Cultural influence  is the idea of two cultures interacting with one another and as a result make an impact on one another. interacting with one another and in business corporations is an idea that is not commonly mentioned together in today’s society. Throughout the 21st century big name businesses implementing cultural influences from other countries outside their business, along with inside their working environment, has become a trend. Cultural aspects often focus on customs, beliefs, traditions, and preferences. Big businesses have incorporated cultural influence from others in their marketing strategy causing them to branch out globally. Thus having a culturally influenced and informed business can positively impact a business economically, socially, and geopolitically.

Dunkin Donuts is globally known for having 3,200 stores in 36 countries outside the U.S and satisfy their global customers with their needs according to 13 Businesses With Brilliant Global Marketing Strategies by Hannah Fleishman. This is an example of how companies expand their business and its marketing on a global scale. They gain influences from other cultures by adapting to the local flavors of a specific culture leading them to more sales and advertising and sometimes crossing them over to different regions with their limited time only sign. Thus because of this tactic is what they used in order to be the big named company we know of today. “From Korea’s Grapefruit Coolatta to Lebanon’s Mango Chocolate Donut to Russia’s Dunclairs, it’s clear that Dunkin Donuts isn’t afraid to celebrate cultural differences in an effort to strengthen its international presence.”All in all Dunkin Donuts and other  Businesses are not only accepting of cultural preferences, but they are also trying to incorporate cultural diversity in the working environment. 

It has been observed that when one walks into a store like Dunkin Donuts or other businesses there are a vast amount of people from different cultural backgrounds. Studies have shown that are benefits to having cultural diversity in a businesses workplace such as “increased productivity, improved creativity, increased profits, improved employee engagement, reduced employee turnover, improved company reputation, having access to a wider range of skills, and improved cultural insights.” according to Lauren Clarkes 8 Amazing Benefits of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. In her article she goes on to talk about different talents coming together and all of them focusing on the same common goal would lead to an increase in productivity. It has been shown that “48 per cent of companies in the US with more diversity at senior management level improved their market share the previous year.” Furthermore people from different cultural backgrounds socializing with one another creates trusting relationships and bonds in the working environment, creating better working environments which leads to the workers having better motivation to get work done. This would show how implementing cultural influences and cultural diversity by having different employees from different places around the world in a working environment can show how it can be a good business decision in bettering their business and taking them to the next level. 

According to an article of Social talent, there are a plethora of businesses who are embracing cultural diversity in there companies like Walt Disney. It states “As a company built on the magic of storytelling that entertains, enlightens and inspires families around the world, Disney recognises that diversity and inclusion are fundamental to its success…the organisation also successfully achieved more promotions for Latinos than 75.6%.” What is being shown here is a prime example of a company who appreciates diversity in their company and values them. This can also be said on companies such as Coca-Cola and their diversity programs, Johnson and Johnson in their belief it increases business results, and Mastercard who are ranked top 10 in best companies with diversity. It comes to show that cultural diversity is an idea that is big and is being used by lots of businesses.

As one would focus on making their working environments a place with lots of diversity, businesses and companies have been able to use cultural influences from other countries as a business tool in areas such as the global market between countries bringing a number of benefits as well. According to Rob Fields article Culture As a Competitive Advantage For Marketers he goes on to say that businesses tend to take culture for granted and is something that they do not really focus on, but they should. He states “It gets dismissed simply as the thing everyone’s talking about around the watercooler, but… enables marketers to create greater engagement, relevance and grow their business. The failure to acknowledge the importance of culture to brand and business-building is the same as deciding that you’re okay with being at a competitive disadvantage.” What Fields is trying to say is that people are not realizing that being exposed to different cultures and being influenced by them can be the pathway to a successful business and for other businesses to not notice that is something that they are missing out on.

An example of this could be Nike. According to Hannah Fleishmans  13 Businesses With Brilliant Global Marketing Strategies Nike allowing themselves to have a plethora of sponsorships throughout the world, along with their Nike- id feature in order to let people design their own shoes a good marketing tactic that people are still using today making Nike a very well known and successful company all around. 

When a business is planning on using other people’s culture for a business strategy, being influenced by different cultures can impact a business in different ways exposing them to ideas that they would need to take into consideration and understand when working with other cultures. According to an article 3.3 Understanding How Culture Impacts Local Business Practices Cultural influence can impact a number of things in a business such as “The pace of business, business protocol, how to physically and verbally meet and interact, decision making and negotiating, managing employees and projects, propensity for risk taking, and marketing, sales, and distribution.” To expand when working with another country one is being exposed to a whole new group of people with different customs, traditions, and beliefs, and that would be something that they would need to adapt to and grow accustomed to. Thus adapting to another person’s culture would change how the business could run as well taking into consideration what the business must do in order to satisfy their business partners. Focusing specifically on how they are, “understanding of culture will affect your ability to enter a local market, develop and maintain business relationships, negotiate successful deals, conduct sales, conduct marketing and advertising campaigns, and engage in manufacturing and distribution.” according to the article. This shows how having a general understanding of one’s culture and learning to adapt is a crucial skill one needs for a deal to fall through. In addition, according to The Importance of Intercultural Communication in International Development  from the South East University it states “Lack of knowledge of another culture can lead, at the best, to embarrassing or amusing mistakes in communication…At the worst, such mistakes may confuse or even offend the people we wish to communicate with, making the conclusion of business deals or international agreements difficult or impossible.” This is showing how going into a negotiation without prior knowledge could make or break the deal or not.

