Marketing Management

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make up a diverse collection of business organisations that operate mostly in the trade, manufacturing, agri-business and services sector in the UK. The SME segment is marked by diversity and variety, incorporating village handicrafts as well as sophisticated computer software businesses. Some of these SMEs are extremely dynamic, innovative and entrepreneurial, even as others are happy to remain small and continue their established businesses.

It is recognised that consumer behaviour can be very substantially influenced in various areas by the cultures and cultural backgrounds of individual consumers. The cultures of consumers are shaped by various inputs like national background, regional characteristics, language, religion, customs and traditions, ethnicity and parental influence.

This study deals with the cultural and linguistic challenges faced by organisations engaged in international business activities.

This report aims to investigate, analyse and assess the various cross-cultural difficulties and challenges that can arise in Alliance Boots’ proposed project for the development of a joint venture in China for the production of alternative medicines.
The report is sequentially structured and deals with various dimensions of national cultures, the differences between the cultures of different nations, and the ways in which such cultural differences can result in diverse types of problems and challenges in the course of interaction between employees of different cultures in multicultural workplaces.
The report specifically deals with the various cross-cultural communication problems that can arise during the implementation of organisation’s project in China, as the diverse ethical and commercial challenges that may have to be faced and overcome by the organisation for the successful implementation of the project.
The report provides detailed suggestions and recommendations on the ways and means for overcoming diverse cross-cultural communication and other problems. It ends with a summative conclusion.

MNCs have become exposed to various cross-cultural challenges, stemming from differences in the national cultures of their home and host locations and the linguistic diversity of their geographically dispersed operations. These corporations have adopted several types of strategies for managing these challenges, some of which have in turn resulted in the development of other problems.

Contemporary spas, business establishments that offer a variety of services for enhancement of physical and emotional pampering, constitute a rapidly growing sector of business and trade activity.
Spas are making a huge resurgence and their numbers are growing across the world. Their services are expanding to include a wide range of offerings, both modern and traditional, and originating from different parts of the world, to meet the needs of their expanding clientele.
Psychologists and behavioural experts attribute the growth of spas to the wave of hedonism that is spreading through western society. The decisions by consumers to increasingly visit spas are also felt by many to be irrational and not associated with quantifiable benefits.
This study attempts to investigate and analyse consumer behaviour toward the spa industry, with special regard to its rationality, and the implications of such behaviour for marketing professionals.