanadi, Samadi&Gharleghi, 2015). Keeping this fact in mind the company can attract the non-consumers by providing them with offers while booking tickets through online methods. However, while doing so the company has to keep in mind that in Malaysia people are not happy with their email campaigns. Alizee has to improve the quality of the photos and contents used in the advertisements.They have to ensure that the picture is clear and warmer and the messages are uncomplicatedso that everyone can understand the meaning. Alizee must compare the activities for online marketing with the cultural profile of the respective countries (Sampaio, Ladeira&Santini, 2017).

Conclusion
From the findings of the study developed within this cross cultural management assignment, it is concluded that cultural differences is of greater importance for airline organizations likeAlizee as it operates in more than one country. Several similarities and differences are presentin the point of views of people regarding the online efforts of Alizee. The organization has to keep their concentration in meeting the satisfaction level of the people. ?

References
Bird, A., & Mendenhall, M. E. (2016). From cross-cultural management to global leadership: Evolution and adaptation.Cross cultural management assignment Journal of World Business, 51(1), 115-126.

Carter, S., & Yeo, A. C. M. (2016). Mobile apps usage by Malaysian business undergraduates and postgraduates: implications for consumer behaviour theory and marketing practice. Internet Research, 26(3), 733-757.

Lee, K. F. (2016). Towards addressing persistent risk perceptions in online shopping.Skyline Business Journal, 12(1).

Sampaio, C. H., Ladeira, W. J., &Santini, F. D. O. (2017). Apps for mobile banking and customer satisfaction: a cross-cultural study. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 35(7), 1133-1153.

Tanadi, T., Samadi, B., &Gharleghi, B. (2015).The impact of perceived risks and perceived benefits to improve an online intention among generation-y in Malaysia.Asian Social Science, 11(26), 226.

Valaei, N., Rezaei, S., Ismail, W. K. W., & Oh, Y. M. (2016). The effect of culture on attitude towards online advertising and online brands: applying Hofstede's cultural factors to internet marketing. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 10(4), 270-301.

Yuen, Y. Y., Yeow, P. H., & Lim, N. (2015). Internet banking acceptance in the United States and Malaysia: a cross-cultural examination. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, cross cultural management assignment33(3), 292-308.