 An example of this would be what was discussed from Understanding How Culture Impacts Local Business Practices regarding the spotlight in latin America. In Latin America the people there tend to value the simple things, and are all about family and their community. In addition when they are communicating they tend to stand closer to one another and usually men touch or kiss women on the cheek after a meeting. This is a prime example of a culture such as Latin America where they tend to be very social and have a different approach then other cultures and this is what businesses can look into and understand before meeting and negotiating in order to make a good impression and to form a strong relationship and respect for their culture before they even say anything.

In addition to what was said before about knowing some prior knowledge before negotiating studies have shown that in different cultures one would need a different pitch in order for them to  partner with a business. For example according to the Tips for Doing Business with These 10 Global Cultures by Sean Hopwood he shows 10 examples of cultures who are influenced by different traditions that businesses should take information. Some of the cultures he discusses were Japan and how they should take into consideration that they are a high tech country ,in the United Kingdom, using humor and indirectness, in India, using body language goes a long way in communication, and in the United Arab Emirates and focusing on the Arab customs. These are other examples of how learning about other cultures and what makes them get their attention is important in setting a good foundation for a relationship between one business and another from another country. In addition according to Jure Klepics article How Cultural Marketing Is Different From Consumer Insights he states “Typically, marketers rely on research about the target market for their products and brand to craft advertising campaigns for current products and develop new products…Companies can also invest in their own market research by conducting mail or phone surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews to accumulate data on their target market.” This shows in ways in which businesses get the information they use about other businesses in order to know one culture, tradition, and beliefs to make products that can satisfy them. 

Globalization is an idea of different countries working with one another and in result influencing one another in bettering each other and it is another example where culture can be implemented. Working with different countries exposes one to a new lifestyle of another and expanding into the global market can impact them in terms of benefits and in a way makes a gateway to other countries. According to Impact of Culture on Marketing Strategies by Miss Jaspreet kaur and Miss Roopkamal Chawla  thye state in their introduction “ Due to the era of globalisation where the economies are expanding and integrating with the other economies and are exposed to universal marketing mix, there is a need to understand the fact that promotion of a product is highly affected by the cultural patterns of different countries”. What is trying to be said here is how do to globalization economies and business are exposed to Foriegn relations.  This idea is expanded in The Economic Benefits of Globalization for Business and Consumers by Fredrik Erixon in which in his article he states “expanding the role for trade, foreign direct investment and other forms of cross-border exchange in national economies, and for most societies that therefore means that globalization is one of the factors that determine what type of output that is produced in a country”. What he is trying to say is how creating relationships with foriegn countries is in a way economically good in that in a marketing company per say they can make more sales throughout the world making them more money. An example of this can be the United states in where they are constantly making trading deals with countries across the world whether it be import of exported goods and because of that we have a diverse selection of goods and foods from different countries and vise versa. 

However, although companies gaining cultural influences whether it be through negotiation, or global marketing there can be some problems that could come along the way. With the idea of globalization and global marketing it can be a possibility where one company may be negotiating with another and that companies don’t like them working with another causing disagreement within countries. In addition if business were to expand too much they run the risk with over saturating the market causing their product not to sell where its sold affecting the market negatively. Although that may be true it is seen how with research and understanding of other countries and cultures a company could successfully expand and grow.

It is clear to see that in today’s society working together is the main focus when it comes to negotiation with different places around the world and their cultures and today it is shown through a number of diverse places around the world. One city in the United States is New York City. New York City is known for being the city that never sleeps, but as well as one of the places with the most diversity and people with cultural backgrounds and this shows how businesses in New York tailor to the people in neighborhoods. According to the article Cultural Diversity in New York, New York City is home to 200 languages being spoken and having 40 percent of the entire population be outside the united states shows how significantly diverse it is. With each of the 5 boroughs having different neighborhoods that on some streets can represent a whole culture, it opens opportunity for people outside of New York to come in. This is showing how New York is a prime example of a Cultural melting pot, where there is a lot of cultural diffusion along the streets and because of that it becomes an outlet for people especially tourists to come in and enjoy what they have to offer.

In conclusion there are a number of factors to take into consideration regarding communicating with other cultures whether it be globally or in a working environment. It is shown how people all across the world are all experiencing cross culture especially in businesses. In addition it seen how it is now with the market and trade happening across the world is in ideal to incorporate culture in businesses while also in every part of our daily lives in that we are ina melting pot of cultural diversity. Overall this shows how having a culturally influenced and informed business can positively impact a business economically, socially, and geopolitically.